USA Road Trip - Day 14 (Houston, Texas to San Antonio, Texas)

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Today we leave Houston and head due West to San Antonio. Google Maps wanted to head right into downtown Houston before heading west and that made no sense in peak hour so we skirted around the city trying to avoid freeways and tolls and the traffic. Achieved this well although we still drove on major roads, eventually got to I10 West and headed toward San Antonio about a 4 hour trip. We decided to take a break after a few hours so pulled off the Interstate into a sleepy old town called Flatonia. What a weird place. It was so sleepy nothing was even open so we got back on the main road. We saw lot of signs for a place called Buc-ees which had a sign with a beaver. This roadhouse was massive ! It must have had almost 100 petrol bowsers and massive store inside selling everything you can imagine from souvenirs, to clothes, food, drinks and about 20 ice refrigerators outside. No dining in however this was 100% takeaway. As soon as you walk inside here you see a sign showing how much everyone;s wages are. Bizarre !! We grabbed fuel, coffee and hot chocolate an set off up the road. The petrol bays were so slippery I nearly slipped over heading back to the car but just managed to keep one foot balanced. We arrived in San Antonio around 2.30pm and our hotel room at Springhill Suites was ready as we did mobile check in with Marriott App (not supposed to check in until 3pm so that worked well). We asked reception what would be good to do for the afternoon and she suggested Markets and a Restaurant where the Mexican guys play music and sing songs for great atmosphere. Sounds like a good plan and only 15 minute walk. Now I am going to head off on a slight tangent for a moment but bear with me as this will make sense eventually. On a previous USA road trip on 5th July 2012 we stopped at a place called Cheyenne, Wyoming for a quick photo stop at the State Capital building. At that building someone asked us to take their photos for them or something like that. You know what I mean, enough to remember the people for a short while. We then headed off and drove through Nebraska and stopped at a place called the Scottsbluff National Monument. This was 180km away and when we stopped to take some photos there, the same couple were there that we saw back at Cheyenne Wyoming. Now that is weird eh ! For those interested here is the link to that road trip moment https://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/South-Dakota/Keystone/blog-728310.htmlOK now let’s get back to today as we have outdone that strange event in spades. As we walked from our Hotel towards the Market Square we stopped at a bridge overlooking the San Antonio Riverwalk and as you do you stop to take photos. Kerry took one of a boat coming down the river and we were about to set off when she decided that another boat was coming and she waited for that boat to come downstream to get a better photo. After she takes the second photo she tells me that she just saw the Canadian family on the boat. Now this is freaky, and I am struggling working through the odds as follows :-

1. Canadian family stayed at the same hotel as us in Webster Texas (not such a twist as many people stayed there), THEN

2. Canadian family went to NASA Houston same day as us (no big deal it’s a big attraction in the area), THEN

3. Canadian family are on our VIP tour at NASA (low odds as there was only 12 on the tour, you book weeks in advance to get on so chances are slim), THEN

4. Canadian family leave Houston Texas and head to San Antonio Texas which is 354 km away on the same day we did this trip (now the odds are getting higher), THEN

5. Canadian family go on a river boat tour which started around 2.30pm which arrives under the bridge we are walking over at approximately 2.45pm noting there is only a 30 second window for us to see each other at this location as the boat heads downstream (odds are now surely greater of me getting an invite to be Jason Day’s caddie at the Masters next week), THEN

6. Kerry takes the photo and actually sees them on the boat as it goes under the bridge (now the odds have widened further and now Jason Day has fallen ill suddenly and they want me to invite me play at The Masters next week and I can use my Golf Handicap of 10.4!).

Seriously what are the odds of this happening. We had a 30 second window to see these people and today we drove for over 4 hours we stopped at Buc-ees for 45 minutes, we took the wrong exit on a road somewhere that slowed us down for 5 minutes or so. Any 30 second change to our schedule or theirs and this moment does not happen !!! Sorry to take so long telling the story and now back to the blog. We got to the markets after a 10-15 minute walk. We saw lots of shops and then decided to have a drink at La Margaritas. I had a Dos XX and it was a huge bowl not a glass which needed two hands to lift it and because it was happy hour only $4.00 (beauty !!) Kerry had a Margarita, and they gave us corn chips and a spicy dip yummy. We also had some Taquitos to share and then kept on exploring the markets. Kerry found a nice Mexican hand painted bowl (and the owner actually exports these to Australia !!), then I found a Texas licence plate for the Bali Hut. So excited as we have been to 3 new states and I have licence plate for all 3 so far. The restaurant recommended for dinner called Mi Tierra Café was in this area but we really weren’t too hungry so not sure what to do. We decide to eat here anyway and it was OK but atmosphere not the best. Walked down to Riverwalk around 7pm and it was amazing. There was the occasional light shower so we were not sure if a riverboat ride was a good idea but eventually decided to do it and it was excellent value at $8.25 for 35 minute ride. In fact we had the last boat ride for the night. There are lots and lots of restaurants on the edge of the river as we take the tour all lit up beautifully. The river is only about 3 feet deep and not very wide (around 5 metres I guess in most places). As we were finishing the tour guide said there was an art display on the San Fernando Cathedral where they project laser show onto the façade of the cathedral so we go to see this for the 9.30pm show.