As so many T shirts shout out in San Antonio.

And, they are right, its something like 2000 miles across.We have all seen the film, heard the stories , so I wanted to see the real thing.

The Alamo.

This is the only remaining building from the events in 1836 that led to the formation of the Republic of Texas.

I'm not sure which wall it was that Ozzy was arrested for "dis-respecting" this national monument, but he could have used the restrooms round the back.

We arrived in time to get a full history talk of the events leading up to the siege and victory by the Mexican army and then had a look around the John Wayne Alamo museum, yes, a museum dedicated to the film of the battle. Only in America.

Pamala was good enough to suggest I do a mini service on the bikes while they were in her garage, even though we could have done another 1000 miles before an oil change was due we decided it was better than a supermarket car park. So after fussing over which oil to use as I could not get the recommended one, I then had to use 6, 1 Quart(0.95 of a litre) bottles because no where I looked did motorcycle oil in anything larger. Decanting the oil back from the pan without making a mess was an interesting task.

I also had to use the 1st of our spares, Jean's gear change was loose and not tightening up properly, so the 99p bargain off Ebay was called into play.

Hill Country

Hitting the road again, we headed up into what we think is Texas' best kept secret, Hill Country. It is in an area between Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio with Frederickburg in the centre. The scenery becomes all green rolling hills, with small roads that have sharp bends and hairpins. I'd say better quality than Wales, also less crowded, and no Welsh :-). There are plenty of high quality campsites with hot tubs (and cabins for those who don't like deer and raccoons running through their tents),.

That is the other plus point, it is mid October, and still warm enough to swim at 21:00.

We decided it was time to read ahead on Mexico, and then remembered that originally (back in 2008) we had been planning to drop in on the gulf coast and go straight to the Yucatan Peninsula, so did not have any information on North Mexico. While out trying to find a well stocked book shop in the sticks, It looks like we took another wrong turn.

Either that, or Easter Island and Stone Henge have moved.