captain Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Currently on a bit of a road trip around Texas with Mel so thought I'd share it with you. After all, Texans love cars, booze and classic rock so I'm assuming this might be of interest to some of you. Flew in to Houston on the morning of the 17th. Immigration fine (unlike the Nazi's employed in NY airports) and sailed through baggage re-claim in 5 minutes. What can go wrong? No doubt there will be 500 queueing at Dollar car hire.......... Nope. Nobody at Dollar except for a very camp Pee Wee Herman/Alan Cummings-esque chap who was all over me (because I'm bloody gorgeous ) and I needed to be quick on my feet to avoid any "Deliverenace" style welcome to Texas. Got out with my trousers still on with him shouting "come back with a cowboy hat on sir!!" as I scurried to the rental pick up bay..... "Gotta get a Mustang, gotta get a Mustang, gotta get a Mustang........" Anybody who has booked on-line ticking the "Mustang convertible (or similar)" must of gone thru this so guess how I felt when I was met at the bay by a lovely Southern belle saying, "take your pick, sir. They have all got keys in so just drive it away............" Be still my beating heart. Guess which one. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correctimundo. So roof down, 85 degrees, Boston, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin on 93.7 Classic Rock and and hour to Galveston. If I was religious I'd be on my knees right now. To be honest, it's such a terrible car to drive, taking up religion is an option I'm considering. I've hired the 2003 model before but this is even worse. Imagine sitting on your sofa and getting your mates to push you down the M1 and then steering with strands of spaghetti tied to the coasters. Large inputs of effort either to the wheel, brakes or accelerator do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Above 80 it is too frightening to even consider changing direction so you set the cruise to 65 and frankly, lie back and watch the world go by. I swear I drove 20 miles yesterday and didn't touch ANY of the 3 controls above. Anywaaaaaaay. Arrived at the hotel and it's a big disappointment. Shabby and over-crowded. Not. Hotel Galvez, Sea Wall Boulevard, Galveston. $90 a night but no brekkie which is a good thing because going out to brekkie in the States is almost as good as driving around in a Mustang convertible listening to Aerosmith. Proof coming on next post. ......mmmmm......what shall we do.........it's 6 o'clock so it's........ Down the Strand to Crow's Bar for the worst "open mic" rock you have EVER heard and some fuel. Bring on tomorrow................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 you lucky lucky B******d I am sooo jealous right now.... Sorry to here about the hotel bummer Not been to Texas for a long while enjoy and keep the pics coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Awesome... I've been to Texas 5 or 6 times (i forget) as my Dad lived there for 13 years until recently... He lived in Austin, which is an awesome city - i definitely recommend it. 6th Street is a very good night out for Live music etc, and the people are all so friendly. If you make it to Austin, i recommend a restaurant called 'Chuys' (pronounced Chew-ies) - they do the BEST Tex-Mex food... Steak Burrito with green Chilli sauce, and some frozen margheritas... amazing. George Bush's daughter got arrested in there once for drinking alcohol under the age limit! Actually, i've just looked them up, and they have a few restaurants throughout the state... http://www.chuys.com/#/locations My Dads moved to upstate new york now so im going there for xmas, but im definitely going to miss the Lone Star State... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSensible Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 To say I'm jealous would be an understatement. I had a black Mustang convertible when I went to California a few years ago. It was a terrible car but I still felt like a god in it. Sounded good through the tunnels in Yosemite too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Awesome! Im well jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacW Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Looks superb A friend and I are planning to do Miami to LA in May next year behind the wheel of a V8, the Mustang was pretty high on our list, not sure now after reading your driving review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasha@lazytrips Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Funny that. I'm currently planning a big road trip in the US in about a month's time - just trying to figure out from where to where, through where and what car to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Nice story .... please go on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I like Texas. Yeeeeehaaawwww! Had good times there and always been there on expenses. I've done a fair bit of driving in the states but generally wouldn't get a convertable now after being burned to a crisp driving to Miami! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richt Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Not at all jealous! Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter10 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Not been to Texas yet but I've been all over the states. I'd love to do a road trip in a classic 60s Mustang just to say I've done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimm Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Wish I was there but the sun over here is some what Somerset though, just not the same as TEXAS baby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Thanks for the interest. I'll continue later/tomorrow but we've just driven to San Antonio to the Comfort Suites - Alamo Riverview. So obviously you'd expext to see The Alamo or a river from the window? No? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that the Hammersmith flyover? I think we took a wrong turning at Stockdale. Need beer/tequila and chillis. See y'all tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Knew you'd pic the yellow Vert, .... being sort of near to Sunset. Are you enjoying to remember which side of the road you're driving on when you go around a corner?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Day 2 Hotel fantastic but no free brekkie so had to go out. Diner about 400 yards from reception so obviously we drove. It is America after all. The hotel is the big building in the background to give you an idea of distances: As we had an extensive itinerary of sports, cultural and literary activities lined up for the day, we decided on a light breakfast. Two eggs (sunny and runny) 1/4 lb of ham, large hash brown, 4 slices of toast, 4 cups of coffee and oj. Seriously, this was the smallest thing on the menu. Those barrels to the right aren't jugs to do re-fills. They're glasses of water - Texan size: Right then. First up, on to the golf course to see and play 18 of Galveston's finest links: . . . . . . . . . . The tricky Par 4 1st: The 6th: "If I Could Turn Back Time" - Yeah, right. And the legendary 4th: We left when we heard the sirens............................. After the healthy sport option, time for a little cruise around to wonder at the majesty and grace of Galveston's architecture and history. The 1920's majesty of The Strand: And not forgetting the exquisite suburban conurbations of West Galveston. Wooden structures on stilts designed to resist the hurricanes of the Gulf of Mexico: And finally, to my favourite bookshop to browse through some of Ameirca's finest novelists and their ironic humour. Deeply rooted in the genre of Swift, Wilde and Waugh: With the day almost done it was time to head home. I'm keeping a Z count and so far it's 4 in 2 days. Here's the 4th: Finished the day at Sonic Drive-Thru. Just like Happy Days!!! For anybody who's not been, you drive up to a stall in a parking lot, press a button and order. Without getting out the car! Brilliant. Lovely lady comes out and gives you 1/4 pounder with cheese and bacon, coke and hash browns and you eat it with the roof down, listening to the sound of the Gulf of Mexico washing against the shore.............. Now, where's my defibrillator....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacW Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Great stuff... keep it coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 You been to any of texas' fine drive through beer shops yet? A fine invention if ever there was one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 With the day almost done it was time to head home. I'm keeping a Z count and so far it's 4 in 2 days. Here's the 4th: It seems the good folk of South Africa have little or no taste, been here 10 days or so now and still only seen one GM Coupe!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff-r Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 You been to any of texas' fine drive through beer shops yet? A fine invention if ever there was one! Haha seriously?! Can you imagine the uproar here if they brought those in here. Dare to not drink and drive? I now understand why you often see clips from Texas of drink drivers on those shows. By the way very jealous of this trip, it looks fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain Posted April 24, 2011 Author Share Posted April 24, 2011 Day 3 NASA and cocaine!!!!!!!! Change of location for brekkie, Sunflower Cafe. Bit "worthy" TBH - could have been in some "hip" cafe in West London but hey, check out the Crab Cakes Benedict!! Quick blast in to Main Street to get some cheap holiday shades and to look at the lovely architecture again: Off the NASA HQ in Houston. Really good drive and the Z count is up around 7 or 8, more than I see in a month in the UK. Quite a lot modded and of course the Yanks love a white Z. Arrived at NASA: The first bit (the building you can see above) is basically a theme park/store with movies/rides etc. As it's the US, it's all done really well but the main event is the tour of the HQ behind it. Had to go through airport-style security and then on to a little tram. Mission Control was "off limits" because they were doing secret stuff in there so we went straight to a huge hangar where astronauts (or "actors" according to Mel's conspiracy theory) trained to use the Space Shuttle: Then on to Rocket Park and a whole Saturn V - unused becase of cancellation of space programme - or something like that. The tour guide sounded like she was making stuff up as she went along TBH. The diagram on