Accommodation

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Rae au pays de l’or noir

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Today’s drive was tricky to plan and I spent hours yesterday with Google Maps, my Texas Shunpiker Guide, and my GPS to find the best route. Both Google Maps and my Garmin wanted to route me straight through Houston while the Shunpiker Guide wanted to send me through Galveston. I finally came up with a route that looked pretty good and planned to solidify it once I got my hands on another Texas road map (having lost mine to a cat and coffee collision).

It was foggy when I woke up at 6:30 this morning and visibility was still poor at 7:20 when I had had my coffee and toast and was packed. I decided to hang out for a bit longer until the visitor centre opened at 8:00 so I could get the map and confirm my route. I entered the coordinates for my destination into the GPS but knew I’d be mostly on my own for this drive.

That done, I set off on I-10 westbound, stopping a few miles away at a Conoco pretending to be a Flying J. I missed the first entrance, which wound up being good as entering through the next entrance allowed me an easy exit out of the first and a much easier return to I-10.

From I-10, I took exit 798 and meandered my way down to route 35 by way of route 146. I checked the GPS a couple of times and it finally came up with a route that resembled mine, but with a few more twists.

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The Fred Hartman Bridge was very impressive!

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The first part of my day was in a world of oil refineries, hence the title of this post.

When I started to run out of road, I finally listened to my GPS and turned into… Pasadena.

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I was on Nasa Road and everything was space themed, so I figured I was near the space centre. Yup, I drove right past it! Note to self: you haven’t seen Apollo 13 in a long while.

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At some point, I passed a relic of olden days:

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Entering Bay City, I was overdue for a break, but I had been holding out for a real grocery store, passing only little food stores. So I was quite glad to pass a Walmart, where I was able to stock up on fresh fruits, veggies, meat, and beer before landing at my somewhat remote destination, saving me from having to go out tomorrow.

Port Lavaca was soon upon me:

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Today’s drive was difficult. The roads were in poor shape and I was mostly passing through towns so there was a lot of stopping and going. I really felt the toad today, my gas mileage was the pits, and I could feel both the engine and brakes working hard. It would have probably been easy to just bite the bullet and go through Houston on I-10, but I don’t regret my choice.

Just one damper on the day: I have a nice big crack in my brand new windshield. 🙁 I don’t think a glass place will be willing to fill it. Since it’s well out of my view range, I’m going to get a DIY kit and try to fill it myself before it gets worse.

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The Lone Star State

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When I received my Texas travel kit this summer, I felt a bit foolish. Sure I’ve hit some milestones, like the Chilkoot, the Dempster, a summer in Quebec, and my solar panels, but Texas had way too many variables to be a sure bet. Still, it gave me something to shoot for and if I fell short, well, there’s always next year. Dreams do not have expiration dates. And yet, against all odds, here I am! Texas was an icon of my childhood; one of my first computers was a Texas Instruments machine, so the shape of the state was close at hand for a long time.

Texas is more expensive than some of the other southwest states and wouldn’t make sense to me as a place to boondock for the winter, but it’s perfect for a pass-through journey like the one I’m having this winter. Next year, I will set my eyes on a place like Quartzite where I can drop anchor for the season or a state like New Mexico with affordable state parks. But this felt like the perfect winter for Texas and I have the Frugal Shunpiker Guide to help me keep the costs down.

It was a bit of a harrowing drive from Westwego to I-10, which I had expected. Something bizarre happened to me as I drove over the Huey Long Bridge: I got a nasty case of vertigo and felt quite ill during the drive across this very high bridge. The only thing that could explain it is that Huey was the first name of the dude who rear ended me. Yeah, that has to be it!

I-10 was a nasty 400KM stretch of rutty highway. It was really unpleasant and rough, with a lot of construction and high winds, and there were no obvious places to stop so I ended up driving straight through.

I felt quite itchy going past this town:

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(Maringouin is the québécois word for mosquito. 🙂 Do not use it this word in France, however!)

The sun was low in the sky and in my eyes by the time I got to the rest area, so I was really glad not to have to push on to the Walmart in Orange. I wasn’t able to find any signs confirming that I can spend the night here, but a security guard confirmed it’s okay. I think it’s going to be a noisy night. There’s an RV parked on my driver’s side and a big rig on the passenger side. I’m hoping that big rig gets replaced by another RV.

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Fedex Delivers

I just got a call from the park’s front gate letting me know my package has arrived! Of course, I was expecting it to arrive later, so I’m nowhere near ready to go anywhere. I’ll finish off my coffee, head down to the gate to get the package, and then get into departure mode. Good thing, too, as I really need to dump that grey tank!

For tonight, I am going to try overnighting at a rest area for the first time! Texas allows people to stay up to 24 hours at rest areas and the welcome centre on I-10 westbound has security. That just seems like an easier option than getting off the interstate and meandering my way through Orange to the Walmart. A Flying J just past Orange is a third option, but is a last resort as it would be very noisy.

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When Non-RVers Run Campgrounds…

The staff at Bayou Segnette State Park obviously does not RV.

The RV park is practically empty and there are lots of sites within spitting distance of the bathrooms, playground, and laundry. Twice now, they have put an overnighter on the same pad as me. Twice now, my neighbours have sadly told me, “Man, we should have just stayed at Walmart, we would have had more space.”

I don’t mind the tight quarters since the other rig is on my driver’s side, but there is no logic to this decision except that non-RVers don’t understand RVers. It’s like when I’m asked to move my rig, as though that’s a small request.

What burns me the most though, is that I never wanted this site that is right next to the comfort station and offers me zero privacy because my passenger windows overlook the path to the comfort station while my rear window faces the busy playground. Why I couldn’t have been put all by my lonesome in the back of the loop, like I requested, is beyond me.

It’s almost as though the staffers have been told by management, “These saps know we’re the best deal in the New Orleans area and so they’ll jump when we tell them to.” Shame on them.