The story of our trip to Texas in October 2019…………………………….

A very good friend of the family that used to live in the New York area that we lived in was moved by her company to Texas many years ago.  She has asked many times for us to visit her.  Kathy had a couple buck list items that went well with a trip to see our friend.  Kathy has never been west of or seen the Mississippi river.  And, she is very interested in history but has never seen the Alamo.  So, we started planning and imposed on our friend to put us up for a few days and we took off for Texas.  We departed our home in Fisherville, KY on Saturday, October 5th, 2019.  We drove to Little Rock, AR and stayed overnight.  We drove approximately 521 miles the first day.  This leg of the journey took us through Tennessee, across the Mississippi river and into the state of Missouri briefly and then down into Arkansas.

 

Kathy tried to get pictures every time we entered a new state but wasn’t always successful.  She missed the sign for Texas.  But she got to see the Mississippi River, cotton plants and a working oil field pump.

Sunday we continued our journey and got to our friend Lynn’s house around 5PM.  Total mileage driven for today was approximately 484 miles.  Lynn served us a fantastic home made spaghetti dinner that was to die for.  But she has always been an excellent cook.  If my memory serves me correctly at one time she worked in a commercial kitchen.

Lynn’s home was beautiful.  Beside the weather being amazing, her home is situated in a lovely neighborhood.  It is convenient to all kind of shopping and some great restaurants.  She is also a collector of dolls.  Not your average everyday sort of doll.  Some are about the size of a 5 to 10 year old child and are dressed beautifully.

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Here is a slide show of a sampling of what they look like.

Monday morning we were up, cleaned up and out to a unique place for breakfast.  I don’t remember the name of the place but it was associated with a place called Mammoth Lake.  The lake was man made and when they dug it they found the remains of a Mammoth.

Here are some pictures of Lynn and me with the sign for the lake and the lake in the background.  The first picture is a display of the bones with artifacts that was located in the restaurant.

Then Lynn took us on a tour of the area showing us all the chemical plants.  Then up the coast to Galveston.

Here is a picture of one of the many chemical plants in the area.  Lynn then took us up along the coast and you can see the houses that are built on stilts because of the flooding.  The Gulf of Mexico is just on the other side of the dunes behind these houses.

We had to stop on the beach for Kathy because that’s her happy place.  It was amazing how empty it was.  And Lynn just drove the car out on the beach.  Here are some pictures of how the beach looked.  And the water is actually the Gulf of Mexico.

This is the sign about the seawall we saw entering Galveston.  And a couple pictures of the large tankers and cargo ships that go in and out of the Gulf with materials for the chemical plants and their products.

Back home and out for Mexican food and a little walk.  That was it for Monday.

Tuesday was an early start day.  All three of us drove over 200 miles to get to San Antonio where the Alamo is located.  Kathy was very excited to see the Alamo as well as taking a short walk around the San Antonio River Walk.

Above some pictures of the Alamo and the River Walk.

After enjoying ourselves here we drove another 200+ miles back to Lynn’s place.  We had a bite to eat on the way home.  Got home late and relaxed and went to bed early. Total miles driven today was 440.5.

Wednesday after eating out for breakfast we went to Academy sports to pick up some items to go shooting.  We dropped Kathy off at the house and Lynn and I went to the range to fulfill one of her bucket list items.  Back to the house, picked up Kathy and went out to dinner with some of Lynn’s neighbors.

Thursday up at the usual time, cleaned up and out to shop for souvenirs.  Back to the house and did laundry and got things packed for our departure.  Out to dinner at the Chinese Buffet.  Early night to bed.

Friday up and on the road by 7:30AM.  Had a lot of rain at the start of the trip.  Stopped for a bite to eat around 10AM as we needed a break.  Made another stop for lunch and gas.  Got to the motel around 5PM.  To bed early. Total miles driven today was 485.5.

Saturday up and on the road before 7AM.  Weather was good and got home around 5PM. Total miles today was 522. Total miles for the trip was 2494.6.

We had a great time and can’t thank our friend Lynn enough for the hospitality.  We look forward to Lynn coming to visit us in Kentucky.