Hey everyone!
Today we woke up around 9 so we could get a fresh start. We started to walk downstairs from our bedroom and found a note on the stairs that read “Back in fifteen minutes; on a donut run ;).”
When they came back they had donuts and kalaches! Kalaches are basically hot dog buns without any openings that have ham and cheese in them, or hot dogs or sausages in them. I had one with ham and cheese and afterwards I had a donut with cherry icing and sprinkles! They were really delicious!
During breakfast we spotted an armadillo across the small pond in their backyard! This was really cool for me because I’ve only ever seen roadkill armadillos… After breakfast Lauren, Graysen and I all played the app Dumb Ways To Die on our iPads.
Dad and I started to pack up and, after another driveway goodbye, we rode off toward Corpus Christi. Dad had been in touch with a very kind man named Gerald Tunches who was a member of the same international motorcycle club (BMW-MOA). We were originally heading to McAllen, TX to cross into Mexico but Gerald asked us to make a short detour to visit his family in Corpus Christi so we punched in his address and started riding there.
A few minutes down the road I saw a a few dogs out of the corner of my eye… Then I thought “Wow, those are really fat dogs!” At first I actually thought they were black bears but after we stopped for gas and talked to a man who was from the area, we discovered that I had seen some wild hogs!
We then went to a RE/MAX office in Victoria, Texas and just as we were getting ready to go inside, Dad said to me, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if, just once, the people inside already knew who we were instead of having to explain to them who we are and why we’re riding?” I agreed, and we entered the office.
There wasn’t anyone at the secretary’s desk so we were about to sit down when a man came around the corner and introduced himself as Marco Porras, an agent with RE/MAX Land and Homes. Just as my Dad started to say who we were, Marco saw the RE/MAX flag in my Dad’s hand, gasped and said, “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You guys are the people who are going from…” And we listened for a minute as he described our whole trip! He had been following our journey through the website and was amazed that we had come to his office and we were amazed that he knew who we were! He signed the flag and chatted for a few minutes while his very patient clients waited nearby and then we were on our way!
We stopped after a while to use some McDonald’s wifi, and then again later on for gas. We then rode for a few hours before we had some food at Subway. After Subway it was only about an hour to Gerald’s house. Along the way we saw some gators in a swamp! It was really cool.
After we arrived at Gerald’s house we talked in his living room for about an hour before he announced that he had something for our journey. We walked into his dining room and our jaws dropped. It was so amazing!!! He had bought us new rain gear, a flashlight, hand warmers, neck coolers, some new parts for the motorcycle, CHOCOLATE and TWO ZIP-LOCKS FULL OF TOOTSIE ROLLS, beef jerky, a new hat and long-sleeved shirt for me (from his daughter’s cool store called 11:11 Apparel), new sunglasses, new safety goggles and a bunch of other stuff that I cant think of off hand!
After he gave us this… this amazing assortment of stuff… he and his wife Cynthia drove us to a great Chinese food place and then to a hotel (that he payed for as a surprise)! He is going to bring us back to his house tomorrow to meet his family and have a Texas-style BBQ. I can’t believe how nice he and his wife have been!
I’ll update you guys tomorrow,
-Holly J
