Yes, Virginia, there IS an end to Texas!!

First things first - Al wanted me to post this photo of our tiny, little Christmas tree that we brought with us, so we could wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah and anything else you enjoy celebrating at this time of year.  I should have posted it yesterday  but was having such a bad time posting ANYTHING that I didn't have the patience to fight with the internet connection to add it.

Anyway - we hope you had a very wonderful holiday - ours was...wet.   It rained all the way from San Antonio to Houston (as I mentioned) and then the RV Park was probably our least favorite.  We DID enjoy sharing Christmas breakfast with the birds though - that was excellent!

So this morning dawned grey and drippy in Brookshire, the little town west of Houston in which we stayed, and since Al had the day off work, we just put ourselves together and started the day's journey to Lake Charles, Louisiana.  The map we're using in Trailer Life shows that Route 10 goes through the middle of Houston.  Boy, does it!  We must have driven through 15 miles of metropolis! Here are some photos I took of this beautiful city:

Some of the highways 

Part of Downtown - very pretty! I was impressed!

This interesting building is a hospital!

Something they do in this part of Texas that I noticed and wish other metropolitan places would do is, when you're about to come to a confusing area and need to be in the correct lane to take the proper highway, each lane has the route it delivers you to painted right on it so there's no confusion.  Fabulous idea! They should adopt that in every city in the world!

Anyway, the rain stopped and started the entire journey of 184 miles, and we sank from 1500 feet above sea level down to a few below!  We have most definitely left the highlands behind, and it was with some elation that we crossed into Louisiana from the seemingly neverending state of Texas.    Texas had a lot of pretty places but also had its share of not-so-pretty places.

Of course there were oil refineries!

some pretty places, too

But...oil refineries.  Texas. You expected  this.

Louisiana almost immediately seemed more pastoral - certainly more wet!  Almost the moment we crossed the state line we encountered a swamp!  It was pretty, actually but I wasn't quick enough to photograph it.  Things tend to rush past you at 65mph.  

Nice little Louisiana farm

Another farm we passed

Wetlands - a LOT of lakes, streams, and marshes

And rivers. Did I mention rivers?

So on we drove, encountering woodlands and farms and wetlands - a lot of birds of prey; most of which I SUSPECT were falcons.  Large, light brown, and all over the place.  Just like yesterday, a great number of hunting birds were in the skies, though in Texas they tended to be darker and larger - more eagle-shaped, and today's were...well they were really pretty!!  

Finally, after what seemed to be a very long, dreary drive, we crossed a very tall bridge which overlooked...Lake Charles! 

Yes, there IS a Lake Charles!

 We had arrived at last, and to ice the cake, the rain stopped for a little while to allow us to check in to a very pretty RV park called "12 Oaks".  Once again, very nice people working here, and they gave us a spot directly across from the office and the laundry room (since I MUST catch up with the laundry again!).  Perhaps they took pity on me as I gimped into the office with my snazzy cane!  By the way, I'm happy to report that my Klutz Injury is beginning to feel better.  Still hurts but the swelling is going down and I think I'll be fine - plus I'm discovering that this cane is good for picking things up, turning on lights that are too far above my head for me to reach, and scaring birds into behaving!  

Anyhow, we plugged the RV into the electricity and water connections and stepped back inside- and not even 2 minutes later the rain began in earnest!  Our host also recommended a seafood restaurant that delivers to the RV park!  What a treat!  Shrimp scampi, deep-fried biscuits (I wasn't crazy about those but Al enjoyed them), homemade onion rings, cheese sticks (the birds love those!), salads and fries with brown gravy.  I think I may like Louisiana!!