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| Houses on stilts |
From Corpus Christi we headed out along Mustang Island, in a bit of rain (believe it or not).
The houses are all built on tall stilts, in the hope that if a storm surge comes through, it is no higher than the bottom of the house. Even apartment buildings are on stilts. It's amazing how many people live here, hundreds of thousands. Pretty risky business! Not a lot to see today, but the guys were pleased to be able to drive out on a sandy beach. We saw another MG on the road and pulled them over for a chat. Spent the night in Clute, just west of Galveston.
The houses are all built on tall stilts, in the hope that if a storm surge comes through, it is no higher than the bottom of the house. Even apartment buildings are on stilts. It's amazing how many people live here, hundreds of thousands. Pretty risky business! Not a lot to see today, but the guys were pleased to be able to drive out on a sandy beach. We saw another MG on the road and pulled them over for a chat. Spent the night in Clute, just west of Galveston.
On the 16th we went into Galveston, in the rain again. There we did a 'train' tour of all the lovely historical houses and also saw signs of Hurricane Ike. They lost 40,000 old oak trees and did some pretty creative artwork with some of the stumps.
On the ferry out of Galveston, we met a group of bikers, who were veterans. They were on their way back from the funeral of a soldier killed in Laos 45 years ago. The Laotian government finally released his remains so the family could have a funeral. His 90 year old mother was there. Apparently these bikers and other veterans go to funerals all over the place at the invitation of the families. There is a group of war protestors who harrass the families of fallen soldiers, telling them it is a good thing their sons and daughters were killed, as they are evil to go to war. So these veterans go to the funerals and form a cordon around the family to protect them from the cruel things these people say.
Spent the night in the worst motel ever in Orange TX!!
17th, headed for Baton Rouge, crossing a lot of bayous, swamp and sugar fields.
18th, On our way to New Orleans, we did a tour of a historical sugar plantation from the late 1700s. Oak Alley was named for the 28 oak trees planted in two rows from the house to the Mississippi River. The guides were all dressed in period costums, and told some very interesting stories about the people who lived in the house.
Then in the pouring rain, we drove to New Orleans and the Maison Dupuy in the French Quarter. After a fight with the valet we were allowed to park our own cars. 