They say everything is bigger in Texas and after our recent trip I would certainly agree.
For those that don’t know, my daughter, son-in-law and grandson are now in Corpus Christi, Texas. That’s the latest assignment from the Navy. Last week Priscilla and I made our first trip ever to the state of Texas and we had a great time.
My first thoughts about Texas: It’s very big and very flat. It seemed like you could see for miles and miles.
There were oil refineries everywhere which I guess is to be expected along the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf was beautiful as we took a ride to Padre Island.
We took a two-hour car ride to visit San Antonio.
I know it’s obvious that you’ll see different road signs when in different parts of the country but it’s still cool.
That was another thing that surprised me: just how big Texas was. When we first found out we were going there I started thinking about all the things I’d like to see. Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin came to mind and the ladies want to do a “girls trip” to Waco to see where Chip and Joanna Gaines operate. But…..once I started to Google you learn how spread out everything is.
- Corpus Christi to Dallas? 6+ hours
- Corpus Christi to Houston? 3+ hours.
- Corpus Christi to San Antonio? 2 hours.
- Corpus Christi to Austin? 3+ hours
- Corpus Christi to Waco? 4.5 hours
I’m used to living in Massachusetts where I can be in NH in over an hour and RI within 30 minutes. I met a man who said you could drive all day and still be in Texas.
We did have a nice day in San Antonio. We took a boat cruise on the Riverwalk, ate some terrific Mexican food, and visited the Alamo.
There were a lot of interesting sites along the way like the random oil derek.
I will say I had the most delicious barbecue I’ve had in a long time. The ribs were mouth watering. I have to admit, the brisket didn’t seem to taste as good as my buddy Dana makes. Dana works with my wife, Priscilla, and yes…I texted him my thoughts.
My daughter, Sarah, introduced us to the H-E-B+. It’s their version of Stop and Shop but, of course being Texas, it’s much bigger. Especially if it is a “+” store. They have an entire butcher department not to mention a health and beauty department and others.
That’s the place to go to get your Texas shaped chicken nuggets too.
Oh and did I mention it was hot?
In the 90s every day.
All-in-all we had a great trip. We didn’t get home until 2:30 a.m. Monday. Our flight was supposed to get into Logan around midnight but we were delayed.
The delay was actually caused by my scooter. Earlier this summer I was convinced to swallow my pride and purchase a mobility scooter. I kept putting it off I guess because I didn’t want to admit I needed one. The family helped me realize that I would be able to do more with them if I used the scooter and they were right. This was our first time flying with it and there was a bit of confusion checking in. Boston to Texas handled it one way but Texas to Boston insisted that we remove the battery and place it in a separate sealed box. In doing that I guess they never did the paperwork so our Captain came over the PA on our connecting flight in Dallas to say, “Sorry folks. We have an issue with a wheelchair battery. Our ground crew never filled out the proper paperwork but we’ll get it sorted out.” I tried to slink down in my seat when he said that. Then when we landed in Boston they brought me the scooter but they couldn’t find the battery. Ugh! Thanks to the efforts of some terrific Sky Caps we found it and then got out of the airport and on our way around 1:30 a.m.
It was a great trip and I already miss my little buddy Liam. I started missing him at the Corpus Christi airport and there were a few tears. I’ll see him soon and…. It was great to see someone else after two weeks.
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