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...