Friday, February 16, 2007

Bike Trip Update - Day 2 - Port Isabel to Raymondville, TX

We only had 60 miles to do today, so we slept in a little to let it warm up. It got down to 30 last night, but it was nearly 50 when we hit the road.

For some reason there are a bunch of airboats parked behind our motel. Go figure.



The girl at the desk when we checked out recommended Isabel's Cafe for breakfast.



We both had huevos rancheros, which were firey and excellent. We got on the road around 11:00.

The morning was a ride through undeveloped land along the bay, with scattered housing developments. We went north as far as we could go, and then turned west on "General Grant Boulevard". They don't like General Grant here in Texas. The road they named for his is only intermittently paved.

Eventually you get to Rio Hondo, where we stopped for lunch. We had Mexican food. This is because all the food is Mexican food here. I don't understand how Mexicans don't get sick of it after awhile.



It was really tasty, though.

From Rio Hondo to Raymondville is almost all agricultural. Most of the fields are fallow, but there was one that had sugar cane.

Raymondville is the first town after the 58 mile stretch of no services through Kenedy County. It's in a dry county. I gather most people decide to drive on a little more before stopping for the night as a result.

The Googlymap shows several motels in Raymondville. We went in search of the one in the middle of town, figuring we would be more likely to get dinner that wasn't fast food, instead of if we stayed off the highway exit. We couldn't find it. We asked a couple Mexican guys selling onions out the back of a pickup truck in a parking lot where the motels were, and they said it was closed. They said the only option was the Best Western next to the exit ramp.

Here's the Best Western room:



No we can't have bikes in our room. They made us put them in the laundry room. $77. Free wireless Internet. Iron. Guest laundry. Who needs this stuff? (other than the Internet.)

After we got cleaned up, we went out for Mexican food.



Here's the map for today. It's utterly flat. There was a light wind from the southeast, and it was sunny with temperatures in the mid-50s.


Here's the MotionBased link, which will get you to a Googlymap with

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