American Roadtrip

The Great American Roadtrip

2003

Date Location Comments

Saturday

4-19-2003
San Diego, California Packing to leave. There is so much stuff to prepare, and no time to do it in. There's a lot to do before tomorrow, so this site is going to be bare bones ... just enough to keep people informed as I progress along the route.

Monday
4-21-2003
Benson, Arizona Got on the road 3 hours late (thanks to needing to cuddle the cats and the Great Potato Emergency), so I didn't get into the KOA until 11:00pm. This should be my longest drive of the entire trip, but there isn't all that much to see between San Diego and Tucson; long stretches of desert with the occasional alfalfa field.
There was an awful wreck at Buckman Springs, a van rolled over several times and ripped the roof off. Clothing and household goods scattered everywhere. I hope no one was killed, but looking at the aftermath, I'd be surprised to hear anyone survived.

Murdered millions of bugs on the way here. My windshield was almost opaque by the time I got to Seeley.

I'm going to see if I can get into Kartchner Caverns today or tomorrow. (Apparently, you have to have a reservation 4-6 weeks in advance .... eeeek.)

Hmmm ... my Dometic fridge appears to be dead. The first one died on me in Barstow and was replaced by a totally new unit. Now, the first trip for this new fridge, and it's already dead. So, here I sit at the Beaudry RV dealership in Tucson getting it fixed. Unexpected 90 mile round trip detour coming back here, but I'm not going to try to survive driving around Arizona with nothing cold to drink.

I did manage to see the Kartchner Caverns this morning. Because I am traveling as a party of one, I was able to get onto a morning tour. Fantastic place. They don't let you take cameras in, so I won't be posting any picture of the caverns anytime real soon, but it's well worth the money ($10 to get into the park and $12 for the tour).

Tombstone will either be this afternoon (assuming that they are able to fix the fridge soon enough to allow me a few hours there), or tomorrow morning.

Turns out that the problem with the fridge is that every time I try to run it on AC, the GFI pops. Therefore, I will run it on DC for the duration of the trip. So, I did make it to Tombstone ... a little late in the day, but I made it. The town pretty much closes down and rolls up the sidewalks at 5:00pm, and I didn't get there until 4:30, but I saw those things that most mattered to me (the old courthouse, the Birdcage Theater, and Boot Hill). The shoot out at the "OK Corral" didn't really happen at the OK Corral but in an alley a bit away from there, and the re-enactments aren't all that historically accurate, so I wasn't upset in having met the 2:00 "show."

The important this is that I found the most beautiful fringed and quilled riding jacket and a riding skirt that goes with it perfectly. I mean, gorgeous. So, through New Mexico and Texas I'll be searching for the perfect boots and belt to go with.

I had some trouble getting my PC to hook up with the net at the campsite, so I won't be able to post this until I can get a proper hook up.

Funniest signs seen on the road today:

A Highway Cleanup sign sponsered by "The Military Order of the Cooties" and another sign at the entry of the "Holy Trinity Monastery and RV Park."

Tuesday
4-22-2003

Alamogordo, New Mexico
Sometimes it seems like the highways in New Mexico are nothing but a string of fireworks stands ....
I stopped at every Bolin's Running Indian I could find. Stopped to see the "Thing?" - which turned out to be well worth the $1.00 price of admission. Not so much because of the Thing itself, but because of this fantastic collection of driftwood "animals" they have there.

The power was out at Bolin's Continental Divide, so I shopped by flashlight. The area of the store with the rugs was way away from any windows, and was pitch black even in the middle of the day, so the flashlight was an absolute necessity. I ended up purchasing a really nice wool rug to put over the bed cushions in PeeWee. It will help to keep them clean and from fading.

About midday I reached Mesilla, New Mexico. I had to stop at La Posta for some sopapillas. No one outside of about a 30 mile radius around Las Cruces seems to know how to make sopapillas correctly. My opinion anyway. And, I've been craving them for ages.

I also went by the church my grandfather founded (St. James), my old house (the current resident gave me a tour ... my bedroom is now a dining room!!), the old Hayner House in Las Cruces (once a stately mansion where I spent time visiting in the summers, it is now a bit of a wreck and is being used to office a title company ... but I got to look around a bit, and it brought back memories ... the secret panel in the dining room is still there), my old elementary school, and any place else I could remember that was still there. It's been over 40 years since I lived there, so a lot has changed.

