FHMA Day 21: The Beach Boys

QUICK FACTS

• Where We Started:  Galveston, Tex.
• Where We Ended: Austin, Tex.
• Miles Driven: 316 (5,044 total)
• New States: None
• Total States: 13 (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas)

THE DAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

It's easy for Joan and me to complain about being in the car for hours at a time, as we have been for the past few days. Nothing like boring stretches of highway, a filthy car and late arrivals at hotels to make you regret ever leaving home. But imagine being Fred or Hank. They don't allow dogs in presidential libraries. Or restaurants. Or museums. So Tuesday and Wednesday had been really boring for the beagles, so when they finally got a chance to let loose on Thursday, they took advantage.

Our first stop of the day was the Galveston Island State Park, which still under limited-access restrictions after Hurricane Ike hammered Galveston last September. In fact, from where we were on the beach, you could see the amount of work being done to repair the damage.

 
Crews work to rebuild the beach areas of Galveston Island State Park.

But Fred and Hank didn't seem to care about anything but being in a wide-open area without anyone else around. They just wanted to run. And run they did. Dragging their leashes along, they experienced the kind of unbridled joy that only dogs seem to be able to achieve.

No need for captions here. Just two dogs, working off some pent-up energy. After 15 minutes of playing, Fred discovered canine nirvana: Something dead to roll in.

 
Fred rolls in something recently departed. He doesn't look too sad.

This run -- and another one a few hours later at Stewart Beach Park in Galveston -- pretty much wiped the dogs out for the remainder of the day, and reminded us how important it is to make sure they get some time to enjoy the trip as well.

After our first beach excursion of the day, we headed over to check out the Galveston 1900 Hurricane Memorial, a cool sculpture that sits right on the city's seawall. Despite a rumor that this monument had been damaged by Hurricane Ike, it survived the storm and still stands tall.

 
The Galveston 1900 Hurricane Memorial.

Not everything along the seawall was as lucky, however, as this damaged historical marker shows.

(Photo by Jim)

Driving through the city, you could see the significant damage to many of the structures along the seawall. Lots of businesses remain closed, and the Flagship Hotel still has visible gaping holes in the hotel walls. But, overall, the city seemed pretty alive and rebuilding work was occurring at every turn. Here, you can see some of the work.

Now, I'm not sure exactly what the purpose of these frames are, but hey, it made for a good photo. (Photo by Jim)

Before heading to Austin, we made a stop in Texas City, Tex. And why wouldn't we? I mean, look at this skyline.

 
The Texas City Industrial Park in Texas City, Tex.

Seriously, though, though this is an extremely ugly port town, I wanted to make a quick swing through here to see the memorials for the 1947 Texas City explosion, which killed more than 500 people. I read about this tragedy back in high school, and for some reason, it stuck with me. The explosion -- ignited by a fire on board a ship carrying large quantities of ammonium nitrate -- was so huge, it was captured at a seismology facility in Denver, and threw a 2-ton anchor from the ship more than a mile.

That said, Texas City is sort of a forgotten tragedy, but one that -- beyond the human cost -- forced major changes in safety regulations for the shipping hazardous materials and led to the first class-action lawsuit ever filed against the United States government. The Memorial Park was very nice, with a number of interesting facts about the tragedy, and it's also where the 62 unknown victims are buried.

We then got in the car to Austin, and after threatening all day long, the skies finally opened up in a big way, and combined with Houston rush-hour traffic, made the first two hours -- and 50 miles -- of the drive quite unpleasant. But the skies closed, the roads opened, and we made it to Austin for dinner.

ROAD SCRAPS

• Fred is spending more and more time in the front seat, chilling on Joan's lap. We thought originally he was waiting for the right moment to launch another attack on the windshield wipers again. But turns out he really likes sniffing the air coming out of the air conditioning vents. He'll sit there for 15 minutes, continually sniffing the vent. Fred has clearly decided this vent is the auto equivalent of a dog's butt.
  
