Texas Gulf Coast

Howdy, y'all! Welcome to the Lone Star State! Sorry it's been awhile - lots to see and do in Texas. We are now officially known as "Winter Texans". In case you forgot, most recent entries at the top, captions below the entries. Boca Chica Beach - an undeveloped 7.5 miles of beach where the Rio Grande flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately we were there at high tide and the beach disappeared so we couldn't reach the actual spot where the two meet. Next time!! February 18 - Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site - A two-year war between the United States and Mexico over who held jurisdiction over the Republic of Texas began here on May 8, 1846. Although the Mexican army was much larger, the U.S. cannons caused a greater loss of life to the Mexican army. The Mexicans withdrew and the U.S. claimed victory at Resaca de la Palma the next day. The U.S. went on to win the war and the Rio Grande became the border between the two countries. Texas has had six flags fly over it - Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, the Confederacy and the U.S. - since it was first explored by Cortez in 1519. The bridge we crossed on our way back to Brownsville. Unfortunately we took the first bridge we came to and it turned out to be the B & M (which runs east/west), not the International (which runs north/south). We got through Customs, walked out the door, looked around and realized that we didn't have a clue where we were. We had to walk another mile in the blazing heat to get back to our truck. Next time we'll read the map more closely! Got our exercise that day! The Rio Grande River - the longest river in Texas and the border between Mexico and the U.S. We saw lots of border patrols. Ted was even stopped one day when he took the dogs for a walk by our campground. They let him go when they realized he might be an alien, but he wasn't illegal.

We took a break from browsing to have a cold one and a great lunch of tacos, tamales, burritos and other tasty items whose names I cannot recall. Cheers (or whatever the word is in Spanish)! February 17 - Being so close to Mexico we decided to walk across the International Bridge from Brownsville to Matamoros. We walked to the Juarez Market - about 1.5 miles in +30 heat. It was a busy market stretching for several blocks selling everything you can imagine. I'm not sure whose murals came first - Moose Jaw or Harlingen - but Harlingen is the mural capital of South Texas having more then 30 on display at various locations. February 16 - Harlingen - location of the Marine Military Academy and home to the original working model of the Iwo Jima Memorial statue found at Arlington Cemetery in Washington, DC. It was donated to the school by the sculptor, Dr. Felix W. de Weldon. The man depicted on the statue pushing the flag into the rocks was actually a local boy, Cpl. Harlan Block, who was killed a few weeks after the famous photo was taken. His remains are now buried a few yards from the statue. Port of Brownsville - a busy seaport where one company (Keppel Fels) designs, constructs and repairs offshore drilling rigs. It was strange to see one on land and not floating offshore.

From the top of the lighthouse we could see across Lagune Madre to South Padre Island. On the way back to Brownsville, we stopped at the lighthouse at Port Isabel. This is my last lighthouse, I promise!! It was built in 1852 and used until 1905. You might see one of these but it will be pushing snow, not sand! You don't see this sign at home!! This was the end of the road on South Padre. To the north is Padre Island National Seashore which cannot be accessed by road, bridge or ferry from this end although it is accessible from North Padre Island. The south end of this island is filled with hotels, restaurants and condos but the north end is entirely natural and on the beach you can drive your vehicles or ride horses.

February 14 - South Padre Island. Instead of fences, they use bales to hold back the sand from drifting onto the road. Brownsville, TX - This is the view from our camp site at River Bend campground. It is situated on a golf course right beside the Rio Grande River so we were right across the river from Mexico. To our left is the 3rd hole, to our right is the 6th hole and straight ahead is the driving range. Too bad we don't golf much!! February 12 - and you thought Saskatchewan was flat!! This is a field just outside Kingsville located in the Wild Horse Desert. This is a huge ranching area and the location of the King Ranch which covers 825,000 acres and is home to 60,000 head of cattle and 300 quarter horses. Texas big!!! Regina has Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field, Toronto has the Rogers Centre and Corpus Christi has . . . Whataburger Field!! We have to keep our fingers crossed that Burger King doesn't buy the rights to McMahon Stadium in Calgary or that Commonwealth Stadium doesn't become Taco Bell Centre!!! The Seawall in Corpus Christi, built in the late 1930s, has steps to the water.

