On the Road – Day 4

I enjoyed Dallas - I could have stayed in Dallas for a few days. I definitely want to go back.

On day 4 we had to head down to the Texan port town of Galveston to pick-up a load of pineapples.

I thought, “The pineapples I eat come from Texas?”

Hmmmmmmm …

Let’s not get off track here … back to the road trip.

Wow, if you’re talking about a hot, humid, summer day, then you’re talking about Galveston, Texas in July!

We didn’t let the weather get in the way of enjoying a few hours in Galveston. We walked around Galveston, went down to the pier, did some people watching and grabbed a bite to eat.

Then, we stopped to take a look at the beautiful, historic, Hotel Galvez. This was the highlight in Galveston for me. We spent about an hour inside of the hotel, walking around, appreciating how pretty the interior was. We went downstairs and looked at the display detailing the history of the hotel, complete with old, black and white photos (treasures, in my opinion).

I definitely recommend taking time to get down to Galveston if you’re ever within an hours drive. It is touristy. But, that was easily overlooked by all of the architecture, people watching and history.

After Galveston we drove to Houston and stopped at a Pilot truck stop for some much needed showers.

I had no idea that truck stops like this existed, let alone the way the showers were set up. When my boyfriend talked about showers, I pictured more of a locker room type situation. But, instead, I had my own shower room, complete with a toilet, vanity, fresh towels, liquid soap in a dispenser in the shower, a hair dryer and a fan mounted to the wall.

I have to say that while on the road, every time we stopped for a shower, it was a very nice experience for me.

Next, we drove towards Austin.

At about 10:00p my boyfriend said we were going to stop for the night soon. He said, “It would be nice if we could find a place that would sell us a few cold bottles of beer. Then we could sit outside, enjoy the summer evening air, look up into the sky, and drink our beers. But, most places are probably closed by now.”

Side bar: My boyfriend observes the rules regarding alcohol not being allowed in the truck.

Then, as we were driving through the quiet town of Ledbetter, my boyfriend saw a country store on the side of the road with an SUV parked out front.
“Huh,” he said. “That store looks closed. But, maybe someone is inside, closing out the register and would sell me two bottles of beer.”
He added, “Wouldn’t that be interesting if they actually had beers on ice in a bucket …”

You know what? They did.

:-)

The smiley face isn’t because I got to have a beer that night (although it was refreshing to drink one).
The smiley face is because this happens on a regular basis when I’m with my boyfriend – he says some version of “wouldn’t it be nice if …”
Then, seemingly as a coincidence the very thing he thought of appears.
I’m not exaggerating.
I’ve even pointed it out to him.
His response?
Usually, “Hmmm. Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
I think it’s fun.

My boyfriend parked the truck in the dirt lot to the side of the country store for the night.
We enjoyed our beers and a quiet summer evening.

Day 4 he logged 450 miles.