A few photos of my travel through Texas as I headed for Padre Island on the gulf coast. There was one other photo I should have taken but didn't. I saw something dart in front of my bike but didn't feel anything hit but then I kept smelling a burnt hair smell that kept getting stronger and stronger, I finally stopped to have a look and there was a bird wrapped around my exhaust pipe. I saw many more of these birds that would run across the road rather than fly, I thought they were road runners but not sure as they seemed to small.
Padre Island Texas, which is near Corpus Christi. This is a national park and only cost $8 a night plus the 5 entry fee that covers you for 7 days at any national park. You can camp right on the beach or just up from it where I am.
The water was amazing here, so warm and clear. It made me giggle every time I went in, to think the water anywhere could be this nice.
Lots of wind the whole time I was there so it never felt hot but the wind did get a little tiresome after a couple of days as it was constant and strong with no way to escape it when living in a tent.
I met a young couple from Germany that were spending 6 months traveling the U.S. and also a nice couple from Minnesota, out for there maiden voyage in there new Airstream trailer. he was eyeing my bike and dreaming of having one of his own, although probably a different brand.
I next rode to Galveston Island, spent the night and then caught a ferry heading towards Louisiana and New Orleans. The water all along Galveston and Louisiana was very muddy looking and unappealing for anything like swimming, no idea why it was so different.
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| Moss cover trees in the New Orleans city park |
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| The levees that keep the ocean from the houses |
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| Poor looking Palm trees |
They have a really nice park in the middle of New Orleans which I road through hoping to see people playing some music but all was quiet. A little hard going into a city like that without someone directing you to places of interest. I went to the shoreline to have a look,, it's amazing how close the water is to the level of the land. There is a section before the levies that you can see from the sea shells and mud in the photos has recently been flooded, not sure if that is a common occurrence or not. Also the palm trees looked in really rough shape with hardly and leaves left on them.
On to Florida and the beautiful beaches with white sugar sand. I stop first at Henderson state park, spend 3 hour on the beach, got a little burnt, forgot photos and then rode to St. Joseph peninsula state park to camp for the night, Above photos.
Rode up to Georgia next and camped at Pine Mountain State park. At this point and after checking out the weather on the east coast and also on the route home, I decided to head for home as there was a window that I could make it in if I hurried. Riding through Tennessee the scenery was nice and I had some nice twisty roads. I had the bike suspension set up for comfort not for handling twisty roads and I had a bit of an oh crap moment as bike started sliding on the engine guard and I'm not sure but if felt like one of the tires wasn't in contact with the ground for a few seconds. I've got to replace the pins on the bottom of the foot pegs as they are all worn down, they normally give a bit of warning before any non movable parts touch
Between me not coping well with the humidity and the weather not looking good on the east coast it seemed to make not sense to carry on. No use trying to do 49 states just to prove something if it's not enjoyable. Maybe one day I can head down the east coast in the fall when the leaves are changing. Considering the predominance of deciduous trees back there I am sure the fall colors would be amazing.
I had managed to just miss a lot of bad weather and have had very little rain, but have seen evidence of lots of rain shortly before I passed through a lot of locations. When passing through South Dakota I noticed piles of fresh looking snow on the side of the roads, which seemed strange as it was 23 degrees. Turns out they had 13" of snow a few days earlier. the last day was a little cold coming home but I did make it before the rain started, which would have made it very cold. Broke all previous records for mileage on my bike it one day. When I decide to head for home, there's not much that will slow me down.
Well it wasn't the 2 month trip I had planned on but it was a good thing for me to do regardless. I feel renewed, and ready for new and exciting adventures. I realize that when it's hot and humid, traveling on a bike and living in a tent isn't a very comfortable combination for me. I still love those Gulf of Mexico beaches with the beautiful white sugar sand and warm clear water, but I will have to rethink how to enjoy them. Maybe it's better just to fly to Mexico, although I do have a hard time staying in one place for long. As far as bike trips it would be nice to find someone to travel, I think that would help to slow me down a bit as by myself I get bored so tend to keep riding.
I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer now. Next is a get together in North Van with friends from long ago that I have re connected with through Face Book, some I haven't seen in maybe 35 years, it should be good!. While on the coast I am also hoping to visit my sister and anyone else that I can as well as heading over to the sunshine coast to see good friends, then maybe over to the Island as well, depending on who all indicates they want a visit. I will make sure I am back in Raymond for July 1st as it's a big celebration here in our small town with the population swelling by about 4 times it seems as families come home for the holiday. I also want to spend some time with Mark and family before they head out for holidays.
As for the rest of the summer it is still open, maybe the BMW national rally later in July in Billings Montana, another smaller one in Naksup B.C. in Aug. that I usually go to but I will see if anything or anyone else exciting comes into the picture by then! I am also still dreaming of a trip to Ecuador for a motorcycle tour, and there's also the thought of a trip to Alaska, if anyone out there is interested?
