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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...

Family Reunion


After taking the Bolivar ferry across to Galveston, I drove north about twenty miles and checked into the Tropical Gardens rv park ($20/night with Passport America discount).  I needed a couple of days to do some Brew Hut repairs/maintenance/cleaning to prepare things for my wife Julia’s arrival. 

Tropical Gardens was a very basic park that featured mostly full-time residents in older trailers; however, it was equipped with a shower and laundry facilities, along with full hook-ups.  Then I headed to Houston’s Eastlake RV resort, which was conveniently located to the Houston airport.  I’m not a big city person anymore, and Houston is a huge, sprawling city with terrible traffic and tollways that do not take cash.


I picked up Julia without too many problems and drove back for a late dinner of shrimp, pasta, wine, and a late night hot tub soaking. 


On the next morning, we pulled out under cloudy/rainy skies and drove to Padre Island.   The weather was overcast, and severe storms were predicted for that night.  We considered free beach camping but ended up checking into Padre Balli County Park's Campground.  Next to the campground, there was a restaurant and bar on the Bob Hall Pier.  We decided the price and location were right ($25/night).  We took full advantage by getting in a long walk on the first day and a nice dinner of oyster po’ boy, shrimp tacos, and good drinks.





The photo of the restaurant above was taken the day after the storms, which did turn out to be severe and gave the Brew Hut quite a shaking.  Julia felt bad enough for Callie to let her crawl in with us for comfort.  But by 8 a.m. the front had moved through.  The forecast for the next few days is for lots of sun.



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