Drive to Galveston (Livingston, TX December 1-8)

This week has been somewhat uneventful.  The main thing we had to do was to try to stay warm.  The low temperatures have been down to the mid-twenties so we had to start the furnace.  Hopefully the cold weather is gone and we will get back to more seasonal temps of 60’s during the day and 40’s-50’s at night.

We did go on one road trip on Tuesday.  We decided to start out driving south on TX146 to see where it goes.  Our intention was to drive a short ways and then turn around.  However, as we drove further and further, we decided to go all the way to the Gulf coast.  We had no idea what we would see and it turned out to be a pleasant drive of about 300 miles round trip.  We saw many oil wells--wish some of these were ours!!

When we arrived at the Gulf Coast at an area of Bolivar Peninsula, we saw the Gulf of Mexico which was quite rough that day.  We did not stop to walk on the beach because it was windy and probably only about 40°. 

As we drove further, we saw a lot of new construction of houses built on stilts and even saw a school built on stilts with the parking lot under the building.  We figured it must have been from a hurricane but didn’t know which one.  We finally found a gas station and I asked the attendant which hurricane had wiped out the area.  It was Ike—the same one that went through Louisville with high winds a few years ago that gave us a new roof on the house!  One of the houses under construction has stairs that retract. I guess that is one way to prevent unwanted visitors!

At the end of the peninsula, the road ends at a ferry to cross over to Galveston Island.  There is no cost to the ferry, so we decided what the heck we’ll ride it.  That was a fun experience—we passed several ships and saw a cruise ship in dock.  It looked like these seagulls wanted a ride too!

Galveston’s main street is very pretty with palm trees lining the street and lots of old buildings.  I am sure the residents of the city were relieved when Ike missed them and the heritage of the city was saved.

From Galveston, we headed home without having to go through Houston during rush hour.  It was 5:00 by the time we arrived back at the Escapees Park.  We were tired, especially Pat since he did all the driving.  Another day, we will venture back in that direction to visit the Johnson Space Center.

Last night we were prepared to attend the weekly potluck (sausage stew was my contribution).  We drove up to the activity center to find it dark and deserted.  We asked another couple (Tom and Judy) what the deal was and it seemed that the get-together had been moved and was not a potluck after all.  We did not attend any of the social hours this week or we would have known.  Anyways, we invited Tom and Judy to come over to our rig and share the stew with us.  We had a great time and learned that they just started full-timing this year also.  We shared some tips and tricks of the life style and Pat and I hope to see them again before they head up to Dallas for the holidays.

That’s all for now!

EASY LIVING!!