Last Updated on February 8, 2023 by Left Lane
Staying in one place, when there’s something to see in another. Is quite difficult to do, as any good Gypsy will verify as facts. Not to mention the temperatures were scheduled to plummet into the mid teens for the weekend. I was in the mindset of making like the birds, & heading South for the winter. Never really been a fan of cool weather.
After looking around the country for the warmest temperatures I could find, for a beach locale. I settled on a destination based on the meteorologists weather prediction. Booking a trip around lunchtime the day before. We were ready to hit the road. I was ecstatic to be heading anywhere that wasn’t cold.
THE BEGINNING
We hit the road bright & early at 6a.m. This meant very little rest for my partner, who didn’t get off work until after midnight the day of our departure. We stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House as we passed through the city of Columbus Mississippi.
After a quick breakfast, we were in route to our Destination for the 1st night. Galveston Island, in the state of Texas. Located on the Gulf of Mexico at a more southerly point of the U.S. it was at least 20 degrees warmer then back home. It’s also about 660 miles away, with a 10 & 1/2 hour drive.
ROLL THE MILES AWAY
Around 4 hours into the drive, my partners vehicle seemed to think I needed a break. Which as it turns out was spot on, so I pulled into the next rest area. Hopped out & did a lap around the grounds, got myself a drink of water, & right back on the road. Because in the words of one great poet:
“I have promises to keep. And Miles to go before I sleep.”
Robert Frost
THE FACE
With 7 more hours to go until I reached Galveston, I was determined to make it by sunset. My partner slept, awakening only occasionally to give me a little stank eye when we passed through the road construction zones, & the road was to bumpy.
Clearly I asked the construction crew to conveniently locate these bumps at strategic locations along the route, just to make sure she wasn’t sleeping to soundly. After I apologized for you know “driving on the road” 🤣 she was back off to sleep, & we were closing in on our destination.
THE BIRDS DONE IT FIRST
Being almost to my destination, with under 2 hours. I saw my first sign that I was heading into the right climate. The very moment, was when I passed a migrating flock of Snow Geese on their annual Southern migration route. I pulled over on the side of I-10 West to admire the spectacle.
I get exactly what these geese are feeling, in their quest to seek out warmer temperatures. Although personally, I’m convinced this was a Goose gloat to let me know they beat me to Texas, & I was late.
BETTER LATE THEN NEVER
As I crossed the Fred Hartman Bridge, which is the longest Cable Stayed bridge in the state of Texas being 2.6 miles in length. Costing over 90 million dollars to build. Not to be confused with a standard suspension bridge. Which differs in the way the load bearing suspension cables run.
On a Suspension bridge, the load bearing cables run straight up & down in vertical lines. They attach to the main cable which is anchored to the bridges towers.
Whiles on a Cable Stayed bridge, the load bearing cables spread out in a upside down fan shaped pattern of parallel lines attached directly to the Bridges towers, without the use of a main cable. This bridge was my sign that I had less then an hour until Galveston!
YOU HAVE REACHED YOUR DESTINATION
Much as I love warm weather I’m thoroughly convinced that people have Christmas Trees all wrong, & that there actually supposed to be warm & sunny Palm Trees 🌴. I love it when you reach that geographical location, & the Pine Trees, so common across the Southern U.S. transform into a variety of Palm Trees.
Having booked the first night of our stay at the Best Western Plus Galveston Suites. We had a very nice room, with an amazing view over the Gulf of Mexico.
To make things even better, they had a 24 hour complimentary coffee machine in the hotels main lobby! That’s right I had coffee with dinner, judge me 🙂
SUNSET OF THE BEACH
We got out of our room, & walked the shores of Galveston Beach to watch the sunset. It was also an excellent way to stretch your legs after an 11 hour long Road Trip.
The long stretch of Texas shoreline offers up some amazing panoramic views from the beach.
IN-ROOM DINING FOR 2
After walking the shores, & watching the sunset. We decided it was time to make it back to the room & find dinner for the night. We decided to use Uber Eats & have dinner delivered to our room. We use Uber Eats, GrubHub, & Door Dash quite often for food delivery at many locations. Between the 3 of these food delivery services, you can get food delivered from just about any restaurant in your area in U.S.
We decided on a local restaurant called Saltgrass Steakhouse. Our estimated time of delivery with prep time included was 50 minutes, so I headed back out on the balcony to enjoy the view as we waited.
Right on schedule, there was a knock at the door & the delivery lady brought us our food. The food was great, we might have ordered more then we could eat.
After eating ourselves into a little stuffed food coma, this day was done, for us…
The Roving Gypsy®
Thanks for reading. If you want to hear more about our Holiday Road trip, & see where we end up. Like, share, comment & let me know… To Be Continued…
