Tuesday, March 11, 2003                       College Station, TX to Kingsville, TX

On Tuesday morning, I treated myself to  a real breakfast at the Kettle Restaurant, part of a small, mostly Texan chain. Their menu featured exceptional omelettes with up to four ingredients. I had ham, bacon, sausage and American cheese, which really hit the spot. A CD store near my motel was closed for spring break, so I went to a bookstore instead. I hunted for Texas music in their used CD section, but I was unsuccessful. I didn't find any books that I wanted, either, so it was all a waste of time.

I drove southwest toward Bastrop. Although Best Bike Rides Texas had a ride in the area, I decided to take a day off from riding and spent the day collecting counties instead. I stopped in Giddings to stretch my legs and check out the Lee County Courthouse.

The Lee County Courthouse in Giddings was undergoing restoration when I visited.

The cowboy on this mural looked like a character from South Park.

Although I had been adhering strictly to a diet since January, I decided to make one tiny exception while I was in Texas. I couldn't drive through Brenham, home of Blue Bell Creameries, without a tiny sampling of their delicious cinnamon ice cream. A large gas station at the edge of town advertised Blue Bell, so I pulled over immediately.  I bought a single scoop and ate half of it very slowly, savoring every drop as it melted on my tongue. Then, drawing upon all of my willpower, I  tossed the rest in the garbage. I had lost 25 pounds so far, and I wasn't going to blow it now, not even for Blue Bell cinnamon ice cream.

Back on the road, I covered many miles. Earlier I had come within 30 miles of Austin, but now I was heading back east to the edge of Houston, then south-southwest along the Gulf Coast. I found a good radio station in Victoria (98.7 KTXN) that played a lot of my favorite Texans. After sunset, I  continued past Corpus Christi to Kingsville in a zigzag that added a dozen counties to my total. Not feeling like going to a restaurant, I ordered pizza for dinner again. I thought I should ride on Wednesday, but where? I wasn't near any of the rides in my books. Actually, I was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, or at least on the edge of it. Playing with MS Streets & Trips, I put together a flat, boring, out-and-back route for the morning. At least it would add two counties to my collection.

Artist of the Day: Reverend Horton Heat - These guys are crazy and lots of fun. They play punk rockabilly with a little swing, country and rock thrown in. I chose them for this particular day because of a quote from leader Jim Heath that I saw on their web site: " I think it's cool we've lasted this long. People still come out to see us play after all these years and all the shows and tours. It's amazing. I mean, I get to sing songs about cars I love, drinking and chasing girls. Beats the hell out of the alternative." What was his  alternative? " Pool sharking down in Corpus Christi." So, since I drove past Corpus Christi today, I made Reverend Horton Heat the Artist of the Day.

Honorable Mention: Old 97's - I didn't like the Old 97's at  first because Rhett Miller sounded too much like  Robert Smith of the Cure. After a few listens, I decided that although Miller's voice  was similar,  it was  not annoying and whiny. It helped that he was singing great songs with solid backing. Fight Songs is my favorite album from this Dallas band, but others are worth hearing, too.

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