Texas

We had an uneventful trip from northern Florida to Houston, where our daughter lives.   We have driven along the Gulf Coast many times, but we never tire of seeing this part of the country.  From the Blue Angel friezes on the freeway overpasses in Pensacola, to the 30-mile long bridge over the bayous of western Lousiana, the ride is always interesting.

She really is smiling . . .

Once in Houston, we managed to pack an amazing amount of activity into less than 48 hours, most of it centered around a frenzy of capitalism:   we bought a DVD player and a Kindle from Chanda;   we paid her to give us decent haircuts; we contributed to the local economy by dining out and patronizing the local WalMart and a motorhome parts store.

Texas is full of Whataburgers . . . Florida, not so much

We were reluctant to tell Matt we had Panda in Houston

It short, it was a terrific visit.  Too soon, it was time to pack up and continue the journey west.  We pulled onto the Sam Houston Expressway headed for its intersection with I-10.  The $5.25 toll we paid for about 3 miles of travel was well worth it as the transition from the Sam Houston to the I-10 takes one over the highest flyover on the new mega-interchange of these two freeway.

Wow ... what a view.  We have driven under that interchange several times, but never on it.  Simply amazing.

Sam Houston freeway interchange with I-10

Nothing in California compares.  Of course, they worry about earthquakes out there, and the construction is different.   Once back down on the ground . . . back on I-10 . . . we began the trek across the Texas Hill Country to El Paso.