Houston, TX

On my way from El Paso to San Antonio I spent one night in the town of Alpine, just east of Marfa. There I met a couchsurfing couple, John and Katie, who not only let me stay in front of their house but also fed me supper. Katie, whose family background is Czech, told me about the different towns in Texas that have large Czech populations and where kolache are sold. It seems Texas has the largest population of Czech people outside of the Czech Republic.

I wanted to stop by one of these towns and get some Czech pastries. One of these towns is Praha, named after the Czech capital, and it was on my way from Austin to Houston.

When I arrived there, however, I learned that it isn’t in fact a town but merely a community, with no businesses except a church (a church is a business after all, isn’t it?), and no kolache were to be had there. I spoke to some people who were coming out of church and they sent me to the town of Schulenburg, where a local bakery made German and Czech sweets.  I raced there (as well as one can race in Dharma, that is) as I was told the bakery closed at 3:30 and it was already 3:00. I arrived in Schulenburg fifteen minutes later and found that that bakery was open until 5. I bought a boxful of pastries and devoured three of them right away. They were tasty but perhaps not worth a detour or a high-speed drive in a camper van.

I arrived in Houston a few hours later and connected with Roberto, a friend of Amy’s from San Antonio, whom I had in fact met there briefly before my misadventure in Elmendorf. Roberto invited me to hang out at his place and when I got there we went for supper at his friend’s restaurant. We got to know each other over a delicious pizza and beers.

Amy, who was then on her way back from Dallas by bus, arrived a few hours later and we talked for a bit before retiring.

The next day, Saturday, I did some laundry and waited for Amy and Rob to get up. That evening we went out to explore and I experienced my first Uber ride. Before the night was over I had at least three more. Uber, for those unfamiliar with the name, is an app-based service that connects private drivers with passengers in a way that eliminates the need for taxi dispatchers, where no money is exchanged directly, and which cost quite a bit less than a regular taxi and is in fact much more efficient. This company is now attempting to enter the Edmonton market, which I hope will be successful.

Sunday was to be my last day in Texas, the last day of my journey, in fact. I spent a few hours packing my things and managed to stuff everything into four bags. I had my camping backpack, a large duffel bag, and two smaller backpacks. I had to leave a few things behind, but I didn’t mind too much. I gave Amy a tour of the van as I had decided to gift the vehicle to her. Then the three of us piled in and drove to Houston Intercontinental Airport, now sadly known as George Bush Intercontinental Airport. I said goodbye to Dharma, Amy, and Roberto, and headed inside to begin a new adventure.

Edmonton, a place I’m happy to call home, beckoned, and sadly, so did the Canadian winter.