Truckin'! Wagocamper vacation pics
bam-bam
Council Member
Since we've been home for a couple weeks, I guess I'm overdue to post some pics of the saga.
Nearing the close of my summer off work while rehabbing my shoulder, we decided to go for a ramble. You OGs on here have seen these trips before! Our only semi-firm commitment was to meet my sister at their place in Arkansas for the second week. There was no plan for the first week, but I wanted to visit my 92 y.o. Granddad in Silsbee,Tx.
It had been raining for a week here in Atlanta. I had to use Goldie to drag the camper out of my swampy backyard:
Get out of the door and light out and look all around...
On sunday 7/7 at 3pm, we finally left home and headed southwest, toward the coast. We made it to Pensacola about dark and shut down in a Walmart parking lot for the night. Waking well before sunup, we did a little shopping and set out to enjoy sunrise on the beach.
I like to travel about, and the challenge of doing it on my terms. I'm blessed with a wife who tolerates my quirks to go along with me. How many ladies would go for sleeping in a homebuilt camper at wallyworld followed by Spam & eggs on the beach?
Nearing the close of my summer off work while rehabbing my shoulder, we decided to go for a ramble. You OGs on here have seen these trips before! Our only semi-firm commitment was to meet my sister at their place in Arkansas for the second week. There was no plan for the first week, but I wanted to visit my 92 y.o. Granddad in Silsbee,Tx.
It had been raining for a week here in Atlanta. I had to use Goldie to drag the camper out of my swampy backyard:
Get out of the door and light out and look all around...
On sunday 7/7 at 3pm, we finally left home and headed southwest, toward the coast. We made it to Pensacola about dark and shut down in a Walmart parking lot for the night. Waking well before sunup, we did a little shopping and set out to enjoy sunrise on the beach.
I like to travel about, and the challenge of doing it on my terms. I'm blessed with a wife who tolerates my quirks to go along with me. How many ladies would go for sleeping in a homebuilt camper at wallyworld followed by Spam & eggs on the beach?
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Spent the days exploring the area on bicycles and paddleboards, on Tuesday we took the bikes on the ferry across Mobile Bay to see Dauphin Island. West End and its tiki bar won best beach honors
Wednesday was a travel day. I had agreed to be at Granddad's Friday night, so westward, ho!
On our anniversary trip in 2010 we stopped for sandwiches in Bayou Grosse Tete, LA. Just for kicks, we decided to recreate the scene. Another story about this place: you may have noticed the collection of objects on the camper's tow hook? The very first piece was a strand of Mardi Gras beads found at this place.
Each piece has a place and a story, and things come and go as they will.
our intent was to drive along the coast, but neither of us has any love for NOLA, so we leapfrogged over that cesspool and headed for the Cajun Riviera. We ended up spending the night in a rudimentary "RV Resort" at Constance Beach LA. At least it was free! In the morning when we tried to make arrangements to pay, the owner said "you weren't even there 8 hours, didn't even use any power or water, don't worry about it". Thanks, Carl!
No pictures of that. We got there in twilight and left with the dawn. Imagine a quarter-acre lot with nine gravel back-in sites fanned around the perimeter. Add a 4" PVC sewer pipe laid above ground around the outside. A pair of scrubby palms as the only vegetation besides sandspurs and there you have it. Palms RV Resort!
We left there in search of breakfast, gasoline, and a bathroom. Unsuspecting , we encountered one of the best meals of the trip at a gas station. Shrimp po'boy, crawfish pistolette, and boudin kolache, mmmmm good! When in Rome...
Soon after, we crossed into the Republic of Texas
More to come...
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We decided to mosey on down toward Galveston for awhile. We heard good things about Crystal Beach, why not?
It's free to camp on the Bolivar Peninsula from High Island down to Crystal Beach, so we thought we'd give it a try.
it was a beautiful wild place, but ironically marred by free camping. There was a lot of garbage scattered about. Just goes to show you- deep down, people are shit.
This made me so happy for some reason...
also this photo is pretty incredible
The other drawback of sleeping outdoors on the Bolivar Peninsula in July? BUGS. This is just a sample of the scores of bloodstains on our sheet
at this point it's Friday morning. We've been roughing it, haven't bathed since Tuesday in Alabama. Stanky. Pebbles tells me that there are showers in the bathrooms at Fort Travis near the Galveston ferry. Oh yeah!
It was a cold-water communal beach shower. You know, three heads with pull chains behind a cinderblock wall?
BEST SHOWER EVER. Funny about the little things, isn't it? Refreshed, we stopped at a store near the landing to restock the cooler. That's where I picked up Plastic Jesus. I don't care
If it rains or freezes...
he was the inspiration for many silly new verses of the old song as we traveled on.
Since we're here, and don't have to be in Beaumont until dark, we decided on a day trip to Galveston Island
Always draws a crowd
we spent the day sightseeing, bought a bunch of fresh fish and shrimp at the wharf, then doubled back up the coast. Much faster and more scenic to go back the way we came than to go around the bay to I-10.
At this point of the journey we had to shift out of fun mode for a few days. The visit with my Granddad in Silsbee, Texas was bittersweet. Having reached the ornery age of 92, having buried two wives and still living on his own, he's finally reached the point where he needs help. Saturday thru Monday were spent loading up his things and moving him six hours north to an assisted living home in Bedford. He'll be near family and friends there, I just hope he adapts well to the 'old folks home' thing.
So, fast forward to Monday night. We spent the night in my sister's driveway in Plano. They had a real estate closing Tuesday morning, then on to Mount Ida, Arkansas for a few
more days of play. Plastic Jesus kept us laughing. We were 3 hours or so ahead of sis and BIL, and composed verses based on place names to track our progress.
This is Caddo Gap, AR, where Hernando DeSoto got his ass whooped by the Caddo Indians in 1541 and decided to turn tail
and we finally made it to our home for the last five nights of the trek. Note the physical therapy gym