Down to the coast

---

We had packed everything up and hooked up the trailer the night before, so we were off with the sun Saturday morning. Or, I should say, off with the gloom. It was very foggy along the river where we were camped, and it only got worse as we headed south and west across Louisiana. We traveled on some pretty decent secondary roads as far as Lake Charles, where we got onto I-10 for a bit. For this next part of the trip we are following the same path I traveled 6 years ago in my little red car. The most noticeable difference for me is not the driving characteristics of those VERY different vehicles, the real change is the weather. True, I was here about 10 days earlier in the month in 2011, but it was in the high 40's, this time it's the low 70's! Wow...

As with all good things though, this too had a down side. In '11 no one was here along the gulf coast, I had the roads and all facilities to myself. This time, with the unusual early Spring weather, the coast was mobbed. We called ahead and tried to get a space at Galveston Island State Park, but there were no spaces available. I knew of a great boondocking spot though, and I thought we might give that a try. Texas State Route 87 runs from Sabine Pass in the north all along the gulf down to Galveston. Or, I should say, in used to run all the way. The problem was that it was located so close to the water that every time there was any kind of storm surge it would be demolished. It happened again in the late eighties and they (sensibly) just gave up. So now you can get on the remnants of Rt 87 in High Island TX and drive north until you find a spot you like, and just camp there. Sounds good, but when we got there, we took a look at it, and quickly chickened out. What's left of the pavement is now only a few feet from the surf, and if we went in there, we would have find someplace to turn around. Nope -- not happening.

So Cathy came to the rescue, she made some calls and found us a spot at a little Mom & Pop RV park in Crystal Beach TX. It was a nice little place a short walk from the beach, and it was just fine for our needs. We set up camp, enjoyed a Texas-sized Heineken, and walked over to the beach. Very nice, but also very Texas, with all kinds of yay-hoos driving around on the sand. There is some weather coming in, so hopefully something will open up at the State Park tomorrow.

---