My time with Andrew is rapidly fading into the past…it’s been sixteen days since he left. It’s been two months and eight days since I broke my wrist, two months and nine days since I last rode my bike (except for one seven mile test ride on the beach a few days ago….it was great, but I decided the next day to give it another week or two), three months and 11 days since I departed Seattle. And here I am in Galveston, heading for Lafayette, LA tomorrow. I’ve visited Padre Island National Seashore camped a hundred yards from the gulf of Mexico, flew my kite on Christmas Eve on Mustang Island, took a Harbor History cruise in Galveston, snag Karaoke at the Lucky Lounge, swam in the gulf and woke up in the middle of the night to winds that rocked the van and had me strategizing what to do if it tipped over! I’m being dramatic…that tipping over wasn’t an actual risk. I met a fellow van camper from Minnesota at Mustang Island and since we’re headed in the same direction until next week we’re traveling together for parts of it. That’s an added bonus to my time on the gulf coast.
To sum up the ground I’ve covered in Texas:
El Paso -> Marfa -> Big Bend -> San Antonio -> Austin -> Johnson City and Fredericksburg – Corpus Christi -> Padre Island National Seashore -> Mustang Island State Park -> Galveston (and I’ll stop in Beaumont on my way to LA to see the world’s largest working fire hydrant!)
In Corpus Christi I went to the Texas State Aquarium and the Art Museum of Southern Texas. Both were worthwhile…the animals at the aquarium were great and the museum overall was terrific, but I especially liked the University of Texas faculty exhibits.
From Big Bend to the Gulf of Mexico I’ve viewed gorgeous landscapes, interesting wildlife and plant life both familiar and foreign to me. I’ve seen local performers in San Antonio and been part of the entertainment doing karaoke in Galveston, and I’ve talked to Texans – both lifers and transplants – about their lives and their communities. I’ve also talked to other campers from all over, although fewer compared with those I met in Utah. Actually, now that I’ve written that, I think Utah is the outlier. I’ve had fewer conversations with campers in all the other states compared with Utah.
I stopped at a coffee shop/store in Johnson City and after the co-owner Mark made my coffee we started chatting; soon I sat down and he got himself a cup of coffee and sat down with me. He and his wife Donna had landed in Johnson City 20 years prior while on a 22,000 mile motorcycle trip traveling the perimeter of the country. They bought a defunct gas station and he, being a contractor, remodeled it into a coffee shop and store.
Mark talked about the changes in the town since they’d been there, referencing the “asshole in the white house” whose effect was to create tension and distance between neighbors…something I think most of us can relate to. The town had been growing, but now lots of businesses and land are for sale. Part of the growth included the science museum right across the street from his store that two likable “brainiacs” had opened, which drew lots of school field trips and was a great addition to the community. Johnson Town is the childhood home of LBJ and also the “Texas White House,” both potential tourist draws. Mark has been involved in the politics of the town, had friends on the city council, and good things were happening. But now positive change has stalled out and the town is losing ground. The cause of the changes wasn’t really clear to him…maybe the pandemic, maybe the Trump effect…whatever the cause, what I picked up was that he felt a sense of loss and maybe longing for what they’d had.
In Galveston I had hoped to go to the Juneteenth exhibit “And Still We Rise,” but unfortunately it was closed for rehab work. This is where Juneteenth originated, representing the fact that enslaved people didn’t learn they were free until June 19th, 1865, three and a half years after the intended end of enslavement. I did come across a mural conveying the hopes of the “end” of enslavement.
The Harbor History tour I went on was interesting and included the tall ship the Elissa, built in 1877, one of just three tall ships still sailing. I also saw the Battleship Texas, a ship that was used in both world wars, and an oil drilling platform that has been purchased by Elon Musk to use for launching rockets. The tour guide had a sense of humor…I still wonder if he overused creative license on that story. The third picture below is part of the fleet of shrimping boats, an important part of the economy.
My time on the gulf coast has been enjoyable but I have felt perhaps a bit out of sorts, probably the result of several things. I wasn’t able to see a doctor for a follow-up on my surgery. While that didn’t seem like a big deal initially, I’m having some issues with my wrist and wondering now if I’m going to need to find a doc. Add to that being away from home for the holidays. When I visited Fredericksburg It was popping with Christmas cheer. People were shopping, there was wine-tasting aplenty, kids were wound up and having fun. I wandered the shops, buying oilcloth to serve as my new table cloth, a couple of fat quarters and a deep teal cloth napkin I can use for quilting, and pickled asparagus for my Christmas dinner! Being in the midst of people who are with friends and family has a way of emphasizing my aloneness, so that was fairly prominent and I felt relief as I headed back to my van for the return trip to Austin.
I’ve also found adapting to a different environment a little challenging. The humidity can be a little rough, although there’s usually a good breeze that helps. I also haven’t gone on any hikes…walks on the beach, sure, but no hikes since Austin. And then there’s wildlife. Today as I drove into the park where my campsite is I saw a sign: Alligators In The Park. – Don’t Feed Them. Wait, what? I’ve learned what to do if I see a rattle snake, a mountain lion, a bear, a javelina…but alligators? Apparently there are also wild hogs, but they mostly just come out at night!
I got the lowdown on gators from my neighbor, a Louisianan, who pointed out that they run fast. Very helpful. Then I spoke to the park ranger who was more reassuring, letting me know that at this time of year it would be very unlikely to see one. And, as with rattle snakes, bears, mountain lions, if I see one, give it its space.
I’ve enjoyed Texas far more than I thought I would, from city to wilderness, suburban to rural. It is huge and it’s seemed huge – that became more concrete to me as I planned my next few days. I’ll be through Louisiana and into Mississippi in a few hours, then from Mississippi into Alabama in a couple more.
Karen in the Gap 
Leave a comment