We went for a walk along Shoreline Blvd. February 9 - We took a walk along the bay in Corpus Christi. Moored along the pier was a huge floating hotel called the RiverBarge. It takes passengers on 4-10 day excursions up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. It was docked here for maintenance. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun. Behind the RiverBarge is the USS Lexington, a WWII aircraft carrier and now a floating museum. We stopped by one of the piers in Port Aransas and got very close to a brown pelican who was waiting to swoop in and catch fish that the fishermen threw back in the water. . . . it had tentacles buried beneath the sand and it stung him!! He stopped the beach patrol and they told him it was a Portuguese Man o' War and he would probably live - quite a relief for both of us. It was quite painful, however, and both the beach patrol and a pharmacist at Walgreen's (he needed a second opinion) recommended Ted put rubbing alcohol and then a paste of Adolph's meat tenderizer and water on it to reduce the swelling and pain. That will teach him to stick his foot where it's not wanted!!

All along the beach on Mustang Island we saw these puffy balloon-like things laying on the sand. I took pictures, but Ted took it upon himself to pick them up and toss them back in the water. At one point, he actually kicked one and guess what . . .

February 8 - We drove down to Corpus Christi and crossed the bridge to North Padre Island and Mustang Island. Beautiful white sand where you can dry camp right on the beach. We hope to do this next time we visit this part of Texas. We had all kinds of neighbours in the campground - even javelinas. There was a herd of about 8 that wandered the campground in search of food. They certainly showed no fear of humans. We also saw an armadillo on one of our walks but unfortunately we did not have our camera with us so you'll have to take our word for it. February 5 - Lake Corpus Christi State Park where we camped for a week. It is a great place for fishing and bird-watching. Texas has five of the country's top 12 bird watching sites. The beach, the seawall and the buildings along Seawall Blvd. See what a grey day it was! The Strand, the city's downtown, was quite beautiful with restored iron-front buildings, but most of it was blocked off because a Mardi Gras Parade had just ended and the streets had not reopened before we left. From the Space Centre we south drove to Galveston. I must admit I was disappointed in Galveston. The majority of buildings along the highway entering the city were run-down and badly in need of a face lift. Their last hurricane was in 1900 (claiming over 6000 lives) so that wasn't the cause. It was a blustery and overcast day so that didn't help either. Galveston is an island 30 miles long and 3 miles wide and 10 miles of seawall were built along the beach in 1902 to protect it from future hurricanes. Children have painted murals on the wall depicting underwater life which makes the seawall much more interesting.

We stopped at Rocket Park where they had various rockets on display. This shows all 3 stages of the Saturn V rocket used as a backup for Apollo and Skylab missions. It was absolutely huge!! This is a replica of the Canadarm which astronauts use to practice moving payloads. At the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility we could see where astronauts train for their upcoming space shuttle missions. We took the NASA Tram Tour to the Johnson Space Center, home of the Mission Control Center, where Space Shuttle missions are monitored and directed from seconds after launch to landing. As it was a Sunday, all was quiet although we could see what was happening on the space shuttle on the video screen. It was so neat to be there. I couldn't resist the urge to whisper "Houston, we have lift-off!" This is a model of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle which NASA hopes to use to put men/women back on the moon by 2018. They refer to it as "Apollo on Steroids". It will parachute to a dry landing using air bags to cushion the landing and they hope to use it up to 9 times by replacing the heat shield after each landing. Do you think Ted has the "right stuff"?

The Centre has more than 800 pounds of lunar rocks and soil collected during the Apollo program. I actually got to touch one! I always wondered what bathrooms were like on the Space Shuttle and now I know! Welcome to the Space Shuttle flight deck. This is a replica of Skylab where you can see the effects of zero gravity on a dummy. This is the Lunar Roving Vehicle Trainer used in training astronauts who landed on the moon.

