MOVING DAY

(MARCH 25, 2018) Today was basically a moving for me as I leave San Antonio and Head west. By moving west I am hopefully saying good-bye to the the traffic of the Texas Cities.  Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio are all noted for their traffic and they lived up to it. If you travel during the week you have to plan you trips according to traffic.

Just a little side note, I really enjoyed my time in San Antonio and the River Walk was everything I had heard it was and it exceeded my expectations.  However, after spending more than 2-weeks in Texas I can say the people of San Antonio are some of the rudest people that I have encountered in the Lone Star State. This really stood out during my tour of the missions. The National Park Staff were exceptional as they always are, but the other people who operated gift shops that were associated with the churches and in no way connected with the National Park Service were the rudest people I have ever encountered. They were so rude that I left my purchase on the counter and walked away. The staff oF a couple of restaurants away from the River Walk were also rude and I ended up walking out of one place before ordering. As I was leaving the manager intercepted me and offer to comp my meal, which I declined. Without exception the people I encountered on the River Walk were outstanding and offered exceptional service.

Now that my little rant is over, it was time for me to leave San Antonio this morning and head west.  I I had not real plan other than to reach my destination of Del Rio in time to watch the Duke-Kansas Regional Final.

I decided rather than heading west on Interstate 10 to Fort Stockton and then heading down to Big Bend, I would take U. S. Route 90 over to Del Rio where I would spend the Night.  It's only about 170-miles from San Antonio to Del Rio and I would just piddle along and see what I could find.

The breakfast area at the Comfort Inn was as mess due to a bunch of unruly kids who were in town for a baseball tournament. They were running wild and had spilled stuff all over the breakfast area, and their parents or chaperones were basically doing nothing.

I decided to bypass breakfast and hit the road.  After stopping for gas and coffee at a nearby C-Store, I soon put San Antonio in my rear view mirror and headed west.

An hour and a half later I found my self in the town of Uvalde. A brown sign directed me to the Briscoe-Garner Museum. As I said earlier, brown signs are fun.  But this being Sunday the museum was closed.  While parked I did a little research and found that the Museum was dedicated to for Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe and Former U. S. Vice President John Nance Garner; both from Uvalde.

Grave of Vice President John Nance Garner

Vice President Garner was a native of Uvalde, Texas and began his political career by serving in the Texas Legislature.  He was elected to the United States House of Representatives and served as the 39th Speaker of the House from 1931-1933. He also served as the 32nd Vice President of the United State under President Franklin Roosevelt. He held the office of Vice President from 1933-1941, when FDR replaced Garner with Henry Wallace.  Garner retired from politics and lived the rest of his life in West Texas.  John Nance Garner died on November 7, 1967, just 15th days before his 99th birthday, making him the longest lived Vice President.

Just west of town is the Uvalde Cemetery where Vice President Garner is resting. I decided to make a quick stop and pay my respects to this gentleman of history.

From Uvalde it was another 65-miles or so to Del Rio. On the way I past through the town of Bracketsville.  About 20-miles north of Bracketsville was where the John Wayne movie "The Alamo" was filmed. A complete movie set was built here and after the filming it was privately operated as "The Alamo Village Theme Park" but due to the remote location it was never successful and closed for good in 2010.

Whitehead Museum

Arriving in Uvalde a little after one o'clock it was too early to check in my hotel, so as I was driving into town I saw another brown sign. This one was about the Whitehead Memorial Museum.  I pulled over and check the website on my phone and saw where it was open from 1-5 on Sundays, so I put the address into my phone and off I went.

The museum is located in an older residential neighborhood just south of Main Street.  It is a pioneer museum with a number or replica building depicting the history of the Del Rio Area. I paid the $4.00 fee and off I went.

As I made my way along the path I  was surprised to come upon a replica of Judge Roy Bean's Jersey Lilly Saloon. But the real surprise came when I rounded the corner and discovered the grave of Judge Roy and is son Sam. Judge Roy fell ill after a night of drinking in San Antonio.  The very ill judge returned to his home in Langtry where he died on March 16,1903 in the billiard room of his Jersey Lilly saloon.  He was buried in a public cemetery in Del Rio, however due to his grave being constantly vandalized by souvenir hunters he and his son were reinterred here at the the Whitehead Museum

Surprisingly, the little museum has a number of very interesting displays and I ended up spending abut an hour and a half here. It was well work the $4.00, especially with the grave of Judge Roy being on site.

As I was leaving the museum the Texas Tech - Villanova Regional Final was just wrapping up. Villanova will be the third team advancing to the Final Four in San Antonio.  I hustled over to my Hotel for the Night and checked in just in time to catch the tip of Duke and Kansas.  I am not a fan of either but I despise Duke so I hope the Jayhawks send the Blue Devils back to Durham.

Today was a short day filled with surprises. Tomorrow will be another day where I will be piddlin' along U. S. Route 90 toward Big Bend National Park and Alpine Texas.

TODAY'S MILES:     165
TOTAL MILES:       3222