Joe's Retirement Travels

I started out in the dark again so that I can leave the interstate for interesting back roads. Headed out east on I-10.  Smooth sailing to east of Houston.   Pulled off at Anahuac, "Alligator Capital of Texas".   A little east was this historical sign : Oh, by the way, these are HUGE in Texas,   monster-sized gas stations, with MANY islands: they stand OUT .. in the dark! to the left are the gas islands  .. ~30,    and the right, diesel .. ~9      and either side .. !!     X 2    !! Continued on I-10 to .. Beaumont, when I decided to take off on Texas Hwy.12 (east) Most of this geography is in the Gulf Coastal Plain, see how it looks out my windshield : features included grasslands and marshes and a thinned out version of the Piney Woods .. Another good (lucky) decision I made.    It was an interesting road.   Here's one of my 1st stop's: Already about...

I got lucky today.   Their wet weather held off and I had a clear sunny day to explore on bike. I had reconnoitered a 2-mile square around the hotel before registering yesterday, to get the lay of the land.   After breakfast I took a last look at the map and went down to get the bike and helmet. Headed north.   1st stop :  The Spanish Governor's Palace, originally part of the Presidio of San Antonio de Bexar,  the residence and working office of the captain of the presidio. It's a  low-profile building, similar to the one in Santa Fe.   But my next stop .. whoa! San Fernando Cathedral is .. impressive, outside and in,  here I am .. after befriending a tourist : Here's what the inside looked like.      It holds the remains of those killed at the Alamo. Here's a few more interesting buildings, afterwards : Not a bad start of the historical places, but now .. it's time for Joe to ha...

Whoa!    Can this trip get any better?    Every day seems to be an eye-opening adventure! What I thought was going to be a short boring drive into San Antonio on I-10, turned into a meandering exploration of Texas Hill Country! Driving along I-10, I decided to get off on Hwy.1674 and look at what's out there.    I stopped to take a picture of an interesting rock formation and a rancher in a pick-up stopped to make sure I was OK. I thanked him for his concern.    This reminds me of the Texas ranchers on a hunting trip to north central Kansas that helped Jessie with a flat in Concordia.    Friendly folks! Along the same road, I had to stop for a deer crossing the road, it won't be the only time on this trip! Here's a picture of the rock formation -and- some historical signs : Kept on Hwy.1674 to the town of Junction, then jumped back on I-10.    Kept driving until I saw another opportunity to 'bolt'.  ...