It was Sad to Leave the Ocean

It was a wonderful relaxing experience at Surfside Beach so we decided to stick to the ocean front road as much as we could on our next leg.  We were warned that there was a toll to cross a bridge from the island we are on, to the next island, Galveston.  The toll broke our budget for the day ($2), we asked if it was free for Canadians but the toll attendant said he didn't get the memo.

The drive along these two islands, that are at times only the width of the road wide, was worth experiencing.  On Surfside island the cottages, homes and resorts were nice,  I would call them 'middle class'.  Once we were on Galveston Island the homes, spas, retreats, restaurants etc started to move up in decadence the closer we got to Galveston.  Soon we were among massive Hilton style hotels and every tourist trap you could imagine.  We will have to go back and drive it again as the fog moved in just after we got started and we could not see the expanse of the beaches for most of the drive.  Google Map Link.  Galveston Island, the new pier and the village area at the beach are definitely a place we need to spend a couple of days during warmer weather. 

To get off Galveston Island we had to take a FREE ferry (20 mins) that runs 24hrs a day, with two boats running on the half hour during busy periods.  We waited less than 10 minutes to load.  We had a hoot with the gulls during the ferry ride.  They flew right into your face.  You could reach up and touch them.  Here is a cute video I made out of linking pictures together.

The ocean front road ended shortly after the ferry ride.  The rest of the shoreline is an animal preserve that stretches all the way to the Louisiana state line.  If you go back to the map link above you can 'click' and drag the map along the coastline to follow our route.  I was surprised to see Oil Pumpers located in the preserve. We stopped at the end of the beach road and had our lunch, waved goodbye to the ocean and let Kyle have one last swim.

Before we left Surfside we booked an RV site just outside of Beaumont.  This was a very short distance.  Our concern was not knowing how long the wait would be for the ferry or the road conditions next to the ocean.  The road was rough and slow at Surfside. As it turned out  the road quickly improved and we reached Hidden Lake RV Park early in the afternoon.  It was not far off the highway and the owners were super nice.  Their stocked lake allowed for catch and release fishing and they even provided the canoes and fishing poles for the kids.  Since it was winter we were advised it was too cold for swimming.  I asked if they minded if Kyle went for a swim and the owner answered; "By all means, there was an alligator being a nuisance but we haven't seen it in the last little while"...Nope, Kyle did not get to go swimming.

The resort was super clean with an inexpensive laundry.  Most of the rigs appeared to be permanent residents.  We were given a very long back-in site next to the park fence that was perfect.  As we were getting settled a train whistle exploded on the other side of the fence.  Kaye jumped out of her shorts and swore.  Nearly every little town we have stayed in, is located right next to the rail lines.  Which all makes sense, as it was the rail's progress West that created the towns to begin with.  When Kaye mentioned the train to the owner and queried if it came through during the night, the owner said; "What train"?

Our plan is to skip New Orleans on this trip.  The storm we are following has moved East and North so we should be able to catch up some miles.  We are going to hit the big interstate (I10 and I12) and do a long drive to the famous Biloxi, Mississippi.