On the Road

Off we go again - sadly in the wrong direction to take advantage of Diane's invitation and gallery recommendation (we'll have to head back this way to catch up on all the good things we missed!) We said goodbye to Rick and Maggie and headed out on the I10 to just beyond El Paso where we'd booked a couple of rooms for ourselves and Mary at Mesilla, near Las Cruces.

Rick had told us of his boyhood treat of visits to the Dairy Queen, Ozona, so true to form, we paid homage by stopping there ourselves to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat. Feeling slightly nauseous from a variety of junk food, we continued our journey eagerly awaiting the next excitement - the time change!

Just before that, however, a "scenic outlook" tempted us to step from the vehicle and take a look. Worthwhile just to see this amazing flower, we thought.

A little further on, time changed (an hour gained by entering Mountain time) we were bowling nicely along when our attention was attracted by a smart gentleman in a black car with flashing lights - the State Trooper politely requested Mark's attention to the fact he'd been speeding: doing 85 in an 80mph speed zone. A formal warning was issued - no penalty - and apologies offered for the fact that he had been unable to correctly enter the details of Mark's drivers license because there were too many digits for his form. Fair cop - in both senses of the phrase.

Conversation turned to reminiscences of the Dukes of Hazzard as we sped (ever so slightly slower) to the New Mexico border!

But as you can see, we didn't slow down quite enough for me to catch the picture!

So, we are here in Mesilla tonight, where everything closes on a Monday.

We found a good Italian restaurant in Las Cruces and enjoyed great pizzas before coming back to catch up on email and the Food Network. Rachel, thanks for the yarn shop tip - maybe there will be time tomorrow to go and explore a little....we'll see!
 
Oh, and weirdly (but thankfully), my camera has behaved itself for most of the day and I have not needed to rely on my standby purchase. We think that perhaps the internal battery has discharged in some way and needs recharging with a cable connection (which I don't have). We'll see how we do tomorrow.

Camera trouble!

Such a pain. Just before we left home, my camera began to play tricks. In particular, it reset the time and date every time I switched on. Just as I was wondering whether to bring a spare with me (and charger, battery pack, memory sticks etc) all appeared well, so I didn't bother.

 

Today, all went totally haywire. A whole battery pack (which normally lasts for several days) discharged within a couple of hours and the resetting date bother returned. It was distracting to say the least and though Mary very kindly lent me her spare Olympus, I wasn't comfortable using unfamiliar kit, especially when it was someone elses! We stopped by a Walmart and I bought another Sony - a smaller version of my current model.

 

But I'm not happy with the picture quality and really hope to get mine back on track. Perhaps in the next couple of days, mostly to be spent en route to Santa Fe, there will be time to fiddle and try out a few things.

 

Camera troubles aside, today was spent in the Hill Country, north of here. In particular, we enjoyed Fredericksburg - a little country town with a lively tourist trade and consequently a fair few interesting shops to wander in and out of. One did particularly well from us, as each of us three women bought quirkily shaped linen shirts whilst the "Bellini Brothers" (as Mark and Rick have been named) stood by and admired each of us in turn. Of course, they carried the bags too - thank you gentlemen!

 

The flowers in Fredericksburg were stunning - I didn't quite work out how this one could have both pink and yellow flowers at the same time. I have no idea what it is.

Next stop was the Becker Vineyard, where we tasted one or two (ok, six) wines. Cheers!

Then on to Johnson City, to visit LBJ's boyhood home - rather interesting and surprisingly humble.

To end the day, Mark and I took a walk around the Riverwalk again, but found it so busy with crowds of tourists we needed to sit and drink margaritas instead.

Off to Las Cruces in the morning, half way to Santa Fe. An early start for us.

Hot hot hot

Though the mornings are comparatively cool, it soon heats up here and the cool, air-conditioned atmosphere of a museum was an attractive proposition today. Not only that, but Maggie and Rick had tickets for a preview of a hot new show - The Genius of Leonardo which we were delighted to share!

The exhibition was beautifully designed with great lighting and solidly made, wooden models each demonstrating one of Leonardo DaVinci's concepts. Many were functioning models and rather a lot of youngsters were working very hard to lift loads, work machines and generally have fun exploring what each could do.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Afterwards, we explored a rather quieter place - the King William neighbourhood, primarily settled by prosperous German businessmen in the 1800s. We took a tour of the Steves Homestead, a beautiful stone mansion before going on to the Guenther House restaurant at the Pioneer Flour Mills for brunch.

All cultured up, the next stop was the Mercado - the Mexican market, full of colour and a lively place with music and great atmosphere.

The Alameda art museum at the end of the street had an interesting exhibit from an old pharmacy store which had been nearby until it closed for business. It made for some great photo opportunities - an aerosol spray "Go Away Evil" being typical of the things "on sale".

Can you believe that we'd been in the USA for more than 48 hours and still hadn't been shopping? Soon sorted that one out as we headed for the Alamo Quarry Market. At the moment, all I'm confessing to is a pair of new Crocs - but rather different ones this time!

Dinner tonight was Maggie and Ricks suggestion of the Liberty Bar - a crooked house with the most yummy food and lively atmosphere. What fun!

In the Lone Star State

Being here in the Lone Star State, it's unsurprising to see so many stars around the place. These stars are rather easier for us to identify than those we seldom recognise in LA, so we did a bit of star spotting today.
 
We began with the easy ones - they are around every tree on the street.

Look up and there are many on the buildings downtown San Antonio.

On a flagpole in the old Spanish Governors Mansion.

And on the tomb of the heroes of the Alamo - William Bowie, Davy Crockett and John Travis - in the cathedral.

Further along, there are several in the pavements and walkways around the city, some commemorating the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986.

Others are set in walls as decorative features here and there.

We especially enjoyed a walk along the Riverwalk this evening, after dinner, and spotted a whole trail of them we'd missed earlier in the day.

And of course, there's the Texas flag itself.

Our trip has got off to a wonderful start here in San Antonio thanks to Rick, Maggie and Mary. A local can show us all kinds of interesting and curious things we'd otherwise miss.

Such as this explanatory plaque to mark the invention of barbed wire, which transformed the way of ranching in the late 1870s.

Almost as fascinating as the fact that there a group of barbed wire collectors exists - who knew?!

And of course, having paid a visit here this afternoon, we'll not forget The Alamo.

Dangerous discovery

Mark has discovered The Container Store! I can hear Mary and Jordi laughing because of course, they knew all along that my dear, neat-freak husband would be in raptures over a display of cable tidies....

Never has the slogan on their carrier bag been so appropriate.

En route to the T, we passed this confusing sports club sign. Perhaps therein lies the clue as to why the US have never made it very far in the cricket field?