Too Cold to Stop - San Antonio, Texas, to San Simeon, California

Driving through the Hill Country and Big Bend areas of Texas is beautiful, but it's such a vast area that it gets old after a while, especially when you're on the interstate and it's cold and windy outside.  We might have left the interstate and taken in some of the attractions off the highway, but it was frigid outside.  So, the most we saw was some of the more unique rest stops along the way, like the wagon wheels.  We stopped and ate in the car because it was simply too cold to eat in the picnic areas.

With the heavy winds, it was a hard drive, but we did make it to El Paso by dinner time.  We decided that while there, we would need to check out Chico's Tacos only because it has such rave reviews, especially by one of our favorite comedians, Gabrielle Eglesias.  The menu is limited, so what they do, they do very well - rolled tacos in sauce and cheese, but you can get hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled cheese.  We stopped at what we believe to be the original location on Alameda Avenue.

The place was packed, and we appeared to be the only gringos in there.  Counter staff did not speak English.  All of these were a very good sign that the food was going to be tasty.  The sauce on the rolled tacos was definitely a taste adventure, and it was delicious!  It was like nothing I have ever tasted before or since, and they obviously don't scrimp on what they give you!  I would definitely recommend a stop at Chico's if you're in El Paso!

We woke the next morning to temperatures below freezing in El Paso.  Traffic was heavy, and our hotel was in a construction zone, so we decided to hit the Village Inn next door for breakfast before heading out, hoping it would warm up at least a little bit.

The drive through New Mexico was mostly uneventful.  We barely even came to a stop at the immigration checkpoint.  We just put the window down, and the border agent told us to have a nice day.  We were the only vehicle there, so we didn't even have to wait in line.  I guess we're obviously not Canadians overstaying our visa.  I didn't even see the dog out, so I guess we obviously weren't transporting drugs, though I might have had some of my pain meds with me on the trip.  Just sayin'.

Much of New Mexico is just as barren along the interstate as West Texas was, and when Mother Nature called, we were in the middle of nowhere, but there was a souvenir shop.  We passed a sign giving a town name that I don't remember, and we pulled off to the Continental Divide gift shop.  I unplugged my phone, which was sitting in my door pocket, and jumped out without grabbing my purse or anything else and ran inside.  There was a nice man standing at the counter, who greeted me pleasantly and pointed out the ladies room.  When I finished my business and came out into the store, I noticed Bruce hadn't gotten out of the car, so I just went back out, and we left.  A few miles down the road, I noticed my phone was missing.  About 5 miles further, we were able to turn around.  We went back to the souvenir shop, where the same nice man was standing at the same counter.  He greeted me pleasantly, again, and I headed back to the ladies room, where I found my phone laying right where I set it.  We all had a good laugh over that.  Turns out the little town is now a ghost town with about 5 people living there, including the three people that were in the store at the time (not counting us).  The town shut down long ago, and now, they're officially designated for mail as part of a town 30 miles away.  They had some neat stuff in the store, which was good since we went twice.

The vehicles under the awning are just for show, and the pick-up truck is for the lady who was restocking one of the displays.  We were told we had just met most of the town!

A few miles down the road, we saw more tourists than we had since we left San Antonio!

After a restful evening outside Phoenix and an oil change for the Incognito Cruiser (the current GeezerMobile), we headed on toward California.  We were getting close to the coast, and I was getting excited about seeing the elephant seals again.  So, we decided to head straight to the coast, potentially taking the coast road all the way up through Washington.

After clearing the agricultural checkpoint to enter California and taking the obligatory state welcome sign picture,

we, once again, saw snow.  This time, it was on the mountain tops, and it was significantly warmer outside, though.  Who says palm trees and snow don't go together!?

Bruce doesn't like to drive in traffic, so I took over the driving from here, since there's no missing traffic even when you're just skirting Los Angeles.  It was late when we got there, but we tucked in for the night in San Simeon, California.  Only a couple of miles south of the elephant seal rookery!