February 3 - More to our taste was NASA - Space Center Houston. It was amazing. Our first stop was the Starship Gallery where we saw a film about the history of the space program and then we traced its progression through actual exhibits such as the Gemini V capsule seen above. Can you imagine 2 people spinning around the earth in that? Too claustrophobic for me! The title of this work of art adorning a 1957 Ford Thunderbird was "Going Pac-Man". There was also a work of art in progress - a VW being painted in abstract colours with no specific theme in mind. We both felt extremely culturally uplifted after leaving this museum. This is one of the indoor displays - rather Mad Max, don't you think? This car was a winner at the annual Art Car Parade and had actually been driven all the way to Los Angeles and back. There was also a display of artwork on the walls by 3 local artists. These are two of the outdoor exhibits. Do you not find them culturally enlightening and intellectually stimulating?? Who would have thought to cover a car in sea shells - only the artsy-fartsy!! As you may have noticed, Ted & I are not big on museums. We prefer outdoor historical venues to those found indoors. However, when we read that Houston was the cultural capital of Texas, we thought it was time to take advantage of at least one of the many museums, theatres, galleries, etc. the city had to offer. Our choice - the Art Car Museum!!

The skyline of downtown Houston. As it was a Saturday, the streets weren't too busy. This is a view of Scott Bay which flows into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. In the short time we were there, we saw several ships and tugboats make their way through the channel. The WWI battleship "Texas" is also located in the park, but after having just toured the "Alabama", we figured if we'd seen one battleship, we'd basically seen them all!!! The view of Houston from the observation tower of the monument (498' high) was incredible. This is looking west towards downtown Houston. You can see the Reflecting Pool (just like Washington, DC's), the Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River. Oil storage tanks can be seen in the distance. Its petrochemical, high tech, aerospace and petroleum industries have helped make Houston a financial hub and the largest city in Texas. February 2 - Our first stop was the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Park in Deer Park, just outside of Houston. This is the site where Texas won independence from Mexico on April 21, 1836. It looks like the Washington Monument with a star on top which makes it 12 feet taller. Of course, everything in Texas is bigger, even the monuments!! February 1 - Wallisville, TX. We loved our campground at Wallisville, about 30 miles east of Houston. It backed onto Turtle Bayou and was a beautiful, quiet place to come back to after a day of sightseeing.

Hello Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana

Hi! You know the drill - older entries at the bottom, newest at the top - captions below the pictures. Hope you enjoy the Gulf states as much as we did! We'd like you to meet "Maggie" Magellan, our GPS and family peacekeeper. I used to navigate and did an okay job but now we just put in a destination and she guides us there. Now if only Ted would learn to follow directions from a female voice, we'd be set. I overrule her decisions once in a while, but she does a great job and it allows me to see what's around me instead of having my head buried in a map. Plus I prefer Ted call her names when she leads us astray!! February 1 - From Crowley, LA almost to the Texas border are acres and acres of rice fields. Almost a quarter of all the rice produced in the U.S. grows on the low, flat, fertile ground in this region.

February 1 - Between Baton Rouge and Lafayette runs the Atchafalaya River. It is surrounded on either side by swamplands, bayous and lakes. To cross this river basin, the Atchafalaya Swamp Freeway Bridge was built on Hwy 10 - the 5th longest bridge in the world at 29.3 km. Four of the world's 10 longest bridges are in Louisiana. The only one we missed was on Hwy 10 entering New Orleans (9th longest) and because we stayed north of the city, we didn't cross it. Next time, I guess! January 31 - We went for a drive to Pontachoula, a city northwest of New Orleans and southwest of our campground at Robert. We were on the way to Manchac when we were caught in a downpour. Visibility was the pits. This highway crosses the Manchac Swamp and we later discovered it is actually the second longest bridge in the world, 36.7 km in length. Businesses were just as hard hit as homes and many stand empty waiting to be demolished. St. Bernard Parish on the east side of New Orleans was one of the areas most severely affected by Katrina. Many homes are still standing but will never be lived in again. A large number of homes have been rebuilt but reconstruction will take years and some people who evacuated will never move back. We took a drive through eastern New Orleans and had to wait for a ship to pass through under a drawbridge. Not something you see very often.

Because of the shallow water table in New Orleans, people must be buried above ground in family tombs or "oven" vaults. Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau is reportedly buried at this cemetery as were many early Creoles. January 29 - New Orleans - St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. We were warned by people we met in campgrounds and in the guide books not to venture into the cemeteries in New Orleans alone, only with a tour. If the ghosts don't get you, the muggers will! I wanted a picture so I dashed in while Ted stood guard in the truck. It's just as crowded as the French Quarter itself. The grounds of the State Capitol. In the middle is a statue of Huey Long, who was a very popular Senator and Governor of Louisiana. This view is of the downtown area and the Mississippi. We took the elevator to the 27th floor Observation Deck of the State Capitol and got a great view of the Mississippi River and the industrial area of Baton Rouge.

