So, our first night back in the U.S.A. was in a small town
named after my dad – Raymondville, Texas.
We basically stopped there because we had already been driving for 9
hours and were pretty tired after crossing the border. We paid far more than we were used to, stayed
in a hotel, it had a king size bed and air conditioning so it may as well have
been heaven. Ironically because it was
late in the evening, our first meal back in the states was at McDonalds.
The next day we were off yet again, making some distance
crossing the big state of Texas. We
settled on spending a couple of days in Galveston, Texas. We were inspired by a couple of nice generous
Texans we met in Rio Nexpa during our time in Mexico. Galveston was the site of hurricane Rita in
2006. It was interesting to see the
geography of the area. It is a very flat
barrier island made of sand. It didn’t
stand a chance against the hurricane. Residents
were evacuated and there is still evidence of the billions of dollars of devastation. We stayed in the state park camping for a
couple of very hot nights and basically spent our days trying to escape the
heat. We tried some very tasty Texas
BBQ, highly recommended for anyone who is ever in the area. And we enjoyed the southern hospitality and
the accent as well. We got to feast our
eyes on as many pickup trucks as one could imagine. I would definitely go back. We did avoid the major mainland cities.
Then we were off to New Orleans, Louisiana. We got there on a Saturday night and took
advantage of the weekend action. We made
our way down to Bourbon Street, as you do, the night of our arrival after
checking into our hostel. Bourbon Street
is the most frequented area by tourists in New Orleans...it includes everything
from karaoke bars, to dance clubs, to strip clubs. It is not the place to go to see the real New
Orleans but if you are looking for a good time, this is it. Taking the St. Charles streetcar into town is
always a nice way to start out our adventure.
On our arrival at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon St. There was
some live music to welcome us and of course, dancing on the street. Not only is the city full of history,
culture, and personality. It also has
amazing architecture and friendly locals.
It didn’t take us long to find a pub or two to get a drink. Not long into our night we were feeling extra
friendly and chatty and met a fabulous couple visiting from Houston – Bryan and
Lily. What a great couple to stumble
upon and continue our Saturday night journey with. We went from bar to bar, enjoying drinks and
good conversation, a dance here and there.
We even got friendly with the horses that the cops were riding...they
must get that all the time. Although we
set out to have a fun but mellow night we didn’t make it back to our hostel
until 4am. It’s not often we say that
anymore. We certainly did pay the price
the next day...After not accomplishing a single thing except getting out of bed
the following day. We made the effort to
see some sights on Monday. We toured
around the French Quarter from Jackson square to Cafe du Monde, to the French
Market district to Royal Street and everything in between. We got a very good feel for the city and its
history that day. We fortunately ran
into our new buddies from the other night and enjoyed a good lunch and great
conversation before they headed back to Houston. What a great way to spend a day. Even managed to work in a dinner later on at
a Creole inspired Taqueria...first time having anything resembling Mexican food
since returning to the U.S. We spent our
last night in town having a fine dining experience on the shores of the
Mississippi river and a wander along Frenchmen Street. With an earful of jazz and full bellies we
returned to our hostel to have a good sleep before the long drive ahead to our
next destination state of Florida.
