Galveston to Bayou country

Hello faithful readers, and greetings from cold and icy Louisiana.  Yes, I did say "cold and icy". The weather here has been horrid and we have virtually been stuck in one spot for three days. There have also been internet connectivity issues, hence the delay in the latest blog post.  Today we have internet, so here we go! 

As previously mentioned, we have been struggling with nasty weather.  On the day we arrived in Galveston, it was awful.  The sea was churning and the wind was a-blowin'. 

I had strangely always wanted to go to Galveston... ever since that old Glen Campbell song --  "Galveston oh Galveston... I still hear your sea winds blowing...."  Anyway, because of the weather, it was a disappointment.  It was cold and windy and at times pouring rain.  For two days we pretty much stayed indoors and tried to stay warm.  At one point, Jinx demanded we go outside.  In his memory were the lovely days we'd just had at the Texas state park, but oh what shock those four paws got when he stepped out in Galveston.  Kind of a weird photo, but here we are, out for the briefest time ever, before JTC decided life was MUCH better inside.  

The wind was blowing so hard at times, especially during the night, that the motorhome literally shook. I felt like we were in a mini-hurricane, although I'm sure it wasn't even close. At one point the rain stopped and it was actually snowing. Quite the shock not only to us, but to the natives as well. 

This won't come as a surprise, but the houses here are built WAAAAY up high on stilts.

After two frigid nights, we decided to say bye-bye to "Galveston-oh-Galveston"... and of course we woke to bright sunshine.  Here's a snap taken of the "Pleasure Pier".  Kinda takes on a different look and feel in the sun, doesn't it?  The Ferris wheel and the other whirligig thing were working and even though the weather was brisk, people were enjoying the Pleasure Pier.  

Next stop: the  Bolivar Ferry to get off Galveston Island.  It's a free ferry run by the Texas DOT and cuts the driving time to places east of Galveston and Houston.  Funny thing - our GPS - whom we fondly refer to as "Maggie Magellan" kept insisting that we were NOT take the ferry, and after we did, she kept telling us to turn around, go back over the ferry, and take a different route to Louisiana. We chose to ignore her. Over the ferry we went...

It was a very short ride (5 min or so) and quit uneventful. Dear readers, if you really want to go on fun, lovely, and scenic ferry rides, we recommend the Washington State Ferries or the equally fine British Columbia Ferries. Since those are the types of ferry rides we are accustomed to, this was pretty ho-hum. At any rate, we headed along the gulf coast for a few more miles before turning northward to meet up with I-10 again.  Here's a photo of the nice shoreline. I think the cement wall is to discourage leaving the highway and driving onto the beach.

Just a few miles down the road, after reconnecting to the I-10, we crossed the state line into Louisiana - another previously uncharted area for all three of us (of course Jinx is included in that tally). 

We spent two nights near Lake Charles at the A+ Motel and RV park, which was really very nice. One of the days there was finally sunny, so we went out sight seeing in the Bayou!  We drove along part of the "Creole Nature Trail".

                  

We took a walk partway down the path, looking for wildlife of course.  The White Knight wanted a view of the bayou too.

Here's the hubs, on the bayou pathway.....

Here's a photo of the Louisiana state bird, the brown Pelican. There were oodles of them around and about. 

After seeing all we thought we could see, we continued on down the country highway. Some of the bridges in Louisiana are of an unusual design (IMHO).  I realize they are built high so that boats can get under without the use of a drawbridge... 

Here is a view from the the top of the previously shown bridge.  It's the intercoastal waterway.

Next stop was the "Pintail Wildlife Drive". We sure enjoyed this three-mile drive essentially into a bayou.  This is a Great Egret (we think).

Interesting sign... not that there was really any chance we would either feed or DISTURB an alligator!!!!

Another bird of interest... we think it's a Great Blue Heron.

The last photo of this blog post... the "crowning glory"!  After we were sure we wouldn't see an alligator that we could feed and/or disturb, John spotted this fellow lounging in the shallow water. This dispels any doubt that there are alligators in the Louisiana bayou!

