{"id":343,"date":"2022-03-20T21:07:50","date_gmt":"2022-03-20T21:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/?p=343"},"modified":"2022-03-21T15:59:35","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T15:59:35","slug":"gator-and-jackalopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/20\/gator-and-jackalopes\/","title":{"rendered":"Gator and jackalopes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everyone had told me the Alamo was small \u2014 smaller than I could imagine. So by the time we arrived in San Antonio, I was envisioning something akin to a tiny house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alamo<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Well, it\u2019s bigger than that. And the Spanish mission building has gorgeous shade trees beside and in back of it \u2014 perfect respite from the sun. But the Alamo also is surrounded by tourist stores. Jewelry and all kinds of trinkets probably made in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We saw kids in Davey Crockett coonskin caps and others with swords made of balloons. Lots and lots of people milling about, meandering along the Riverwalk, spending lots of money. San Antonio\u2019s tourism industry seems to be doing quite well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Riverwalk\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

San Antonio doesn\u2019t feel like the seventh most populous city in the U.S., but we mostly were downtown with the other tourists so didn\u2019t see many residential areas. We saw empty storefronts but also condos and apartment buildings under construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wished I were fluent in Spanish. And I\u2019m sure this trip will provide many more opportunities to bemoan my lack of language diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our food choices have been gastronomical and comical delights. I\u2019d made spaghetti sauce before we left, so we heated it and boiled noodles one night while camping. The next night, we had hillbilly Caprese \u2014 mozzarella and tomato slices on generic Ritz crackers. The night after that, we were too tired to do anything but make PB&Js.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the next day in Louisiana, we stopped at the Crazy \u2018Bout Crawfish Cajun Cafe. I asked about the gator. \u201cTastes like chicken,\u201d the waitress said, deadpan. John ordered the gator sandwich, and I had the crawfish sandwich. John\u2019s was better. Like chicken fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spent our fourth night in Galveston. (John\u2019s cousin in Houston, upon learning we were headed there, warned: \u201cPrepare to be underwhelmed.\u201d) We ordered takeout from Mr. Taco, which was quite satisfying and a nice, cheap introduction to Tex Mex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then we\u2019ve had homemade Guacamole and jalape\u00f1o cornbread, and split a scrumptious chicken Parmesan. Tonight, camping outside Big Bend National Park, it\u2019s whatever\u2019s in the cooler that hasn\u2019t spoiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re excited to see and hear the wildlife in Big Bend. While camping by Lake Pontchartrain, we were treated to an owl menagerie. One, whose call I didn\u2019t have the presence of mind to record, was joined by a second, and they flew just over our tent, providing a silhouette against the moon as they hooted in what seemed like angry confrontation. Coyotes yipped in the distance. In my half-awake state, I thought they were the sounds of annoying dogs at the campground. Sammy was fascinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lake\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lake Pontchartrain was a beautiful stop. The rain had quit, and Spanish moss-draped live oaks lined the roads through Fontainebleau State Park. We (meaning John) set up camp and got to the lake just as the sun was setting. The calm waters provided a perfect reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve spent a lot of time on the highways, and songs, whether our own or the radio\u2019s, have helped with entertainment. Three wooden crosses by the side of the road had us channeling Randy Travis. Traffic jams around Baytown, Texas prompted, \u201cWe will never pass this way again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closer to Galveston, we listened to Psalm 23, part of the lyrics of a hopeful song called \u201cWe are Messengers \u2014 Come what May.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sonora, Texas, today, John turned on the radio and found only one station with poor reception. So we continued chatting. We were entering desert terrain then, and he told me to keep my eyes open for jackalopes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m a North Carolina girl who knows not to go hunting for snipes. But I didn\u2019t know about the jackalope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Live and learn. Come what may.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone had told me the Alamo was small \u2014 smaller than I could imagine. So by the time we arrived in San Antonio, I was envisioning something akin to a tiny house. Well, it\u2019s bigger than that. And the Spanish mission building has gorgeous shade trees beside and in back of it \u2014 perfect respite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":347,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350,"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343\/revisions\/350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candyhatcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}