We intended to wake at 6 and leave at 7:30, but mistakenly set the alarm for 6:30am. We got out the door at 8:15. Our travel today would be 370 miles and a long day time-wise. Temps started at 54F and warmed to the low 80s. We shed the heated gear throughout the day at each stop.
Today our route was mostly on secondary highways, so no more interstate for now. It was much quieter and much less traffic, making for a mostly calmer ride day. We rode for 35 miles to the Texas state line.
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'...
Our route actually went North on Louisiana Highway 1 for a bit, then West on Louisiana 2. There were some prosperous homes along the way.
We rode through the Texas Forest Trail for over half the day, past bayous and through historic towns.
We took a fuel break and leg stretch about 1/3 of the way at a busy truck center. They tend to have consistently clean bathrooms. An older gentleman walked over to Rob and asked about the Wing. He had a trike for a long time that he named Retirement, but sold it when his wife passed over a year ago. He was with his new wife having breakfast at Dennys. He said she doesn't like riding motorcycles, but always points them out on the road when she sees them.
We eventually turned South, taking TX-147.
At Noon, we got to our lunch stop, the Burger House in Colmsnell, TX. We were in a rural area and there were not many options, but this place got good reviews from locals and people traveling through.
It was tiny inside, and we entered to about five tables of people staring at us. The waitress was friendly and service was quick, despite the Saturday lunch rush. We ordered a burger and fries and both were really good, not greasy at all.
Back on the road, we rode US69. We took another short fuel break and leg stretcher. Next, we were excited to travel by boat - a car ferry - to take us a short ride over to Galveston. It is a free ferry provided by the state. We had a short wait in line, then boarded.
Since it was such a short ride, we didn't have to strap down the bike like we did a few years ago when we were up in Nova Scotia on the big ferry. Michele got off the bike and stood by the boat side to better see the water and views along the way. The people who stood up near the front got splashed pretty good when we crossed the wake of another boat. They all came back to their cars with wet clothes. Those waves were surprising given the water was so calm, there was barely any boat motion. The engine vibration below us was more noticeable than the boat movement.
We disembarked smoothly and rode along the beach highway. The GPS said we were -5ft below sea level. The bay smelled like the ocean and had real waves.
The houses are all on very tall stilts.
Galveston and Galveston Bay were very congested with traffic. We did catch sight of several historic mansions, one of which we might visit tomorrow.
It was really hectic and we were getting weary. From the ferry drop off to our hotel it was over 45 minutes.
Our hotel, which is on NASA One Road, is a mile from that chaos and in a quieter location across the street from a marina. We checked in and then walked just across the street to a fancy food truck that serves authentic Hawaiian food with rave reviews. Since it wouldn't be open Sunday or Monday, we wanted to try it. We got the pig (pulled pork) with cabbage, rice and Hawaiian macaroni, plus a side of fries with the special herbs and sauce. It was all very delicious. We're glad we tried it.
We are here for 3 nights and have tickets to visit the Houston Space Center all day on Monday.
Animals we've seen so far on the trip, many of which were today alone: gray and white cranes, a roadrunner, various water birds at the ferry, wild turkeys, roosters, horses, donkeys, cows of all colors, dogs of all colors, goats and sheep.
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