• Joan, looking for any excuse to do laundry, was thrilled when we got hammered by a big wave at Stewart Beach Park in Galveston. Suddenly, we had soaked jeans, socks, shoes and dog leashes. And after we dried the soaking dogs, we had soaked towels. So, alas, a hotel with laundry facilities was required. Now you know we ♥ Baymont, but the one in Austin has no guest laundry.  So we tried our new hotel crush: La Quinta Inns. This led to another wonderful hotel rate negotiation. After working the price down via AAA rate, Joan kept pushing:
  
  • Joan: "Do you have a managers' special?"
  • Hotel rep: "Not that I'm aware of."
  • Joan: "Do you have any other special rates I should be asking about but don't know to ask about?"
  • Hotel rep: "Not that I'm aware of." 
  • Joan (now annoyed): "Does your not being aware of them mean they don't exist? Or that I have to know the secret password to get to a person who IS aware?"
  • Hotel rep: "Not that I'm aware of."
  • Joan, surrendering: "Do you have guest laundry?"
  • Hotel rep, finally able to give a definitive answer: "No."
  • Joan: Terminates call immediately.
  Joan later called La Quinta's 800 number and got the same treatment. La Quinta Inns may take dogs and -- at most facilities -- do have guest laundry. But they've got nothing on the Baymont when it comes to customer service. Unfortunately, Baymonts don't have guest laundry is a lot of places, which is making it increasingly hard for us to stay there. By the way, none of this
  prevented Joan from getting a $109 room down to $84.60.
• We've had our first physical injury of the trip, and it was suffered by the car. A screw seems to have fallen out of one of side panels on the passenger side, so it's now sticking out about six inches. We've already decided that we need to get the car serviced soon, so this will hopefully be resolved then. But, like all Acuras, the car has held up like a champ. The inside is a bit rank, but as long as the car is running, we can handle that challenge.

FHMA PROGRAMMING NOTE
FIrst off, a big thanks to those of you who have been reading this daily stream-of-consciousness travel rant. We're having a great time, and hope we're giving you a little sense of the country.

We will be arriving in Phoenix on April 1. At that point, we will be what we think is about the halfway point of the trip. While in Phoenix, we will get the car serviced, get Fred an acupuncture appointment and Joan will undoubtedly catch us up on laundry. So we're going to take a break, and there will be no posts on April 4, 5 or 6. But we'll be back to start the second half of the journey on April 7.

Now, I'd be lying if I said it was a break for me. I am actually flying back to Virginia during this All-Star break of sorts for a very important reason. No, I have not taken a new job. Yes, our house is fine. No, I have no family commitment. In fact, I am heading home for the weekend because I have a bunch of fantasy baseball drafts. Yes, I am a dweeb. Go ahead, say it.

Anyway, just giving you an early heads up.

MUSIC REPORT

• Random iPod shuffle song of the day: We forgot. Again. Sorry.
• In keeping with our Texas theme, we listened to a lot of ZZ Top on Thursday. This made it more ironic when we later drove through LaGrange, Tex.. A country brothel on the outskirts of that town became the subject of one of ZZ Top's hits, "LaGrange."

MEAL REPORT

• Lunch: Gaido's, Galveston, Tex.: Thanks to Rebecca Chanin, we knew this was the place to hit in Galveston, and she was right. Great oysters -- maybe even better than the ones we had at Benny's in Houston -- and some tasty iced shrimp made for a meal that was not only excellent, but healthy. Joan enjoyed her shrimp salad, though they did slather on the dressing a bit. Jim Nutrition Rating: 4 stars (out of 5). Restaurant Rating: 4 stars (out of 5).
• Dinner: Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill, Austin, Tex.: Joan and I had dinner with Melissa Illig, an old friend from AOL, and she thankfully recommended this place. I had a flatiron steak that was tremendous, and Joan had butternut squash. The shrimp corn dog appetizer was outstanding as well. Jim Nutrition Rating: 2 stars (out of 5). The steak was fine, since I hadn't had red meat in a few days, but of course, got fries. I did skip dessert, though I did steal a few bites of Joan and Melissa's desserts. Restaurant Rating: 4 stars (out of 5).
• Weigh-in is Saturday morning.

HOTEL REPORT

• La Quinta Inn Austin North, Austin, Tex.: Another solid La Quinta. I admit; I'm surprised. For some reason, I had low expectations for La Quinta Inns, but they have been very good to us.  Hotel rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5).

COMMENT OF THE DAY

From Josh Hatch, who -- though he's never been in a car with me -- must have heard something about my driving.

• Based on the support for RUSH, I'm seriously questioning the readership of this blog. But, more importantly, have you noticed the one common factor in all three near accidents? I don't want to give it away, but it's spelled ACURA.

   

By the way, Josh also did his own travel blog last year. I discovered this when I went to his Facebook page to see what music he likes, in order to rebut his Rush insult. He lists no favorite music. This seems lame. Show your cards, my friend.

