HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAN KRUEGER! Bob set an alarm for our departure today. Our drive is 289 miles and would take a predicted 5 hours, but we have a fuel stop to make which will increase our time a little. We were ready to leave by 8:15 and pulled out to light traffic on this Sunday morning. We crossed the dreaded bridge back to the mainland again.
The skies were clear, but hazy, and the temp was already 79 degrees. There was no wind to speak of. The water looked that beautiful blue color as we crossed the bridge and entered Port Isabelle. The Port Isabelle lighthouse was clearly visible as the city’s landmark.
We would retrace the same route for much of the way today that we used to go south. As we headed north to San Antonio, traffic was non-existent for many, many miles.
We came upon a Customs and Border Patrol Inspection Station. As we got closer, we passed lots of cameras lined up along the entrance lanes.
Some Federal agents approached each vehicle and directed some vehicles to pull off to the side for further inspection.
An agent wove in and out of the vehicles with a dog, sniffing for drugs, we think. It was kind of scary. The line moved rather quickly.
When it was our turn, Bob opened his window and the agent waved us on with a “Have a nice day.” The stop slowed us down a few minutes, but it didn’t take long. On the 60+ mile stretch of road prior to this Inspection Station, we saw these blue barrels along the roadside every few miles that said “Agua” on the side of them. This long stretch of road has no services, so maybe that’s why the barrels were there, in case someone got stranded with car trouble.
These huge grain elevators sat alone in the middle of acres and acres of cornfields.
The drive on I-37 north was uneventful. We stopped at a Rest Area to use the facilities that was located on the inside median of the highway, which is an unusual location.
Upon entering the restroom, I saw this beautiful tile work throughout the whole room. All the walls and floor were tiled. It was literally a work of art. . . in the restroom!
Along the walkway to the restroom, I noticed this marker. It was very interesting that they would have a marker there.
We stopped for fuel near Three Rivers. Bob did his homework and found diesel fuel for $4.68 through his Trucker app. That’s the cheapest gas we’ve seen. Most prices are $5.30 or higher. The app gives him information about gas stations and truck stops that are trucker-friendly, meaning, that if the trucks have easy access, so could we. Many times the regular gas stations on this app have a separate diesel fueling island which is very good for us also. We were surprised to be getting 10 miles to the gallon.
Side note: Last night, when Bob cleaned the windshield, he noticed a small chip in the glass which had 2 small cracks radiating from it. We decided to get it repaired before it got worse, so I googled windshield glass repair shops in Fredericksburg, TX where we will be spending the next 6 days. We called and made an appointment for May 4 to have them come out and fix it. Problem solved!
We had one hour to go until we reached our campground after our fuel stop. The wind picked up and was blowing 14-18 mph., but it was mostly a tail wind which will help with fuel economy. We pulled into the San Antonio/Alamo KOA at 2:15 after 6 hours of driving.
It is a very classy place with a gated entrance and nice landscaping. They have a restaurant on-site, fishing pond, pool, store, and dog park.
We checked in and were escorted to site D8–a full-hookup site with a deluxe patio, which includes a grill, swing, table with umbrella, and fire-pit. The campground has lots of trees and some grass at every site–a real plus for Auggie.
After getting set up, we sat outside with Auggie watching a little football from the United States Football League (USFL). The Tampa Bay Bandits played yesterday and won. Other teams were playing today.
We had dinner and Auggie got his evening walk. We had no one next to us, so there was lots of space for Auggie. It remained warm after the sun went down. We were tired from our drive so we watched some TV and turned in early. We want to go down to the River Walk tomorrow in San Antonio.