January 28 - Baton Rouge. We headed west to see the capital of Louisiana. This is the Louisiana State Capitol, the tallest capital building in the U.S. built by Governor Huey Long in the early 1930s. He was assassinated there in 1935 and you can actually see a bullet hole in one of the marble pillars in the building. Many of the spectators were dogs (accompanied by their owners, of course). We thought this dog's costume was cute. You'd think there would be a giant dog fight with all these dogs in such close quarters, but no fights and very little barking. Guess we should have taken Bailey & Rusty. We didn't see any shih tsus in the parade or in the crowd. Meet the Queen of Barkus. The entire parade was made up of dogs and their owners, most in costume. The theme of the parade was "Raiders of the Lost Bark" so many had snakes, bandanas and Indy hats as part of their costume or float. No marching bands in this parade, only jazz bands. One band's name was "Blame it on the dog". Ted wanted to attend a Mardi Gras parade in the French Quarter (hoping for girls flashing for beads, I imagine). Instead he got the Mystic Krewe of Barkus parade, a dog parade. Yes, a dog parade!! A view of downtown New Orleans from Bourbon Street.

Bourbon Street - pretty quiet on a Sunday morning, but you should have seen it when we drove through on Saturday afternoon. It was wall-to-wall people carrying alcoholic beverages (totally legal in New Orleans as long as the glass isn't real glass!) Jazz music filled the air. I can't imagine what it would be like after a parade!

Another building in the French Quarter decorated for Mardi Gras.

The French Quarter is famous for its beautiful buildings with plants hanging from wrought-iron balconies. Many were decorated for Mardi Gras. People would stand on the balconies and throw beads down at you during the parades. Beignets - sweet pastries dusted with powdered sugar. Mmmm good!! The world-famous Cafe du Monde serves the most wonderful cafe au lait (with chickory) and beignets. Outside a jazz band entertained us while we ate.

The Canal Street ferry crosses the Mighty Mississippi as does the Crescent City Connector bridge. January 27 - Today we decided to explore the French Quarter (Vieux Carre). Behind us is Jackson Square, the heart of the French Quarter. In the middle is the 1797 St. Louis Cathedral and to the left is the 1911 Cabildo, formerly a city hall, now a museum. This house is located in the area between Lake Pontchartrain and the French Quarter. Many homes like this have been abandoned. Search and rescue people left notes on the homes after they were searched indicating when it was searched. The Superdome has been rebuilt, but many people live in tent cities underneath the many underpasses and overpasses that criss-cross the city. This is one of the levees holding back Lake Pontchartrain that ruptured when Katrina hit causing water to rise as high as 20 feet, flooding 80% of the city. The levees have been rebuilt but still don't look all that sturdy to me.

We have never seen so many marching bands, drill teams, colour guards and dance groups in one place. Several local high schools were represented. It was funny though - when they weren't playing, many of the kids were yelling at each other (4-letter words included), the band and drill moms were yelling at the kids and the band leader was yelling at everyone! Didn't they realize we could hear them??? (Ted would also like me to mention that segregation is alive and well here; personally I think white people can't march and play at the same time!!) What is a parade without a camel? The Pontchartrain and Shangri-La krewes were the sponsors of the parades we watched. Beautifully decorated floats filled with people in costume throwing things at you - life is good!! January 26 - Mardi Gras - New Orleans style!!! We watched two back-to-back parades on a street in the Uptown District. Several families built ladders like the one above for their children to sit on and watch the parade. It also makes for easier catching of everything they throw at you. One dad actually attached a two-foot square of plexiglass to the front of their ladder to prevent their toddler from being hit. This Mississippi family comes to the same spot on the same weekend every year to watch the parades. They also recommended we eat at the school across the street after the parade. We had our choice of catfish dinner, chicken dinner, jambalaya and gumbo. I had the fish and Ted had the jambalaya. He wasn't too impressed (didn't like the flavour of the sausage), but mine was good. They also charged 50 cents to visit the washroom! Mardi Gras must be a great fundraiser for them.

