Hi y’all! We made it!

Hectic, frantic, stressful, and, at times, terrifying.

That is actually what it was like preparing to move to this whole other country of Texas, USA.

The past few weeks have been maniacally busy from preparing for the packers to come to take all our worldly goods to our final clear out from Woodcroft Gardens on Saturday 27 December.  I have hardly been able to breathe without remembering yet another important thing I had forgotten. There have been lists and more lists. Forms and more and more forms, and some.

And why did my contact lens order only arrive in Boots the day we were leaving, necessitating an unwanted trip into town (of all places) on the day after all the sales had started? And my pay-as-you-go SIM to replace my UK contract has not yet arrived, more than a month after ordering, despite the earnest promises of the lovely lad in India. So lots of last minute loose ends still hanging about.

Sister Sheila transported us to a hotel at the airport with our five bags and assorted hand luggage before farewells to her. Our final evening in the hotel at ABZ was spent with Maurice’s girls and their friends. A fitting last night with a small amount of wine and beer drunk and a few tears shed. I now felt that sensation of reality – up to now this had been so far in the future, something to imagine and plan for, but now it was actually happening.

We were up at 4.15am Sunday 28 December.

The flight was uneventful although our connection to Houston was pretty late leaving Amsterdam. One bag did not make the journey – we were left guessing which one – and it would be Maurice’s main one – with all his clothes and some precious items in it. We will worry until it arrives safely later today. His guitar, lovingly transported as hand luggage, had an overhead bin on its own from ABZ – much to the frustration of the other passengers on this very busy flight.

Did I mention we were flying Business Class? Oh yes! Maurice might be used to such luxury, but I took full advantage of the larger in flight entertainment screen, the flat bed seat and the tasty array of snacks. I have now seen the first 2 episodes of Game of Thrones so I will need to check when that’s on over here so I can catch up with everyone else on the planet. I could have consumed as much alcohol as I liked too, but didn’t want to arrive groggy and hung over (or still drunk) in Houston. So I was good. We both were.

We were met in Houston by the Chevron appointed re-location advisor some 10 hours later – 3.30pm Central US time, 9.30pm GMT. Jeanne Marie is very friendly and efficient, welcoming and extremely helpful. She took us to our apartment which is a one bedroom spacious temporary home for the next 6 weeks, until we find somewhere more permanent to rent. A lovely welcome pack of all sorts of goodies awaited us and the most enormous container of milk I have seen independent of a cow. And a bottle of red wine too.

We sat down for a briefing from Jeanne Marie. There was rather a lot to take in, most of which I didn’t. I am not sure either of us did really – but hey, we can phone her and ask again. Importantly she took us to a rather lovely local store where we bought some more essentials, I mean beer.

Forgot to mention the weather – actually dreich – really dismal, cold and raining. So we felt at home.

After she left, we freshened up and ventured to a local hotel for some refreshments and food, returning to bed around 11pm – 5am GMT so we had been awake for pretty much 24 hours.

Our first morning started early at 8am with our driving assessments. Chevron pay for a car rental for 2 weeks but only if we both pass a driving assessment. This took most of the morning – we did not collect our hire car until 1pm – we were thoroughly assessed. Debbie was our instructor and she took us all over Houston and on the Freeway too. I have finally driven on the 8 lane highways! We both passed our assessments – I have a ‘tendency to drift’ and Maurice isn’t quite correct with indicating timing but other than that we were not too bad. We can apply for Texas driver’s licences in 30 days time, once we have passed a written test and taken a few more practical lessons.

And so that has been our first 24 hours in Houston TX. Still no sign of Maurice’s bag – but it is on its way.

Time to relax before the next exciting brush with officialdom – our appointment with the Social Security Office tomorrow at 9.00am

Here’s hoping it is not a whole morning…

I can see blue sky now and the sun is out at 4.30pm – so I now know I am not in Aberdeen.

View all our images on Picasa

This is the first post in this series – a holiday report on getting to know this whole other country that is Texas!

I arrived on Thursday after an uneventful flight which had been delayed at Amsterdam. 9 hours later I was in Houston!

