Looking for Billy the Kid...actually, looking for lunch...

DH again turned the hamster mobile south and we headed to Hico, Texas. We debated who the elderly gentleman, a tall tale telling Hico resident, claimed to be all those years. We narrowed it down to Billy the Kid or Jesse James. We really thought it was Billy and the signs (museum and such) told us we were right. (http://www.hico-tx.com/index.php?tag=Billy )

I had sent a text to a dear friend who grew up in Hico. Where do we eat? She recommended Lilly's on main street.

Hico is a tiny town so Lilly's was easy to find. It is actually Jersey Lilly's Mexican Food. DH ordered the cheese enchiladas. I ordered the combination plate. DN ordered the beef burrito. The food was good, but that burrito! It was the burrito to end all burritos. It was an ENORMOUS burrito. We could have split that burrito three ways and still had food left over.

Wall art at Lilly's

We wanted to explore a little before getting back in the car so we looked in the windows of the popcorn and fudge shops (DARN! I forgot it was Sunday.) My friend had told me not to miss the popcorn shop, but it seems someone in the family is sick so they were not opened their regular schedule (so if you are in Hico, try to stop in. They usually open after lunch on Sunday.)

We found Billy in a couple of places.

Statue of Billy the Kid just off the main commercial block.

Hico also has at least two small log cabins. We explored one. It was amazing.

DH and DN exploring one of the log cabins.

DH looking out of the window. You can just see the pattern of his shirt in the one "cleanish" pane of glass.

DN looking at rusty old tools on one wall. I love rusty old tools!

Then stopping for gas, DN laughed and told me to look at the dog. In the truck along-side of us was the perfect cattle dog. He was standing on the toolbox looking down at us. He was that mottled white-brown-black and floppy eared. Best of all, one eye was blue and one eye was brown!

Heading south on 281 we talked about stops we wanted to make - maybe a cave, maybe peaches.

I loaned DN my neck pillow (it is the sleep pillow apparently). He fell asleep and slept almost to San Antonio. I know the trails at the park had worn me out and perhaps that up and down climb (and the excitement of the snake!) had taken a toll on the young one. But I think it was the pillow.

We passed two turns to caves. Those will have to be saved for another trip. We passed our favorite peach stand. It was closed.

We crossed river after river - Bosque, Leon, Lampasas, Pedernales, Blanco, Little Blanco, and Guadalupe. Some seemed to have plenty of water. Some were pretty dry. But we marked our journey south by them.

I think this was the Guadalupe River bridge. These old bridges are such a part of my youth and are disappearing.

We finally found a peach stand as we reached the far outskirts of San Antonio. I took one look at those peaches and asked "Where did you get your peaches?" "From Georgia" she replied. She explained that a late hail storm had taken out the hill country peach crop this year. That explained why there were no peach stands along the road. Bummer.

We visited relatives in San Antonio. We told our tales and promised photos.

After a swim in our hotel pool and an hour or so of reading, we crashed. Only one day of our trip remains. It is the last push home. We are going to take our time in the morning and savor the last few hours of the journey.

NOTE: I should admit that DH and I could not figure out how the keycard worked at the hotel. Fortunately DN is young and technically savvy. He waved the card in front of the lock and "click" it opened.