Then over the Organ mountains and into Alamogordo. I didn't get to the campground until late (well, after 8:00 pm anyway), so the office was closed and no chance to check my email or see if I can post this page. Tomorrow will be White Sands (a little back track, but the park was closed when I drove by this evening), and then on to Carlsbad.

Funniest sign: Deming, New Mexico "Freshest Water, Fastest Ducks."

Wednesday
4-23-2003
Carlsbad, New Mexico The drive from Alamogordo to Carlsbad (over the Sacramento Mountains) was windy, very-very windy. PeeWee did well in the wind. I won't say there wasn't any sway at all, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle with one hand. (I would say the winds are blowing fairly steady at about 60 mph out there ... maybe more.)
I did a quick double back to see White Sands. Our family used to have picnics there when I was little and I remember how badly I would get sunburned. So, I came prepared with a sun hat and lots of SPF 50. I took the Big Dune Nature Walk -- they say it's supposed to take an hour, but it's a lot less than that, really. The glare off the dunes is enough to make you blind. In our family photos, I don't see any with me in sunglasses, and I am amazed that my corneas weren't rendered useless by the time I was five.

Funniest signs on the road today: One was really more of a visual, but someone took a red dot label and stuck it on the Watch for Deer sign (you know, yellow with a black leaping deer), making the deer into Rudolph. The other I saw just outside Cloudcroft and it was mostly funny in context. It just said "Hollywood Blvd." Strange thought, a Hollywood Boulevard without masses of hookers and tons of traffic.

Tomorrow will be Carlsbad Caverns (this is assuming I don't blow away entirely during the night). Then, I notice they have an internet cafe in town, so I will probably stop by there to see if I can finally get my downloads and post this page.

Thursday
4-24-2003
Carlsbad, New Mexico OK, the "internet cafe" turns out to be a computer repair shop with very friendly people who allow an internet connection at $10 for the hour. A one-man operation, so his hours are a bit irregular, but it beats anything in town.
I went to the Carlsbad Caverns today. Took about a zillion photos (tried to take as many as possible without a flash - which tends to wash out the photos - but it's very dark and hard to find anything to use as a tripod -- you can't take a tripod in and you're not supposed to touch the cave walls). I did the 2.5 mile hike down the natural entrance route and around the perimeter of the Big Room. The whole walk took me about an hour and a half.

I'm planning to go over to the Living Desert State Park this afternoon for a little while (see the Majestyk Moose ... or whatever).

Friday
4-25-2003
Junction, Texas The owners of the Carlsbad KOA were so impressed with my photos of White Sands and the Caverns that they paid me for some photos and asked if I would take some more up at Sitting Bull Falls this morning. So, I went to the falls (very nice) and shot photos for about an hour. Went back to the KOA, burned a bunch of pictures to a CD-ROM for them and then headed off to Junction.
A word about the route from Carlsbad NM to Junction TX. In short, there ain't much of anything between the two except for roadkill. I must have said the prayer for the dead about a thousand times during the 8 hour drive. Anything I saw live at the park yesterday, I'm certain I saw dead today.

I pulled off the interstate to see the town of Ozona. There's a statue of Davy Crockett in the park there, some very pretty houses, and they actually have horses - untethered and unfenced grazing along the roadside. I'm sure they belong to someone, and probably everyone in town knows who, but to me it was a site to see.

I'm a little bushed ... long day ... however, I am going to try to drag myself over to the pay phone and make a few calls (still no Cingular Wireless access six days into the trip), and hook up to the internet to upload this and a few photos and maybe check my email.

San Antonio will be a relatively short drive tomorrow (only two hours).

Funniest sign on the road today, again it's contextual. Coming into Texas, US 285 cuts across a corner of Culberson County. The end result is that about five minutes after you see the "Entering Culberson County" sign, you see the "Entering Reeves County" sign. Makes it look like the skinniest county in the world.

Saturday
4-26-2003
San Antonio, Texas Texas. The women really do have big hair here. The cockroaches are HUGE! Every song on the radio seems to be about trucks, or love, or love of trucks. After the high desert, this part of the world seems awfully humid, but I suppose it's nothing compared to Florida.
Off to San Antonio in a little bit, but I'm going to take a walk by the Llano River this morning before breakfast and enjoy the local scenery a bit.

At the suggestion of Wade (from the RV Forum), I took a detour through Fredericksburg on my way from Junction to San Antonio. Pretty place, and the highway drive through the Texas Hill Country is beautiful. The town itself was a bit crowded (owing, I think, to it being the weekend), but I stopped in at a few of the antique stores and a wonderful quilt shop. Bought two suns (I collect them) from a guy who sells ceramics out of his front yard, and took tons of architectural photos (mostly churches).

