Judi, Debi, Gretch trip to Galveston

the wandering chick

"...the best of friends..." "...we go down the highway..."

When the seed was planted that these three girls might come to visit me in Galveston, Texas, I could hardly think of anything else. For several months I planned, schemed, waited and worried. Planned the meals and the day trips; schemed to get them to stay longer than they said they could; waited for the day to arrive; and worried that the plans might fall through. But they didn't. I had to be pinched several times the first day of their visit to realize I wasn't dreaming.

We are the best of friends, having met at our winter home in Arizona. They came from three different states: Alaska, South Dakota and Minnesota, and it was the first time for them on the Texas coast.

They were troopers surviving the May heat and humidity down here. I ran them pretty ragged, but we took time each morning for coffee and Wordle, then hit the road running, each day in a different direction.

It was a great time with no glitches, great weather and lots of laughs. The only down side was that we have other friends, too, who we would have loved to share the time with. Their names came up often. They know who they are and they must know we missed them.

So, here are some pix of our 10 days together. Thank you, my dear friends, for making the journey and for creating memories that will last me the rest of my life.

"...seeing things we may never see again." *

These girls sure pitched in in the kitchen...for their own good!

Playing a Minnesota lottery scratch-off

Many of our late afternoons were spent on the patio.

We had plenty of goofy moments on this trip, "butt" this was the goofiest.

Watching the sunset

Coffee and Wordle, our morning ritual

We invited the 'hood gals over for a night of Ponytail Canasta.

We've all seen pictures of someone holding the sun, or the moon, in their hands, right? Well, this was an attempt. They may not have succeeded, but they sure had fun trying.

Ice cream on The Strand...

...and on other things

Brazos Bend State Park, south of Houston, is a wonderful natural habitat park for wildlife that includes not only a plethora of coastal birds, but alligators as well. We spent a day walking a couple of trails that took us up close and personal to both. And a little too close to the 'gators.

The next several shots were taken there.

This yellow-crowned night heron found a feast for dinner.

On previous visits to the park, the 'gators have always been on the opposite side of the lakes from the trails. This is the first time I've seen them on the trail. We saw two and, though they appeared to be sleeping, we passed cautiously and didn't stop for "a better picture."

A yellow-crowned night heron

I suspect this bloom is that of a lily pad. Huge lily pads line the lakes at Brazos Bend.

Ibises are distinguished from the white egret by the long down-curved bill.

The black-necked stilt

* (lyrics from "On the Road Again," by Willie Nelson)

Having never been to south Texas before, we had to put San Antonio on the list. We stayed two nights, did the river walk, both by foot and by boat and ate at the city's oldest restaurant on the river, Casa Rio.

We spent our second day visiting four San Antonio missions, having done the most well-known, the Alamo, on the first day. Each mission is unique and some more well-preserved than others. All are worth a visit. Here are some pictures.

We werent doing too well on the cruise boat trying to get a selfie, so a passenger helped us out and took a shot of us. Hers is to the right.

Mission Concepcion was dedicated in 1755 and is considered the oldest unrestored stone church in the U.S. It should be noted that the missions were more than just churches. They were communities with living and working quarters, and the chapels were only a part of the whole structure.

"Remember the Alamo!" The Alamo is the most well-known mission of the five. It's not so well known as a mission per se, but rather as the 1836 battle that took place there that helped win the Texas independence.

Mission San José is the largest of the missions and considered the favorite by many. The missions were constructed in the early 18th century, built by the Spanish missionaries in an attempt to house the native Indians and convert them to Christianity.

The San Antonio River meanders through the downtown district of the city offering a picturesque stroll (despite the crowds) known as The River Walk. The busiest section is lined with shops and restaurants, but outside the loop, the river walk continues and can be quite calming and serene.

At 12 noon at Mission San José, Taps was played in honor of Memorial Day. It did my heart good to see that there are still good people who stop what they're doing to pay their respect.

On the morning of our departure, we walked a ways along the river outside of town, but it was a pretty hot go and not as picturesque as other parts of the river walk.

Mission San Juan originated in 1716 in east Texas and was relocated to the present location in 1731. Within its walls the native inhabitants produced clothing, hides and tools, and outside the compound various agricultural foods were grown, making the community self-sustaining.

Having a snack at the Mission Espada aqueduct

A result of a very hard rain that caught us unaware at a Thai restaurant we had walked to resulted in a beautiful sunset which we got glimpses of from our hotel room window. The rest of the story is: not only was it raining buckets, but the streets flooded and the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees. Finally after almost two hours of trying to get an Uber or a taxi, a kind taxi driver volunteered to get out in the rain to take us the half-mile back to the hotel. Yes, we tipped him well. Then went back to the room and got out the cards.

At the far end of Port Bolivar, closer to High Island, we spotted the spoonbills flying and were able to track them down. They're such a pretty bird, I really wanted the girls to see them.

While visiting The Strand in Galveston, we heard of Sargent Beach in Matagorda County and that there was lots of sea glass and driftwood there. So off we go on our next available day. We didn't find a lot, but it was a nice day trip.

Goats one day and porpoise the next. In the next photos, we're on our way across the Galveston Bay via ferry to Bolivar Peninsula to hunt for sea glass and for spoonbills. And, of course, we'll eat.

Going down Texas Highway 90A, we came across a hillside of goats. Yep, had to stop.

Well, it's off to the airport for their return trip home. We're talking about making this an annual event, and I couldn't be happier about it. Thank you, girls, for a wonderful, wonderful time. You are always welcome to visit again and stay as long as you can.

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