So anyway, I could give a play-by-play description of the trip, but if you check out the photos I posted on pwn3d.net, you'll see that I've already done that to some extent. Instead, I'll recap my initial observations.
Even the egos are bigger in Texas. Carmine had jokingly mentioned that "Texas is in love with itself." Initially, I'd just always assumed that the "everything is bigger" line was just a line. But then I left the airport. Immediately, you notice things like the amount of money and space poured into the state highway system. The supports for the overhead signs, the toll barriers, even the overpasses aren't just built, they're crafted. The stonework, the stars on the butt-ends of supports, street names in brick over I-35...Carmine pointed out it's one benefit of not having harsh winters to destroy all that work, but you could just as easily build a bridge with exposed steel girders instead of precast concrete or something. It's aesthetically pleasing when, up here, you'd never expect it to be. And the overpasses themselves...you're exiting Route 130 for Route 45, and the exit takes this half-mile wide arc flyover when you'd expect a simple cloverleaf. And the flyover ramp is 40 or 50 feet in the air. Now, I'm from an area where highways are typically carved through whatever was already in place. Compared to that, the Texan attitude toward highway engineering seems to be, "We could do this smaller, but fuck it, we have the land anyway."
The stars are a common motif. You see them on the San Antonio Riverwalk, you see them on the highway, you just find after a while they're popular. I suppose we overuse the Old Man of the Mountains a bit, too...but you don't notice what's in front of you. Most of the new pickups sold are badged as a "Texas Edition" or "Lone Star Edition." Our "Lone Star Edition" Dodge Ram wasn't any fancier than I'd expect from a basic Dodge pickup, but it was still badged as such. And the churches are bigger. In some of the small towns, the church is the biggest building around. Though more on that later.
I can't say that everything's physically bigger in Texas, if only because it's hardly like I have a representative sample. I didn't leave a restaurant hungry, but I rarely do. It seemed like the "small" sodas were bigger, but that could just be a personal choice of the restaurant in question. However, there was a t-shirt shop on 6th Street in Austin that sold a t-shirt boldly proclaiming "Fuck y'all, I'm from Texas." Maybe that says it all. (There was also one that looked like the shirt Hilary Duff shows her ex-boyfriend in her video for "So Yesterday," but I had to give up my mancard to make that admission.) So maybe the egos are all that's actually any larger than anywhere else.
In Texas, boys will be boys. Which means they'll be perverts. Now, I'm no prude. But being from New England, I guess I have some Puritan blood coursing through my veins. Up here, adult entertainment exists with discretion, most of the time. Of course, in Connecticut you see the billboards for the VIP sex shop. On I-35, that aura does not exist. And it doesn't stop with billboards for the Adult Video Megaplex or some other sex shop. The stores are right off the highway, big signs on the roof screaming "NEW SEX TOYS" or "XXX Videos/Booths/Arcade." (An arcade, seriously?) For that matter, the San Antonio Mens' Club is right off an exit. Given that you would think of Texas as an extension of the Bible Belt, you'd think that stuff would be more discreet. Instead, Texas seems almost proud of it. Part of that Texan ego, I guess.
Good thing there are interstates. It's not that surprising in retrospect, but all the development is right off the highway. You're driving past a Starbucks, a McDonald's and a Chevron gas station, and a hotel. There's a four-lane road with turn lanes, all built for high traffic flow. Behind this, dirt and grass stretch to the horizon. No houses, no downtown, no small developments or even anything potential...just plains. At some point, there will be something there. It's just strange to look at something that's in such an infancy of development.
The Alamo...that's it? It's a rule that most things aren't quite as impressive as they're built-up to be. That's kind of how I felt about the Alamo. It's right in downtown San Antonio, though I didn't expect it would be in the middle of a desert like my mom imagined it. But you always think of some big distinctive building, and then you see it, and it's just a basic shrine, not nearly as imposing as you might think. It's not underwhelming, though...maybe just whelming. I think you can be that in Europe.
That said, if you travel near San Antonio, you have to stop and see it. The Alamo isn't just one building, but rather a mission of which the shrine is known as the Alamo. The grounds are beautifully manicured, and the mission as it stands now is a fitting tribute to those who died there. They don't allow photos inside the buildings, but there's not much to really see; it's meant as a place for quiet respect. And if you're there, you're steps away from the Riverwalk experience through San Antonio. Green water aside, the Riverwalk is beautiful, and I'd venture to say it takes a romantic quality later in the evening.
Carmine still hasn't seen "The Dark Knight." That has nothing to do with Texas, but it surprised me to learn that, seeing as Carmine kind of aspires to be Bruce Wayne.
California Tortilla is not Chipotle. I figured I'd give it a try during my layover at BWI. My Havana Chicken Burrito was tasty. The chips and salsa were nice, too. But it wasn't a Chipotle burrito. On the other hand, that chicken noodle bowl at Fire Bowl in Round Rock made my eyes water. Carmine said the Fire Sauce was good, so I figured, what the heck? Holy shit, was that hot. That might be the last time I take Carmine's advice on hot foods.
I love my new camera. I bought a Canon PowerShot SD790 IS this spring, figuring I need a compact camera for certain places where my digital SLR is just too cumbersome. That, and everyone thinks it's gay to carry a camera purse around everywhere. The SD790 can be stashed in a front pocket, and while it's not as full-featured as the SLR, it does a great job for a compact camera. The only error was that I left the resolution a bit high; when I got home, I found that my 280 photos clocked in at around 640MB for the batch. Good thing I dropped a new hard drive in the Mac last summer.
Maybe that wasn't such a brief recap. But then, when have I ever been known to be brief? It was a good trip, though a bit short, and I missed out on Chicken-Shit Bingo Sunday evening, as I flew back Sunday. Next time, maybe I'll arrange for more vacation and less work, if that makes sense. But there will definitely have to be a next time.
Now, off to spread Fathers' Day cheer. Happy Fathers' Day, all you dads out there.
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