Hello vatos,

This is the blog for our upcoming trip to Texas, which will be held between October 24th – November 7th, 2017.

Susana and I will be leaving to Texas on tuesday October 24th at 7.10am, but since we need to arrange flights, we need to overnight in Barcelona on Monday, so we will be leaving the island on Monday afternoon. Our flight to the States leaves at 7.10am from Barcelona airport via London, and finally arriving to Austin, TX. Once in London we have a transfer of about 3 hours and at 12.00am we will be departing to Austin-Bergstrom airport, which we will be arriving around 16.20pm local time. After sorting Customs and immigration, finally, we will be in Texas.!!

My very good friend Alan (whom I have never met in person before!) will be waiting there, and will bring us to Lampasas, where we will be based. Alan is taking good care of my car, a Vintage Burgundy 1966 Ford Mustang 289 C-code Convertible that I bought last February, and that he kindly brought home after putting 1300+ miles on the clock himself driving it from Grand Rapids, MI to Lampasas, TX.! The car is stored in his shop and within this time, he has been doing some maintenance for me, well, much more than that I would say.! The car is in pristine condition, inspected, insured and registered under my name, so ready to go.!Alan suggested me to take the exam and get the Texas driving license, so here I am doing tests and learning your road signs, etc… to be ready for it.! Just in case I’m bad! I also have the int’l driving license that allows me to drive while in the US..! Unfortunately, when we went to the DPS upon our arrival, they didn’t allow me to get a driving license test because I haven’t a residence permission.

Our plans include driving around the Central Texas Hill Country and also a small part of the Route 66, from Oklahoma City to Amarillo. We will be probably in San Antonio, Austin, Waco, etc…  We would like also to enjoy Alan’s community of Lampasas and attend their fridays Common Grounds (I will have to cook something for it.!) and Church service on Sunday. I have also heard that there are a lot of wineries in the area, so we will be visiting some.! The main aim is to be relaxed and visit nearby places while enjoy driving my 66 Convertible under the mild Texas sun of Oct-Nov. before shipping the car to Ibiza Island at the end of the year.

Alan’s 65 Fastback Street Boss in Light Grabber Blue We will be cruising together when his work permits..! I have an awesome friendship relation with this vato, and since 2yrs now we know each other, (met him in the VMF), he has been always very kind, helping me with tools, parts, etc.. for my 66 Arcadian Blue Hardtop 200 SIX, and for the Convertible, even fliying to Mich. to pick up the car and driving it to Texas..! He’s an extraordinary man and I am very proud to have him as a friend.

On Saturday November 5th, we already have an appointment for a cruise with several VMF members, and guess anybody else that wants to join us for a wonderful day..! I don’t know if we will be meeting in Blanco, TX and then cruise around the country roads, as they did in April´s cruise. So much fun is expected and I am really looking forward to be there, meeting friends and enjoying an amazing experience that I am sure I will never forget.!

Monday Oct 23

We are scheduled to fly from Ibiza Island to Barcelona later in the afternoon, were we will overnight to be ready for our early morning flight to Austin,TX via London. We are packing all the stuff and making arrangements for our departure.. Still need to put things in the suitcase.!!

Tuesday Oct 24

Tue 24 is our departure day, flying from Barcelona to London at 0710h. We will transfer at London Heathrow airport to our flight destination Austin,TX at 1200h. The arrival time is scheduled for 1620h local time. After clearing Customs & inmigración, finally, we will be in Texas.! Alan will pick us up in the airport and we will head to Lampasas, around 1h drive.

Tue Nov 24 arrival at Austin-Bergstrom airport at 1705h. First time ever I met Alan.!      On the way home, we stopped by Richard Rawlings (Gas Monkey Garage) Restaurant in Harker Hights for our first burger in Texas.        
Wednesday Oct 25

A busy day today.! We will have breakfast at the hotel while Alan will try to give me some tips for the Pilot’s Knowledge Test later in Georgetown. I have been studying online for about 2,5 months now so let’s try.! We will be around town till noon and then we we will head to Georgetown airport where I will take my Test.!! Of course we will be driving the Ragtop..!! Some appointments for later afternoon with local friends in town of Lampasas.

