Blogs from Beaumont, Texas, United States, North America

About three days ago a tropical system was supposed to make landfall near the Texas-Louisiana area as a mild Category 1 hurricane (no big deal). About thirty hours ago Hurricane Laura was projected to make landfall as a major Category 3 (cat 3) hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale (a big deal). The people had no time to prepare and a massive mandatory costal evacuation was ordered wisely by the governors of Texas and Louisiana. The main highways heading away from the Gulf of Mexico were packed with vehicles making good their escape from disaster while the getting was good...in multiple traffic jams from hell! Since many people will not get a chance to evacuate, I feel the some people from Texas, and many more people in Louisiana will perish. Cuz of the rotation of the Earth, ... read more

Geo: 30.0861, -94.1019This is the second day of our trip. The agenda for today was to drive from Pensacola, FL to Beaumont, TX. And although we didn't have a plan for the day, as so often happens - the day had a plan for us. We left Pensacola at 7:30 AM and 66 degrees and hopped right onto I-10 heading west. About an hour down the road we crossed Mobile Bay and into Mobile, Alabama. Mobile is an amazing sight from the bridge, built high to allow for passage of all sorts of boats and ships. It is a working harbor with one of the world's largest container storage facilities. It also has a shipyard and a convention center…all located right on the water. The skyline is limited to only two tall buildings, but the architecture ... read more

Sunny today, 83 degrees when we left. We crossed the Mississippi near the Port of Baton Rouge. Starting to feel like we are on our way. Bayous, crop dusters (Aviation Application) and above ground cemeteries. We had 30 miles of concrete I-10 that tried to tear our vehicles apart. I didn't think I could find worse roads than PA but LA topped it. (concrete washboard) There was a beautiful stretch of I-10 through the bayous, swamps and lakes that was worth the drive. It was and elevated highway, over 20 miles of causeway. Texas at 1:30P and the first exit was 880 meaning we only have 880 miles to New Mexico. lol Arrived Beaumont and "Hidden Lake Campground" at 2:45P. ... read more

We left New Orleans with our belly full and we were saturated with the fast pace lifestyle of New Orleans. We drove to Beaumont Texas, a small city of 110,000 population and settled in our hotel about 2 miles north of Downtown. Then we went out in search of a restaurant and arrived on Crockett Street which is a popular place to go according to our travel guide booklets . We got out, took a few pictures and started to look around for people. Ok, it felt like the twilight zone. There was no a soul out there, nor any cars driving around. We saw 2 police cars driving around in the 5-10 minutes we were downtown. I had the strangest feeling and it felt eerie. We decided to leave and find a place where it ... read more

For all out there that want to see one list of Mardi Gras activities, I've compiled what I could find from all the area websites I could find. We're experiencing several holidays and traditions in a short period this year. Least of those is not Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday this year is February 16th. This is always the day before Ash Wednesday. Texans do not generally get the day off from work for this special holiday. Some of us are jealous for those in our neighbors of Louisiana who do. Our Golden Triangle area of southeast Texas is hopping with Mardi Gras activities at this very moment. Floats and costumes are being assembled, trinkets to throw from the floats and to share with the masses are being readied, King Cakes are being baked by the thousands ... read more