Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Fort Stockton, Texas

Waltzing Across Texas
Only one thing to say about I-10 in Texas. Rough and boring! OK, that's two things. I so much prefer the secondary roads.
We had a great free breakfast at Day's (waffles, omelets, oatmeal, cold cereal, toast, juice, coffee - as much of everything as you want) and headed out of New Mexico. As usual, El Paso had tons of construction on the Interstate. El Paso and Salt Lake City are the same, 365 days a year of construction zone. Not fun!
We got to Van Horn, the town at the turnoff to the Big Bend highway and stopped for lunch and gas. There is a century old hotel that has been rebuilt and refurbished and we tried that for lunch but were told they were only open for dinner. They recommended Margie's Bakery and it was very good if $7 grilled cheese sandwiches are your thing. Oh well, breakfast was free.
We stopped at the Texas Welcome Center to see if they could line us up with a hotel deal in Fort Stockton but they said there were never any deals there. We drove down the main street to have a look and passed a Motel 6 with lots of workers trucks outside. We pulled in and found they had rooms for $56. Very basic and no free anything, not even WIFI. I have my own WIFI so we took it.
Gas mileage was worse today as the speed limit on the Interstate is 80 MPH so I set the cruise control on 78 and relaxed except for when I hit the odd pothole or rough section. The Honda just purred along. I am feeling bad now for thinking of getting rid of it!
Six hours of mostly secondary road driving tomorrow and we will be in Laredo, Texas

5 comments:

  1. How long has it been since you were last SOB? I think it was '09 when we met at the Emerald Coast. I'm noticing that things have improved a lot. 18 wheelers look very new and in great condition. Lot of the trailers carry familiar NOB company names like JB Hunt. Our Verizon phone uses TELCEL's network and it is almost always at least 3G. Credit cards are taken almost everywhere.

    Yet there is still the quaintness like gaggles of school kids in uniform and small shops that recognize us when we walk in.

    Everyone is friendly and make no deal about us or our motor home. They see it and no big deal. As Robin said, "what's not to like"?

    Keep it between the ditches!

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  2. It was back in 2013 and I am looking forward to becoming reacquainted with the Mexican people.

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  3. You are making great time. Almost there. Glad you were able to set the cruise control and relax to a certain extent. So happy to see you heading into Mexico.

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  4. Nice that your Honda still runs good.That I-10 can be a long drive, but does get you there usually in good time. mexico real soon !

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  5. I-10 doesn't make my list of roads to travel unless I have to. But you're making good progress and you have wonderful adventures to look forward to.

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