Odometer reads 77030 miles

Thursday Oct 26

Yesterday was a long day. We had breakfast with Alan at the hotel and revised some points for the Pilot’s Knowledge Test. Alan was a commercial pilot before so he has helped me with this. We left Lampasas to Burnet for some pending affaires, and when we were done, we headed to Georgetown for the Test.

Just before leaving the hotel for the day and first time ever I could touch and see my car..!!              Susana and me before leaving Lampasas yesterday morningBoth at the Genesis Testing Center facility in Georgetown Airport, just before taking my TestAnd…. there you have the result, I passed the Test with a 93%..!!                 Putting the Ragtop down to go for lunch.!We had a nice lunch in El Montecito Tex-Mex restaurant in downtown Georgetown by the the river.                                                                     On the way home we stopped at the New Covenant Church because there were a special Halloween party for the children     Then we met Janet, a lovely lady I knew through Alan. We have an appointment for a ride in the Convertible next week.! Janet always wanted to own a Convertible but life hasn’t helped yet to have her own, so when she attended the Dedication car show at Stoney´s liquor store, she get in love with my car.!0930, we are getting ready to leave in a couple of hours to Oklahoma City. We expect to arrive later today, overnight there and tomorrow we plan to drive through the Will Rogers Hwy, aka Route 66 to Amarillo. Alan will be travelling with us with his awesome 65 Fastback.

Friday Oct 27

Well, after driving some 390 miles, we finally arrived to Chandler, OK were we have overnight. It’s been a long trip were we have enjoyed driving the cars through the state of Texas, and also with some issues in Alan’s car. It started to warm so we have to stop several times. First time was at 1 mile of Mineral Wells, TX. Looks like the filter placed in th whose to the radiator get clogged by some kind of rust. We made several stops along the way to clean it so the car don’t get too hot, but after several times, Alan removed it and the car did it through Chandler without a problem.Polishing the car before leaving Talking with Alan before we took our long trip to Chandler,OKBuying some tools at the pawn shop in Lampasas, just in case…We stopped in one shop in Jacksboro were the guy, Rod, is a specialist in Cobra Jet, and as you can see, he has a nice bunch of super cars..!!

Dodge Super Bee 38365 Fastback K code GT originalMustang GT50068 Fastback 69 Sportsroof68 Fastback ready to raceAnother race car2016 Shelby GT350R (it has custom wheels costing $4000 each of them.!!)65 Hardtop K code On the way to Route 66, in Jacksboro, were we met Rod in his shop. Alan was checking the radiator water and clogged filterRefilling the tanks in Oklahoma, after crossing the state borderOur overnight place in Chandler,OKMore enroute picturesSunset time while refueling in the first Oklahoma gas stationFriday morning we left to Amarillo through Route 66. We departed from Chandler,OK and through the old Route 66 we drove until Oklahoma City. Then was a combination of old and new Route. Some parts of the old one was not in its best glory days, so we moved to the new one. We stopped several times on the way to refill our tanks, and finally arrived to Amarillo in the evening. After checking in the hotel, we went for dinner at famous The Big Texan Steak Ranch were we all had a wonderful night and a superb steak.!

Saturday Oct 28

Overnight in Amarillo. In the morning, after having breakfast in the Route 66 famous Wild Bill’s Dinner, we continued to the Cadillac Ranchfor a short visit, and then we followed the I-27 to Lubbock, TX. Arrival to Lubbock. On the way, we stopped by this nice C-47 military aircraft placed at the Lubbock,airport.Finally at Lubbock, we were going to have dinnerSunday Oct 29

We have planned to leave Lubbock,TX right after breakfast. Alan has to be in Lampasas tomorrow Monday as he needs to work at Lometa post office. It’s a 306 miles ride so we don’t want to leave late. We are driving at around 70-75mph so we will need some 5h to complete the trip back to Lampasas This morning just before leaving to LampasasSunday afternoon and we are in town again.! Trip from Lubbock to Lampasas has been cool, and temperatures were raising as we were heading south.We drove across many cotton fields in this trip, oil pumps and windmillsWe have had a nice Mexican lunch in Brownwood, and while there, I have phoned Robert Hoyer, who is going to be my CFI flight instructor, and we visited him on his Ranch. He gots a private airfield and he has taken me for a free ride in his airplane, allowing me to play with the yoke and pedals.! What a nice experience.!

