We had an appropriately wild west introduction to Texas. A few miles across the state line we stopped at the Visitor Information Center to pick up maps and brochures. Just as we were getting out of the truck, we heard wailing sirens, squealing tires and someone blasting their horn. Then a black car came screaming through the rest area parking lot at 80-90 mph with police in hot pursuit, and flew back onto the highway on the other end of the rest area. It’s a miracle no one was killed!
About 30 minutes down the freeway we encountered bumper to bumper traffic and then saw the black car, damaged at the back, surrounded by cops with a shirtless young man on his knees and handcuffed. Gotcha!
Heading towards Houston, the landscape was covered with huge refinery complexes - pipes and tubes and towers everywhere. We were in oil country!
Skipped Houston and turned south to Galveston Island, a large barrier island on the Gulf of Mexico. The forecast called for clear skies and mid-20s temperatures, and we were looking forward to the beach. Though not as clear and pristine as Destin FL, the beach here is still very nice with fine light brown sand that stretches for miles. After 4 nights boondocking at casinos, Coco was happy to have a large grass campsite to run around.
What we never expected is the history and architecture here. Really enjoyed exploring the historical downtown district which is peppered with plaques explaining the significance of the buildings and sites. We learned about how the 1900 hurricane decimated the island and is still the largest natural disaster in US history.
Obviously hurricane-proofing is a big thing here. All the coastal homes site atop 12-15 ft tall stilts, featuring metal roofs and storm shutters. We didn’t see a lot of Harvey damage in these homes - only a few getting roof repairs.
We met our first fellow BCers! Noticed the license plate as they pulled up at the neighbouring campsite and turns out they are from Armstrong! It’s their first winter south and they’re Florida-bound. I didn’t have the heart to tell them they’d hate it ;-) Well, that’s not fair...FL is pretty cool. But between the ticks, alligators, humidity, high prices and flatness, we’re happy to be heading westward! Onward to San Antonio tomorrow...
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