February 22- 23, 2015

On Sunday, 22nd, we woke to heavy cloud cover, packed up, said our “see you laters” to Carolyn and Pete and headed east, bypassing San Antonio and on our way to Houston.

This flag was just east of Houston – it was huge:

Traffic coming into Houston – so glad we did this on a Sunday.  But I made a mistake .  I directed Andy to travel the Sam Houston Parkway around the city.  The road was good, not much traffic but it was a toll road that charged every 6-8 miles – Yikees!  Not cheap and won’t do that again.

Yep, we are heading over the bridge:

Lots of industry going on down there – check out the huge coal pile – notice the bulldozer on top:

One of the many huge ports in this area (notice the blue skies – ):

We stopped at a lovely little rest area.  The rest rooms were in this house surrounded by picnic areas:

The main visitor center:

This is the last exit in Texas – 880 miles of I-10 – WOW!

Into Louisiana:

And we settled into a beautiful spot at the Intracoastal Park near Hackberry, LA.  What a lovely spot, facing the intracoastal waterway and watching the birds and barges:

Check it out:

And we get all the views, plus electric and water for only $12.00 a night.  In 2011, Carolyn and Pete had told us about this park so we spent a few days here then.  Since that time, they have done quite a bit of work and now have 28 sites – 6 of them face the water.

We will be here for a few days.  There is a cold front coming thru all of the south and we figure this is a great spot to sit it out.

Stats for the 22nd:

Miles Traveled: 416 Miles (Yes, we are crazy!)

Routes Traveled:

Texas:  SR-17; SR-118; US-90; CR-422; CR-5216; CR-422; US-90; I-410; I-10; Sam Houston Parkway/SR-8 (VERY EXPENSIVE); I-10

Louisiana: I-10; SR-27; Intracoastal Road

Today, Monday, 23rd, we decided to take a little road trip with a final stop at the grocery store before the rain and wind starts.

Our park is part of a series of five county parks in the Calcasieu Parish.  We decided to check out one of the other parks.  This is Holbrook Park – another lovely place to stay:

Coming back we noticed this curvy trees – how strange:

We come back a different way and were surrounded by truck traffic.  A lot of construction happening here!

After shopping and lunch, we made a small trip to Hackberry and over the bridge for pictures of the area.  Here is the park – our home is on the left:

The intracoastal waterway – many barges coming and going as well as being staged – very interesting:

The other side of the waterway:

What a beautiful area.  By mid afternoon, the temperature dropped and the rain started.  So we will be staying warm in our little spot watching the birds and barges.

Stay tuned and enjoy today!

March 13, 2011 - Louisiana

Today our travels took us thru eastern Texas – check out the exit number – WOW:

This is the last exit number on I-10 in Texas – 880 miles – another WOW!  

We made our way to southwestern Louisiana and water, water, everywhere.  Such a difference from a month ago.   

Here is our campsite:

You know, every so often you find nice little treasures to camp and this is one of them (thanks Pete and Carolyn for the recommendation). 

So this is where we spent our afternoon:

 

Watching the barges go up and down the Intercoastal Waterway:

Even Dusty joined us – although he was more interested in the birds and the jumping fish – LOL:

Oops, almost forgot to tell you – we are at the Intercoastal Park near Hackberry, Louisiana (South of Lake Charles).   It is part of the Calcasieu Parish Park System.   We get water and electric for $12.00/night – :-))).   PLUS free firewood so we enjoyed a great fire this afternoon/evening!

Miles Traveled: 141 miles

Route Traveled:

Texas: SR-146; US-90; I-10;

Louisiana: I-10; SR-27