Galveston

This morning we took a six mile walk along the Gulf side of the beach at Galveston, Texas. Then we drove around the park where where we're staying -- Galveston Island State Park -- to scout out a hike for tomorrow, and looked around the city.  

Galveston was one of the largest ports in the country until it was devastated by a hurricane in  September 1900; between 6,000 and 8,000 people on the island were killed in the deadliest natural disaster in US history.  Shortly after the hurricane, the Port of Houston was created and Galveston never came back to its previous level of economic importance.   But Galveston is still a port plus a cruise ship terminal and a big tourist center.  And just like other places along the Atlantic and the Gulf, Galveston still gets hit by hurricanes.  The latest big one was Ike in 2008, which, among other damage, destroyed all the buildings at Galveston Island State Park.  They've done a great job of rebuilding.

When we started out this morning, it was so windy the sand was streaming by our feet.

Jim did his part to make his corner of the world a nicer place by picking up trash along the beach. 

Birds guard the Gulf of Mexico.  

Bev found three nice shells on our hike. It looks like the entire Gulf side of Galveston Island is a public beach.

Our camping spot.  Our only neighbors left this morning; they have a tow system similar to ours and Jim talked with the guy while he was attaching  his car to his rig. He told Jim he once pulled away from his campsite with his rig still hooked up to the camp's water and electrical systems.  Bev will now be triple checking everything before we leave instead of double checking.  

And in the background I hear a Glen Campbell song

Jim and I are sitting on the couch in our rig’s back lounge.  It’s 72 degrees.  A breeze is blowing through the windows.   And we are just a shell’s throw from the Gulf of Mexico. 

We’re at Galveston Island State Park in Galveston, Texas.  After setting up our camping spot, we took a walk on the beach.  Tomorrow:  More walks on the beach. 

Jim's and Cooper's first look at the Gulf of Mexico.

Also, we crossed this very cool-looking bridge somewhere in Texas.  Baytown, maybe?

Deaux! A little about Lake Charles

This morning we left Lake Charles, Louisiana, after three nights at Sam Houston Jones State Park.   Lake Charles is wrapped around three lakes with white sand beaches.

Like other southern Louisiana cities, Lake Charles has a big Cajun influence.  Cajuns are decedents of Acadian exiles -- French speaking people from what are now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.  We saw, for example, lots of names ending in “eaux” (pronounced "oh" and the French plural of  “eau”) like local TV anchor Cynthia Arceneaux.  Eaux is also used tongue-in-cheek :  "Peaux Boy" for Po Boy sandwiches and "Geaux Tigers" to cheer on LSU.   And then there is Cajun food: We went the Cajun fried route and split a platter of fried catfish, fried shrimp, fried stuffed crab and fried stuffed shrimp at a local joint called “Steamboat Bills.” 

Our last night at the park, I talked with my mom.  She keeps track of where we are and asked about some tornadoes.  They were east of us, so it was not a worry.  Later our area was included in the local tornado watch; of course, this was the first park not to have posted information about storm shelters.  But that’s something we need to figure out ourselves.  

We found a self service dog wash in Lake Charles.  We also got our flu shots at a local Walgreens, bought some groceries, washed the Honda, blah, blah, blah.

Jim and our fried food.  Just like in Memphis, even the rolls are fried. Amazingly, I don’t think either Jim or I have gained weight; Cooper is definitely down a few pounds.

Jim’s not wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt because the weather was cool ... he’s  wearing them to protect himself from the ‘skeeters.  We did a hike we were told would take 2.5 hours in an hour and 40 minutes because of ‘skeeter motivation.

Another pretty shot of the bayou at the park.  The park had free -- and very fast -- wifi, plus using the washers and dryers was free.

Jim looking for alligators.  

Please don't pet the alligators

We’re at Sam Houston Jones State Park near Lake Charles, Louisiana.  Jones is a former Louisiana governor; his namesake park is known for its wildlife -- and deer were waiting for us at our campsite.  The park is also an alligator haven.

Signs near trailheads say “Beware. Alligators in area. Use caution.”  So what is “caution” with an alligator, other than to not hike in the first place?  There was no advice posted at the park, so I did some research.  Here’s what I read:

Don’t swim in murkey water. (Always a good idea.)

Don’t tease them (“Hey, those short little legs make your butt look big.)

Don’t pet them (Who pets an alligator, other than people missing fingers?)

Don’t try to catch one (We already have Cooper, our dog.  We don’t need another animal with big teeth and a bad attitude.)

If one chases you, run away. (No problemo)


l also read that in the southern states, a person is more likely to be killed by legal execution than by an alligator.  Why doesn’t that make me feel better?

Geese march by the bayou.  Notice a fawn to the left (above the goose at the very far left.)

An egret.

People must feed the deer at the park, because they are pretty tame.

We're in western Louisiana

Yesterday we walked in New Orleans’ City Park and had lunch in the Garden District.  Today we drove 225 miles west to Lake Charles, Louisiana.

New Orleans' City Park is bigger than Manhattan’s Central Park, and was extensively damaged by Hurricane Katrina (over 1,000 trees toppled.)  It has a botanical garden, amusement park, athletic fields, a sculpture garden,  and I read that its the 7th most visited city park in the country.   We took a walk in the arboretum.

Afterwards, we had lunch and did some grocery shopping in New Orleans’ Garden District.  What a pretty place.  The area was developed with only a couple of houses per block and the homes were surrounded by gardens; hence the name.  Now it’s more urbanized, but the architecture is lovely and there are lots of little shops and restaurants.  A music festival was going on, so it was hopping.

This morning we left for Lake Charles, Louisiana.  It feels nice to be headed west.

Jim hiking at the New Orleans City Park.  The foliage definitely has a tropical feel. However, it also has a lot of oak trees.

At City Park we met students from Tulane who were watering the  111 trees they planted on 11-11-11.  

A cool looking patio at the park, made of tree trunks and branches.

We had lunch at this little deli in the Garden District.  Tulane University is nearby.

As we drove through Lafayette, LA we actually saw this drive-through daiquiri shop.