A mother-son road trip

(Note this is a piece about my mother and I taking a road trip, I am going to leave her face out of the blog) By 2008, I was living in Houston, Texas for over two years. I had driven on my first road trips to Fort Worth, Beaumont, Amarillo, Lubbock and San Antonio. However, while I lived in New York, I never took my mom on a road trip. The reason was simple: I did not have a driver's license. Living in the NYC area encourages you to take public transportation and lay off the high insurance premiums. When my mom took a trip to Houston in the summer of 2008, it was time for a historic event. I picked her up from my godparents in Rosharon. It was time to hit the pavement and head to our first destination, Fort Worth. We headed up Texas Highway 6 back to Texas 288 and then we traveled the I-610 loop to US 290. After reaching the Bryan College Station exit, we went back onto 6 until we traveled to Waco.

During that time, she was impressed by the array of ranches and water towers. However, I think she was more in awe over her son taking her on their first road trip together as two adults.

At Waco, we stopped for some gas and then high tailed it along I-35 to Fort Worth.

At which point, we checked in at the La Quinta Inn on the south side of the interstate. Shortly after, I took her to one of the most underrated museums in the country, the National Cowgirl Museum. As we walked around we were astounded by some of the feats of courageous and hard working women like rancher Fern Sawyer and artist Maria Martinez. The next stop was the Stockyards, my favorite hangout in the area. The legendary Pearl Dance Hall and Saloon

After walking around and exploring the famous cowtown, we took a peak into the Ernest Tubb Store before heading for dinner at H3 (named after three Scotsman whose last name was Hunter) Steakhouse. Along the way up, I was incessantly promoting the steak. After we ate (I had the T-Bone and she had Sirloin) she told me she can see why I like it. What can I say, I am just a huge red meat person I guess. The next day it was time to hit San Anton. So, we got back onto I-35, but we took a detour along I-820 and I-635 to Dealey Plaza. My mom was 16 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and seeing the museum gave her a new perspective to the historical event. This time we headed down I-35 southeast towards Waco, but we made a stop. While we were getting gas, I told her of my love for corn fields, so we found one next door to the station in West, Texas.

As we caressed 35, we drove through Austin and its elevated highways (I later found out it is due to the high volume of traffic, whereas before I thought it was another thing to "make Austin cool."). Finally , we hit the San Antonio traffic. While it was not bad, it was enough to heat up my nerves, but like always, my mom is a voice of reason. I drove to the Days Inn and begrudgingly, she said it was a hotel haha. We went food shopping before calling it a night. The next day we toured the Alamo, a place of historic significance in Texas and Mexican history. After exploring the majestic edifice, the 21st Century just came out and whipped us pretty good. Across the street were a plethora of modern establishments, including Ripley's Believe it or Not. We did go to one place that offers history buffs and Texans alike a sweet flavor of Lone Star aura, the Buckhorn Saloon. When you enter, you see the an old west saloon. Yet, to the back is a marvelous exhibition on the history of the most famous law enforcement organization in the nation, the Texas Rangers. From John Coffee Hays and Leander McNelly to Frank Hamer, the exhibit offers guests a taste in the life of a Ranger. As we walked some more, we looked at interesting facets of Lone Star History, ranging from the French and Spanish's role in the state to Sam Houston and Texas Independence.

It even had an exhibit featuring bronze statues of the heads of gunslingers, including Tom Horn and John Wesley Hardin. For the rest of the day, all we pretty much did was look around in the shopping mall, which lies to the right of the Alamo and played it cool the rest of the day. Cool, by and by, is not something that described the next day. We started out riding along the riverwalk, enjoying the sights and sounds of tourists and water. Then as we walked some more, my mom was having trouble handling San Antonio's semi-arid 106 degree temperature. So, we ate some lunch went shopping and "chilled" out at the hotel. The next day we hit I-10 and went back to my godparents. What a road trip and what a weekend!