Old bridges...

I miss the old covered bridges that you used to see along the highways. I can still remember road trips when I was a kid...I always thought the bridges were the best part. Having grown up in St. Louis next to the Mississippi River, maybe I have more of an appreciation for them because we had to use them pretty often. They don't make them like this anymore, but then I'm sure there an logistical engineering-type reason for that. I don't care. I still think they look cooler than most new bridges. I've lived in New Braunfels for four years now, and I never knew this bridge existed...my son showed it to me one day. It's on a street that I've never been on because it's in a little neighborhood that I've never needed a reason to drive through. It's not used as a driving bridge anymore, but you can walk across it. It's all shiny and painted, so it doesn't really look that old...other than the ornate style which you don't see anymore.

It's over the Guadalupe River and this is what you see to the east...

And to the west...

Here's a railroad bridge in Selma, Texas. I think there's a tiny little creek that runs under this, but there was a "No Trespassing" sign on the road by it, and I've been told you don't want to disobey those signs in Texas.

I climbed up the hill to the tracks...and found an old railroad spike on the side as a souvenir for my efforts.

I like graffiti if it's done well. There are a LOT of trains that run through San Antonio and south Texas. I've never lived anywhere where I've had to stop for trains so much. So when I have to stop for one, I pass the time by watching for the graffiti on the cars. I think there's a real art to it and some of them are pretty imaginative. This one's okay.

I caught this one about a year ago in Kyle, Texas, which I like.

So now I'm getting off the track of bridges. When I drove to St. Louis a couple years ago, I came back via Route 66 which was a lot of fun. I started out in St. Louis at the Chain of Rocks Bridge. This was on the old Route 66 which crossed the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis. We went over that bridge many, many times when I was a kid because my dad did a lot of work in Illinois. The bridge was unusual, because it had a turn in the middle, which made it kind of dangerous. You can't drive across it anymore, but they made it a walking bridge for Route 66 nostalgia. My son and I walked out on it and we couldn't believe how narrow it was...hard to believe that trucks could get by each other. When I was a kid, we lived a couple miles away from this bridge. There was an old gas station where this picture was taken that was run by a guy who owned chickens. Childhood memories.

This was added for nostalgic purposes.

This is the Eads Bridge in downtown St. Louis which goes over to East St. Louis, Illinois...a city which should be on the bottom of your "Places I Want to Go Visit" list. The Gateway Arch is just behind me.

This is a bridge in St. Robert, Missouri, going towards the Ozarks.

Here's another railroad bridge in Hunter, Texas, which looks pretty much the same as the one in Selma. Selma's a pretty big suburban area north of San Antonio, but Hunter is one of those "blink and you'll miss it" kind of places. But I think those little towns are kind of neat, so I couldn't pass up some photo ops there.

This place is right next to the railroad tracks...your typical little small-town bar.

"Nowhere else but Riley's place." I'm thinking there might be a FEW other places than Riley's, but I'm not going to tell them that.

This is across the street from Riley's. Now, this place is obviously uninhabited now and is pretty much a "fixer-upper." But if you look close, you'll see there's a pretty new satellite dish on the right side of the porch overhang. Yeah, you might have to do a few things to fix this place up, but at least you have a nice satellite dish to start out with!

...which made me think of this place on Isla. Another "fixer-upper"...but this one is occupied!

But San Francisco has a few bridges which are okay.

Diversions on the way to/from Corpus...

Not a long post today. Just some meanderings on my way to and from Corpus Christi last week. Speaking of Corpus, Tropical Storm/Hurricane Dolly passed through today. I'm about 2-1/2 hours north of Corpus, so we got a little of it around 6:30 tonight. Just a nice rain and a little wind. But the best part was the nice smell that comes from a rain...especially if you haven't had one for awhile. There's a name for that smell...it's called "petrichor." There's a scientific reasoning behind it, but who cares about that. Everyone loves that smell...and as as far as I know, no laundry detergent company has been able to authentically duplicate it in their dryer sheets or fabric softener. I guess Mother Nature has one up on them.

I love the nostalgia that American highways still have to offer, so I always try to catch the little bits of history that are disappearing across the country. Considering how much history the rest of the world has to offer with ruins and ancient cities, America is considerably lacking. And we keep tearing down the remains we still have. I think it's important that we capture what little is still there because it all tells a story. I've changed some to black & white because...well, if you have to ask, then you don't understand.

