Day 4, Tuesday, July 5

Started off the day at our Econo Lodge in Fredericksburg with pulling lots of weeds from in front of the rooms for a decent good deed. It was the kind of hotel where you back up to your room, which suits us just fine. The hotel manager and his wife really liked our card.

We met a guy at the fireworks last night who suggested we take a look at the old Catholic Church in town. The stain glass windows were unbelievable and the rest of the inside was too. Catholic churches are so artistic - that must be how they get you in.

Nearby was Luckenbach, Texas, and we had Waylon Jennings' famous song blaring when we pulled in. Luckenbach is nothing more than a few wooden buildings on a dirt road, but has a large dirt area where they have "picking circles" for fiddlers, and then small concerts. We went in the post office that had a bar in the back, and two old guys in blue jeans, cowboy boots and hats, and sleeveless t-shirts were already clinking beer bottles together at 9:30 a.m. to toast the first drink of the day.

From there we drove an hour to San Antonio and a tour of the Alamo , so that we could "remember the Alamo." That's because we had forgotten most of what we were taught about the Alamo from 45 years ago. But now we remember the Alamo. It really is an important part of American history and we were really glad we made the stop. So was the recipient of our 2nd good deed of the day. We had to park in a public parking lot where you had to go to a machine to enter your info and then pay with a card. There was a long line, and after waiting 15 minutes, while Pee Wee was entering his info I could hear the elderly lady behind me in panic mode. I turned around and told her we would take care of it. She was so relieved. It took a while and I had to give an impatient guy behind her a dirty look, but it was worth it. Then she posed with Pee Wee for a photo.

Then we headed toward far west Texas. Texas is so big that driving from one end to the other is the same as driving from Detroit to Charleston - really. So we drove a lot. I was driving on back roads through towns like Leakey and Bandero and Vanderpool. The speed limit on the two lane roads was 75 - I had more fun driving on those roads for 40 miles than I've ever had in my life. I could drive on the wrong side for miles, or straddle the center line, and drive at speeds I'll never admit to. Then we got on I-10 for many miles - speed limit 80. We ended up in Pecos, Texas for the night. It looks like we're in the middle of Mexico. The desert is all around us and all we see is flat land and dirt. We had tacos tonight and they were great, but my teeth, gums, eyes, and skin feel dirty. But I love it here in Pecos - it's so different than our world, and so far away, kind of what I look for on these journeys.

May be heading to a famous National Park tomorrow ...