Taxi ride to the hotel and within a short time was ensconced at the bar with Maurice, ‘enjoying’ the company of a rather drunk Texan, regaling us with stories of gloom and doom, from Ebola to worldwide water shortage! That was fun!

I was not too tired considering my body clock thought it around 4 in the morning and I managed a g and t before heading to the room for room service food then bed.

The next day we began our road trip. Navigating out of Houston was fine if scary and eventually we were well under way. We stopped at a wee place called La Grange for lunch which proved very pleasant. After eating at Bistro 108 we explored the town centre which was basically just a wee square, and found the old county jailhouse which is now a museum. Zee Zee Top apparently wrote a song about this place.

On to Austin and it didn’t fail the hype. A lovely city with a great vibe. We had a quiet hour or two while I took advantage of the pool area and Maurice relaxed in the room, then we ventured out for an explore, walking along the lake walk then back up to the road and past the convention centre. We heard an amazing racket of birds in the trees roosting at dusk. Then found our way to Rainey Street. Basically a street of bars, converted from old bungalows and a buzzing place to pass a few hours with a few (!) beers. Our favourite that evening was Blackheart and it was mobbed.

In the lift at the hotel we met a guy who had been playing with Chvrches that day at ACL festival – our destination on Sunday.

Saturday was our bus trip day. Again we walked a bit further up the Colorado River and then back into the town along 6th Street to find the visitor centre where the trip started.  After a reckie in the centre we got on the bus and were surprised to find ourselves on the bus with 2 couples from Aberdeenshire! Small world right enough. The tour took us up to the Capitol Building and to the University of Texas campus where the place was heaving with tailgaters – which means everyone just camps up in car parks and on the streets and has food and drink before the game – which was a home game for the Texas Longhorns. A sea of garish orange was before us! But everyone was very good natured, there were hardly any police, no litter and just a lot of people out having fun. It was a spectacularly beautiful day too which added to everyone’s good humour.

We found an interesting Mexican restaurant called Manuels for lunch – deserted but good food and great service. We then headed back to the hotel for a short siesta and refresh before venturing out.

The tour guide had told us about the bats under Congress Bridge and so we walked up the path alongside the lake to see what we could see. Dusk fell and a huge crowd of people straddled the bridge and adjacent paths hoping for a spectacle. Boats under the bridge drew up in place and shone their lights to allow the passengers to see the host of bats about to emerge. From where we were standing, there was no amazing spectacle although we did see a number of bats and it was lovely to see the sunset over the river. The main spectacle was the number of people and small boats which turned out to see a few rather shy bats.

We ventured back to Rainey Street and found another bar at the south end which was called Javelina and where the beer was cold and cheap! The night was jumping – Saturday night was certainly lively. We went back to the hotel and sat at the bar with a number of folk who had been at the ACL festival that day including one girl who had been singing with a group there. She was with band from Oz called The Falls and the bartender then downloaded their album so we could hear them. She was pretty drunk and got into full Dolly Parton mode. Troy the bartender, was excellent. Very friendly and accommodating.

The next day was Sunday ACL day for us.

We registered for B cycles and ventured off with our un-steerable jalopies along the river walk to the venue at Zilker Park. It was a great way to travel: $8 for a day and we could check in and take fresh bikes as often as we liked. The festival itself was as expected and also unexpected. The music, vibe and venue were fantastic. And no litter! None. Not a bit, well, not until much much later when you might expect things to get a bit messy. Maurice even managed a dance, well, march, with the cool lead singer of the Soul Stirrers. He probably features in a number of facebook pics as a result. We spent 2 or 3 hours there before coming back to the hotel for a break. I even had a swim in the pool as it was so hot and we were a bit sticky to say the least.

The second half of the day was equally great, no lines to get in, no problems with the bikes, and great music and wonderful characters.  Watching the Turnpike Troubadors we were standing beside some young lads who were drinking from a flask shaped like a pair of binoculars which is a permitted item at the festival and a couple of oldsters with the full works for their tequila shots, including lime wedges!

The night was finished off with Pearl Jam then a swift if scary ride back along the path in the dark to Rainey Street where we finished off the night out with a drink at the Blackheart. Back at the hotel we had wings and chicken tenders with our last beers. Austin all but over.

