2/1/09 - AL14>US43>US84>AL21>US31>US29

A good drive though my routing software is acting up and that put a few hiccups in the day. Ever since I got the 2009 version it's been acting up and now it's just hanging the computer. Thought it might be the computer so put it on the other laptop and on it the laptop just dies periodically :((

But it was generally a good drive. Got stuck behind a 45 mph 5th wheel for awhle - drives me nuts when people drive that slow out on the open road, but what ya gonna do :0 - just have to kick back and watch the scenery, or do what I do, pull over, take a break and let them get on down the road :)).

We're here for a couple days for me to get a little work done and visit with family before we move on to Tx.

I10> I12>I10

I know - boring - but I wanted an easy drive over to Tx and didn't feel like navigating a bunch of back roads across the south this trip. So boring was the order of the day.

Louisiana has worked on the roads some, so it's been mostly fair roads and smooth sailing, but they do still have their sections - ka-lump ka-lump for mile after mile. Doesn't matter what lane, the concrete settled and the seams are ruthless. Another 92 miles to the border and then we'll get off the big road and take a smaller road across to Houston.

Had a gorgeous sunset last night and got the picture of the  month. Have ordered a new camera and so am hoping the quality and color of the photos will be improving soon. Our Canon has served us well, but it's time to move it up a notch to a newer SLR Digital. Hopefully it'll be waiting for us when we get to Cottonwood Creek the end of the week. :))

I10>US90>FM1960>KUYKENDAHL RD>FM2920
Just outside of Houston this is a really nice park, but I got busy and remembered the picture as we were driving out the front gate :( - so you'll have to settle for this memory from the drive to our next stop.

On the way to Dripping Springs the Blue Bonnets were in bloom and they were everywhere resulting an a lapse into "Everything is better with Blue Bonnet on it" :)) Also notable along the way were the crazy 4 wheelers, out on the side of the road gazing and picking and taking pictures - then pulling out right in front of us resulting in screeching brakes and a blaring air horn. But in the end we made it to quieter sections of road and managed to miss them all.

Here's the intro to the new camera - it was waiting for us when we arrived - blow it up to appreciate the scaled down version - the original was over 4 megs, so didn't make it to the web.

FM2920>US290>FM165
Back in Dripping Springs and time for friends and rides. The back roads here are a favorite with us and there will be a lot of pictures of the sights as we explore some new ones and revisit some old favorites.

Joe and Lucinda, our friends here, have aquired a bike this year while we were gone and we're looking forward to some fun times riding together.

This is also one of my favorite spots for walks as there's a really nice back road, the 165 Loop just a quarter mile up the road, and I really enjoy walking it early in the morning. They also have a hiking trail here and I'm planning on exploring it again with the new camera in hand to see what interesting shots I can find.

Click here for shots of our visit - this will continue to grow until we move on.