Heading West Again!

April 2, 2013

 

          As we adventure through the United States, we meet quite a bit of people from all walks of life.   One evening, in South Carolina, we met a man we will probably never forget.  Malachi made up a character based on him called Mr. Drunk Guy.  He smelled of booze and pouted his lips and pointed his finger while making this “hmmph” sound.  He turned out to be a chef and told us this elaborate story about having a guys’ weekend away.  I am pretty sure he drug out our conversation in order to get out of working since his friend set up camp as he stood and talked to us.  The kids thought he was weird, in fact, so did I.  He left a lasting impression, anyway.

Malachi's Mr. Drunk Guy Impression

          After South Carolina, we made our way to Gulf Shores, Alabama for a few nights at Gulf State Park.  We were hoping that this would finally be our chance to relax at the beach since it had been so cold for most of our trip.  The campground was very nice and was occupied mostly by senior citizens who camp there from October until the end of March.  There were also quite a few families there for spring break.  There was a group of college students performing a mission during their spring break and they served pancakes on our first morning there.  It was nice to not have to cook for a morning.  Malachi and Kylah played volleyball with a group of senior citizens and ran around the campground all day with other kids.  They attended a kids’ camp one day where they were taught a few church songs.  Now, if you know Malachi, you know that this is not something he particularly enjoyed.  He was frustrated by it, but we explained to him that it was good to experience something that is normal for others.  We told him to learn from his experience.  I hope he took away something positive. 

          On our last day there, the weather was perfect for beach going.  The kids and Justin only got in the water for a short while since it was still a little too cold for that, but we did build some sand castles and bury both of the kids in the sand.  It was fun to finally get some sun and warm our bones!

 

          The day we left Gulf Shores we detoured through New Orleans.  I have read quite a few stories which romanticized the city in such a way that I had a need to see it.  Tennessee Williams said “Don’t you just love those long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn’t just an hour –but a little piece of eternity dropped into your hand-and who knows what to do with it?”  It sounded beautiful.  I wished I had stuck to the made up version, quite honestly. 

 

We drove to the French Quarter with intentions of enjoying some authentic New Orleans food.  The streets smelled of rotting booze and trash.  The restaurants were full of people as were the streets.  There was a square where artists displayed their work but the crowds made it hard to stop and admire anything.  When we finally found a place to eat, a patron, who had just finished eating, had a seizure.  His mother screamed so loudly that I still feel my stomach tighten when I think about it.  We hadn’t eaten in over six hours but we were no longer hungry.  We left and made our way back to the truck.  I drove for hours, trying to put as many miles as possible between us and that dreadful place as possible before we stopped to eat.  I know that there are a great number of people who enjoy New Orleans.  I do too, in literature.  I picked up some Kate Chopin at our next stop so that I too could enjoy New Orleans again.

          After New Orleans, we made our way to Sea Rim State Park in Texas. Two hurricanes hit this park within a couple of years of each other and left lasting impressions.  The ranger told us to find a spot along the beach and camp so that is what we did.  We were the only campers there our first night and we enjoyed the private beach the next morning.  It was warm and the kids spent most of the time in their swimsuits.  They built sandcastles and played in the water. 

          There was, of course, a lesson to be learned on this beach.  It had been a victim of the BP oil spill and there were balls of hardened oil mixed with shells littered all over the beach.  Justin ran up the coast until he came to the end of the state park.  There he had to hurdle over piles of trash that covered the entire beach.  He saw hoses, plastic bags, shoes, and everything in between.  It was a great time to discuss human consumption with the kids and the ways in which it affects nature.  The plastic used to package everything we buy has to go somewhere when we are done with it.  Justin was no longer motivated to run since he would have to revisit the littered shore line every day.  

          We did, overall, enjoy our stay at the beach and planned to stay for a while.  Of course, the weather would not cooperate and dumped lots of rain.  There was more rain in the forecast so decided we would leave early.  Then, on the night before we were to leave, it rained just long enough to hatch more mosquitoes than we had ever seen before.  There was no way to keep them out of our sleeping quarters and at ten o’clock that night we packed up and headed for Houston.  We found a hotel room around 1 am and got enough sleep to get us to our next campsite near Smithville, TX.