As we neared the border at Nuevo Laredo, we took a wrong turn and somehow found ourselves packed amid semi trucks inthe commercial-only bridge crossing. That was a bad idea. But after a bit of a wait and many calls to the headquarters, they sent a patrol car to escort us past the trucks and into the US.
Next time we'll see if we can find the correct bridge!
We travelled to Austin the first night. Our car was making some funny noises so we thought we should have it checked out before moving on, however the problems turned out to be a little more than we had bargained for. We ended up spending several days there. Fortunately, there is a lot to do in Austin!
One of the most interesting things was to watch literally millions of bats emerge from beneath the Congress St. bridge at sundown. Not only were the bats impressive, we were amazed that so many other people would also show up to wait to see the bats.
Life's little joys: a real mailbox!
Austin is the city of music, which could be heard coming through just about every open doorway as we walked around town.
One hot afternoon we went the the Lady Bird Johnson wildflower reserve.
But these were the sights we saw the most: the La Quinta Inn and Groovy Automotive.
We waited in town for 5 days while our car was fixed, yet again. . . .
Finally we were once again on the road.
Nevertheless, our car did not make it.
As we pulled into the driveway in Floyd, VA the car gave a shudder and died once again-- that was the last straw! When word came back that it may have blown its head gasket for the 4th time, we went down to town and traded it in for a newer Forester.
Finally.
The rest of the trip was smooth and we made it back to Vermont, just a little more than a year after we left.
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