Drive to New Orleans

Shiner Brewery Tour
Shiner Brewery is the smallest brewery we visited on our trip.  It's a shame we weren't allowed to take any pictures of the tour, because it’s really the best we saw.  It’s a small facility, but that’s what makes it so great.  Unlike the tours of brewery behemoths like Miller and Coors, could see the whole entire production line in action: bottling, capping, labeling, and boxing.  And of course the sampling was fun.  I got a little tipsy and told our life stories to the bartenders. Should’ve just told them to visit the blog.

The only traffic light in the small town of Shiner.

We might not have gotten a picture inside the brewery, but no one is stopping us from taking a picture outside of it.

Just a staged shot, but man that would've been awesome if we could pour our own drinks.

Whataburger

Ayk had way many more zingers for Whataburger than I did, so I asked him if he wanted to write this post.  He gladly accepted:

Fifteen miles past downtown Houston, we felt a sense of relief (as we were glad to be out of Houston's traffic), but also a sense of hunger. The previous time I had visited Houston I was on a job interview.  Another candidate had told me about Whataburger and I was interested in dropping by at some point during our southern excursion.  Houston happened to be the place.

Houston: The Bypass City

Whataburger combines the poor quality of McDonald's with the indecisiveness of ordering at Five Guys.  That is to say, we didn't care for it.  It may have only been our particular cashier, but placing an order was a test of wills.  Much like Five Guys, you can order your burger with any toppings you want.  Except for one twist: the cashier will make you second-guess just about every decision you make.  For example, I started my order with "I would like lettuce, pickles, onions--"

  "So, no tomatoes?" the cashier interrupted.  Then, a pause.

  "Yeah."

  "So you want tomatoes?"

  "No.  No tomatoes."  

Repeat some variation of this dialog for each topping.  Karmen's order was switched from onions and grilled jalapeños to jalapeños and grilled onions without her consent.  It took about a minute of back-and-forth before Karmen gave up.  After that grueling process, our order was complete and we awaited our meals.

Each sticker denotes a hard-fought battle.

Verdict: Awful.  The meat was dry, as were the whole-wheat buns.  The lukewarm fries were more spongy than either crispy or soft.

It looks like they boiled the meat patty.  And yet it was still dry.

At least Whataburger made a lasting impression:  the lingering stench and greasy film won't leave your hands and face until you scrub them both with a Brillo pad.  Also, indigestion.

Whataburger?  More like Whateverburger.

Louisiana

After that long drive, our Texas adventure was over.  We drove across the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, one of the longest in the world, and later the Mississippi River before arriving in Baton Rouge.  We found a sketchy motel (aren't those the best?) in New Orleans late at night.  We really wanted a quaint B&B in the Garden District, but they were all booked up for Valentine's Weekend.  Oh well.  Our romantic month-long getaway sure beats those couples' weekend getaways.

Our "saintly" savior...New Orleans awaits!