Last Updated on February 8, 2023 by Left Lane
Getting up on Christmas Day, the weather was absolutely beautiful in Galveston Texas. Unfortunately the weather still wasn’t quite short sleeves & barefoot temperatures. Which meant we needed to go even further South.
To get the day started, we decided to find a quick breakfast before we hit the road. After scouring the map for breakfast restaurants open on Christmas Morning. We decided upon a local donut shop that also served various breakfast croissants & sandwiches.
It was quite the popular destination, being one of the few places open on Christmas morning.
THE HIGHWAY ATTACK
I attempted to get a good photo of the three Pyramids of Moody Gardens in Galveston Texas. As we were leaving town on highway 45 North from across Offatts Bayou.
While I was taking the photo, I was viciously attacked by the biggest, & largest Bayou Mosquitos 🦟 I have ever encountered. Turns out they weren’t lying about everything being bigger in Texas.
After running for my life, & attempting to make it back into the safety of the vehicle. I had to fist fight Texas Mosquitos the size of small birds to get inside the car. After considering rather to call 911 & report Mosquito 🦟 gang violence, we were back on the road at last.
ITTY BITTY TEXAS SIZED STATUE
Driving on Texas Highway 288 North as we passed through the city of Angleton Texas. We encountered the statue of Stephen Fuller Austin. The statue was sculpted by the artist David Adickes. Stephen Austin is credited with being the founding father of Texas. By bringing over 300 settlers to the region in the mid 1820’s.
BACKROADS & FARMLAND
Deep into a network of Texas 2 lane, white rock backroads. We encountered about every kind of cattle you could think of: Holstein’s, Jersey’s, Brahman, Angus, Charolais, & the most famous of them all the Texas Longhorn.
After driving through the pasture lands & seeing so many different cattle species. I was actively seeking out a Longhorn for a photo. This poor longhorn was chilling in the water relaxing, but I wanted the Longhorn to look at me for the photo. I done the only thing I could think of & mooed at the cow.
My mooing scared the Longhorn right out of the water, I don’t know what I said in cow, but it must not have been to nice 🤣. It definitely succeeded in getting the Longhorn to look my way though, so Win!
A LONG JOURNEY’S END
After hours of back roads through sheep, & cattle country, & Christmas diner on the road at Loves Truck Stop in Sinton Texas. Not to mention speed limits dropping into the 20’s for sections of the journey. After 7 hours on the road & over 400 + miles. We were at last at our destination, South Padre Island Texas!
Being as far South as you can get in the U.S. state of Texas, located just North of the Mexico border. It has warm weather in the Winter, which is exactly what this Gypsy was seeking.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
We checked into the Hilton Garden Inn South Padre Island Beachfront. The hotel was extremely nice, as to be expected of a Hilton. Since we were traveling during Covid time they took extra precautions to let you know that they had cleaned & sanitized your room. They even sealed each room after cleaning, & disinfection as added peace of mind that you were the first to enter.
Being happy with our room, & the view from the room. We quickly unpacked to explore around the hotel. Walking out onto the Balcony of our room. Along with the view, the sound of the waves crashing ashore made it every bit as beautiful as the reviews promised.
Being tired as we were after the trip, we decided it was time to get some rest. Before we called it a night we stopped by the hotel bar, & brought the night to an end with cocktails on Christmas Night. We were finally at home & able to relax for the next week.
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…
