San Antonio - Dallas - Fayetteville - Kansas City

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

A lot to cover for a week.  I know I should be posting daily but it has been so busy visiting friends and relatives.  

The trip from Monterrey was easy and pretty fast.  We made good time getting to Reynosa and the Anzalduas Bridge is truly a gem.  Again, no need to enter a city, turn right off of Hwy 85 north taking Hwy 2 west and 5 kms later you enter the bridge zone.  The pass is about 8 km long and the wait time was 27 minutes.  Juan went in to get his permit for 180 days, no car inspection and off we went.

Then things went south.  We drove most of the way to San Antonio in torrential downpours.  Not fun at all considering people would zoom by at over 85 mph in a 75 mph speed zone.  We slowed down in the rain but other continued to speed on causing a total of three very bad accidents, one including a semi.

Our Airbnb goes to the top of our list.  A small backyard one-bedroom casita with complete kitchen, bath, dining, and laundry.  It is only 3 miles from our rental property we sold a few years back.  The only creepy thing is that the owners live in the house in front but have no contact.  It's all done via Whatsapp and they have cameras everywhere.  They make sure you know you are being watched 24/7.  Once you're past that part, you really enjoy yourselves.  You want for nothing and I mean that, including soft drinks, coffee, and snacks of all kinds.  The place smells like heaven and all the furnishings are top quality.  Expensive but yet less expensive than a good hotel.  

We had dinner with Giovanna, our friend Sam's cousin.  Sam passed away in February and we inherited $32.68 which we used for drinks toward our dinner that night.  We also picked up some artwork that was left behind for the taking.  Giovanna is 70 and has the skin of a 30 year old.  She is a wonderful woman and we love her to pieces.  We had a great time and celebrated Sam's life. 

We found a Buc ee's on the road to Dallas.  Wow, what a place!  It's a food and souvenir palace.  But unbelievable prices on food!  It was a buying frenzy.   I've never seen so many people buy so much crap in one place and pay so much money.  I guess Americans are really rich!  It was an interesting walk through but we got back on the road.  Before leaving, we discovered why it is so pricey.  They have a sign outside looking for workers.  Cleaning people start at $18 an hour and wages go up to $35.  An assistant director starts at $125,000.  And people bitch about CEO's and their pay.  Time to rethink all of that.  BTW, no one has ever answered my question.  How much is too much?

Next day we were off to visit Juan's niece and her family in Dallas.  Alma lost her daughter almost three years ago in an accident.  She is still trying to overcome her loss and our visit helped her considerably telling the story, getting it out in the open and we all shed some tears.  We stayed two nights and did a lot of reminiscing.  They have a lovely home and they insisted we go out for dinner.  Alma's husband Angel is from Hidalgo state and has lived in the U.S. since 1997.  He has a construction business and is doing quite well.  We stayed at their house and it was very comfortable and quiet.

Friday we were off again.  We drove to Fayetteville, Ar.  What a beautiful drive we had.  The scenery and the hills coming into the city.  It was truly something.  We had an Airbnb and it was okay.  Not great but not bad.  We're very picky.  As you know, working on the road and doing hotels turns you off and many of you have rvs for that reason.  

We visited our friends Leyah and Kirk.  Leyah hired Juan for a Fullbright many moons ago and we have been friends since.  Kirk turns 83 this week so we celebrated with a delicious meal at their home.  They prepared baked salmon, wild rice, asparagas, salad and a sourdough bread made fresh that day with goat's butter.  A couple glasses of wine made for a great evening.  Next morning we agreed to a light breakfast of toast and coffee.  Well, Leyah has her way most of the time so did do toast.  French toast, fresh fruit, coffee, goat yogurt and cheese.  Enough to last us all day for the next stop.

Early out and on the road the weather had turned for the better.  Clear blue skies and lots of farmland.  We took backroads mostly through Oklahoma on and off the interstate and into Missouri.  A couple stops for pictures and a coffee break.

Into Kansas City we headed for my nephew's house.  My sister Dorothy, now 82 was as excited as were to see each other.  A lot of hugs and kisses and some stories along with coffee.  We headed to our hotel for a nice nap.  This hotel is on Main Street and a new trolly car line is going in.  They have discounted the hotel by 48% and it was such a good deal compared to Airbnb that we couldn't say no.  Nice room, great amenities such as a gym and breakfast.  We are minutes away from my nephew's house and five blocks walking to the Country Club Plaza.  We took my sister out for an evening snack, coctails at our hotel in-room and good conversation.

I'm saving the rest of Kansas City as we still have two more days here.  A lot of walking to make up for car sitting and restaurant meals.  

The blog has morphed more into my journal than a true blog with travel information.  As always, you are welcome to come along with us on our adventures, trips and daily gripes!