I got to San Antonio at about 2:00 in the afternoon and promptly got lost, but I wound up parking just a few blocks from the Alamo, so I spent the afternoon exploring the area. They were preparing for a huge parade this evening, so I decided to leave the Riverwalk for Sunday morning. (I was parked in an area that said they would tow if there was "an event." That was before I saw the parade being prepared about the time I got to the Alamo itself. So, I went right back to PeeWee after I saw the shrine and museum praying the whole way that I wouldn't find PeeWee either towed or ticketed.)

Found the local KOA, read one of the books I purchased at the Alamo. One of the authors was there autographing her books, so I got my copy signed. Nice lady, she was concerned about my traveling so much of the country alone. I told her that I was wiley and ornery and not too likely to become slasher bait. I'm not certain she believed me.

I will read the second book (or parts of it anyway) tonight and probably go back to the Alamo (which is across the street from the River Walk) tomorrow for a bit. I want to have another look at the site having now read up on the history of the siege. Parking being so nuts there, I will probably take the city bus from the KOA into town (it's only 80 cents ... so why not?).

Oh ... and I FINALLY have a working cell phone. When I was able to check my voice mail at long last, I had 16 messages waiting for me. Man oh man.

Sunday
4-27-2003
San Antonio, Texas Before setting off for the River Walk and Alamo this morning, I got a few more photos ready to post. For those of you who may wonder, no I don't magically get photos of landmarks with absolutely no people in them. I am, however, extremely good at digitally removing the few souls who wander into the shot.
It was actually rather crowded at the Alamo, but I got a shot with only about four people in it, such that making them disappear was pretty easy.

Forgot to tell Conleigh that I also forgot to pack my drive adapter for my camera, so I am very happy that I purchased the little HP photo printer I got before I left. The drive bay in the printer acts as an adapter for my microdrive so I have been able to off load my photos from the camera. Otherwise, I would have had to wait till the trip was over before posting any photos.

I like it better doing it a little at a time. A photo is worth 1000 words, yes??

Spent the day walking around River Walk. Lots and LOTS of walking. My feet were so very tired when I finished. However, it is so beautiful!! I must have taken 100 photos. It's a little hard to find, only because it is set down below street level, so if you are walking along the street you don't see any indication it is there ... just people walking downstairs. But, follow them down!!! It is heaven down there. Lots of great restaurants and lots of shade (I've become shade obsessed, but it's so very HOT here!

Lunch was Camarones de Mojo de Ajo (for you non-Spanish speaking readers, that's Shrimp with Garlic and Butter sauce). Now, this is a treat I've had many times at home, but never with the shrimp fried before they sauteed it. Here it seems they have a requirement that all food must be either fried or barbequed before it may be served. Otherwise the chef is shot at sunrise.

An additional plus was that I wandered into the Cow Hospital in downtown. It's not what you might think. They recently had the Cow Parade here in San Antonio. That's when artists decorate these (usually fiberglass) life-sized cow statutes and then when the show is over, they auction them off. They've had Cow Parades in New York, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas .... anyway, I collect the small figurines of the completed cows, but I had never seen the big ones. Even though the show is over here, they had all of the cows at the Cow Hospital getting them ready for the auction. So, I went in and had maybe 30 cows all to myself!! The Moona Lisa among them -- I took a picture and everything. (Adding my photos to the ones I prepared this morning.)

As it turns out, it's Fiesta here in San Antonio. Big parties in the streets pretty much 24 hours a day. That's why there was the parade yesterday. I'm not that much of a party animal, so it's a good excuse for me to get back to camp and rest up.

I think tomorrow I will head to Houston. I'd like to see the Space Center. Because I'm tired beyond words, I'll post all this in the morning.

Funniest sign seen today -- on a city bus ... "Bus Kneels" (I have honestly never heard of a kneeling bus, but apparently they all do it here).

4-28-2003 Heading to Houston If they ever have reason to luminol my rig, they are going to be convinced that I murdered any number of people in here. However, what they will actually be seeing is the end result of my battle with several humongous mosquitoes last night. Nasty suckers they were (literally), and the size of your average pigeon. Normally, I'm not a violent person. But it was them or me. Sort of disgusting to squish them after they've enjoyed a nice blood feast.
Starting a new page for the trip to Houston, New Orleans and Orlando.