UPCOMING PLAN (subject to change)

• Today: A quick drive through Austin and San Antonio, and then west.
• Tomorrow: Big Bend National Park.
• The Day After Tomorrow: El Paso, Tex., and southern New Mexico.

BONUS JOAN PHOTO

A father and son work on a sandcastle at Stewart Beach State Park in Galveston. To Joan's disappointment, there didn't appear to be any fishing gear in sight.

BONUS BEAGLE PHOTO

Fred and Hank in front of an anchor from one of the ships involved in the Texas City explosion in 1947. They looked somber enough, so we thought it was OK.

Comments

[Rocci Fisch]

Great dog shots, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Terrific travels.

[Chet Rhodes]

Please more beagle scampering photos....

[Mary Lou White]

WHY no Janis sites???

[Paul Horenkamp]

Enjoying the blog. Just had to send another shout out for Pappasitos. My wife is heading to San Antonio for work next month and that's the only place she'll eat.

[Amy]

While I realize the need for the break, I think my days are going to be a little less chipper without the blog next weekend. I really do look forward to reading the daily posts. What will we all do when you guys actually make it back home for good?

[Rebecca]

Jim/Joan, I am honored to receive a shout-out and even happier that Gaido's is still open and as good as it ever was.

My grandfather lived through of the Great Hurricane in 1900. His family lived 15 blocks from the beach, but since there was no seawall, the water rushed in and flooded the streets fast. He was 8 years old, and a man who worked for his family took him up to the roof of the house before the flood waters swept him away. True story.

My aunt was injured in the great explosion in TX City in 1947. Shrapnel to the head, etc. She was lucky to survive.

All in all, not a great place to live in those days, if you valued your life!

[Kim O'Donnel]

when you arrive in Phoenix, hightail it to Pizzeria Bianco, some of the best pizza you will ever have in your life...KOD money back guarantee if it disappoints.

[Linda Way-Smith]

ZZTop is singing about a brothel in that song? Really?

[Joan]

I second the comment that my days will be a little less bright without my FHMA fix. However, being married to a baseball nut, I understand that this is an addiction that cannot be denied. Enjoy your "break"!

[Jen Maffett]

When you get to Phoenix, be sure to check out Taliesin West (http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Taliesin_West.html) ... even if you do have laundry to do. Phoenix is one of my favorite places to be in spring, and in Phoenix, Taliesn and the Desert Botanical Garden (www.dbg.org) are at the top of my list of things to do. Have fun!

[Tamara & John and their beagles, Elvis and Abbey, from Michigan]

I, too, will miss the blog but understand the need--my entire family are baseball (heck, sports) nuts!

More pics of the playing beagles. I wanted to run and jump with them!

[Pam Williams]

I don't know, Jim, but your trip to Virginia seems a little Thoreau-ish (with him leaving Walden Pond to join civilization on Saturday nights) ... maybe it'd be a good idea to bring home the laundry, too! I think Thoreau did his in town. We're enjoying your blog! Safe Travels - love, Pam, Jack, Boys and Dogs

[Fran]

I'm sure you'll remember Biga on the Banks if you're in San Antonio around dinner time.

[Ellen Zangla]

I think Joan already may have suggested this, so I don't want to take credit for it, but it seems that "Loads of Laundry" should be added to the Quick Facts.

[Alan Spoll]

OK, so I am right there with you in Dweeb-land, as I am in a lot of fantasy leagues...but why would you need to fly across the country for a draft? They have this funny thing called the internet. You may have heard of it.

[Stefanie]

I have been loving your blog. I shall miss you while you are away. Just so you know, my husband and 5 year old son are in a fantasy baseball league...I had to do the draft on the computer... I do not think you are a dweeb!!!!! Have a safe flight.

[Susan Poulton]

Around Big Bend National Park -- I'd recommend the Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas (it's actually the only hotel in Marathon, Texas). Try not to be bothered by the trains that pass through every 45 minutes. There are some nice restaurants in Marathon.

Also, Fort Davis, Texas is quite interesting and home to the McDonald Observatory, where they record "Stardate" for NPR. If the weather is clear, they do nightly observing right after dark.

Not sure if you went through Marfa on your last trip, but you can try and spot the Marfa lights. They have a huge rest stop dedicated to it. My dad and I watched for an hour and saw nothing but UFOs made by Ford.