Messin with Texas: Smellin like Cajun

It's been one whole month, and I have been in one whole state the entire time.  Yes, seems the rumours are true, Texas is a large place.  Half of my time was spent in west Texas, a solitary desert where the towns were far apart, the people few, and the skies burdened with clouds.  The landscape, and the weather, thankfully turned when i entered the hill country of Texas, located somewhere between San Antonio and Austin, at least the part I rode in.

Two days up and down in the hills got me to the city of music, the capital of Texas, Austin.  For 5 days and nights I roamed the bike friendly city streets, enjoyed the trailer park food, the loud music at Emo's, the local beer, the ridiculously large whole foods, and the over priced Mellow Johnny's bike shop.  But Austin was a nice break from Texas, and the day I left the sky was semi clear, and the blazing sun which I hadn't seen for near three weeks was a sight for sore eyes.

The hills petered out as I rode eastward, through ranches and farms, burned pine forests and shoulder less highways before finding refugee at a longtime warmshower host with her barn bunkhouse amidst a wonderful ranch land.  warmth and sun followed me as I spent several days on the back farm roads in the ever flattening landscape of south east Texas as I made my way towards the Gulf of Mexico.  I passed through the old capitol, West Columbia, and spent a night on a touring bus in Angleton before finally reaching the sunny and greasy shores of the Gulf.  The land, even flatter than before, spread out along the sandy Galveston island where the houses practice their circus acts by walking around on stilts.  But a summers day in the winter is always nice, so riding along the seawall, keeping an eye for man-o-wars as much as little kids running in front of me, i made my way to my couchsurfing house.

And so, as the month, and year, come to a close, my time in Texas does as well.  From here, it's about 2 days ride before entering Louisiana and the bayou, oil fields and cajun cooking.  Maybe I'll have some craw fish, maybe some alligator, maybe not.  If you want to send mail, send it general delivery to New Orleans (see my last blog post), see the wondered beauty of Texas at picasaweb.google.com/bingleadventure, have a wonderful new year's, keep pedaling and see ya'll in Nawlnz.