Texas - Toasty ... Far too toasty

Taking the not-so-main highway through New Mexico, en route to Texas, was fairly rough. Like really bumpy. There was literally a line in the road when we crossed over into Texas and the road was instantly 1000 times better. So there's that...

The landscape through New Mexico and Texas was dotted with snake-like pipelines, refineries spurting their ever glowing flames, giant trucks taking oil to where ever, sad looking cows and dust. Lots of dust. The silhouette of the forever churning oil wells against the perfect blue sky just kept going until the horizon eventually gave way to the curvature of the earth and even then... the flat land kept going. I'm sure of it. It's everything I dreamed this part of the country could be. It was also really freaking hot! Which you'll find is a reoccurring theme from most of our trip, but Texas takes the cake. The 110°+ temperatures mixed with high humidity made things fairly miserable. It was so hot that the median on the interstate spontaneously burst into flames! I'm serious! Here's a picture!

Spontaneous fire in the median on the Interstate in Texas...

Our plan for Texas wasn't very elaborate. There are a ton of things to do here in the Lone Star State... but our time is growing short and with the heat and humidity of August we really just didn't want to do anything except stay in air-conditioned places. There are two Six Flags parks here in Texas. Six Flags Fiesta (yes... fiesta...) in San Antonio and Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. We would spend time at both parks and then spend a bit of time in Austin before heading on to Alabama.

Texas had some crazy tile murals that were different  at EVERY rest area!
This one sports a T-Rex walking like an Egyptian!

This rest area had a 8 foot tall out line of the Lone Star State.

This was the view for about 6 hours... thrilling. -somewhere in Texas

Six Flags Fiesta is one of the smaller parks in the Six Flags repertoire and can easily be done in one day if the lines are small. We went mid-week and the longest lines were at the not-overly impressive water rides (which seems to be fairly common at all Six Flags parks). We've skipped the water rides at most of the parks as the lines are long, the rides are short, the rides are jerky (not smooth) and you either get drenched or not wet at all. All in all not worth it. Also this park had extremely disappointing food options. We bought the Gold Dinning Pass as part of our Six Flag Experience and have been pleased with what we had options wise so far at the parks. Both Texas Parks were disappointing in that respect...

Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas

We spent most of our day here doing several coasters again and again. Some of our favorites included the Iron Rattler which is one of the new hybrid coasters delivering super steep drops, twists and turns of a steel coaster with the classic bumps and cars of a wooden coaster. The Superman: Krypton floorless coaster, was excellent with one of the tallest loops in the world; as was the 4D Batman: The Ride which spins you 10 ways to next Sunday with a few vertical drops thrown in for good measure.

The Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas

Geoff trying to save me from being whipped in the face with that girls hair.
Iron Rattler, Six Flags Fiesta, San Antonio, Texas

We were pleasantly surprised by the tightly packed Poltergeist coaster with it's linear induction motor that sends you from 0 to 60 miles an hour in less than 3.5 seconds! It shoots you through 4 inversions and countless twists and turns all squeezed into a tiny half mile track known as a spaghetti bowl design! We went back for seconds at the Scooby-Doo Ghostblasters... mainly because it was inside and air conditioned... and it's super fun to spin around shooting ghosties!! But I think MY favorite ride was the Pandemonium coaster. I've never seen one like this before! While the track isn't anything to write home about, it's the cars that are special. Each of the cars are free spinning so no two rides are the same. Each ride will differ depending on the number of riders and their weight. Gravity does the rest so don't be surprised if you end up cross eyed by the end! We rode this one about 6 times trying to find the best combo for spinning. I think we decided that, if possible, only 2 people per car sitting kitty corner to each other got the best results for massive amounts of spin. I ended up renaming it the Giggle Coaster as I've never laughed so much ever!

JAZZ HANDS!!! Goliath, Six Flags Fiesta, San Antonio, Texas

We're mature... Blue tongues from blue something we ate/drank...
Goliath, Six Flags Fiesta, San Antonio, Texas

Geoff looks terrified on the kiddy coaster, Road Runner Express. Six Flags Fiesta, San Antonio, Texas 

After our day of riding coasters we headed into San Antonio to have some lunch and walk along the river. This might seem weird for those unfamiliar with the Riverwalk but trust me when I say it's a lovely oasis in the heat of summer in a concrete city. There are walkways along the San Antonio River as it snakes through the city just one story below the bustling city streets. Lined with shops and restaurants it's a popular spot for tourists and locals alike. The pathways are meticulously landscaped providing greenery and shade even in the height of summer. Many of the restaurants and bars have outdoor patios with extremely enticing cocktails along the river. We decided to head elsewhere for lunch and Geoff picked an wonderful hole-in-wall place that you'd probably just walk by and never notice it was there. Candy's Old Fashion is diamond in the rough for sure. The burgers are legendary and their faithful regular customers are colorful to say the least. Geoff had a monstrous burger and I went with the Blackened Chicky Caesar Salad. The cajun chicken wasn't quiet as good as my fav at Coop's in New Orleans but it was close!!

Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas

Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas

Riverwalk, San Antonio, Texas

After getting our walk on and enjoying the river in San Antonio we headed for Austin and got to meet up with a friend from my days at the Space Needle. Kevin was my saving grace when I filled in for my manager on Maternity Leave. Not sure I would have made it past the first week without him! It was awesome to see him again and catch up a tiny bit. Wish we would have had time for more of a chat ... next time!!

We were treated to an insanely delicious Italian meal at NoRTH, at The Domaine, where Kevin is now the General Manager. We started with the Arancini and the White Truffle Garlic Bread; and my mouth is now watering just dreaming about it! I could probably eat these two all day every day and be fat and happy for the rest of eternity. For cocktails, Geoff had the Julietta consisting of vanilla and ginger infused vodka, St. Germaine, Lime and Prosecco. It was SO good! He also had an Amaro d'Amici, which is Buffalo Trace Bourbon, fernet branca, honey and bitters. I had one of their secret summer specials (that I can't even remember because my mind is still on that garlic bread...) and my go to - Dark n' Stormy. Geoff had an incredible Chicken Parm - like seriously incredible- and I went with a delectable pizza. My pizza, The Pig, was covered in spicy pepperoni, soppressata (like a dry salami) and italian sausage along with some amazing melty cheeses. This was hands down the most amazing meal we ate during our road trip. The staff at NoRTH were all hilarious, awesomely accommodating and just straight up welcoming and fun; and the food deserves more than my words can express. Thank you for the laughs, the tasty times and the full tummies. You guys knocked it out of the park!

Geoff enjoying his Julietta at NoRTH Italia, Austin, Texas

We're so fancy... haha! Mirror shot! NoRTH, Austin, Texas. SO GOOD

Showed Kevin the van! Good to see you! Longer next time!

As we rolled ourselves into our air conditioned hotel room (totally worth it!!) we went back and forth on whether to stay a few days in Austin and hit Six Flags Over Texas on the weekend... or switch that and hit Six Flags during the week and Austin over the weekend. Austin over the weekend seemed way more fun... so the following morning we cranked the A/C and headed up to Arlington.

More on that another time.

Till next time - Fair winds my friends!

Marsha and Geoff