I’m posting this because several friends encouraged me to do a travel blog. Yesterday, Monday, I took the long way home along the coast of Texas and wrote a short piece about my trip. Here it is.

I had a great Easter in Bay City. I spent Monday morning jaw-jacking with my sister. I decided to take the scenic route home rather than deal with all the construction on all the various roads I used to get there. I took State Highway 35 from Bay City to Houston. Loved being out in the country and saw lots of wildflowers. Also caught lots of red lights in the little towns and the middle of cow pastures. In Houston, I got on interstate 45 South to Galveston. Glad I was going South because North was a parking lot in many places. A long drive later, past NASA, I came to a sight that made me smile. The Gulf of Mexico sparkled in the shallows of the bay as I drove over the bridge to Galveston Island. I 45 turns into Broadway Street and I loved every minute of the roll down that historic street. At the end, I navigated the jog onto Ferry Road and drove straight onto the Robert C. Lanier. One vehicle later, the ferry took off across Galveston Bay to cross The Roads on the way to Bolivar Peninsula. Lots of oilers and freighters on The Roads and one Cruise ship departing for the Caribbean. We landed, I departed the ferry, and started driving. I spotted Roseate Spoonbills in the tidal ditches along the way. Across the coastal prairies to Winnie and onto State Highway 73 to get to the road that would ultimately take me home. Highway 124 took me down memory lane, through Hampshire, to Fannet, and finally to Cardinal Drive. When I pulled into my driveway, it had been four hours on the road. On my usual route, it takes me about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. I took a little vacation on the way home.