Date	Location	Comments
Saturday 4-19-2003	San Diego, California	Packing to leave. There is so much stuff to prepare, and no time to do it in. There's a lot to do before tomorrow, so this site is going to be bare bones ... just enough to keep people informed as I progress along the route.
Monday 4-21-2003	Benson, Arizona	Got on the road 3 hours late (thanks to needing to cuddle the cats and the Great Potato Emergency), so I didn't get into the KOA until 11:00pm. This should be my longest drive of the entire trip, but there isn't all that much to see between San Diego and Tucson; long stretches of desert with the occasional alfalfa field. There was an awful wreck at Buckman Springs, a van rolled over several times and ripped the roof off. Clothing and household goods scattered everywhere. I hope no one was killed, but looking at the aftermath, I'd be surprised to hear anyone survived. Murdered millions of bugs on the way here. My windshield was almost opaque by the time I got to Seeley. I'm going to see if I can get into Kartchner Caverns today or tomorrow. (Apparently, you have to have a reservation 4-6 weeks in advance .... eeeek.) Hmmm ... my Dometic fridge appears to be dead. The first one died on me in Barstow and was replaced by a totally new unit. Now, the first trip for this new fridge, and it's already dead. So, here I sit at the Beaudry RV dealership in Tucson getting it fixed. Unexpected 90 mile round trip detour coming back here, but I'm not going to try to survive driving around Arizona with nothing cold to drink. I did manage to see the Kartchner Caverns this morning. Because I am traveling as a party of one, I was able to get onto a morning tour. Fantastic place. They don't let you take cameras in, so I won't be posting any picture of the caverns anytime real soon, but it's well worth the money ($10 to get into the park and $12 for the tour). Tombstone will either be this afternoon (assuming that they are able to fix the fridge soon enough to allow me a few hours there), or tomorrow morning. Turns out that the problem with the fridge is that every time I try to run it on AC, the GFI pops. Therefore, I will run it on DC for the duration of the trip. So, I did make it to Tombstone ... a little late in the day, but I made it. The town pretty much closes down and rolls up the sidewalks at 5:00pm, and I didn't get there until 4:30, but I saw those things that most mattered to me (the old courthouse, the Birdcage Theater, and Boot Hill). The shoot out at the "OK Corral" didn't really happen at the OK Corral but in an alley a bit away from there, and the re-enactments aren't all that historically accurate, so I wasn't upset in having met the 2:00 "show." The important this is that I found the most beautiful fringed and quilled riding jacket and a riding skirt that goes with it perfectly. I mean, gorgeous. So, through New Mexico and Texas I'll be searching for the perfect boots and belt to go with. I had some trouble getting my PC to hook up with the net at the campsite, so I won't be able to post this until I can get a proper hook up. Funniest signs seen on the road today: A Highway Cleanup sign sponsered by "The Military Order of the Cooties" and another sign at the entry of the "Holy Trinity Monastery and RV Park."
Tuesday 4-22-2003	Alamogordo, New Mexico	Sometimes it seems like the highways in New Mexico are nothing but a string of fireworks stands .... I stopped at every Bolin's Running Indian I could find. Stopped to see the "Thing?" - which turned out to be well worth the $1.00 price of admission. Not so much because of the Thing itself, but because of this fantastic collection of driftwood "animals" they have there. The power was out at Bolin's Continental Divide, so I shopped by flashlight. The area of the store with the rugs was way away from any windows, and was pitch black even in the middle of the day, so the flashlight was an absolute necessity. I ended up purchasing a really nice wool rug to put over the bed cushions in PeeWee. It will help to keep them clean and from fading. About midday I reached Mesilla, New Mexico. I had to stop at La Posta for some sopapillas. No one outside of about a 30 mile radius around Las Cruces seems to know how to make sopapillas correctly. My opinion anyway. And, I've been craving them for ages. I also went by the church my grandfather founded (St. James), my old house (the current resident gave me a tour ... my bedroom is now a dining room!!), the old Hayner House in Las Cruces (once a stately mansion where I spent time visiting in the summers, it is now a bit of a wreck and is being used to office a title company ... but I got to look around a bit, and it brought back memories ... the secret panel in the dining room is still there), my old elementary school, and any place else I could remember that was still there. It's been over 40 years since I lived there, so a lot has changed. Then over the Organ mountains and into Alamogordo. I didn't get to the campground until late (well, after 8:00 pm anyway), so the office was closed and no chance to check my email or see if I can post this page. Tomorrow will be White Sands (a little back track, but the park was closed when I drove by this evening), and then on to Carlsbad. Funniest sign: Deming, New Mexico "Freshest Water, Fastest Ducks."
