West Texas Vacation - Day 1
February 12, 2016

We weren't in any big hurry to leave, and I had a couple of errands to run like filling the car, going to the ATM, etc., but we did finally depart around 1PM and headed west on I-10. It was a beautiful, sunny, clear-sky day and about 80 degrees. Ah, winter in Texas.

I was driving, Lawrence was in the backseat with Desiree to keep her company, but she prefers to stay in her kennel the whole time. There's a story behind her staying in that kennel, and I'll talk about that later.

We got out of Houston before afternoon rush hour, but ended up hitting San Antonio right at 5pm and its version of rush hour. Although slow, it's not nearly as bad as Houston!

On the way we made our first stop at the rest area just west of Columbus and the Highway 71 exit that takes you to Austin. People and puppy potty breaks were in order, so we got out of the car, did the rest area waltz, and took care of business. In and out in 5 minutes.

As we approached Luling, everyone knows about the giant Buc-ees there, and it's almost an arrest-able offense to pass one, but surprisingly, we did. No beef jerky or Beaver Nuggets this time! We had lunch in Houston before we left, and we already stopped for potty breaks, so on to San Antonio we continued.

After working our way through rush hour, we diverted onto Highway 90 towards Hondo, Uvalde, and eventually Del Rio where we will stay the night. At this point we're in the 6pm hour and the sun is setting fast. It sounds cliche, but we were actually driving into the sunset, and it was beautiful. The further west you go, the more spectacular the sunsets become.

I started to get excited because not far past San Antonio you start seeing small rises on the horizon, and I don't mean just hills. They are what I affectionately call "The Foothills" of the West Texas mountains we will encounter tomorrow. They're not very tall, but they are taller than just the normal Hill Country hills, and everyone knows I love mountains, so to me they may well have been the Alps.

We stopped in Uvalde and Lawrence got a hot fudge sundae at Dairy Queen. Although difficult, I resisted. I also called ahead to the La Quinta in Del Rio and booked a room. It was surprisingly inexpensive, and of course, I was pleased to no end. I will come to regret and understand why it was so inexpensive later.

The speed limit on Highway 90 is 70, but in the dark I was doing 60, tops. I used to love driving at night, but age and wisdom have taught me to be fearful of two things whilst driving at night: Drunks and big critters. I'm not in such a big hurry to get my car screwed up by either.

We finally arrive in Del Rio about 7:30pm and locate the La Quinta. The front desk clerk was very nice and accommodating, give us our keys, and we proceeded to unload the car of all the suitcases, camera gear, dog stuff, etc. This is where the regret and understanding begins. I walk to the bathroom and immediately slip on the slick tile floor and almost busted my ass. The bottom of my shoes were soaked because all the carpet around the bathroom area, as well as along the back wall of our room, is absolutely soaked. It's water, but from where? It was also wet around the commode. I went to the front desk and they offered to put us in another room, but we had crap all over the room and didn't feel like packing it all up again, so we went back and put towels all over the place and will have to watch where we step for the rest of our stay. The clerk stated she would give me points towards my frequent stay account and apologized profusely. La Quinta is one of my favorite places to stay, but not this one. What a dump. I assure you I will be notifying their HQ about this place.

At this point, we head out looking for dinner, and Rudy's BBQ sounded great, and it was close by. They gave us a sample of their different meats, and the brisket and turkey were both amazing. I went with the turkey, and Lawrence had a pulled pork sandwich. The food was very good, and their prices are reasonable. I saved some turkey for the dog...It's her favorite. I try not to spoil her, but it's too late.

Oh, remember me talking about why she stays in her kennel? She used to love to stick her head out the window and sniff the air. A few months ago we were driving around and I accidentally rolled the rear window up and trapped her head in the window. She was traumatized, no doubt, and has refused to get anywhere near one of the windows since. Poor baby. We now call the car the "Puppy Eating Honda". She doesn't think it's funny.

Today we drove 357 miles, and it only took a little over 3/4 of a tank to get to Del Rio from Houston. That's about $16 in gas expense. I love my Honda.

As for tomorrow, we have no certain destination or schedule. I also have no idea where we will stay tomorrow night. Big Bend National Park? Marathon? Alpine? Marfa? We're on vacation, so wherever the road leads us, that will be our destination. It'll be a surprise.