Galveston Island

Monday, May 9 - Before we settled in for the night Sunday, Joe added some frion to the RV since we are now in warmer climates.  We got all hooked up and plugged in, but for some reason the electricity went off about 9:00 p.m., we think in the entire campground.  It was off about an hour, then came back on so we were able to run the air conditioner.

This morning we called in to learn the impact of Joe's speeding ticket, which he is still griping about.  I think he is humiliated that it was for a speed of 49 mph -- he said he never in his life got a ticket for 49 mph (historically, his tickets were more in the 80-90 mph range).  Anyhow, the bad news was $175 plus $19 transaction fee to pay it by phone.   Marilyn had a category in her Alaska budget last year for "exceptions," which she explained was for unexpected costs, like unplanned ferry rides, etc.  I don't have that category in my budget for this trip, but I guess I should have -- it doesn't fit anyplace else in the budget!  I told him it comes out of his beer budget.

We finally got on the road about 10:15, eager to leave Louisiana behind.  We just saw a finger of Toledo Bend lake yesterday, so what we saw today was more impressive.  But it would be hard to fish even the main part of the lake since it is so low, and there are lots of stick-ups.

  They have marked channels for boating so I'm thinking it is pretty treacherous running out there right now.

One of the highlights of today was the fish sculptures along the highway.  The first one we saw at a gas station.  Notice the fish actually has a scene painted on both sides.

I missed the next two, (I didn't realize there was a series) but caught one more right before we crossed the bridge over Toledo Bend into Texas.  This one has an alligator at the bottom.



Finally, we got out of Louisiana to Joe's relief -- he is no longer a Louisiana fan.  We crossed into Texas about 11:00, and followed 87 through the Sabine National Forest, a very pretty drive with tall trees on both sides of the road.  It was pretty windy, so the trees helped block the wind.  We crossed inlets of the lake again -- and saw the turnoff for the dam, but we didn't drive back that road.

We finally crossed under I-10 and continued toward Port Arthur.  Paul sent us a website that maps gas prices, and so we held out off on fueling until we got close to Beaumont and probably saved 20 cents/gallon (approx. $9.00).  Joe continues to be impressed by how much mowing these people have to do, especially since all the lawns are freshly cut right now.  He thinks they try to outdo each other with the size of their yard, regardless of how humble their abode is.  For those who think I should share the driving, let me explain the situation.  Joe just sits over there and drives.  I have to take photos, read maps (not always too well), clean eye glasses, get drinks, fix snacks, pick up anything that falls, investigate all strange noises, find campgrounds, and keep Joe awake.  I am a busy co-pilot, while he just has to drive and identify roadkill.


We were starting to get close to the gulf, and crossed a couple of bridges that Eric would not have liked.

I took some pictures from the bridge of the houses that were practically under this bridge.

We didn't see any damage from Hurricane Ike of a few years ago, but there was a lot of new houses, up on high stilts, and some under construction.  They were painted lots of different colors, and there was even a school that was entirely on stilts.

As we got nearer the ferry which would take us to Galveston Island, our GPS Lucille showed that we were just about surrounded by water.  That car on there is us.

We got on the ferry about 4:30.  We did not have to unhook the car, and it was a nice crossing.  Joe started to take a picture of me just as the foghorn blew, and I about jumped over the edge.  It only took about 20 minutes, and the wind was blowing the mist all over the windshield, but we enjoyed the ride.

In this picture, you can see Galveston Island in the distance (and seagulls in the foreground).

We got to Galveston just about 5:00, and drove down Seawall Blvd., stopping every block at a stoplight, so it took us a while to get to our campground, which was about 6 miles out of town -- Galveston Island State Park.  We have a great view from the RV.  The third picture is through the windshield while I was fixing dinner, so that view from inside the RV was a nice bonus, and as we sat at the table eating, we could see waves breaking against the beach.  

After dinner, we walked over the little sand berm and walked the beach a little, but there is so much seaweed that it was not very pleasant.  Our camping neighbor said the seaweed does not even grow here, but drifts in from Florida and other places.  In some places, it was almost knee-high, and probably 4 feet across, so we couldn't even walk at the edge of the tide -- a disappointment.

It was another long day; 250 miles, and we didn't get set up at the campsite until about 6:00 p.m.  But we are going to stay here two nights -- we learned today that son John is coming here tomorrow for a meeting (public hearing) on Galveston Island, so we will try to meet up with him and see if he wants to ride to Corpus with us on Wednesday.  I might even get to go into a beach shop tomorrow (of course, I can't buy anything since Joe spent all our money on the speeding ticket).