We were headed through Uvalde mostly because it has a big Walmart SuperCenter and there were a couple of things we needed to stock up on. Items that are more difficult to source in Mexico.
We don't like overnight parking at Walmart...but we still like shopping there.
It's interesting being this close to the border. Most of the people are Hispanic and you hear a lot of Spanish being spoken in general.
Oh...a couple of pics from our drive. Didn't stop at all, even though the scenery was the best we've seen so far on this trip through Texas.
Texas hill country.
Typical scenery for our drive.
Made it to the Walmart, and with a huge parking lot. Our external wifi antennas picked up the free unsecured internet signal. Many Walmarts have now jumped on board with supplying unsecured internet to their customers. Good job Walmart!
Got online and bought our Mexican motorhome insurance. There are many online providers, but I've been using http://www.mexadventure.com/ the last couple of years. Cost this year was $179 USD ($238 CAD) for six months.
Did a big final shop. 2 big blocks of good cheddar cheese. We like various kinds of Mexican cheeses too, but we love our cheddar cheese! Ruth likes Tetley Tea which is tough to get in Mexico. Gluten free cereals...Chex, Cheerios, Gluten free oats. Dental floss...it's hard to buy dental floss in Mexico!
And, bought oil and filter for Sherman. He'll need an oil change while we're down there and it's tough to buy normal 10W30 oil.
And a box of Pacifico beer...my favourite Mexican beer, and we're far enough south that Walmart keeps it in stock down here.
We could have simply stayed overnight in the Walmart parking lot. But, you know our mantra...there is always a better overnight option. You just have to look for it.
We headed to the nearby local airport. We've had success before staying overnight in small municipal airports.
But this one didn't look convenient. There was no public parking and we would have had to ask at one of the hangars. It just didn't look great.
But there was a big parking lot on the other side of the airport road and we saw a police car parked in the shade under a big tree. Hmm. Maybe we could park beside him! It was hot, and some shade would be good.
So we drove up and asked him. Turned out he was campus police and the lot belonged to Southwest Texas Junior College. I explained our story and he said "sure you can overnight here...happy to oblige". He said he was done parking here for the day and we would be welcome to have his spot in the shade.
Nice. Sometimes, you just have to ask.
Sherman, parked up in the shade. Thanks Southwest Texas Junior College!
GPS 29.220416, -99.744467
Had a great sleep. There was a gun club nearby in one of the airport hangars and they started shooting at 7:30am this morning. Time to move on!
In the past, we have stayed at Laredo's Casa Blanca State Park prior to crossing the border. But it's expensive and it's still 20 miles from the Colombia Bridge, and you have to deal with Laredo traffic. This time we're going to try and find an overnight spot somewhere around the little town of Catarina and then take the $3.00 trucking toll road to the bridge.
Not sure when you'll hear from us again. If we have internet, it might be tomorrow morning before we cross the border...if not, it will be from Mexico!
Yesterday's drive, 105 miles (168 kms).
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Can't believe none of you picked up those binoculars on sale yesterday. That was a good deal. Today, they have four different deals on for deal of the day...
Love Texas Hill country and Pacifico Beer in Mexico.
ReplyDeleteNow you are ready, travel safe.
Hill country is definitely one of the real pretty areas of Texas.
DeleteKevin says that Pacifico beer tastes great anywhere but it tastes even better in Mexico! :-)
I don't know if you'll get this before you get parked for the night, but we boondock at a Texas Welcome Center that's pretty close to the Columbia crossing (about 25 miles). It's off of I-35, near Boutines. Brian says the intersection of I-35 and US 83.
ReplyDeleteWhen you leave the Welcome Center just, take 83 from the Welcome Center to 255, go south and that takes you to the Columbia crossing. The signs say that 255 is a photo toll road but we've never received a bill.
The Welcome Center has lots of parking, well lighted, lots of truckers stay there - we find it to be a good spot to stay.Easy in and out so we can get an early start.
Hope to catch up with you and Ruth sometime this winter!
Thanks Sue (and Brian!), yes we know of that rest stop. Right beside a busy interstate is not where we want to be, however we'll keep it in mind if we can't find anywhere better along our route. Yes...hope to see you this winter!
DeleteAlmost in sunny Mexico! :)
ReplyDeleteWe are now! :-)
DeleteLove Pacifico Beer, interesting that WalMart here in San Angelo TX does not have it in stock, yet I can buy it in North Idaho!! Can't wait for the Mexico portion of your trip!
ReplyDeleteStrange indeed! We never saw it in any of the stores we stopped at on our way south until we got to Uvalde, Texas. Now that we are in Mexico, we shouldn't have a issue finding it. :-)
DeleteIs that typical for MX insurance? Just curious is it's gone up lately.
ReplyDeleteFairly typical, however we don't have insurance on the motorhome itself. This is mostly liability. So, no collision or comprehensive or theft.
DeleteSafe travels, I will be following your trip.
ReplyDeleteThank you Gary! Hope you enjoy our adventures here.
DeleteCasa Blanca is not a good place. As you said, too expensive and on weekends it's very crowded with day campers, litter bugs and fisherman. I agree with you on that. And yes, it never hurts to ask. In Mexico that's our lema (mantra), we park just about anywhere. I have to say, traveling through the U.S. we got hooked on Home Depot, but it's pretty much the same as Walmart. There are better options. Mexico schools are a good place and they all pretty much have free wifi.
ReplyDeleteWe agree that Casa Blanca is pretty pricey now and it is totally on the opposite side of the city from where we want to be.
DeleteYes, Home Depot is better in our mind than Walmart , much quieter because it is generally empty as everyone else is at Walmart. There are always better options than Walmart. Looking forward to finding out places where we will stay on our way to Valle de Bravo.
Insurance seems low. Why? Is it because of the value or.......?
ReplyDeleteInsurance for Mexico is reasonably priced, however for our situation this is liablility only. We don't insure the motorhome for at fault collision or comprehensive claims.
DeleteWe love the Hill country and looks like you have found a perfect spot:)
ReplyDeleteWe wouldn't say that it was perfect but we were happy with it! :-)
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