Driving through Brownwood looking for the restaurantAt Bob Hoyer’s airfield, talking with him and preparing for the flightRodeo Texas style.! Chasing the cow to make her leave the airstripe for take-offWe had a nice flight in his Cessna 150 for several minutes and the experience has been wonderful. Bob was teaching me while we flew together. He’s a US Navy ret Captain and a commercial pilot, retired also since July. He has flown in many airplane types along he’s career

Monday Oct 30

After breakfast we need to wash the car as it is completely covered by dust from the trip.

Around noon we have an appointment with Janet and her husband for a ride in the Convertible and lunch somewhere in town. We are very excited because this date has been already arranged long time before we came here, and is very special for Janet and also for us.

Day has started washing the car, it was fully covered with dust because we were driving it in country roads while going to visit Bob HoyerThen we have met Janet on her house and drove to Burnet for lunch. We had a lovely day together and we enjoyed the ride.!

In the afternoon, when we have comeback to Lampasas, we have gone to visit Alan at his house, and have been shooting with different guns, it has been a real experience for Susana and myself.!​ but before, we stopped by Stoney’s bottle shop.!Shooting a long-range shooter rifleHe also took us for a ride is his Big Red truck, a 1958 Ford F600 that he has rebuiltA quick visit to H.E.B before going to Storm’s.!Then we had a nice hamburger at the famous Storm’s drive-in

Tuesday Oct 31

Day has been quiet today, we went into the breakfast early morning and Alan just came to join us. We talked about what we are going to do and despite the weather was overcast, we finally decided to go to Austin. We were in The Domain and then we headed Downtown, where after a short walk due to the rain, we had a wonderful lunch at the Roaring Fork Restaurant.Parking in Downtown Austin wasn’t an easy task.! We had to park in the 8th floor of a public parkingOn the way back, the rain stopped and the rainbow showed up

Wednesday Nov 1

Going to Fredericksburg today. We will overnight there and will be back into Lampasas tomorrow night but first, we were interviewed by Derek, a Lampasas Dispatch Record reporter, for an article to be posted in it by next week editionIn front of the Lampasas Dispatch Record Newspaper before our interview with DerekRoute from Lampasas to Fredericksburg On the way, we crossed LlanoAnd continued to Fredericksburg Once in Fredericksburg we had a nice beer in the Silver Creek cafeOversized load truck carrying a windmill wing through Fredericksburg Main Street Admiral Chester Nimitz were from this area and he has a Memorial plateParked in the hotel Fredericksburg Inn and SuitesJust finished dinner at Mamacita’s Mexican RestaurantThursday Nov 2

Spent the day in Fredericksburg, walking around town, shopping and tasting some local wines and beers

Nice Cowboy boots man.!Nice selection of home brewed local beersTasting some local wines at Grape Creek CellarsPutting the top down to drive back to Lampasas

Friday Nov 3

We woke up at 0500h today to go to Common Grounds to cook something for the community peopleFrom left to right, Pat the mailman, James Welch, a Korean War Marine Corps Veteran, me and AlanThen went to visit some shops around town, but first we went meet Daryl at Larry’s Tire shop, the guy who balanced my car’s tyres and some other stuff at free cost or almost no cost. I brought him a couple of Cuban cigars I hope he enjoys.!

Martin’s Rod & Custom have very nice cars restoring and some ready to sellModern Solutions had also nice cars.!Around noon we went to Harker Hights for lunch, we returned to Richard Rawlings Garage
We visited the Indian Motorcycles dealer for the areaAnd of course, the Harley-Davidson dealer too.!Saturday Nov 4

Cruise day..!