Wednesday 4-23-2003	Carlsbad, New Mexico	The drive from Alamogordo to Carlsbad (over the Sacramento Mountains) was windy, very-very windy. PeeWee did well in the wind. I won't say there wasn't any sway at all, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle with one hand. (I would say the winds are blowing fairly steady at about 60 mph out there ... maybe more.) I did a quick double back to see White Sands. Our family used to have picnics there when I was little and I remember how badly I would get sunburned. So, I came prepared with a sun hat and lots of SPF 50. I took the Big Dune Nature Walk -- they say it's supposed to take an hour, but it's a lot less than that, really. The glare off the dunes is enough to make you blind. In our family photos, I don't see any with me in sunglasses, and I am amazed that my corneas weren't rendered useless by the time I was five. Funniest signs on the road today: One was really more of a visual, but someone took a red dot label and stuck it on the Watch for Deer sign (you know, yellow with a black leaping deer), making the deer into Rudolph. The other I saw just outside Cloudcroft and it was mostly funny in context. It just said "Hollywood Blvd." Strange thought, a Hollywood Boulevard without masses of hookers and tons of traffic. Tomorrow will be Carlsbad Caverns (this is assuming I don't blow away entirely during the night). Then, I notice they have an internet cafe in town, so I will probably stop by there to see if I can finally get my downloads and post this page.
Thursday 4-24-2003	Carlsbad, New Mexico	OK, the "internet cafe" turns out to be a computer repair shop with very friendly people who allow an internet connection at $10 for the hour. A one-man operation, so his hours are a bit irregular, but it beats anything in town. I went to the Carlsbad Caverns today. Took about a zillion photos (tried to take as many as possible without a flash - which tends to wash out the photos - but it's very dark and hard to find anything to use as a tripod -- you can't take a tripod in and you're not supposed to touch the cave walls). I did the 2.5 mile hike down the natural entrance route and around the perimeter of the Big Room. The whole walk took me about an hour and a half. I'm planning to go over to the Living Desert State Park this afternoon for a little while (see the Majestyk Moose ... or whatever).
Friday 4-25-2003	Junction, Texas	The owners of the Carlsbad KOA were so impressed with my photos of White Sands and the Caverns that they paid me for some photos and asked if I would take some more up at Sitting Bull Falls this morning. So, I went to the falls (very nice) and shot photos for about an hour. Went back to the KOA, burned a bunch of pictures to a CD-ROM for them and then headed off to Junction. A word about the route from Carlsbad NM to Junction TX. In short, there ain't much of anything between the two except for roadkill. I must have said the prayer for the dead about a thousand times during the 8 hour drive. Anything I saw live at the park yesterday, I'm certain I saw dead today. I pulled off the interstate to see the town of Ozona. There's a statue of Davy Crockett in the park there, some very pretty houses, and they actually have horses - untethered and unfenced grazing along the roadside. I'm sure they belong to someone, and probably everyone in town knows who, but to me it was a site to see. I'm a little bushed ... long day ... however, I am going to try to drag myself over to the pay phone and make a few calls (still no Cingular Wireless access six days into the trip), and hook up to the internet to upload this and a few photos and maybe check my email. San Antonio will be a relatively short drive tomorrow (only two hours). Funniest sign on the road today, again it's contextual. Coming into Texas, US 285 cuts across a corner of Culberson County. The end result is that about five minutes after you see the "Entering Culberson County" sign, you see the "Entering Reeves County" sign. Makes it look like the skinniest county in the world.
Saturday 4-26-2003	San Antonio, Texas	Texas. The women really do have big hair here. The cockroaches are HUGE! Every song on the radio seems to be about trucks, or love, or love of trucks. After the high desert, this part of the world seems awfully humid, but I suppose it's nothing compared to Florida. Off to San Antonio in a little bit, but I'm going to take a walk by the Llano River this morning before breakfast and enjoy the local scenery a bit. At the suggestion of Wade (from the RV Forum), I took a detour through Fredericksburg on my way from Junction to San Antonio. Pretty place, and the highway drive through the Texas Hill Country is beautiful. The town itself was a bit crowded (owing, I think, to it being the weekend), but I stopped in at a few of the antique stores and a wonderful quilt shop. Bought two suns (I collect them) from a guy who sells ceramics out of his front yard, and took tons of architectural