It's been a busy summer, for sure...a backlog of travel stories to write. Been doing the fly and ride thing lately and really liking it. My most recent trip was to Texas. Flew from Sacramento to Houston then on to Corpus Christi. I came out of the terminal just as Margie was pulling up on her 2006 Sportster 1200 Custom. I pulled out my beanie and goggles and bungeed my duffle to the luggage rack. We took a short ride over to Corpus Harley and got a fix on the weather system approaching. After adjusting our route a bit we left the dealer and made our way West on Hwy 44 to Alice. We turned North-East on Hwy 359 to Skidmore then on to Hwy 181 skirting the rain all the way to Beeville where we made a stop at the Dairy Queen for lunch. We continued North on Hwy 181 to San Antonio where we checked into our room at the  Hilton. After locking up the bike in their parking garage we walked through town and checked out The Alamo. The buildings are well preserved, the exhibits informative and the gardens were a refreshing break from the Texas sun.

After a short walk back to the riverfront we took a boat tour of the San Antonio River-walk. This part of town is every bit as romantic as Paris or Venice, lots of shops and restaurants. After a steak dinner and several Lone Stars we made our way back to the hotel. We had Eggs Benedict in the Hiltons' Restaurant before checking out of our room and taking the short walk to the parking garage. We got on the bike and headed out on a tour of the old Spanish missions on the South side of town. First was Mission Conception, a very well preserved example of Texas history, circa 1700's. We  rode on to Mission San Jose', Espana' and finally Mission San Juan before leaving San Antonio for the ride to Fredericksburg. We got on the 410 loop around town to Hwy 281 North and made a stop in Blanco. We found a biker friendly BBQ joint by the courthouse and had some good 'ole Texas briskey and cole slaw. Damn, it was good!

We continued north on 281 to Johnson City and turned left on 290 passing the Lyndon Johnson ranch, through Stonewall and took a left on Luckenbach Road. After passing several wineries and farms we came into Luckenbach and parked next to the 30 other bikes in the gravel parking lot. The post office doubles as a general store with a bar in the back. I ordered up a Lone Star and listened to the musicians playing acoustic guitars out back. There's a small outdoor stage behind the bar and a dance hall across the driveway, all covered under huge oak trees. We got back on the bike and got into Fredericksburg at sunset. Found a biker friendly hotel, the "Sunday House" Inn. The room came with a motorcycle travel packet for the Texas Hill Country area, very friendly, indeed! We had dinner at a German restaurant, "Auslander". I had the Wienerschnitzel and Spaetzle and Margie had Roulladen. We woke to a brisk 39 degrees and rode into town , having breakfast at a German bakery. MMM, Apple Streudel!!!

We walked around town a while, checking out some of the shops before heading out to "Enchanted Rock" via farm road 965. We hiked around, saw the mushroom shaped rock formations, sampled some prickly pear right off the cactus and got back on the road. We took Hwy 16 North and made a stop in Llano, having lunch at the Stonewall Cafe. This place makes pizza and burgers on home-made buns and grills them with lots of butter till they melt in your mouth. Got back on 16  riding through Cherokee, San Saba,and Goldthwait to Comanche where we picked up Hwy 67 East, making a stop in Dublin at the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company. We arrived in Stephenville about 4 PM where we checked in to our room at La Quinta. After a shower we caught up with Margie's daughter and fiancee' at the "Bull Nettle Sports Bar & Grill". Several drinks and appetizers later we said our good nights and went back to the hotel with plans to meet next morning for breakfast. We rode into downtown Stephenville, the "Cowboy Capital" of the world and saw Tarleton University, the old courthouse and town square before meeting at the "Peacock Family Restaurant" for breakfast.

After a delicious western omellette with hash browns and OJ we got back on the road, taking Hwy 281 South. Made a stop in Hico at Cody Trading Post, a biker leather shop. Continued south to Lampasas, grabbed a bite at McD's and turned onto Hwy 183 to Austin. Had a home cooked dinner of Redfish and did laundry while checking out the weather forecast. The plan was to stay in Austin and continue to Corpus Christi in the morning but two storms were blowing in, one from the gulf and the other from the west so we decided to make a run for it. We left Austin at 8 PM taking Interstate 35 to San Antonio then 37 to Corpus, rather than the lonely 2 lane. We lucked out out and made it to Corpus Christi at 12:30 and got a room at the La Quinta, before the brunt of the storm hit. Slept late the next morning and had lunch at "On the Border" Fajitas and beer...the perfect lunch before going to the airport. So I got to the airport, took my duffle off the luggage rack and no sooner did I get my boarding pass I was bumped ahead on the flight getting ready to leave for Houston. We said our good-byes, anticipating the next motorcycle trip...