So here was my first stop off the highway on my way to Corpus. That's about all there was on this side of the highway for Oakville. There was more on the way back, but that's later in the report. The gas tanks aren't working anymore in Oakville, so they took off the "& GAS" letters on the sign, but you can still see the silhouette. Oh, well...as least they still have "FOOD."

This was right next door. There was nothing left of the "DRIVE THRU" other than this sign.

Just thought this was an interesting name for a town. There has to be a story behind the name. Turns out it's a Texas ghost town and I found this about Swinney Switch...in addition to the Bake & Rummage Sale raising $2,390 for the fire department.

So that was about all the interesting shots going IN to Corpus. Played around with the camera while I was there and got a couple interesting shots.

There was almost no downtown life at all, but got this kind of neat pic while I was walking by a bar. By the way, neither one of these lame, experimental camera shots will ever make me want to go back to get more. I think I've seen all I care to see of Corpus Christi.

Now I'm on my way back to San Antonio. I had to stop for this one. While still newer than the Route 66 versions, it was still picture-worthy. I'm surprised it hasn't been torn down.

So now I'm back at Oakville, going the other way. As I'm on the way to take a picture of an old gas station, I pass by this place and had to turn around to take another look. The "Historic Oakville Jail." I park and get out to look around. This place has been lovingly restored and is beautiful on the outside. I tried going inside, but it was locked. There was a little pamphlet on the door, so I grabbed one...turns out it's been restored into a B&B. In the middle of nowhere...literally.


This is the little courtyard outside. I read the pamphlet and there is absolutely nothing close by. So if you want total seclusion in the middle of nowhere, with no views of streams, rivers, hills, mountains or anything other than trees, shrubs and brush, the Oakville Jail is the place to come. According to the pamphlet, "antiquing" is in the town of Three Rivers which is seven miles away. The nearest museum is 13 miles away. Fishing is ten miles away. San Antonio is one hour away and Corpus is 1-1/2 hours away.

Here is a "fixer-upper" located across the road. A little paint and some curtains would do wonders. (You can actually see this in the court yard picture above.)

BUT...the pamphlet boasts about having TWO restaurants just five minutes away. Here's one of them.

Good thing they have the "EAT" sign so that we know what to do at Van's Bar-B-Q.

And the other place was at the beginning of this post at the Oakville FOOD & GAS, which doesn't have gas anymore. So you have two choices of cuilinary delights at Oakville, but you better come with a tank full of gas.

This place was also next to Van's Bar-B-Q. And that's all you get with the Oakville Jail B&B. Now, mind you, the lowest price for a one-night stay for 1-2 people at the Oakville Jail B&B is $245.00...which can go up to $585.00 for 8 people. Oh, yeah. Sign me up. Oh, and no pets allowed. So I'll have to leave the kitties at home while I experience a relaxing and excrutiatingly boring night(s) in the middle of Nowhere, Texas.

I was getting nervous about running low on gas (gas stations are few and far between on this run), so I got off at the next gas sign at "Mike's Gas Stop." Keep in mind that I'm a female driving alone in Texas getting visions of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," but I try to see past that. So I get some gas at Mike's (also in the middle of nowhere)...who tells me that the pumps pump at half the price, so if I want $20, just pump $10. So I give Mike $20 and pump $10. Am I going to argue with Mike out in the freaking middle of nowhere in Texas??? Hell, no! I'd happily give Mike $20 for $5 worth of gas just to get the f*** out of there!

And across the street, I see this!!

Now I know "Horney" usually brings up connotations of "other" things, but the only thing I could think of was of all the poor deer who lost their lives to this stupid-ass building...AGAIN in the middle of nowhere.

Signs that haven't been torn down yet...probably because they're still on private property.

And I found this for sale, if anyone is interested! A streamlined gas station from the past just asking for the taking.

And the sign is still there. You just have to buy a "b" and change your name to "Bubba."

Last, but not least. This is an interesting sight which I have seen quite a few times since I've been here. These are the fins/blades/whatever you call them from windmills.


I took this picture outside of San Francisco, but these are what they're from. I think they must be manufactured in the San Antonio area, because I've seen them being transported quite a few times. They're a few truck-lengths long, which isn't that interesting in itself, but when you seen them maneuvering in town, that's a sight. When they get to an intersection, they have to block off traffic in all directions for a half block so they can make a VERY wide turn. Kind of neat to watch.

So that's my "adventure" to Corpus. Hopefully, my next one will be a bit more exciting.