Saturday - a Day of Rest

Today was a quiet day.  We did not have anything planned to do except to go to New Braunfels.  We wanted to scout the route we would be taking from the campground to New Braunfels which is less than 20 miles from here.  Since we had time, I actually fixed breakfast.  About 10:30 we drove the road we would be taking to New Braunfels.  I thought New Braunfels was a small town of 10,000 people.  I was so wrong.  It has a population of nearly 90,000.  The roads into, through, and around the city were confusing.  We wanted to know what lanes to be in and what turns to take.  With the car we were able to find the best route.  We ended up driving a loop route that goes completely around the city and instead of driving through the city.  

I had read about an old iron bridge that spans the Guadalupe River that is used as a walking bridge.  I stopped at that bridge, walked it, and took pictures.

It is called the Faust Street Bridge and was built in  1887.  It is 640 feet long.  It is the last wrought iron bridge built in Texas.  It is comprised of two larger trusses in the middle and one smaller flanking the larger ones on each side.

The Guadalupe River flows under the bridge.  I think it is a pretty river.  We have crossed it several times during our time in hill country of Texas.

As we stood looking at the river we saw several herons fishing in the river and ten or more turtles in the water.  Turtles seem to love this part of the river.

Before leaving town I wanted to go to an  HEB store.  We have seen them in this part of Texas and wondered how they would compare with the Walmart.  When you first got inside, it looked very similar but we discovered that the HEB has a much better selection of fresh produce, meat, and baked goods.  There was a large section of all-ready prepared meals that would only require a small amount of cooking.  I saw containers of different kinds of soups.  These were fresh soups not Campbells in a can.  I would love to have a HEB store in Decatur.  I googled it and found out that HEB stands for the name of the original owner, Howard E. Butt.  Some have said that it stands for "Here Everything's Better."   I can see how that could be. The fresh food section was fantastic.  The store exists in every state but I have never seen one in Illinois or any other state but Texas.

Not much to journal today.  Carol and I did decide that if we were to move to Texas, it would be some place in hill country.  It is very pretty.  The people are friendly and seem down-to-earth.   It is mostly rural.  There is lots of history and things to do.  I did not expect to say something like that about Texas.  This part of Texas has won us over.

Tomorrow we move on.  These last four days here have been nice but there is more to see.
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