Heading West: First Stop Fredericksburg, Texas

The day finally arrived when it was time to leave Harlingen, Texas to start heading west. Having already voiced my opinion on Deep South Texas, you probably won't be surprised to hear that I was more than ready to leave. But no matter where you are, after you spend four months in one spot, you do end up forming attachments. In our case, old friendships were renewed, and new friendships made; the friendly staff in our favorite Mexican restaurant knew what we wanted without having to ask; we had bonded with the local golf course. In subtle ways, Harlingen, like everywhere else we stay, had taken on shades of "home". So even though we were both more than ready to move on, there was still just a twinge of sadness when it came time to say goodbye.

We left Harlingen yesterday (March 26th), planning to arrive in San Diego on April 5th. This gives us 11 days to get there, about twice what we need, so we decided to meander our way west, stopping along the way for a day or two, here and there, if something looks interesting. Yesterday we got 350 miles and stopped in Fredericksburg, Texas for two nights. Our original intention was to take a day to play golf at the 18-hole golf course attached to the RV Park where we are staying. But unbeknownst to us, today was set aside for a high school golf tournament, so we weren't able to get a tee time. Instead, we took advantage of the Ladybird Johnson Live Oak Nature Trail, also on the park grounds, and were treated to beautiful birds, lazy streams, blossoming trees, and winding trails through a butterfly habitat, riparian woodlands, and meadows of blooming blue bonnets (lupine). The trail abuts the golf course we couldn't play on, and you might notice how forlorn and wistful Dan looks as he studies the course in the picture below. I think he enjoyed the hike anyway! J