Back in the Saddle

 The ship was scheduled to dock at 7am this morning.  I was awake at 5:15 because a couple of texts announced their presence on my phone.  This meant we must be near Galveston.  I went topside and saw the lights of the terminal moving slowly by as the ship came to a stop.  So we arrived somewhat early.  Deb came up and we had breakfast and walked for a bit.  When the announcement came for disembarking, we were ready and were off the ship by 7:30.  We took an Uber to the self storage lot where we parked the RV, threw our things in, and were on the road before 9am.  All in all, a pretty painless exit.

We headed south to a place where we had camped on the beach before, just off of a beach access road near Matagorda Beach. Arriving there, we saw that the sand was rather soft and quite chewed up, and the only vehicles on the beach were four-wheel-drive pickups.  Looks like this will not be our overnight spot this time.  We walked the beach for a bit and had lunch in the parking lot.

We moved on, driving another hour and a half to Port Lavaca, another spot we had stayed before.  There was room at Magnolia Beach among the dozens of campers already there, and we even scored one of the picnic table spots.

Dinner was pulled pork, salad greens, and grapefruit, a far cry from the spreads we have been feasting from the last several days.  We have to reset our expectations a little bit.  And probably our body weight.  Now we’re back to whatever supplies we have stuffed in the freezer.  Because we were fed so handsomely at Tejas, we still have a lot in the freezer.

While on a walk, we met a guy named Chuck and struck up a conversation.  Turns out that Chuck is a regular here, and he told us there are a bunch of regulars.  Chuck lost his wife to cancer seven years ago and the medical bills ruined him financially, so, after losing the house and all his possessions, he went on the road full time, following the weather to and from from southern Texas to the UP of Michigan.  He was a wealth of knowledge for camping spots, particularly the free ones, and we gained a few ideas on where to camp for us value-oriented campers.  Chuck likes this place because it’s quiet and no one disturbs you.  He can also stay for weeks if he wants to.

We’ll have to get used to sleeping in an RV again.  We’ve grown accustomed to the subtle swaying motion of the boat, and the low constant rumble of the engines.  Now it’s a smaller bed, no movement and an occasional vehicle passing by.  All part of the adventure.