We hike to lost for most of the day, becoming increasingly thoroughly apart from where we expected to be to past nightfall. Brandon and his newfound chica come to the rescue, being so kind as to let 10 stinky hippies (one of whom recently drank a half-empty still-cold beer he found on the side of the road) interrupt their date. We're as loud as always, and I barely keep from poking fun when she pulls over for him to describe constellations.
Back to Monterrey, and then bus to Austin. My new buddy Sean will be riding with me, and we reach consensus on priorities: tacos over transportation. Satiated, we get aboard a San Antonio bus. I'm out before the headlights on the bus come on.