Zip Trip to Texas

Our intent was to leave on Monday, February 13, 2017 for something like a week-long (or longer) jaunt to Texas. We had planned to go to Caddo Lake State Park in East Texas, then to Bryan-College Station to visit the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library, then to see my brother who lives north of Huntsville, then to see friends in Tomball, then to Houston to visit my niece and her husband, then along the Texas coast for a ways. And so on.

So, on February 13, we headed out. We decided to go, first, to Bryan. After an uneventful drive, we arrived and checked in to a Best Western that was, coincidentally, located next door to Kruez Market, where we had dinner. The brisket was decent, but not even close to the original in Lockhart. We decided, the next morning, to drive over to see my brother, then return to visit the Presidential Library that afternoon. As we were driving over on the morning of Tuesday, February 14, I noticed that I had a message on my cell phone from a friend in Hot Springs Village. It had come in early that morning, but I hadn’t heard the phone. I decided, because of the hour the message came in, I’d better pull over and listen to it. I did. The message was that my friend’s husband (also a friend) had what I learned was a stroke. She said she was at the hospital and had been there since the wee hours; could I give her a ride home, as she felt too tired to drive?  I tried to reach her but got voice mail. We opted to drive on to visit my brother, which we did. Later, as we were heading back to Bryan, we connected with our friend. She knew little more. We asked if she wanted us to return home to help her. She demurred.

We visited the George Bush Library that afternoon. Though it was interesting, we thought it underwhelming, compared to the Bill Clinton Library in Little Rock.

The next morning, we decided to go ahead and visit friends in Tomball. We had a nice lunch with them. My niece, daughter of the friend who called, had called to say she was heading to Hot Springs Village to be with her mother, so would not be home. We had decided to do the same.  We arrived back in Hot Springs Village around 9 PM on February 15. We intend to make the trip another time.

Our sick friend spent more than two months in the hospital, much of the time virtually incommunicado. But he has recovered nicely now, so we’re grateful for that.