Yikes! It’s a Rain Forest in Here

After a wild night of thunder, wind gusts that rocked the trailer, and rain pounding the roof and windows, we woke to cloudy skies and calmer winds. Leaving Bryan, Texas, behind on February 21, 2018, we headed toward Crystal Beach, Texas, to attend our niece’s wedding on Saturday.

The rain started up again and the temperature rose from 40 to 70 degrees. A few miles outside of Houston, we stopped at a rest area for a break. When I opened the door the odor and feel of a rain forest smacked me in the face. The walls, cabinets, and all the surfaces inside the trailer dripped with moisture. Condensation obliterated the view through the windows. The fabric furniture, towels, and jackets were all damp. What the heck, did we spring a leak? If so, there wasn’t anything we could do about it while on the road. We had to get to our next location fast before too much damage occurred.

Thank goodness, the clouds had cleared and the sky was sunny when we arrived at Lazy D & D RV Resort.

I latched the door open and cranked out the air vents and windows. Beach towels soaked up the moisture on the walls, cabinets, and windows. On hands and knees, I ran my hands on the carpeting in the closet, under the bed, along the bedroom floor, around the mattress and bedding. Nothing found to indicate a leak.

“Hey, I found condensation on all the tools in the toolbox in the bed of the pickup. Maybe there is no leak,” Jon said. “No, there’s got to be a leak?” I said. The only thing we could figure out is that the humidity had been so high, moisture built up inside the fifth wheel. This was something we had never experienced before and don’t care to face again. Another hour or so and damage to the interior would have been severe. For the next few days, I still searched for the nonexistent leak, just in case.

While I searched for the leak and Jon set up the trailer, muscovy ducks waddled and grackles strutted around the trailer. Grackles are my new favorite bird for their whistles, squeaks, and croaks, but especially the guttural crackle noise they make and also for the way they make their tails stick out sideways as the walk. I should have recorded their songs because now I miss their serenade.

Don’t Let Your Anger Show

 Word to the wise when taking the Galveston-Bolivar Port ferry across SH 87: Don’t show anger while waiting your turn for the ferry. A dump truck pulled up behind us. He talked to himself and waved his arms about, appearing agitated. When he saw other vehicles boarding before our lane, the driver yelled, cussed, and honked his horn. After a few minutes, the loader directed the vehicles in our lane to the ferry. She waved us through but signaled the dump truck driver to pull over into another lane.

As the ferry pulled away from the port, we saw the dump truck waiting on shore. Take that, dump truck driver.

The State Department of Transportation operates the ferry and there is no fee. The ride took about twenty minutes and we only had to wait about ten minutes for it to arrive. On our way back, we drove right on without any wait at all.

The Wedding

We attended the fastest wedding and reception ever on Saturday, February 24, 2018. After three days of fog, we woke up to puffy clouds and bright sky along with a slight breeze, a perfect day for a wedding on the beach. We arrived at the beach house around 9:15 a.m. noting travel bags packed and lined up in front of the house for the 30 people who would board a cruise ship later in the day. The ceremony began at 9:45 a.m., formal photography session at 10:15 a.m., catered lunch at 10:45 a.m., champagne and toasts at 11:15, cake cutting at 11:30, and at 12:00 p.m., we waved at the bus as it whisked the wedding party and guests off to the cruise ship. Wham. Bam. The deed was done. I suspect, though, the merriment continued on board the ship.

We hopped in our truck and headed for Galveston. A plate of fried calamari and a couple of Mai Tais at Olympia Grill on Pier 21 kept us busy while we waited for the Coast Guard to escort the ship out to sea.

We stopped in at The Great Storm Theater, which tells the story of the September 8, 1900, Galveston Hurricane through the personal stories of some of the survivors and the recovery required to rebuild the city.

A few more sites near Pier 21.

More photos and information about sites on Bolivar Peninsula coming up in next post.

Safe Travels