We got on the road an hour before dawn and headed north to pick up I-10. We started early because we had to cover 560 miles to get to our friends’ home west of Houston.

We stopped for our morning break at a relatively remote truck stop along I-10. The restaurant inside looked inviting and the food we had was good, but they were out of a lot of things. You could tell by the small number of customers and the atrocious bathrooms that they were struggling to stay in business.

We enjoyed the final stretch of highway with 80 mph speed limit. There was very little traffic, the temperatures were moderate, and we covered a lot of miles quickly.

Our lunch break at a rest area was in the shade of a shelter.

The closer we got to Houston, the higher the humidity became. We stowed the wet vests at our afternoon break at McDonald’s.

About 30 miles from our destination we encountered a traffic jam. We were in the clutch-and-go, stop, repeat mode for a couple of miles. In the middle of the stretch the smell in the air got worse. It smelled like a dead animal. It got even worse as we encountered animal scraps all across the road. It was a very good thing we were going so slowly because the road was very slick. A little way down the road we found the source of the smell/scraps. A dump truck was parked on the shoulder. Apparently it spilled some of its load on the way to a rendering plant. A little farther down the road we came to the wrecked vehicles that caused the backup. We’re guessing they hit the slick road, braked, skidded, and tangled. We were very glad to get past the trouble spot.

We made it to our friends’ home without further incident. The took us to dinner at a Texas BBQ restaurant. We chatted a bit, they went to bed early.

After a full breakfast with our friends we successfully skirted Houston. They suggested a route around the city that was in the opposite direction of the morning commute. Rather than go through the city as we had done going west, we went up to US-90 and followed it eastbound to Beaumont. The road is a freeway part of the way. there were a couple of towns to go through, but traffic was light and the speed limits were relatively high.

Our lunch break at a gas station was necessarily short. It was getting hot and the station had no picnic tables. (photo above)

We ended the day in Mandeville and stayed with the same friends we stayed with on our way west.

We got a fairly early start for final 630-mile leg home. We got gas and a cup of coffee at a gas station just over the Florida border. The store had some tables inside, so we had a good rest.

Our gas station lunch was hot and brief. This station also didn’t have any picnic tables.

We just ground out the miles all afternoon. It was hot and humid, but bearable. When we turned south on US-19 we could see dark clouds ahead. I checked the “My Radar” app on my phone and could see lots of red, yellow, and blue areas to the south. We put on our rain gear for the final 200 miles, We rode in and out of rain the whole way. There was a good bit of lightning in the distance, but when we got south of Crystal River the lightning was very close and the rain was pretty heavy, so we stopped at a gas station for a half-hour.

They had a Dunkin’ Donuts inside and we treated ourselves to coffee and a doughnut.

Once we got going again, the ride down US-19 was pretty slow. At time the rain was very heavy. Traffic was light, but there are a lot of stop lights.

We pulled into our garage just as it started to pour. We completed the trip with no mechanical breakdowns. Beth lost the pot holder pad she wraps around her leg to protect it from the heat of the pipes, and the zipper on my tank bag broke. Beth tied a hand towel around her calf as a substitute for the pot holder. I just made do with the tank bag as it was.

This is Beth’s trophy for taking 3rd place in the Dot Robinson Road Run.

We covered about 5400 miles in 18 days and had a wonderful time.

The most important take-away from this trip is that it is extremely important to be prepared for desert heat. We were very well prepared. We have protective riding gear, wet vests, and plenty of water. We did not encounter the difficulties others did. One thing we didn’t have was a sun shade, which we would have needed had we broken down in the desert. Next time we’ll pack one of those Mylar blankets.