Day 4 – August 25, 2004

{Photos} Ride from Beaumont, Texas to San Antonio, Texas {Home}

We decided to get started early this morning because it was supposed to be 93 with 100% humidity here by 10am. It was only supposed to be 89 with 30% humidity in San Antonio by 1pm. It seemed a good idea to get the hell out of Dodge. The only good way to get from Beaumont to San Antonio is to take the 10 Freeway. Not a choice I made lightly cause I prefer the byways whenever possible. We did however; use the frontage roads whenever we could. At least that way we could avoid getting buffeted by the big rigs for the most part. I didn’t get too many pictures of this stretch of road since there is not a whole lot to see. I think in the interest of getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible in this country, we have nearly ruined the trip itself. There are a few signs of a time gone by, an occasional Stucky’s Restaurant or a tourist attraction that no one stops for anymore. It would take too much time to get off the freeway at the next exit and come back a mile or two. There are some great water views, but no place to pull off the road and really look at them. Even the Oil rigs of old have been replaced by the cell site towers. Driving through Houston is a battle almost as bad as LA. Even if you are just passing through, I’d recommend going completely around if you can. The view of the freeway overpasses and the tall buildings just isn’t worth the knuckle clenching, truck avoiding, exit missing agony of getting there quicker. Still that was the way we went. Even with the stops we made every 50 miles or so, and all the water we consumed, we still had to stop at a roadside park to get out of the heat to keep from over doing it. This weather can take its toll on a biker if you are not careful. Diamond did pretty well today, but wanted off every time she had a chance. At the rest stop she didn’t even want to get back on. I guess she didn’t understand that it was the last stop before the end of the trip, at least for a few days. We finally made it to the Motel and checked in before locating Diamond’s pet motel where she will be staying while we visit Cory. I just hope I can get up early enough to get her there and still make it to the base on time. It’s late and I still have to upload this, so I am going to say goodnight for now. But remember, I’ll see you on the byways…