Drive Straight to Houston!



We left Panama City early knowing we would have a long ride to New Orleans, but when we arrived the city was under a veil of rain and we did not plan on setting up our tent in the rain. So we made a quick decision to keep on driving to Houston. We made it as far as Lafayette and stayed at a Drury's Inn for the night. In the morning it was time to hit the road again and head to Houston. We followed I-10 and it was clear that it is a road heavily used by truckers. The billboards were advertising gentlemen's clubs, adult book stores and casinos as well as HOOTERS. We were fascinated with the variety and competition of these clubs for the male travelers. Here is a sample of some that we noted: The Lion's Den Adult Store, Plantation Gentlemen's Club, Love Shack Adult Store, truckers welcome!

The center of Houston was an adventure in itself with the six lanes of traffic going every which way. We were looking for the Crowne Plaza near Westlake. From time to time our minds were diverted from a HOOTERS citing. So far from the start of our trip we counted ten, and we always found it exciting to add one to the list. As we drove on, it seems that the Garmin Girl does not lock on to the address until she is within a six mile radius. So we were on our own with the help of a phone call to the registration desk. When we got close enough, I wrote in the address and The Garmin Girl did her thing directing us right to the door of the Plaza.
While our room was getting ready, we had an opportunity to play tennis at a near-by park and explore the area for biking. The Terry Hershey Park has an endless bike trail that goes under the roads to avoid traffic and meanders by lakes and woods. We plan to go early in the morning as the heat index was already rising into the high nineties. We talked to several bikers who said that the trail was very popular and there were water stops along the way. That was perfect!

Ready to ride Hershey Park!

Every hotel so far has been well equipped with a workout room and this one was no exception. It seems workout rooms, wi-fi, TV, free breakfast, and swimming pools are a must. This is good for the patron weather a traveler or conference person. Our hotel is in the middle of the gas industry with roads in the vicinity named BP Way and EXON EXPRESS. So it was not surprising to be among a large group of tired Transocean workers returning from an all-day conference as we all waited for the elevator. Another group of people speaking in a different language were a few Asians. I asked them if they were speaking Korean, but no they were Chinese. I asked, "…form Taiwan?" no from Mainland China. John chirped in, "Oh, Na Li!" He was referring to the winner of the French Open. They seemed confused until he clarified, "You know… the tennis player." They seemed to understand and nod their heads without much enthusiasm. If she were a table tennis star, they may have given us high fives. Tennis is still marginal as a sport in China.

Since we realized that our next drive to South Padre would take about six hours, we decided to do our bike ride in the late afternoon and build up an appetite for a late dinner. We went to Hershey Park, took the bikes down from our rack and it looked like my front tire was flat. So John tried to pump it up, but it didn't seem to inflate. Eric, one of the bikers came over to see if he could help and looked at the flat tire. He took out his nifty tool and took out the inner tube. I happened to have a spare one in my bike pack and gave it to Eric who quickly changed the tube. John was at the pump again, but soon we heard a PHFFF-POP, and down went the tire again. Eric told us to go to THE BIKE WORLD the closest bike shop only a quarter of a mile away so that we could get our tire repaired.

Off we went to the bike shop and brought in the wheel to show the attendant. He inspected the lining and asked if had ever changed the lining? He showed us how the lining was worn down and the inner tube pushed through the holes in the ring. He replaced the lining, put in a new inner tube, pumped up the tire, and it was good to go! All the while this was being done, we got into a conversation with Manny who also worked at the shop. He had done a great deal of long distance bike riding all around the nation. He related to us about several rides he had taken that were most memorable like the one in Death Valley. By the time he was finished we were thinking he was super human. Next week he will be on the support team that will ride from Ocean Side, California near Los Angeles to Maryland. The group consists of 4 man teams, 2 man teams and solo riders. They ride off the beaten track day and night, except the solo riders.

We were amazed that people would do such feats for the fun of it and not to be outdone, we told Manny that we were going cross country on our adventure. He was genuinely interested and asked for our blog address so he could find out about our travels. He gave us a title of a book that we might like to read to add to Travels with Charley and On the Road. He suggested, A Walk through the Woods, about hiking through the Appalachian Trail.Fully pumped up about riding, we took our bikes to Hershey trail and joined the many riders, runners, and walkers who were everywhere. Up to now we were used to riding on flat trails in Florida. In fact the only hill we encounter is the Linger Lodge over pass. So, we were not totally prepared for the ups and downs of this ride especially with riders coming at you sharing the path. The path followed a meandering trail under several roads that meant a steep descent and a quick ascent off the saddle in the lowest gear you can manage. Then the path went on narrow wooded bridges over a stream that crossed from time to time. We were doing pretty well even though John said that he could see the whites of my eyes and my hand pressing on the breaks at each descent. The only mishap was the hair pin turn on the descent on our return ride. That was the one I had to walk up as it was so steep curvy that I couldn't get momentum going. So, on the approach I saw John flying down calling, "Follow ME!" A few minutes later I heard a scrape and an "Aaaaaa!*@#" By the time I walked down to the bottom of the hill, he was up and ready to ride again. He never mentioned any pain from the gear scratches on his leg. What a trouper! He just got up and rode on into the sunset. By the time we were done our ride, we were ready for a Texas steak with all the trimmings!