This is the view looking north. It was amazing to travel for almost 25 miles on a highway totally surrounded by water! Hello Louisiana!! You are looking at the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway - the longest bridge in the world (according to Wikipedia). It is 38.4 km in length joining the cities of Mandeville in the north to Metairie (a suburb of New Orleans). We were staying just west of Mandeville so we were fortunate to travel this bridge 3 times. This is the southbound view. . . . new life and purpose. All along Scenic Hwy. 90, tree trunks were transformed into sculpted works of art. These oaks were damaged by Hurricane Katrina, but if there's one thing we have learned about the people in the south, it's their strong will to survive and rebuild. From the dead springs . . . January 23 - Can't visit Mississippi without spending time at a bayou. We went hiking at the Gulf Islands National Seashore and hiked the Davis Bayou Trail through marshlands and forest. A beautiful home to birds and alligators.

The Hard Rock Casino drew us in one afternoon. Neither of us are big gamblers so Ted people-watched while I spent a huge $13.00 and cashed in when I hit $18.75 - a net gain of $5.75 (which will buy me lunch). Lots of rock & roll memorabilia could be found in the casino. January 23 - Welcome to Biloxi, Mississippi!! When you think about Hurricane Katrina, you usually think about New Orleans, but the Gulf shores of Alabama and Mississippi suffered major damage as well. Coastal homes, bridges and whole towns (Waveland) were totally destroyed. Before Katrina, Biloxi was home to 13 "floating" casinos (mandated by Mississippi law - no casinos on shore) which were tossed inland and destroyed. Several (such as the one above) have since been rebuilt on land; apparently the government didn't want to lose the tax revenue generated by the casinos should such a catastrophe occur again. Beautiful downtown Mobile. This is one of the historic homes located on Government Street. This is the view of downtown Mobile from the main deck of the USS Alabama. Also on the site was the USS Drum, the oldest US submarine left in the world. During WW II, it sank 15 ships, 4 on its first patrol. An airplane museum/pavilion with war planes including A-12s, Panthers and Skyhawks was also located on the site. It was heavily damaged during Hurricane Katrina (3 planes were totally destroyed) and repairs to it, the Drum and the Alabama are still being made.

This is the room where the projectiles (military speak for bombs!!) are kept.

Can you imagine sleeping in such tight quarters? This is one of many "berthing spaces" on the ship. Doesn't look like much space to me! We toured the ship from the very bottom to the O-8 level at the very top including such intriguingly named places as the Damage Control Station, Turret Barbette, the Plotting Room and the Gedunk Stand (the soda fountain). This is one of three turrets on the main deck. Each gun shoots accurately to 21 miles. January 20 - I told Ted it was his turn to pick something to do so here we are at the Battleship USS Alabama. It was really neat to tour the ship. She was commissioned in 1942 with a crew of 127 officers and 2205 enlisted men (up to 2500 at times), earned 9 Battle Stars and shot down 22 enemy airplanes during World War II. January 19 - Welcome to Mardi Gras! Mobile is famous for having the world's first Mardi Gras in the U.S. (over 300 years ago) - long before New Orleans. Mardi Gras actually starts over 2 weeks before Fat (Pancake) Tuesday and there are one or more parades hosted by various krewes (societies/social clubs) almost every day during that time. Of course the biggest parades occur the weekend prior to and on Fat Tuesday itself. We planned to go to the afternoon parade but it was so cold that it was cancelled and held after the two parades scheduled for that evening. We stuck around and saw all three and managed to accumulate a huge number of beaded necklaces, plastic glasses, Moon Pies, marshmallow treats, etc. thrown to us by the parade participants. I actually caught a stuffed bear but my hands were so cold I dropped it and a kid swooped in and grabbed it before I could pick it up again. I was so disappointed, but it was a fun night! We are lucky that Easter was early this year so we could enjoy Mardi Gras. January 17 - Welcome to Alabama, the heart of Dixie, home to Rosa Parks, the civil rights struggle, and . . . fireworks!! As we entered Alabama we were greeted by 3 giant fireworks megastores like this one. People here really enjoy their fireworks and we often heard them in the campgrounds. Of course I, being a paranoid Canadian who watches too many Law & Order shows, immediately thinks "GUN!!!!! while Ted calmly strolls to the door and looks outside to see if he can see the fireworks.