Texas 2024:
Day 6 - Baytown, TX

	Monday, April 15, 2024: It was still very dark in Texas as we got breakfast at Carl's Jr. and headed east.
	The rest areas on I-10 in Texas have some of the best artwork we've seen in rest areas. This one featured a tile mosaic of a dinosaur.
	Dawn lit the cloudy sky as we sped east, ...
	... through the Texas scrub that was trying to blossom with the spring rains.
	We stopped for gas near Kerrville, but since neither of us wanted to go inside this building to see if they had bathrooms, ...
	... we stopped at a rest area a little further east. This one had another tile mosaic, this time of Texas.
	The wildflowers were in full bloom as we neared San Antonio for the second time on this trip.
	We stopped at Taco Palenque and went inside, ...
	... mostly so that we could enjoy their toppings bar.
	We both got street tacos and added tomatoes, cilantro, and onions from the toppings bar. Debbie's were sirloin and Tom's were al pastor, and they convinced us to always order street tacos in the future if they are on the menu.
	We stayed on I-10 and drove through downtown (again), ...
	... past the exit for JBSA-Lackland (again), which Debbie took a photo of and sent it to her Aunt Carol (again).
	We both thought that we should test the tres leches cake that we'd gotten at Taco Palenque in case there was something wrong and we needed to go back. They were insanely delicious, as always.
	There was a regular Buc-ee's next door to this one, and signs near all of this construction noted that this will soon be the world's largest. With all of those pumps, Buc-ee's must be part of a strategy to decentralize the United States' strategic fuel reserves.
	In the early afternoon, we drove through Schulenburg. The slogan on their water tower proclaimed that they were "Halfway to Everywhere."
	Maersk!
	Just after 2:00 PM, we reached Katy, Texas, a suburb just west of Houston.
	We had planned on going to this family-run Bricks & Toys Destination store to check out their LEGO, but we were thwarted because they were closed on Monday and Tuesday and it was Monday. Those are the risks with on-the-fly trip planning.
	Back on I-10, we headed into Houston, and took advantage of the HOV lane to get out of the increasing traffic.
	Check out how beautiful the Memorial Hermann building is. All that glass at the top looks like a crown.
	We passed more beer distributors as we drove through Houston. This one was for Corona.
	Texas has their own version of Mount Rushmore in American Statesmanship Park at the interchange of I-10 and I-45. Their version features Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington.
	More of the pretty Houston skyline.
	We had been worried about the notoriously bad Houston rush-hour traffic, but because we'd left Fort Stockton very early this morning, we'd managed to get to our hotel on the east side of Houston without any traffic issues. We pulled into the Captain Suites in Baytown, Texas, a little after 3:00 PM, and got settled into our newly-renovated hotel room. We had cheese and crackers for dinner, and finished off the last of the tres leches from Taco Palenque. Day 7 >