We also saw lots of other different types of birds and even a turtle! We thoroughly enjoyed the Creole Nature Trail and would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in creatures in their own habitats. 

Our next stop is Lafayette Louisiana, the heart of Cajun Country.  More on that next time!

Our stay at Stephen Austin State Park

After reading great reports on RV Park Reviews, we decided to stop at our first state park campground. No internet, only 30 amp electrical, and poor cell phone reception didn't deter us, not one bit...  Stephen F. Austin State Park turned out to be our favorite campsite of the whole trip (so far)!  

Originally we planned to spend two nights here, but we enjoyed this beautiful place so much, our stay was extended to three nights. Stephen F. Austin (the Father of Texas) State Park is in San Felipe, about 45 miles west of Houston. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere... so quiet and peaceful.  Plus, there is a golf course right next door and John the golfer was ready to get the sticks out and dust them off!  The weather was a bit windy on day one, but just stunning on days two and three.  I kept thinking it felt like April and had to keep reminding myself it was January! 

Each site was huge and included a picnic table and a fire pit.  We brought out our camp chairs and you may notice the black spot on the picnic table -it's Jinx the RV cat having a bit of a lounge.  

Here's Suz, taking Jinx out for a walk in the thicket. Yeah, it's hard to see Jinx in this shot - but he was on the leash and loving every moment of his exploration.

Our motor home, under the Live Oak trees.

The front end of the motor home, plus our little car. Each site was a circular pull through. So easy and convenient!  We had water, electricity, and sewer hookups.  No cable TV, no internet, and we didn't mind!

The park was full of wildlife - we loved watching the Cardinals... so did Jinx! There were also rabbits, deer, 2 feral cats who went everywhere together, lots of birds of all types, and coyotes.  At night those coyotes would howl like you wouldn't believe.  It made me think of that OLD song that goes... "oh bury me not.... on the lone prairie.... where the coyotes howl.... and the wind blows free...."  The last night I think the coyotes had a large get-together in our camp. They were so loud they woke us at 1 am.  Kinda scary.  Anyway, here's a gorgeous Cardinal.  We don't have Cardinals back home in WA, so I was mesmerized by them!

Here's a certain RV cat, enjoying the sunshine and the wildlife too.

On Wednesday morning, John went golfing at the next door course.  His was the only car in the parking lot.  EVERYBODY in Texas drives a pickup.  That is not an exaggeration!  Apparently they were all Fords, Chevys, and a couple of Toyotas thrown in. The Fords were the majority, though.

For two nights running, we bundled up and sat by the fire, this night with a glass of wine in hand. It had been a LONG time since we'd had a campfire and we both enjoyed it thoroughly.

Here's John, saying "cheers" as I snap the photo...  He's a bit of a pyromaniac ya know.  :)

After three days in paradise, we loaded up, hooked up, and headed east again on Thursday morning.  Right into the coldest weather south Texas has seen in ages.  Our driver was heard saying, "Should I turn this thing around and head home"?  Find out if we did, next time!  

Just a short note from John:

Susan and I are having a great time visiting places we have only read about or have seen perhaps on TV or in the news or in documentaries. For us to be able to do this and not worry about our home in Bellingham, we owe a great debt of gratitude to our friends in the "High Cliff Hood". Thank you all, for the mail gathering, plant watering, and house security and operation, without your help our adventure would be far less enjoyable. Looking forward to a big get together when we get home.

A "sign" of Texas....

Monday morning (Jan 20) we left San Antonio and headed east towards Houston.  We knew we wouldn't go all the way to Houston as we planned a stay at a state park about 45 miles west of there.  Our drive was approximately 170 miles and as we tootled on down the road, we saw a LOT of amusing/interesting/odd signs.  This post is dedicated to the signs of Texas!  Please forgive some of the blurriness as I struggled at times to snap the photos before we passed them by!

First off, we were in a complete query when we saw the next signs:

There was another sign that I wasn't quite quick enough for... it said "Wrap your rear in Beaver gear"... we truly had NO clue what Buc-EE's is/was.  When we finally got to Buc-EE's I had to take a photo to solve the mystery!

