The Wurst Trip Ever! -- Day 2

Whoo -- chilly in the woods this morning! Funny, Brandy had said it was in the 90s when she came down this way about 2 weeks before...weird. We pack up camp -- oh look, there's the hole in the mattress...guess we need to get a patch kit sometime today -- and make our way up to the office to register the campsite. But before we go, I want to take a couple pictures of where we stopped -- hey, there's a river over the grassline next to the campsite! Cool! We found out later that it was the San Antonio River. Neat!

Well, we had planned to wander through the mission before we left the park, but before that, I wanted to get a shower. Angela's still a little iffy on the idea of using the public showers at the State Parks, but I guess growing up going to public schools and dealing with communal showers for P.E., I just plain don't think anything of it. Of course, these aren't always the best quality showers....the hot water was fine, but there was perely any water pressure -- I was wedged up against the wall trying to make sure everything got wet -- and that wall was cold! shivers

As I was drying off, my phone buzzed, and I checked it to see a very tender e-mail from Brandy telling me how much she missed us. With a soft smile, I began mentally composing what I would send back to her a little while later.

Angela and I walked around the mission, and were duly impressed by our surroundings, although neither of us is particularly religious. Angela lit a candle for her grandmother, and I got to ring the bell! The museum was interesting, showing how the Spanish missionaries converted the native peoples, and had several artifacts displayed related to the clothing, pottery, and stonework that was manufactured there. We saw a sundial that was little more than angled lines carved into a stone and a stick to create the shadow -- I think it was accurate, too! Oh, and best of all -- we saw a fox! Angela was giddy about seeing that fox for the rest of the trip.

Finally, we opted to push on, figuring we would make our way south, eventually going through Port Aransas, for the sole purpose of riding the ferry to the island. I can't think of very many ferries in Texas, so if you've never been on one, I recommend it if only for the unique experience -- unfortunately, it doesn't last very long...just a few minutes.

We made our way down to Mustang Island State Park, where we found the beach to be pretty much empty. The red tide was mostly cleaned up, although we saw some dead fish here and there on the beach while collecting some shells. The wind was blasting away at us, but we looked forward to camping on the beach.

It occured to us that we should probably consider what we planned to do for dinner...on our way out, I asked if it was permitted to have a campfire on the beach -- turned out we were allowed a small fire. Cool! Camping on the beach and a campfire! I was looking forward to getting back. We ended up buying some sausage, shrimp, and of course marshmallows....I even picked up some chocolate and graham crackers. We grabbed a small bag of firewood and some firestarters, and made our way back to the beach, where I pitched the tent......in the dark.....again. Then I dug a quick hole and struggled to keep the firelighters lit long enough to really catch while the wind was fighting me to blow them out. Eventually I got a little fire going, but it quickly became merely coals....the wind was not goign to allow me to get a decent cooking fire going, nor did it seem it planned to let the tent stand up either -- the dome was looking more like a squished nerf ball from the pressure the wind was putting on it. Sadly, it looked like we would not be able to feasibly remain on the beach, unless we planned on sleeping with the roof of the tent in our faces all night. Too bad, though -- the moon was full, the beach was empty, and the ocean was gorgeous. It was a glorious night, and we soaked it in for a while before we buried the fire, crammed the sandy tent into the trunk and made out way to my parents' house in San Antonio. On the way, I spent time on the phone with Brandy, which was helpful in keeping me awake when Angela dozed off.

Finally a bit after midnight, we rolled in, said brief hellos to the parents, then found a mattress and passed out.

The Wurst Trip Ever! - Day 1

Nah, this trip wasn't actually bad....but we did end up at WurstFest in New Braunfels at one point, which led to an amusing title.....of course, that would be starting at the end of the trip.....rather than try and recount it backwards, I shall begin someplace more sensible.

Perhaps at the beginning....

Miracle of miracles, Angela managed to get a 4-day weekend....a little chat with the boss, and I managed to get the same one. Ideally, Brandy would have been able to go along as well....I think she had enough leave time, but for reasons more private than I care to reveal here, she was unable to join us, and we missed her greatly during the entire trip -- fortunately, I was at least able to stay in touch with her through IM and phone calls.

