Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Going As Far South As Texas Can Go!

I didn't get very far today. Just a mere 150 miles. Yuk!

Finished unloading at the first Tractor Supply store in Alice, Texas about 8:15. Then headed down to Kingsville, TX 30 miles away to the second and last stop. They finished unloading around 10:00 AM.

Now comes the sitting and waiting part that we get to deal with all the time. I stayed in the Tractor Supply parking lot at first. There was a Geocache just a 1/4 mile away so I walked over and found it.

After that I started looking up nearby truck stops in my directory. The directory gives you detailed info on the locations along the Interstates concerning what amenities are included at each location. But on other US Highways and local roads, it doesn't. So I went to the first one about 1 1/2 miles away and the only thing it had going for it was a McDonald's. OK, grabbed a sweet tea while I was there!

But the main thing I wanted was a shower! Continuing my research, I found a Love's Travel Stop about 3 miles to the north on US77. Now I know they have showers! So off I went. Now I felt much better.

Continuing yesterdays saga, now it's day 4 in Texas and STILL NO BBQ to eat! A ham and cheese sandwich in the truck again today.

After that, I looked up Geocaches again and there's a rather large cache just a half block away from the Love's store. COOL! So I walked over and grabbed that one too!

Finally at 3PM, they tell me to drive down to Brownsville, TX which is right at the very southern tip along the Mexican border. So I drive on down US77 and grabbed 2 more Geocaches at a rest area along the way.

I arrive at the drop yard in Brownsville around 5:15 PM but the load hasn't made it across the border yet. It's a nice long load going to Tennessee. I map out my trip in the laptop making a few adjustments to the suggested course. Instead of taking US77 to US59 into Houston, I take US77 all the way to I-10 first, then into Houston. That's so I can finally have BBQ brisket before leaving! So, be sure to check back in tomorrow to see if I was successful.

Until then, see you on the highways.