Well y’all , it’s been a big 24 hours of travel . We are finally in the Lone Star state . We left the gators behind in the bayou , dropping by at the home of that very spicy sauce , the Tabasco factory . The drive out of Louisiana and into Texas was interesting …for a while . Actually the country side is a lot like Crib Point / Hastings but only it stays like this for 200 kilometres . Once over the border ,the country side subtlety changes into a slightly less treed environment and into a heavily industrialised expanse of harsh water ways . No photos were taken of this area , especially as I was driving , but I can’t blame Emma for not getting the phone out . The further west we move the more refineries , chimneys ,smelters and factories appear in the paddocks .Its Texas tea country out here .Oil , you can see its effect on what was once probably quiet cattle country . We cross over Lake Charles , we are excited to see something other than the very flat endless surrounds . We both thought we heard it was nice ,but it can’t be this Lake Charles . It was heavily stripped of greenery and dominated by big industry . Slowly but surely the further we travel the flat landscape becomes littered with large freight warehouses , farming supplies and then the the familiar beige rendered Walmart’s , supermarkets and fast food outlets . Finally with only 28 miles until our destination , Houston becomes visible in the horizon . The closer we get the more it looks like we are approaching Melbourne from the west on the Geelong freeway . Unfortunately we arrive at our hotel on dark and have no time to explore Houston . What I can see in the dark from Hotel ZaZa in the museum district is a clean , green modern city . We are surrounded by hospitals and realestate that looks very similar to South Yarra / East Melbourne .
Lyndon Johnstone Space Centre , NASA. Yep the famous “Houston ,we have a problem “ , NASA. This is geek heaven ,. In fact they had a school expo on showcasing kids inventions for future missions . Trench coats , black frame seeing classes , pants pulled up high and poorly fitted old floral dresses everywhere . Poindexters by the hundred , shit I wish I could have half of their IQ . Ah well , whilst the kids run through this extremely interesting place I google breweries that might be on the way to San Antonio . No honestly , this is a must see place if your ever forced to go to Houston .
The drive to San Antonio is once again very flat , The roads are good , at one stage the freeway leaving Houston stretches to 9 lanes across one way and is littered with multiple overpasses . The roads , nature strips and surrounds are clean and well kept , nothing like LA .The drivers are disciplined as well , very few speed ,but they are harder nosed , Not too many are interested in letting you in . It tells me that the rules are in forced here . We see see several state troopers sitting on roadsides with speed guns , something I’ve not seen in California yet in nearly 3 years . We are still shocked to see on a mobile sign that Texas’s road toll to date this year is already an incredible 387!
It’s flat green country side between Houston and San Antonio , about a 2 hour drive at 120k per hour . I love the Texas speed limits , 75 miles per hour . Shit did I say 387 road deaths ? Never mind . Where can you stop off and have a steak in an old country restaurant/ saloon and have a ribeye for $14 , Yep good ole Texas , with old dudes in cowboy hats inside to let you know it’s authentic . There’s no need for dinner tonight , I’m still full writing this at 9 pm , 7 hours later . It’s a shame really because San Antonio turns out to be beautiful ,with a ton of eateries .
San Antonio ,the site of the famous Alamo . Our hotel, Homewood suites by Hilton sits on the river front and it’s a real surprise how pretty this spot is . All the way in I was not impressed ,it’s typical flat ,farm /industry Texas . It’s not until we break through the relentless drizzly cold conditions that have met us everyday that San Antonio shows . It’s a very big country town / city , maybe a bit bigger than Shepparton or a Geelong . It’s not until we get out of our city centre hotel at dusk and take a walk that we realise what a cool little spot this is .A beautiful canal / river with paved walkways , manicured gardens , restaurants , sculptures and bars course their way through the middle of town . With old brick buildings , cathedrals ,ferry lights at night and the hum of sight seeing tourist boats , San Antonio’s river front looks like a like ferry tail , but alas we are spent and can’t muster the kids or ourselves to sit down at one these cool waterfront cafes , especially considering that our hotel has happy hour of free drinks from 5-7 . Maybe tomorrow, maybe not ,but one things for sure San Antonio is not just about the SanAntonio Spurs and our boy Patty Mills , there’s a very cool inner city precinct that’s well worth a weekend away . Tomorrow Austin .
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