Ah...in my parents' care

I've finally made it to Surprise, AZ.

I had fun hanging out with Andre and Allie in San Antonio. The Alamo was an interesting place, although somehow, I had expected that it would be in the middle of a clearing and maybe a bit bigger, but it's smack in the middle of town by the river walk (a scenic touristy area built up around the small San Antonio River) and a little smaller than one would think given the legend around it. The history is interesting and the fact that these men held out against the overwhelming numbers of the Mexicans (which is graphically depicted in a detailed model in a large display case) is impressive, but on the other hand, it's also interesting to note that these men were kind of the outcasts of society and are now immortalized as heroes. Interesting how we choose to remember things after the fact...

I'd forgotten that Andre and Allie have a pool, granted a small one, but plenty large for playing with the kids and cooling off. We got to do just that and enjoy a BBQ with some of military folks from Andre's advanced officer course that he's enjoying immensely for 10 weeks (definite sarcasm there).

Yesterday a.m., I got up early, as did Andre and Allie and, of course, the two kids. They gave me a sleepy but heartfelt sendoff (that I much appreciated, especially given the early hour on a Sunday) as I started my long drive at 7:30am. Fortunately for me, most of Texas from San Antonio through El Paso, and even into New Mexico, was enjoying on and off light-heavy rain with unseasonably low temperatures. So much for the hot and dry drive I'd been dreading. Temps stayed in the high 60s to low 70s until I hit Arizona, where temps then started climbing so that by the time I reached Phoenix, my car thermometer was reading 100-104 degrees F as I zoomed along on the interstate. The green fields and hills gave way to desert-type scenery with dirt or yellow grass dotted with light green bushes and the occasional large plateaus or fingers of rock formations. Quite scenic in some places, especially as the sun set.

Now, I'm enjoying relaxing with my folks and having Mom take care of me. :) Soon enough, I'll be off again for the last leg of my driving journey to LA.