Day 6, Sat., April 7, 2018 Jamaica Beach (Galveston Is.) A shopping and "sort" day

Before I begin with the day's event, I must go back to tomorrow and include an event that even though I had forgotten to include it, it could have well meant the end of the trip and possibly a death on the highway.

NEAR MISS!!!!!
Here it is, as as I saw it (Ruth concurs) . We were driving at about 60 mph on Highway 159 south of Hempstead, heading to Glveston with a circuit around Houston. Hempstead is where we had stopped for the chiropractor, and we had the trailer in tow.   The traffic was heavy but not "bumper to bumper". This portion of the freeway had a very wide median, 300  feet across ,with one to two foot high  of grass growing. It had not been mowed in this part of the median.  That fact is important in this event.  A red pickup truck, 10-15 years old, was abreast of me passing and had just gone a few feet ahead of me so I could see a black and white dog in the passenger's seat. All of a sudden, the truck continued to go off the road on his left side, into the median, and down into the grass out of my sight. Instinctively,  I kept my eyes on the rear view  mirror to see if he was safe and what might of happened. There was no way I could stop for assistance in this instance.   I continued to look back in the rear view mirror to see what might have happened to him. Did he roll over, get stuck or what? Then, in the blink of an eye I saw in the mirror his truck coming up OUT OF  the ditch and heading for the back of the trailer.  HE MISSED by a few feet at most and continued behind me to the other side onto the shoulder. There I saw that he had finally come to rest on the right shoulder of the road  with his lights still on. I have to believe that he was OK and maybe the dog was, too. I do not know how he kept control of that vehicle to get it where it ended up. I prayed for him the rest of the day off and on. That was, way too close. There was no way to know what caused him to drive off the freeway at that speed. Another car passed me shortly after and we exchanged "whews" through the windows. Travel mercies  all around.  Lots of "ifs" and "coulda beens" in that one. Just thankful.

A Close up of a Caspian Tern (photo by Stevenson)

Western Meadowlark (photo by Stevenson)

 Today was a variable day weather wise. as last night it was muggy, 99% humidity, and 73 degrees in the evening. Looked and felt like rain, but did not. This morning the wind began to switch from the southeast to a more northerly direction and a light mist began to be driven by what later turned out to be a 25 mph, northerly wind. Now, at 5 PM the temperature is 56 degrees with the rain slowing to a very fine mist and still out of the north. A good day to cuddle up and keep warm.

We decided after a very casual morning and pancakes for breakfast, that we would do a bit of shopping and as much bird watching as there might be along the beaches of the Gulf.  So we headed into the city of Galveston (remember Galveston is a very long Island) and found a few stores including a Walmart which supplied all that was needed "grocery wise", but not the piece of hardware Ruth needed. (Large "S" hooks for hanging items). Walmart was unfortunately out of them, so we stopped at a hardware nearer the RV Park, and found a well stocked hardware store about a mile from the park. It would have made proud any Hrdware store short of Lowe's perhaps. Love those independent stores.

Some of the Terns we saw along the Seawall drive at the beach.

Can you see the Caspian, Common, Forster's and Gull Billed Terns?

That led us to the Gulf and the high waves that were keeping the Pelicans busy with food being kicked up by the wind and waves. As the wind was in the north and the waves were from the south, it splashed the waves in the air and allowed the Pelicans and other birds to have a field day with food along the shore and in the waves.



We did find, while driving  on the beach, a few more species of  birds to add to the list. (See photo)   Ruth and I are a bit rusty in some bird identification, especially those we have not seen in a year or more.  But with the usual amount of exchange between the two of us, we finally agreed on 4 types of terns and a few "peeps".  In the pond in back of the trailer a group of Cattle Egrets and one White Ibis were added today as well. The Western Meadowlarks, were seen on  fence posts with their tails and feathers blowing askew in the wind.  So we will take a break for "supper" as some still call it, and end this paragraph with what I have found to be an interesting bit of trivia at Gas stations when I get gasoline.  The credit card in the west (so far) has the magnetic strip placed to the left side where in our area of the country it it placed to the right. Hmmm? Gotta look that one up and see if there is a law or "rule of thumb".Maybe it is a Mississippi River boundary thing like 'call' letters on radio stations.   You know... the "K" and the "W"?  Or didn't you ? Google "Radio Call Letters".

Tomorow (Orthodox Easter)  we will see you in church or out in God's beauty.