the outside of the hangar is 1:1 scale Very impressive but Mel maintained her "they're just models" line all the way through the tour. She thinks the whole thing was faked and filmed in the desert in Arizona. Back to Galveston and the time had come for a bit of an afternoon session. Decided on the Poop Deck - the roughest bar we could find on the front in Galveston. Proved to be a great call as you could smoke inside and you got to meet a coke-fuelled good-ole boy called Thomas. He was an amazing character. Off his tits but could recite whole scenes from movies (particularly good as Vinny Jones in "Snatched") Made the mistake of trying to match him at 3 in the afternoon on an empty stomach. In the 4 hours we were there he/we drank 6 beers, 4 tequilas (with Tabasco sauce ) and smoked 20 Camels. Staggered back to the Galvez and Mel had to hold me up in the hotel room to stop me passing out. She wheeled me round the coner to the Saltgrass Steakhouse and for the first time in nearly 35 years, I eat a meal in a restuarant WITHOUT ALCOHOL!!! Was so wasted had a gallon of iced-tea and it got me back on track. That and the rack of ribs and half a chicken that appeared 5 minutes later. Slept quite well. Gold Bless America!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Thomas looks like an alternate reality Denis Quaid where he became an coke-rat bum instead of an coke-rat actor. Sounds like a great trip bud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob d Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 fantastic stuff !!!! Keep it comin dude !! I remember my route 66 trip and feel the longing to driveeeeeeeeee for bloody hours again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK350Z Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Great craic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 Day 4 - Road to San Antonio via Freeport, Bay City and Edna. Back to Millers after the hippy breakfast yesterday. Proper American breakfast of Papas and eggs. Didn't quite know what to expect but it turns out this is potoatoes, onions, peppers, sausage all mixed up with scrambled eggs. Served with soft tortillas, juice and coffe. Mel had the veggie version. Felt surprisingly good considering last night and the fact it was 08:00. Aviators needed though...... Basically Galveston is an island which is a bit shabby due to Hurricane Ike which struck a few years ago. 20,000 of the 60,000 population left and so it's just getting back on it's feet. I live in Weston-super-Mare and it's kind of the Texan version. Bit scruffy. needs some money spent and faces an ugly bit of muddy water. We've both got busted piers as well... So now the road trip really starts. Off to San Antonio via some narrow, twisty Texan back roads to test out what the 'Stang has got under that golden hood: This really was a back road along the coast! Interesting architecture to keep the buildings away from any flooding I suppose. The coast really is strips of land connected by bridges with inlets everywhere so global warming is really going down a storm (whoops!) around here: First stop was Bay City. Very pretty and the start of a series of Texan surprises. The little towns really are attractive and almost Swiss in their cleanliness and civil order. We expected more dust and shabbiness so a nice surprise. Great ice cream at the I Skream Company if you're passing. I had Birthday Cake flavour and Mel Cookies and Cream. Much needed 'cos it was getting towards 80 by 09:00. The forehead Beetroot-o-Meter was reading 5 so time to think about a hat. More later. Roads started getting REALLY good as we headed inland but as EVERYBODY uses the I10 freeway we had them to ourselves except for some locals. Had my first "moment" where you realise just what a great country the US is and it couldn't be better than blasting through Texan back roads (admittied the width of the M5) in a Mustang listening to Boston, Foreigner, AC/DC, Journey on rotate. Had to pull over as I had "grit" in my eye. Pulled over at Edna 'cos you don't see this every day: Again, stunningly pretty and clean: Arrived on the outskirts of San Antonio late afternoon. I say outskirts 'cos this is one big, sprawling city with a road system designed by someone on acid. Really difficult to find hotel and lots of shouting and finger-pointing until Mel eventually got the map the right way up (joke) and we found the right exit Note the proximity of the I37. Our "secure undercrfot parking" was basically under the flyover. The room was a proper American-sized one. We needed a map to get across it and sometimes I'd set off to do something and forget by the time I got there or give up and have lie down for a rest.... Headed to the "world-famous" River Walk (nope - me neither ) which was a bit like what they've done to bits of the middle of Birmingham except times 10,000. Goes on for miles and every 20 feet there is a bar or restaurant. Few quick Mojitos and snacks listening to some jazz and home for beddie-byes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter10 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Looks fantastic. The last time I went to the states I put on over a stone in a week due to the diet I was on . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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