Not sure what all is there (if anybody knows, please comment!) but it appeared to be one of the biggest roadside fuel stations I've ever seen.  The pic above shows only one half of it.  I believe there is also a restaurant and store and who knows what else at Buc-EE's!!! Next time we pass one, we want to go in and check it out!  Guess those signs are working (there are several Buc-EE's scattered around Texas)!

Not sure what can be said about this place... I guess if you want to rent a machine gun, this is where to get one. 

These people want to buy your used vehicle pretty badly!!

Now who wouldn't want to get their eggs from "Happy Hen Farms"? :)

I've never had a Czech Kolache, but I've heard they are delicious and wish we could have stopped and grabbed one or two.... or a dozen!  Sort of odd though, that a smokehouse sells kolaches.... isn't it?

Never heard of Schobels, but shoot, I'd try it! They cook with love! Sounds nice to me.

We saw this sign fairly often. They sound serious about NOT littering!

If you have a wild hog problem, these are apparently the folks to call....

This one confused me at first... do they mean "go slow, there are speeders ahead and you ought to be careful"?  Nah... "speed breakers" are speed bumps.  

Hope you enjoyed our "sign" of Texas. We can honestly say that we don't have many interesting signs like these up north in Washington State!!  Next post will be all about our three-night stop at a state park near Houston... our favorite camp spot so far!  

San Antonio, Texas

We arrived in San Antonio on Friday morning after spending the night at a rural campground outside of the city. Our new campsite was the S.A. KOA which is right in town.  It was not our original intention to stay in town, but it worked out well.  It's a decent place that has everything we "need" - 50 amp electrical, water, sewer, and cable TV.  Yes folks we really DO NEED TV - especially this weekend!!  We have a huge (and I mean HUGE) football game to watch on Sunday.  If our Seahawks win, they're in the Super Bowl!!!  We also *must* watch Downton Abbey, so having cable was truly of utmost importance :) 

Friday afternoon we made our way to the RiverWalk in downtown San Antonio. We drove through some not-so-nice neighborhoods to get there, but the downtown area was nice, and there were lots of volunteers milling around, directing people and answering questions. After we parked, we walked right into what is apparently a Texas icon, "Whataburger".  Yep, we got a "Whataburger".  It was huge, and fairly tasty, but I'm still partial to In-N-Out!  ;-)

Here's Suz, at the RiverWalk:

We decided to take the barge boat ride to get to see all of the RiverWalk and were glad that we did. Here are some photos from that little adventure:

This photo shows some ducks and a crazy barking dog on the right. He wanted to get to a squirrel that was up in the tree!

A view of downtown San Antonio from the RiverWalk.

On the boat ride we passed this theatre.  Our guide pointed out that the marquee it is not painted, but all done in mosaic - gorgeous.

This pic shows the type of boat we were on.  The guide was commenting on how cold it was which made us shake our heads.... it was about 65 and sunny. Yes, there was a cool breeze that blew through from time to time, but it felt great to us!  

Apparently there was an Air Force graduation on Friday because the downtown area was mobbed with the new grads, all decked out in dress blues, showing their families around the city. It was fun to see them all.  

After the RiverWalk, we moseyed on over to the Alamo!  Here's our driver, outside the famed building.

Another outside view of the Alamo.

We very much enjoyed learning the history of the Texans who gave their lives there. There was a theater that showed an informative movie and then a museum with plenty of artifacts from the period. Here is the photo showing the White Knight outside a building on the Alamo complex.

Suz, in the Alamo courtyard.  

The next day we went to Mission San Jose, one of the 4 San Antonio missions. The White Knight came along also!  

The outside of beautiful Mission San Jose:

The inside of the church.... lovely.

Last but not least, two photos showing an area where the Franciscan Monks once lived.

Sorry this was a long post, but we've incorporated several days into one this time. Sayonara, San Antonio... we're headed east again on Monday morning. Here's hoping we'll have another blog post up by Wednesday.  See you then!!