Felt my spidey sense kick in late last night.Just when we thought there would be nobody else out here, we see headlights coming toward our tent.When you’re all tucked away and cozy in your sleeping bag, it sucks to have to get out of it.For a second I thought this was going to be another one of those eventful nights like the one we had in South Carolina.Maybe not that extreme, but it didn’t help watching “The Road”, a movie based on Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize winning post apocalyptic book on the iPod before going to sleep.Nothing ever happened, but darn did it ever keep us up at night.
You look a little sleepy there. Something kept you up all night?
No, this is not vomit (although it bears a striking resemblance). It's actually spilt boil-in-the-bag from last night's dinner. Can't forget to take the quintessential food shot.
What exactly am I looking at?Oh yes, a big piece of drift wood.Don’t ask me why and don’t ask why Amanda took this shot because I have absolutely no idea.Maybe now is good time to mention that I almost lost the camera last night.The camera tipped over while taking one of those long exposure night shots and sand got into the zoom lens, which prevented it from turning on.Luckily I managed to shake some of the sand out.Now there’s a crackling noise of grinding sand every time the lens zooms in and out.
Multiple shots of where we camped. Turned out to be a gorgeous day.
Silhouette of me...
...silhouette of Amanda.
Amanda fascinated with the local wildlife again
Better view in the daytime.
Homage to a childhood favorite. Can you guess the movie? Did I mention it was a bit of a pain in the buttocks to get up there?
Ah yes.Dual sporting on hard packed sand.Not a great idea to ride so close to salt water, but what the heck, our steeds can take it!We also noticed there are a lot of people camping on the shore than we originally thought, which explains the headlights from last night.
Stopped to chat with a fellow Ontarian who's enjoying the sunny South as much as we were.
Snagging a pic of the entrance sign on our way out.
Sunday, January 24th 2010.My 30th birthday.I’ve always wanted to do something big before I hit 30 and to make it all the way down to San Antonio in good spirits did it for me.I was never one to make a big fuss over my birthday.Don’t really want to be reminded that I’m getting older, but for this particular milestone, we’re going to celebrate in Corpus Christi down at Padre Island National Seashore.But first…
Sunday mass at Cornerstone Church with John Hagee. Some of you might recognize him from television.
The place was jam packed
John Hagee has a unique way of speaking. Somehow I managed to fall asleep amidst all of the excitement.
After the service we went back to DanC’s to grab our camping gear.He had no problem with us leaving the bulk of our stuff at his house since we’re only going to be out for one night.To Corpus Christi!
We stopped at Dairy Queen for a break and met a family who were fascinated with our journey.When they found out that it was my birthday, they bought us each a burger combo.We in turn were fascinated with their story about their son, who overcame many challenges in life by keeping the faith.They prayed that we have a safe and successful journey.
We arrived at Padre Island National Seashore in darkness.Only the stars and faint glimmer of a nearby city lit the dark skies.I was ticked off for leaving San Antonio so late because now we have to find a place to set up our tent in the dark, which is tricky when you want to stealth camp.I managed to snag a few good shots though.
Amanda becoming familiar with the local wildlife
We decided to pitch our tent by the shore when all of a sudden a park ranger pulls in with his SUV.Uh oh…busted!Turns out that it’s free to camp on the shore at this time of year.All we needed to do is register at the office the next morning.Phew!
We set up our tent, started a fire, had a boil-in-the-bag for dinner and enjoyed the moment.For some reason I was craving for sweets and asked Amanda if she brought the leftover cupcakes we had last night for my birthday.Sorry out of luck.Argh!That would’ve made the night perfect.Then Amanda walks over to her bike to grab something.When I see her coming back, I notice she’s walking towards me backwards.Is she trying to freak me out or something?She turns around and in her hands is a Spiderman birthday cake.Hurray!The perfect birthday!
Mmmmmmmmmmm!This is gonna hit the spot!See that Spiderman figurine on top of the cake?I’m gonna make it my mascot and attach it to my bike.
Thank you Amanda. I don't think I'll ever forget the day I turned 30 years old.
We arrived at DanC’s house later that evening and were greeted by DanC’s wife.It wasn’t long afterwards that DanC came home from work and made our usual introductions.
Feasting on DanC's homemade chili for supper
Since the beginning of our journey, there’s one thing that kept creeping in my brain, which I hadn’t quite figured out yet.As a Canadian, we can only stay in the U.S. for a maximum of 6 months per year.There’s no way we’re gonna make it to Vancouver in April without blowing by all the nice scenery and people the country has to offer.The only thing I could think of was to cross the border into Mexico to get a point-of-entry stamped in our passports and cross back.I would hate to ride up all the way to Alaska and get turned down by the border guards because we exceeded our stay.Then there’s also the possibility of getting denied entry for some reason back to the U.S. from Mexico.That would really suck.We told DanC about our situation and thankfully he had no problem taking us to Mexico and back for the day.So off we went!Wow.Talk about a huge weight being lifted off our shoulders.
Up bright and early the next day. Destination: Acuna, Mexico! DanC on his GS
We noticed the terrain is starting to become more desolate and dry as I hummed the tune "Il Tramanto" by Ennio Morricone
Pee break in Del Rio.We also talked about what to say to the border guard on our way back and what to do if we get lost or pulled over by the policia.I think the trip is starting to feel a bit too adventurous for us…nah!
Funny…no border guards to ask questions upon entering Mexico.Almost too good to be true.It’s amazing how much change you notice as soon as you cross the invisible line.
So far so good. No Policia to payoff so far.
We’ve been told that the border towns are the most dangerous.As soon as you ride 100 miles inland it becomes less dangerous, but in order to do that, you have to buy additional motorcycle insurance from Mexico.
Stopover for lunch. Ironically enough the restaurant had an Alaskan theme.
Prices were reasonable
Our server
Our food! Boy was it ever spicy! I'm surprised Amanda managed to keep it in.
Crossing back over the border with flying colors.The border guard asked us about our trip more than anything else.Relieved to be back safe and sound.
Riding through Texas hill country on our way back to San Antonio
Quick break to stretch out the legs and soak in the scenery
Tried to stop here for a drink, but it was closed for the evening
Grilled chicken saled with homemade ranch dressing for supper back at the house in San Antonio
Minor tweak to the air compressor. Thank you Boxermoose and DanC for helping us out.
Our next destination was San Antonio, TX.We contacted DanC on the tent space thread to see if it was ok to camp in his yard.We also asked if it was ok to ship parts to his address in advance.Said it was no problem.I took the plunge and ordered the footpegs for the both of us on eBay.I also ordered an early birthday gift for Amanda.Can’t wait to see her reaction when she opens it.
Fill her up please. Stopped over for gas on our way to San Antonio. A little too over cautious maybe?
Oh look! Our first encounter with cacti in the wild.
Ouch!
Are you bleeding? Are you bleeding?...Yeah, you're bleeding.
A Maxxis M6006 dual sport tire strapped neatly on the milk crate. Boxermoose hooked Amanda up with an extra front tire he wasn't using.
One of the many ranches we passed by on our way to San Antonio