Of course, we ran into a potential snag right away....although I had gotten paid the day before, it wasn't deposited yet, and we still needed money to at least buy a tank of gas, not to mention other vacation expenses. Should be simple....just deposit my check with cash back, right?

Well....there's a bit of a problem there, as I still have not had the chance to replace the driver's license which was lost when my wallet was stolen a few weeks before....darn banks liking to see ID to give you money back from your check.

So we went to the bank and I put on my poor pitiful orphan face, asked nicely for alms, then recited a bunch of facts to prove I was me, and they let us have the money. Hurray! Quick stop at Kroger to fill the cooler, and we were--

--well, not quite off....thought it might be wise to check the tire pressure before heading out, as we know at least one of our tires has a very, veeeeerrrrrryyyy slow leak. Whipped out the tire gauge and, wow....no pressure at all.

"You've been driving on this?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Miracle it hasn't shredded by now." Shrugging, I aired up the tires, and we finally hit the road....well, we were missing my jacket and the gazetteer, but we figured we weren't looking at back roads that were too obscure this time, and since we were going to the coast, where Brandy had been merely two weeks before and it was in the 90s then, we thought we could get by without them.

Note to self -- if you're forgetting something, ALWAYS go back and get it.

We started simple, stopping at the Kolache Bakery in Ennis (definitely a good breakfast), and then made our way down I-45 to Corsicana, where Angela loaded up on goodies at the Russell Stover factory. Afterward, we made a phone call to Galveston Beach state park to reserve a site to go camping that night.

See, Angela loves the ocean - it recharges her, and she had been wanting to try camping on the beach. This was the basic plan for the weekend -- to camp at least one night on a beach.

Sadly, at barely noon on the first weekend in November (you'd think tourist season would have wound down by then), Galveston was already booked up -- no available sites. So we check the next beach we think of, Mustang Island state park. They tell us there are open spaces at the moment, but that their beach camping is first come, first served.

So, Mustang Island is the plan! Off we go! Down 45 for a bit, then exit onto the back roads in Buffalo. mmmm....buffalo.....

Quick pause for a break in Marquez, and I decided to take a picture of the little backwoods corner of Texas we found ourselves in.....when as luck would have it, a rail inspection truck just happened to be passing that portion of the tracks right next to where we were parked. Well, you don't see one of those every day, so I whipped out the camera and snapped a picture.

On we go, eventually connecting to Highway 77 southbound, figuring we'd head down through Victoria and cut over toward Mustang Island by way of Port Aransas -- it's just too cool to ride the ferry. Unfortunately, darkness comes quickly in November (who'da thunk it?), and by the time we were going through Victoria, it was getting pretty dark and we were starting to feel the fatigue of driving all day. So, we decided to compromise and find a closer park to stop and camp at, and then make our way to the beach in the morning. Turned out the closest spot available would be Goliad State Park, so we changed course and made our way there.

Wow.

I'd never been to this state park before, which features a restored Spanish mission from about the 1700s. Driving up to the park and seeing its white walls all lit up with golden lights, it was like a beacon from the road. We decided right then that we had to explore it in more detail in the morning before we left.

We glanced at the office door and found that there were open tent campsites available, and made our way to the camping area. Down the steep gravel road and found a place to park, and then set up the tent in the dark (again). You know, I can't think of a time in which the sun was actually still up when I've set up that tent....we always seem to arrive as or after the sun is going down....guess we're just too easily distracted.

Aired up the mattress, and -- we're cursed. We've only used this mattress once before, and at that time, we didn't know that the two parts zipped together, so we spent an uncomfortable evening trying to balance on two separate twin mattresses. Later, we found they zipped together and were looking forward to a much more comfortable use of it.

This time? There was a hole in one mattress, and no practical way of finding it in the dark, much less repairing it. Fortunately, I'd slept on the ground many times before....not as comfortable as the air mattress, but still doable -- so I let Angela have the mattress and I slept on the floor of the tent.

Chilly that night, but not too windy -- the moon was nearly full and the stars were out...it was a great night for camping, and I slept much better than one would expect for lying on the ground...