Alan came to the hotel for breakfast and then we met Bill and his son Steven, who came from Dallas area in his awesome 66 GT red FastbackTy, in his 65 Coupe also joined us in Burnet, so we were now 4 cars driving to Johnson City to meet the restWe all 4 cars drove to Johnson City and there we met all the gang, 15 cars so far..!Kerry’s awesome 66 Shelby GT350H originalAfter some loaded gas in their tanks, we started the route heading Willow City

Evan’s gorgeous K-Code Mustang Shelby tributeThen, at some point while driving in the Willow Cityt Loop, Alan who was leading the group in this moment, stopped by and call us all for a meetingHe had a great surprise for us, I was honored with a Texas flag that has been flown in Austin Capitol building on August 26th 2017 (Susana’s birthday) So I became a Honorary Texan, because I shoot guns, drive Mustangs, drink Lone Star beer and wear caps.! I am very proud to be a Texan adopted citizen.!Austin Capitol Building was made from the same granite rocks you can see behind the carsWe continued our way to Llano, were we had a nice BBQ lunch at Cooper’s
From Llano to Luckenbach.

Luckenbach is known as a venue for country music. It was founded by German immigrants back in 1847. Nowadays it has become a very popular place to visit

We stopped for some gas on the wayWelcome to Fredericksburg
Luckenbach to BoerneWe attended Soda Pops car show but unfortunately was cancelled so we drove back to Lampasas arriving to town at 2115h

Sunday Nov 5

Started the day attending the church service with Alan and Zane at the New Covenant Church at 10hAlan’s son Micah playing the bass in the center of the pictureThen we have gone to visit one of the local wineries, Fiesta Winery for some wine tasting And went for lunch at Toupsie’s Cajun Restaurant, were we enjoyed our meal

Monday Nov 6

Our last full day in town. We are leaving tomorrow morning for a very special appointment that Alan has arranged, a lunch in Burnet with Chuck Deiterich, one of the NASA retrofire officers that made possible the Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20 1969. Chuck is Alan’s family friend since many years.

Susana was driving the Convertible this morningCleaning the windshield at the gas stationDriving through Lometa this morningAt the Lampasas City Council BuildingDr. Pepper’s truck parked in front of Walmart, LampasasLast day’s Sunset from Alan’s house in Lampasas

Tuesday Nov 7

We left the car at Alan’s house this morning, stored until he ships it next DecemberOn our way back to the hotel, we stopped to buy the local newspaper, were they made us the interviewWe left early to meet Chuck and Betty Deiterich, the NASA friend of AlanSunday January 14, 2018

Well, it has been a while ago since I posted here, when we finished our Texas trip.

The last news are as follows,

after returning home from our trip, I talked to Alan about when he could bring the Mustang to Houston port, and he said he could in the beginning of December. We arranged everything with shipping company and Micah, one of Alan’s son, brought it the car to the port on Dec 2. The car was stored in the company’s warehouse until it can be loaded in the container and then into the ship. In the next days, we were dealing with the shipping company, with paperwork, etc… Finally, I received an email and a picture telling me that the car was loaded in the container and ready to be brought to the ship. There were some delay but after all, the Brussels, that was the name of the ship carrying my car, left the port of Houston.

The Brussels headed to New Orleans for a stop and after that, it went direct to Valencia Port, in Spain. It took 17 days to cross the pond, so on Jan 2 the Brussels were moored in front of the port of Valencia. On Jan 3 the ship came into the port and they started unloading containers. The car was for its very first time in Spain. On Jan 4 afternoon, I received a phone call from my customs agent telling me that the car has cleared customs and was ready to pick up. You can’t imagine how happy I was to hear that..!! That was Thursday afternoon, and weekends they didn’t work, so I arranged everything for Tuesday Jan 9.

On Tuesday morning I went to their warehouse to get my car, and here are the first pictures I took..! I was excited to touch and see my car, and it was here, in front of me..!

Then, I called a rollback truck to move the car out of the Customs area, put some gasoline, clean and drive it to the port again, were I had a ticket to go to ibiza in the next ferry.

There I also put the plates and drove directly to the port, where it sat until 2145h, time scheduled for depart

Inside the ship, on the arrival to ibiza Island at 0320h

Once in Ibiza, I drove home, arriving at 0400h. I took several pictures the next day, when both cars met for the first time ever.!

I have already started with the paperwork to get the Spanish plates and hopefully soon I will have everything ready..!

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