Day 28 - Everything is BIGGER in Texas

Friday marked the first day of our long joint road trip from Austin to San Diego. We got up early, loaded up the Audi and hit the road by 9am. We headed south towards San Antonio so we could jump on 1-10 West, and we figured we may as well make a stop to see the "Cradle of Texas Liberty," i.e., The Alamo. As a kid I was subjected to many school field trips to the site of the most infamous battle for Texas independence, but of course cared more about whatever social dramas were occurring in my class at the time to pay attention. It was cool to go back and appreciate the monument for what it is, and Kevin appreciated all the history too. Remember the Alamo!

My good friend and college roommate, Katy Mimari, is a San Antonio local and a very successful entrepreneur. A few years back, she launched her own line of fabulous baby bags and accessories called Caden Lane and did so well that she has expanded into chic baby bedding and clothing under a line called Nursery Couture. Her business has exploded and you can find her bags everywhere from Nordstrom to the hottest boutiques in town. She has designed nurseries for celebrities like Tori Spelling and Ashlee Simpson! She opened her own store in San Antonio, so I HAD to check it out while I was in town. Her stuff is so cute! If anyone is interested, check out her website http://www.cadenlaneco.com/. Its adorable!

It was lunchtime when we headed west out of San Antonio, so we hit a local "country cooking" restaurant just outside of town called Po-po's. The billboards hailed it as having the best chicken fried steak and fried chicken in Texas. As we parked and approached the entrance, Kevin noted that we really needed to be fast so we could get on the road and make some good progress. It was as if God heard him, because this sign greeted us at the door. I almost peed my pants laughing. By far, the best sign I have seen so far!

After an artery clogging lunch, we hit the road traveling West for several hours. There is not much IN west Texas, so there really isn't much to say, but we made good time and pulled into our planned stop for the night - the Harvard Lodge and Suites in Fort Davis, Texas around 6:30pm. Now, this place is a total misnomer. I would describe the design as a cross between modern dude-ranch and a hunting lodge and no where can you find any references to the famous Ivy league university or its alumni. That being said - we were extremely pleasantly surprised with the place and its staff. We had a reservation to stay at their Ranch Suites which is located 7 miles up the road on a ranch run and owned by the hotel. Kevin was bouncing up and down with glee at the prospect of staying at his first ranch, and it would NOT disappoint. Once we turned down the gravel road towards our "suite," we were greeted by several types of livestock not usually seen by many New Yorkers. Horses, cows, longhorns, deer and buffalo were just a few of the critters we were sharing the road with, and we had to stop a few times to let herds pass before we could drive on. The animals all appreciated Kevin's efforts to communicate by rolling down the window and yelling "MOOOOO COW" at all of them. I don't think the buffalo liked it though.

When we arrived at our room, we were very excited! It was remote, clean, tastefully decorated and nestled on a clearing in between the Davis Mountains. The ranch manager and a few of the local dogs greeted us as we drove through the gate and showed us to our room, which was awesome!

The only creepy part I would say was the mountain lion skin mounted on the wall. The fact that the head was still there was just a little weird.

That night, we nerded out and went to the University of Texas McDonald Observatory that is located in the area. They have something called a "Star Party" where they let the public come in at night and view the stars and the planets through their high-powered fancy-schmancy telescopes. They open the doors around 9:00pm after the sun has gone down and have astronomers on stand-by to show you the constellations and planets. That night, Saturn was close enough to be seen as well as several star clusters. We saw the moon up close too! It was really cool and after we finished our star-gazing we drove back down the mountain in the dark avoiding javelinas and other wildlife to our ranch house.

Miles travled: 530

Total travel hours: 7

Stops: San Antonio, Boerne, Fort Davis