G to H: Austin, TX to Fredericksburg, TX

We woke up at 6:30am outside of Sportsmobile Austin to the sounds of employees coming into work. We quickly rose, got the van ready for them to work on it, and were about to find someone to help us when another person stepped out of their Sportsmobile parked next to ours. We had thought we were the only ones sleeping there, but apparently that is a courtesy that many conversion van owners take advantage of! Our neighbor offered us a cup of coffee and we checked out each other's spaces. He noted that ours was quite "homey". By 7am, our van was in the shop and we settled into a day of waiting at Sportsmobile. Buzz quickly escaped but found a safe place on some rolls of carpet where the resident dog could not find her. Max had fun watching the technicians refinish the fiberglass on the roof. Emily sat in the waiting room and happily wrote postcards and did some much needed research about the rest of our trip. The founder of Sportsmobile introduced himself to us and told us about his inspiration to start the business in 1961. We really felt welcomed and were inspired by a great example of a strong small business, with loyal employees who do great work. By 3:30pm we were ready to go, but not before the shop manager made sure we had enough Sportsmobile decals for the exterior. In the spirit of fixing up the van, we stopped and purchased some new tires before picking up dinner at the Blue Dahlia Restaurant in East Austin. Emily had found the Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park in Fredericksburg that had camping with hot showers for only $10 and we made it there by 8pm. The friendliest park host checked us in and we started chatting about travel and where we were planning on going in Texas. She saw that we were headed near Marfa, and said that she had always wanted to check out the "Marfa Mystery Lights." She also gave us lots of brochures about Texas and made us start thinking that perhaps we should not to rush through Texas after all.