photos (mostly churches). I got to San Antonio at about 2:00 in the afternoon and promptly got lost, but I wound up parking just a few blocks from the Alamo, so I spent the afternoon exploring the area. They were preparing for a huge parade this evening, so I decided to leave the Riverwalk for Sunday morning. (I was parked in an area that said they would tow if there was "an event." That was before I saw the parade being prepared about the time I got to the Alamo itself. So, I went right back to PeeWee after I saw the shrine and museum praying the whole way that I wouldn't find PeeWee either towed or ticketed.) Found the local KOA, read one of the books I purchased at the Alamo. One of the authors was there autographing her books, so I got my copy signed. Nice lady, she was concerned about my traveling so much of the country alone. I told her that I was wiley and ornery and not too likely to become slasher bait. I'm not certain she believed me. I will read the second book (or parts of it anyway) tonight and probably go back to the Alamo (which is across the street from the River Walk) tomorrow for a bit. I want to have another look at the site having now read up on the history of the siege. Parking being so nuts there, I will probably take the city bus from the KOA into town (it's only 80 cents ... so why not?). Oh ... and I FINALLY have a working cell phone. When I was able to check my voice mail at long last, I had 16 messages waiting for me. Man oh man.
Sunday 4-27-2003	San Antonio, Texas	Before setting off for the River Walk and Alamo this morning, I got a few more photos ready to post. For those of you who may wonder, no I don't magically get photos of landmarks with absolutely no people in them. I am, however, extremely good at digitally removing the few souls who wander into the shot. It was actually rather crowded at the Alamo, but I got a shot with only about four people in it, such that making them disappear was pretty easy. Forgot to tell Conleigh that I also forgot to pack my drive adapter for my camera, so I am very happy that I purchased the little HP photo printer I got before I left. The drive bay in the printer acts as an adapter for my microdrive so I have been able to off load my photos from the camera. Otherwise, I would have had to wait till the trip was over before posting any photos. I like it better doing it a little at a time. A photo is worth 1000 words, yes?? Spent the day walking around River Walk. Lots and LOTS of walking. My feet were so very tired when I finished. However, it is so beautiful!! I must have taken 100 photos. It's a little hard to find, only because it is set down below street level, so if you are walking along the street you don't see any indication it is there ... just people walking downstairs. But, follow them down!!! It is heaven down there. Lots of great restaurants and lots of shade (I've become shade obsessed, but it's so very HOT here! Lunch was Camarones de Mojo de Ajo (for you non-Spanish speaking readers, that's Shrimp with Garlic and Butter sauce). Now, this is a treat I've had many times at home, but never with the shrimp fried before they sauteed it. Here it seems they have a requirement that all food must be either fried or barbequed before it may be served. Otherwise the chef is shot at sunrise. An additional plus was that I wandered into the Cow Hospital in downtown. It's not what you might think. They recently had the Cow Parade here in San Antonio. That's when artists decorate these (usually fiberglass) life-sized cow statutes and then when the show is over, they auction them off. They've had Cow Parades in New York, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas .... anyway, I collect the small figurines of the completed cows, but I had never seen the big ones. Even though the show is over here, they had all of the cows at the Cow Hospital getting them ready for the auction. So, I went in and had maybe 30 cows all to myself!! The Moona Lisa among them -- I took a picture and everything. (Adding my photos to the ones I prepared this morning.) As it turns out, it's Fiesta here in San Antonio. Big parties in the streets pretty much 24 hours a day. That's why there was the parade yesterday. I'm not that much of a party animal, so it's a good excuse for me to get back to camp and rest up. I think tomorrow I will head to Houston. I'd like to see the Space Center. Because I'm tired beyond words, I'll post all this in the morning. Funniest sign seen today -- on a city bus ... "Bus Kneels" (I have honestly never heard of a kneeling bus, but apparently they all do it here).
4-28-2003	Heading to Houston	If they ever have reason to luminol my rig, they are going to be convinced that I murdered any number of people in here. However, what they will actually be seeing is the end result of my battle with several humongous mosquitoes last night. Nasty suckers they were (literally), and the size of your average pigeon. Normally, I'm not a violent person. But it was them or me. Sort of disgusting to squish them after they've enjoyed a nice blood feast. Starting a new page for the trip to Houston, New Orleans and Orlando.