Summer Road Trip 2008 Part III - Texas Pride

After a night's rest in a dirty and loud campground (family summer road trip; note to self: came away from small children), we drove from White's City, NM to Orla, TX, a deserted ghost town. It was 40 miles that we shared with only 4 other cars and one lost cow, until we arrived in Pecos, TX, whose friendly grocery store services and huge sandwiches swept me away. We went through Fort Stockton, Sonora, and Ozona, passing through a giant mysterious wild fire in the distance. We stopped at a parking area to eat fruit and a large watermelon - oh, the simple pleasures in life.

Finally, we arrive at our destination for the day, another typical suburbia American, New Braunfel, TX, where we spent the night out on the town, while leaving Casper in a rather roomy bathroom where she tore the place APART during those 3 hours we were gone.

Where did we go? Gruene is an off-the-map historic town within New Braunfel. Gruene Hall is a legendary locale that was the beginning glory for many of today's country singers. As we walked through the area, just as we'd heard about Texas, there were old, gray-bearded men sitting in the bar, drinking beer all day long, waiting for the concert to start.

Gruene is a quaint, flower-ridden beautiful town on the green, adorned by architecture such as this beautiful Bed and Breakfast - very "Gone With the Wind" type.

Dinner at Gristgrill right behind Gruene Hall. Zack got a typical American burger, while I was trying to be originally, and went for a Queso, described as "the locals' favorite summer appetizer", thinking it was shorthand for quesadilla (which ODDLY, was also on the menu).

Moments later, Zack's burger arrives along with a bowl of cheese dip. He gingerly poured the dip on his burger after seeking my excellent southwestern cuisine expertise ("You put the cheese on your burger of course!")

When the waitress returned again with the chips, I asked, "Where is the queso?" Her eyes bulged, "Umm... this is your queso. What did you think queso was? You are from New Mexico and you don't know what queso was???" Whoa whoa, I've never even heard of it in any New Mexican restaurants (although, anyone who ever bought dips and tortilla chips for a party ought to know what it is since they come in jars).

She walked away shaking heads at our touristy stupidity. When she returned again, she felt obliged to tell us, "I had to tell this story to my manager, and his response was 'Yankees!'" I tried to cover up my New Mexican trail by explaining that I'm actually from China. "Oh right, and when the rest of the staff and I go out tonight, I'll tell them 'She didn't even speak English!'"

Finally, when the bill came, I handed the credit card over, "This is how we Yankees pay the bill up North - allow the ladies."

All in good spirit, we laughed the evening off and had a great time at Gruene Hall listening to Two Tons of Steel ("Two Tons!") and playing horseshoe with a Houston family.

Following morning, we aimed to hit 3 major Texan cities in one day: San Antonio, Austin, and Houston (revisit the horrendous humidity that I spent 5 weeks last summer during the Houston Institute).

First stop, head south towards San Antonio, namely to visit the Alamo.

Historic plaza in downtown San Antonio. Ancient architectures dazzled with store fronts, restaurants, and Guinness Book of Record Museum. The extravagance displayed by these museums reminded me of that year when we went to Orlando, a place that had the biggest everything in the world (e.g. Biggest Planet Hollywood, Biggest Rain Forest Cafe etc). In general, we concluded that if a place doesn't have much to offer, then it will need these museums to cover its shortcomings.

In addition to the Spurs, San Antonio had one major thing to offer - the Alamo, where the famous battle of 1836 against the Mexican took place, and Texas became an independent state of its own. But it was not until almost 9 years later that it was finally annexed and became a part of America.

Here, we sensed a strong Texan, if not a national, pride. "Please be respectful inside the Alamo where men who have fought their country lain" (or something like it). The audio tour guide waved it off, "People think it's sacred or something."

Everyone who walks through the complex scrutinize the architecture, the writings and imagine the final moments for the soldiers who chose to fight until death rather than surrender to the Mexicans.

The Alamo was originally a mission built by the Spanish (San Antonio de Valero mission) in the 1700s. Later it was abandoned until 200 Texans (Tejanos) led by Colonel William B. Travis and legendary figure Davy Crockett fought behind this bulwark against Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna and his troops of 3000. Santa Anna had a Napoleonic complex and was set on conquering and retrieving Texas.

Faced with an overwhelming number of offensive, the men knew they were doomed, but no one was willing to give up. Travis wrote a letter addressed to the people of America:

"I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna ... ... I have answered
the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the wall. I shall never surrender or retreat."

Even though he pleaded for reinforcement (only 30 randomly assorted volunteer men from the nearby town of Gonzales came, the youngest being only 15), help never came. He was prepared for the worst:

"I am determined to sustain myself as long as
possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country ----- Victory or Death."

Of course the story came from the American/Texan perspective, with massive patriotism and nationalism. It was nevertheless a powerful experience. Zack never felt so proud as an American in Texas. So proud that we had to take a picture with the Sheriff.

Two hours after we left San Antonio, we arrived at Austin. My initial impression of Austin was last summer when we stumbled upon a drunken, frat party scene as the backdrop for its nightlife. Needless to say, I was not impressed but annoyed. This time around, I was able to fully appreciate what the city has to offer, and I can honestly say that it is a city that I can see myself living in (But never Texas!). The restaurant was extremely pet friendly, even offered us a bowl of water for Casper.

Every day, every night, we hit one major city. After several hours or so, we are ready to hit the road and get out of this town - such is the life on the road, strangers to a new town, look around and check out the scene, leave judgments and footprints and off somewhere else. We are vagabonds.

Last major Texan city - Houston:

We stayed with Zack's acquaintance Janet, a lovely, friendly, welcoming Texas woman who opened her door to us and made us completely comfortable.

Night out at El Tiempo, the best Tex-Mex restaurant I've ever been with the best soft tacos and briskets I've ever had!

Finally, we ended up in Wild West, a cheesy country club (a "fake country club" according to Zack) with a large piece of dancing floor where people moved around to line dancing and Texas two-steps. This is definitely a side of Houston I did not experience last summer. Certainly changes my perspective that Houston has nothing to offer except humidity and Moody Towers.