21st – 22nd Nov 2018

Fredericksburg to Johnson City 52kms

The sun was out for a short while, but was quickly swallowed by clouds. The temp was around ten Celsius, but very little wind. We didn’t rush, but got ourselves on the road just after ten, and took the back streets of town to find the 290 highway. It is not the way ACA suggest to go, but as it is Thanksgiving tomorrow and the weather is poor, we want to take the shortest and easiest route. Ten kays shorter, and less hills. Bugger all shoulder, and plenty of traffic, we had to be on the ball. We really cranked along, and I was sweating in my many layers. I wasn’t cold until we stopped at the Lyndon B Johnson rest area, sponsored by Gieko. I changed my shirt, it was soaked, and took off the outer layers, so they could dry.

Nicest rest stop we’ve found. Right next to the Lyndon B Johnson Ranch. 

Still no wind, so we could enjoy a good break, make coffee, some rolls, and just relax for a bit. There have been way more cars coming too close to us today, and just not really paying attention. The trucks are still great though. They look way ahead, and move early. It is appreciated. Back on the road, we saw a bunch of Longhorn cattle, wineries galore, some super cute little black and white lambs, a Rum distillery (smelt fantastic), and just a billion cars.

Lots of places that would have been nice to check out, but we are winding down. Not to mention the cold day.

The rolling hills were no problem, and we were cranking along at over 20 kays an hour, for most of the day. Lots of little drinks breaks, and a couple of photos, then we arrived in town. Just like that! It looks like a cute little town, and they are busy putting up and testing a zillion Christmas lights. Unfortunately they don’t turn them on, officially, until Friday night. 

All the little businesses in this block were busy putting up lights. It is going to look beautiful.

So we checked out the Pecan (pronounces here, Puh-khan???) Brewery, and had a pizza. The owner, Don, was really helpful, finding out for us if anything was open on Thanksgiving, nope, and then when we were heading off, giving us a packet of their very own Pecan infused coffee beans. Does this generosity never end? I hope not. Thanks so much Don. 

Nice people, nice pizza, good beer, make sure for happy Aussies. Cheers Don.

Out of the cute side of town, and into the outskirts. We’ve booked the Best Western, at double the usual price we pay, (not much to choose from), and will just hang out here for Thanksgiving. Will went to the tiny supermarket and got what he could, so it’s tinned soup, crackers and some other snacks, to get us through. Second last day riding, done! Feeling all mixed up right now, but overall happiness.

Johnson City- Happy Thanksgiving!

We woke a bit late, as there wasn’t much going on for us today. Thanksgiving is huge in the States, so everything is closed, and everyone has stuff on. So we made our way to breakfast, thinking there was no rush, only to discover that everything was empty, the staff couldn’t be bothered, and we struggled to throw something together. Oh, well, we’ll come earlier tomorrow.

The rest of the day was spent blogging and watching TV, and we even took a nice walk around town. It was like a ghost town, so we could walk quite safely in the streets, and it was actually quite nice. The weather was a bit shitty, so we were happy to hole up in the room, and we survived off microwave popcorn, tinned soup, and crackers. Could have been worse.