Barnstorming: Thursday, July 14 & Friday, July 25

That's right you're not from Texas

Bonus Blog!! 2 Days in one entry.

With a long day on the road ahead of us we stopped to top off the tank and head east into Texas. Lester had some paperwork he wanted to get done so I started the drive today. The trip from Carlsbad, NM to San Antonio, TX is a straight shot down 285 connecting to interstate 10. 285 is a major thoroughfare though the oil fields of west Texas. Unfortunately is a two lane road heavily traveled by tanker trucks hauling water to drilling sites and ubiquitous white pick up trucks. Sadly, passing is not my forte. Let's just say arriving at the interstate was a good thing.

Since the good folks of west Texas don't seem to have the same sense of humor regarding over sized objects that others have shown us, we have little to share on this portion of the ride. However, the posted speed limit varies from 75 to 80 mph and that is a good thing.

An oil field in West Texas

Really, a traffic jam in the oil field. A dead stop!

Unfortunately, our car has continued making some rather strange sounds. Discretion being the better part of valor and all, we stopped by the local Subaru dealership in San Antonio upon our arrival and gave her the night off. They primped and massaged her and declared her fit for travel, but she'll need some TLC upon returning to PA. Let me just say that North Park Subaru in San Antonio, TX was without a doubt the best experience we have ever had with a car dealership. They understand service and go beyond. Knowing we were from Pennsylvania and that we were just passing through, they provided us with a loaner car, gratis. They got right on our car, first in line, we had a diagnosis while we were eating breakfast. And, they had complementary Internet access which we used when we picked up our car to make hotel reservations in Austin. This was undoubtedly the nicest service experience. Thanks Allen and North Park Subaru Service Department. The lesson to take from this is clear...have your car break down in San Antonio and go to North Park for service. It's a huge dealership and they service many brands, not just Subarus.

While we were waiting for our loaner car we received a call from our credit card company indicating our credit card had been compromised. Someone charged something in Iowa, not a stop on our route. So they have killed the card. A great big thanks to Amanda for rifling through our junk before the Vermont get-together and bringing us our forgotten emergency, backup credit card.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled Blog. San Antonio is wonderful, we had excellent hosts in the form of loyal readers Pattie and BPMc3. Unlike some of the decorating choices we've previously highlighted they had a warm and inviting home which they graciously shared with these two barnstormers.

Why do they have Elvis Costello's wedding picture on the table in their extra bedroom?

After we were settled in, we went back out and had a fantastic dinner at Acenar, on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Then we were treated to a private tour of San Antonio, including the favorite hotel (both past and present) of yet another loyal reader, Wanda. And, we were suitably impressed by the lovely lobbies in these stately old hotels.

Sadly we missed Pattie this morning, she apparently leaves for work in the middle of the night. But BPMc3 was up and ready for us. He took us to Guenther House, a San Antonio institution, for breakfast. Then another private walking tour of the area around King William Street. This neighborhood is filled with absolutely beautiful old homes, many getting a facelift currently.

Guenther House, home to the Guenther Family, founders of Pioneer Flour Mills.

The Veranda of Guenther House. We ate at the far left end of this veranda. Note the big black box on the right. It is a "Porta Cool" A gigantic fan which kept us cool. We could feel the breeze at the far end of the Veranda.

Houses typical of the King William area.

Sadly, work beckoned our host and we were left on our own for the afternoon. We toured Mission San Jose and the Alamo then picked up our car, which had been cleaned of dirt, dust, and dead bugs. It sparkled! And, headed to Austin where we are settled in for the night.

Mission San Jose

This is a trompe l'oeil fence. It appears to be old and aged wood but is really cement worked to look like wood. Even up close you couldn't tell without touching the fence.