The Adventures of Gypsy-Jackie

Austin, Texas = cold, gray and rainy.  Well maybe not all time...but that's what I've seen while I've been here.  I was excited to see that there are several vegan restaurants in Austin.  But, it turns out that most of them are food trucks (which are very popular here).  That requires me to stand outside in the rain to order and then try to find somewhere to eat...outside in the cold and rain.  Nope! Austin also has a couple of other things of interest...a large homeless population and lots of scooters.  Yup, scooters ( link )!  They are on almost every street corner and available for rent.  I'm not entirely sure how they are rented because they aren't in a rack or other device that requires payment to extract them.  But, they seem to be popular. I spent time yesterday driving around and today I spent some time shopping.  The shops on South Congress Avenue were very interesting! I'd recommend Tesoros Trading Company and Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds.  S

Yesterday was cold, gray and rainy.  Yuck!  I explored Port Aransas and found there wasn't a whole lot to do when I couldn't enjoy the beach...so I spent the day plotting my escape and reading.  Today I traveled towards Austin and tomorrow I'll start my 3 nights in Austin.  Excited to explore a town that has the motto "Keep Austin Weird".

Yesterday I moved from North Padre Island to Port Aransas (a.k.a. Port A).  Port A is about 30 minutes north of where I'd been staying.  I spent most of the day on the Port A beach.  Very nice and no permit required to drive onto the beach like at North Padre.  I had dinner at a sports bar, Giggity's Restaurant.  I hung around to watch the Steelers game and listened to a local band.  When I went outside my glasses fogged up due to the high humidity.  It was such a nice, warm evening that I went to the pool and enjoyed the wonderful weather.  I'm glad I did because I woke up to rain, wind & 59 degrees.  Ugh...Missouri weather has finally found me. So, today is going to be a pretty down day.  I think I'll spend some time planning my next stop.

Nothing new yesterday - beach, watching the waves, reading, disappointing meal at local restaurant, swim, hot tub, sleep.  I think this is the most relaxed I've been in months! I've been staying at a condo just across from the sea ( link ).  I've come to understand that that means you will need to drive to the beach access...because of all the sand dunes!  But, that's not really been a big deal because the beach access parking lot is half a block from where I was staying.   This part of Padre Island is technically part of Corpus Christi and was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017.  Several of the hotels and restaurants are still being rebuilt.  I had lunch at the Island Italian Restaurant that had open just this week. Today I'm moving to Port A for the weekend.  Lots of beaches and a few museums to explore on the rainy days we have in our future.  Still rainy and 60 is much better than the snow they are forecasting back home.  H

I'm staying at North Padre Island - near Corpus Christi.  The beaches are amaing, but thhat's about all that's here.  Very few restaurants and NO grocery store!!  Yesterday I drove into Port Aransas (or Port A) and found a small grocery store for some provisions.  I drove around Port A and I think I'm going to spend the weekend there.  I've been told that the beaches at South Padre Island are even nicer, but it's a 2 hour drive further south...I think I'll pass Other than driving to Port A, I didn't do much yesterday.  I sat on the beach watching the waves for a couple hours, read, took a nap, went out for yet another disappointing dinner and then back to my Airbnb for a swim and a soak in the hot tub.  I think I understand the term beach bum much better after yesterday.  It's nice that there really aren't that many people on the beach, at my condo or really anywhere this time of year.  And the weather has been great - high 80's and sunsh

After my trip to New Mexico, I traveled to my nephew's wedding and then back home.  Once things finally slowed down I realized that I was sick...just a virus or something, but I was worn out!  Pretty sure some of that altitude sickness in New Mexico was something more.  So, after 2 weeks at home recovering (and attending another wedding), I'm finally on the road again.  Yes! Yesterday I drove 10 hours to Fredericksburg , Texas ( link ) Fredericksburg is one of several Texas towns that were established in the mid 1800's under the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas.  I stayed at a small place, the Peach Tree Inn and Suites ( link ), nothing special, but it was clean and right on my route.  I had dinner at The Auslander Restaurant and Biergarten ( link ) in Fredericksburg, and it was...OK.  I ordered the (non-vegan) Bratwurst with mashed potatoes and red cabbage.  The potatoes and cabbage were great!  The brats were nearly flavorless.  Disappointing