After a late and leisurely breakfast we set off for Fredericksburg taking a short detour en route to see Johnson City where LBJ was born. Not much there so we headed to our destination for the night, the Fredericksburg Inn. A pleasant hour was spent relaxing by the pool before exploring the town and its many interesting shops and restaurants.

After a brief stop back at the hotel we ventured off to Luckenbach which was a very different experience. A cluster of ramshackle buildings centred around a shop and bar where a collection of oldsters and one young lad were playing guitar and singing lovely country songs. The bartender is a direct descendent of Davy Crockett allegedly! It’s a must see place and a wonderful relaxing 2 hours was passed here. Great music and a wonderful laid back vibe with chickens and cockerels running around, undisturbed by the two lazy cats.  We came back to the town for a drink at the Silver Creek bar where a blues band was playing and finally collected a subway to enjoy back at the side of the pool with a night cap.

After breakfast on the Tuesday we set off for San Antonio. We decided on a short detour to visit the Enchanted Rock but unfortunately the rock was ‘closed’. Or at least the national park surrounding it was. Not sure why. Took a pic or two and ventured back to take up the route from Fredericksburg to San Antonio. An uneventful journey saw us arrive at our destination a little after 1 pm and we settled into the rather odd hotel. The Riverwalk Plaza proved to be not too palatial, however it was clean and conveniently located. We set off for an explore, and found the Riverwalk. It was hot and quite busy so we chose a Mexican restaurant for a bite to eat which was actually very good! The chilli con carne was made with large and succulent chunks of beef and melted in the mouth.  Strangely the young English couple we had met the evening before at Luckenbach arrived to eat at the same restaurant and were sitting right across from us. Another Small World moment.

After lunch we took a river boat cruise and were treated to the Riverwalk sights from a flat bottomed barge. We ventured back to the hotel around 4.30 for a siesta and a short dip in the pool.  In the evening we partook of a few beers at an Irish bar before coming back to the hotel around 10 for our nightcap, and bed.

The next day we set off pretty late to find some place for breakfast, eventually settling on McDonalds of all places, and just too late for breakfast. We then wandered up to the Alamo for an explore, buying a few rather pricey souvenirs, and taking lots of pics. The trolley tour was our next port of call and we were lucky enough to have Leroy as our tour guide. Setting off at around 13.15 we were taken to the Mission San Jose and various other stops on a tour lasting over an hour. Back at the Alamo at 14.30, a cowboy hat was purchased at the Menger Hotel shop and then we spent a few relaxing hours at Durty Nelly’s beneath the Hilton Hotel. It was lively place to sip a few beers and enjoy the Riverwalk once again.

A rest was then needed after which at 19.45 we headed out for our evening beverages.  Our last evening in San Antonio – tomorrow we would be on our way back to Houston and then home.

We breakfasted in the hotel before checking out and leaving San Antonio to travel to Houston, with a slight detour to Gruene. This was a lovely spot, getting set up for a weekend music and wine festival which we would miss, unfortunately.  This was a reclaimed old village, at the centre of which was a dance hall – the oldest in Texas reputedly. This was a very simple wood and corrugated iron construction which did look like something from the wild west. We lunched in a nice restaurant overlooking the Guadeloupe River and part of a larger complex which provided bed and breakfast accommodation. I enjoyed my chicken dinner with mash and guacamole but Maurice was not so keen on his country fried steak. We wandered up to a small ramshackle group of shops which included a place called Fickle Pickles which of course we had to take photos of.

We continued on our journey to Houston, battling rush hour traffic to get to our hotel around 5.30. We had a short interlude in the bar before a wee rest and then back down for a drink and food later on. It actually proved to be a very pleasant hotel and we were grateful for a relaxing last night in pleasant surroundings.

Breakfast in the hotel was followed by a short relax at the pool for me. The last morning in Texas passed quickly and then on to the airport where a delay of 2 hours kept us in the lounge rather longer than we would have liked.  Home some 12 or so hours later, without our bags.  Looking forward to starting the adventure in earnest.