Beginning the Northward Trek

We all were up by 7:00 in order to be on the road by 8:00.  We had over 300 miles to drive to Sea Rim State Park near Port Arthur, Texas.  It was a coordinated effort on everyone's part that made it possible to pull out of their driveway at 8:00.   After hugs and multiple thanks to Bob and Renita, the motorhome pulled in behind their Buick and off we went.  They were navigating the streets and highways in front of us until we got to Odem, Texas which is about 45 minutes from their home.  It was so appreciated.  It was a great stress reliever to be able to follow them and not have to think about what lane to be in and when to turn.  We did tell them that the next time we visit, we won't bring the motorhome.  We took US 77 to US 59.  US 59 runs east and west and the wind was blowing against the motorhome.  Carol was using all his arm strength to keep us on the road.

We stopped for gas at Buc-ees.  We love Buc-ees.  The gas bays are large enough to accommodate larger RV's without a problem, and on top of that, the store is great.  Of course, we had to go inside to look around.  We brought a sandwich and pudding for dessert.  There is a rest area on the other side of Houston in which we wanted to stop and eat a late lunch.  So with a tank full of gas and some rest, we headed toward Houston.  We have managed to avoid driving the motorhome in Dallas/Fort Worth and San Antonio but Houston was unavoidable.  Bob had talked us through making all the highway switches which helped tremendously.  We started on the west side of Houston.  Took US59 to I-69 to I-610 to I-10 on the east side.  The traffic was heavy but we made every lane change and turn that we needed.  Carol did a wonderful job (again)!  It took a little over an hour to go from the west side to the east side.

We stopped at the rest area, ate lunch,  and relaxed a bit.  A nice grove of trees sat in the middle of the rest area.  The restrooms were in a building that looked like a home that would be in the middle of the grove of trees.  There were no sidewalks; only boardwalks to and from the building and picnic areas.  Walking on the boardwalks through the trees was a great way to relax before getting back in the motorhome.

We exited I-10 and took a four-lane divided highway to Port Arthur.  It was another 20 miles from Port Arthur to the park.  The road took us right through the middle of the oil refineries south of Port Arthur.

We arrived at the park about 4:00 p.m.  The ranger told us that if we wanted to avoid the mosquitoes that this park is famous for, we should stay in our motorhome between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m.  Mosquitoes love me so I plan to heed the warning.  She did say that the mosquitoes may not be a bad because the wind is blowing and it is cooler.  I sure hope so.  We are in site 12.  It is a long, paved, pull-through site and our front door faces the gulf.  The spots are well-spaced.  We like where our site is.

This is the view from our site.  This boardwalk leads to the beach.

We walked the boardwalk to the beach to do some shelling.  We found several small shells.

Carol found this shell buried in the sand.  He dug it up and put it in his pocket  As we were walking, he felt the shell moving his pocket.  He pulled it out and found that the creature who owns this shell was still living in it.  He put it back on the beach.

This is a picture of our site and Carol enjoying the sunshine and being outside with grass and a view.

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While we were sitting outside, this little creature paid us a visit.  We don't know what it is.  It sort of looks like a rat but it has fur and I think rat's fur is slick and short.  He didn't bother us as he nibbled on the grass and we left it alone.

I was able to get a couple of sunset pictures before going inside for the evening.

We plan to spend three nights and two days here.  It has cooled down and we are not using the air conditioner and have shut most of the windows.  I think we will enjoy this park.  I know that we plan to walk the beach more but not sure what else we will do.