6/13/10 - Sunday
6am - I woke up later than usual, but not by too much. This is 'sleeping in' for me! When I'd gone to sleep the night before, I hadn't decided if I was gonna take a day ride or not, but as soon as my feet hit the floor (@ about 6:02am) I knew.
7am - Sipped my coffee, did some random emailing and some not so random 'journaling.' I have a new cyber friend I met on a website called "Live Journal." I've been goofing around on it for about a year and a half now, and have made several 'good' friends, but "purr4you" (her user name) is the first friend that I've developed a real, real-life connection with. At least it seems like a real connection. No one can really know for sure… cyber-connections… an interesting concept. I'm looking forward to seeing how this relationship develops. We've been talking about meeting in person, but the distance, our schedules, and my finances are all quite limiting at this time in our lives. One thing I know… we are sure enjoying getting to know each other. I think we've 'chatted' every day now for about a week or more. But this story is not about her. It's about another relationship with another girl.
8am - Honey was as excited as I was, as she was getting packed for the trip. She remembered her first snippet of "The Hill Country," last year when we were out here, and liked the terrain and roads as much as I did. The closest thing I can compare this area to, is a more fertile and lush version of the base of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's in Central California. The main difference is that there, the rolling hills are only about 20 miles 'wide,' before you get into the actual mountainous terrain. Here, they go on and on… for hundreds of miles in every direction. This area, which is just west of Austin, is really, quite beautiful. Either that or it just seems like it, because all the freaking flat flat flat, terrain, almost everywhere else I've seen so far in this monstrously large State.
8:30am - Off and away… it was a glorious morning!
9am - Lampasas. About 30 miles down the road. I stopped for gas, and checked inside, to see if Chelsie was working, but found out she was no longer employed at the gas station - mini mart. Too bad, she was a real breath of fresh air, I will miss her smiling face, and quirky sense of humor.
I did meet some new friends outside though. Ray and Tim were fellow biker brothers, on their way back home to Grand Junction, Colorado. They said they were planning two long days, to end their 10-day ride. We didn't take the time to chat too much, but they did give me a very good piece of advice when I mentioned I was gonna be in Fredericksburg later that day. They told me to be sure to visit Luckenbach.
We traded business cards, and Tim told me to be sure to contact him if I was anywhere near their home. I'd mentioned I spent a few days at a "Dude Ranch" in Rifle, and loved the area. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with his invitation, but I'm gonna keep his card, and take him up on his offer. I'd be really surprised if I don't end up there on one of my road trips someday.
10am - Colorado Bend State Park. Yes, that is correct. I'd just met two guys from the State of Colorado, and an hour later, I found myself (quite unexpectedly) in the State Park of the same name. A coincidence? I choose to think of it as synchronicity. Things happen to me on my road trips… outwardly 'strange-unusual' things… ALL THE TIME. I do not try to understand them, when they do, I simply acknowledge them, appreciate them, and remember… this is a big world, but there is an energy of some sort that 'controls' things around us, and… I just love it. It makes me feel connected… to the entire world.
Here are a few pictures of the area… first, a small tributary of the Colorado River. Not THE Colorado River, but A Colorado River, non-the-less.
Next, a sign that didn't make exact sense to me. I understood the intent… just not the word at the end, "seining". My best guess is that they meant to say, "swimming."
(authors note: I have since found out what "seining" is... it's a form of 'net fishing')
And this one, of a girl who actually chose NOT to run away from me.
Then, on my out of the 'Park', I stopped at "Bad Bobs," a little market out in the middle of nowhere, where there was a group of nine 'old-timers' sitting out on the patio shootin' the shit. It was a Sunday, so I kinda thought to myself it was an impromptu, or at least very casual 'church service.' I stopped. It never hurts to share a little gospel now and then.
After finding out it wasn't really a church gathering, but a weekly congregation of the local yokel informal men’s club… I relaxed, shared one of my brews as a cowboy communion, and sat with them for a spell.
Really fun group of guys. I'm gonna go back! RJ was the joke-teller. The one (of about five or six that he rattled off during my 30-minute or so time with them) that stuck with me was this one:
"Did you hear Obama was putting a 50% tax on aspirin? Yep… it's because they're white, and they work." This was his response to my mentioning I was half Mexican, and very proud of it.
11:30am - Honey saw the shade at one of the historical markers, and asked me if we could take a short break. No worries… no real schedule today, and not too many miles planned. It's like the attitude I have when I go golfing… "Nothing to do, and all day to do it."
12:15pm - We strolled right through the town of Fredericksburg without stopping. Tourists… everywhere. My stomach was starting to growl, but I sure didn't want to stop of some 'trap' called, "The Best Burger in Town." I was hoping to find something a bit more rural and authentic at the 'old west town' that my buddies from Colorado had told me about, just down the road.
12:30pm - Good thing they'd told me about it… it wasn't even marked on the highway, I had my road map, so I knew the number of the 'farm road' that would take me the six miles, but if I hadn't of been looking for it, I would've never known it was there.
Well worth the sidetrack. Although it is a tourist trap… at least it has some character. I'm sorry I didn't get some better pictures, but I'll be going back, and I'll show you one reason why, on the next page.
The motto of the town is, "Luckenbach, an adult day care." They have live music everyday of every week in the year. Every single day except Christmas is what Linda told me.
This is Linda. She is MUCH cuter than this picture indicates. I was very polite, and will be again, the next time(s) I see her, but you can probably imagine what type of "adult day care" activities I'm thinking about…
I took the main highways on my way back home, and the ride was pretty uneventful. The only stop I made was…
2:30pm - Marble Falls. To whet my whistle at the "R-Bar," a place I'd stopped at the only other time I'd been thru the area, over a year ago. I'll need to find another local cantina… this one has been remodeled and upgraded, and no longer has the feel of an old west saloon. I do ok in 'hoidy-toidy' type places, but I much prefer the well-used, seldom-cleaned type of places. I'm not a slob, but I'm not a prissy either.
4pm - Home… safe and sane. Well, at least safe. It was a very comfortable and leisurely day-ride of 298 miles and an elapsed time of 7 ½ hours.
THE END
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