Where have all the people gone?

As we drive thru small towns in Louisiana we find ourselves looking around at empty foundations.  About every other little plot of land is reminiscent of lives lived and things lost. Ropes hang from trees where there was once a tree swing but that is all that remains but perhaps the outline of where the house once stood.

Those who stayed and rebuilt did so in varing stages. Some just the land and an RV, some a single wide and others houses. All something to start over. 

Makes my heart hurt for the memories lost but so happy for the place I call home.  

Slowing down at the beach

Saturday July 5th we stayed near the campground and had a relaxing day (aside from shark, sand and mosquito attacks). We played games. The girls swam then streamed TV from Hulu all afternoon (and received another data warning email from Verizon). Jessie read and I walked the beach and talked with some locals. 

I am reminded of  the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon.

Tessa taught us to play BS.

There is a lot of fishing on the beach and along the nearby waterway. Birds gotta eat too.

The people we met were all super friendly. I wish I had better audio on these nice people. 

Beneath that grey t-shirt hides some very burnt skin.

ARGH

Don't get me wrong, I am having the time of my life, but practically every second if my life I am so smeared with bug spray. I. HATE. BUG. SPRAY!!!! And, it doesn't work.

I have two bug bites on my bum. MY BUM! I don't remember when I was freaking naked in public!  

And there is sand in practically every orifice of my body, even after my shower. I think the sand is embedded in my comforter. 

And I may or may not have got bitten by a shark. 

And then ran out of the water. 

All the while screaming. 

May or may not... 

Happy Fourth of Ju-ly

Tonight we celebrated our nation's independence by blowing stuff up.

Not that much, really, it was one of those things where I bought conservatively not sure what the scene was going to be like, then when I was all done I wished I'd planned better and spent a lot more money.

There were loads of people on the beach tonight lighting off lots of fun and noisy things. We had a great time and would have stayed longer watching the spectacle if it weren't for the damned mosquitos.

Please enjoy.

Beating the Heat

Today we spent the day at a Schlitterbahn water park, something we've have on our wish list for a while. This Galveston location is not the best of the parks, but it was where we had planned to stay. More importantly, we had a blast.

First we had to get from Bolivar Peninsula, where we are camping, to Galveston Island. And that involved a ferry.

The boat is smaller than most Washington State Ferries I've used.

Sarah Michael was more impressed by the idea that we were taking a ferry in Texas. To her that was very unexpected.

Other boat working the other direction.

Another surprise: This is a free service of the State of Texas.

The dogs came along for the ride, but we dropped them off at a doggy day care near the water park.

We had a really great time at Schlitterbahn. Tessa and I did the more adrenaline-pumping attractions. We all loved their river system, it was super fun. The lines were surprisingly not bad during the 10am-3pm time we were there. It kept getting progressively busier and people were still arriving when we left, but it wasn't the mess we were predicting on July 4th.