Close that gate! This horse is trying to head for the barn!!

A reasonably short day today, but Interstate all 110 miles or so.  I should add: Texas Interstate.  Yes, there is a difference.

From Georgetown to south of San Antonio, it is now pretty much one long urban stretch, with cities like Round Rock, Austin, Buda, San Marcos, and San Antonio blending into one another.

We marveled along the way... "Remember when this used to be undeveloped?"  Seems we said that a lot to each other today.  It has been a few years since we drove this stretch of road.  "Why, I remember when Austin used to end at exit 229 and there wasn't anything south of that..."

The traffic was steady, but manageable... it would make a great drinking game to have to take a shot every time someone switched more than two lanes at a time... or went to the right lane for a pass, then swerved across to the left lane for another pass.  Well, except for that whole drinking while you're driving thing.  Besides, you would be totally blotto in about 15 minutes.

Gas prices were a bit higher passing through this area; no doubt "the hurricane" would be the culprit, but the prices did vary by the city - none of which were affected by the hurricane.  We had already planned to make a stop at the next Buc-ee's because... well, it is Buc-ee's!  Their gas price was a penny or so less than the stations close to them, but 20 to 30¢ less than stations just a few miles up the road.

The big news about this stop: OMG - there is a brand new In 'N Out Burger right across the Interstate from Buc-ee's!  I could live here!  Some would think it is a matter of California (In 'N Out Burger) vs Texas (Whataburger)... personally, I appreciate this addition to the Lone Star State.  While Whataburger still has my loyalty, I felt I had to make these newcomers feel welcome...

Still loyal to this Texas stand-out...

Our timing was good - first time we rolled through Austin without a slow-down on I-35; we were passing through San Antonio early afternoon, and avoided rush hour there, as well.  Timing.

The temperature was into the low 90s when we rolled into our stop for the night - we are back to a commercial RV park after utilizing the CoE parks...

Yes, the sites are pretty close together.  Too hot to take Izzy for a walk, plus we had other plans for our early arrival time: shoe shopping at SAS (San Antonio Shoe Company).  I found two new styles for my fat feet, Joan picked out a couple stylish looks.  We are shoe satisfied for a while.  A stop at Dick's Sporting Goods netted us a hot deal on a folding rolling cart, which will come in good when the unloading starts tomorrow.

Joan suggested a stop at a "Texas Stop Sign" (Dairy Queen) on the way back to the RV park.  Apparently, the woman in the vehicle in front of us at the drive up ordered 8 different kinds of chicken (it's a family joke: chicken always takes longer than anything else you order... and Stephanie always wanted chicken when she was little and we were in a hurry), 6 personalized (on the spot) ice cream cakes, and "anything else that takes a long time".  Fortunately, we weren't in a hurry, since we sat behind that car for 20 minutes.  On the bright side: air conditioning and Classic Rewind on the satellite radio.

We plan to violate our 2/2/2 Rule tomorrow, with just under 300 miles to go to get home.