Greetings from Beaumont, Texas

We have officially crossed the Lotion Line.  That is the line between the dry air of New Mexico or West Texas where one must drink three extra glasses of water a day just to keep from shriveling up and the moist, humid coastal air where nothing ever dries out completely.  The line itself moves around a bit depending on the seasons, but we have put away the large economy size pump bottle of Extra Dry Skin Relief until our return loop gets west of Oklahoma City.

Yesterday we continued our visit to the Pacific War Museum in Fredericksburg, tootled down the road to Luckenbach and then wandered over to visit the LBJ Ranch National Park alongside the Pedernales River.  The bluebonnets and wildflowers were blooming, the grasses were green and the view of the hill country from the ranch was inspiring.  One really could imagine what it must have been like when LBJ hauled those city slickers from Washington D.C. out to the ranch for some down time and discussion.

We ended the night in Driftwood, TX and spent the evening with friends from Cheryl's college days. ( We figured out over dinner and a couple of bottles of wine that it has been 40+ years since those days!)   This morning found us on the road early, but by midday we decided we would rather take a leisurely pace and stop early, so here we are, still in Texas, but the border is just over yonder.  We took advantage of the extra time to catch up on chores and email and will hit the road tomorrow and head to Louisiana.

Laundry drying 

Tom 'watching' the news while checking his email.  Hercules is swathed in his blanket, having survived his shower.