Galveston, oh Galveston

Here's hoping that everyone did as they were instructed and had a merry Christmas. I did.

My main Christmas present turned out to be something of a surprise. It consists of a few days vacation in a little place called La Marque on the coast of East Texas, near Galveston. Kathy was raised in La Marque and has always threatened to show me the place; but I had no idea that this would be happening so soon.

We leave Lawton today (Sunday, December 26th) and travel down to Dallas where we still stay overnight. Then on Monday we will drive down through East Texas, avoiding the major routes so that I can see the Big Thicket, and arriving in La Marque sometime in the afternoon. A couple of days on the coast there and we will return by a more direct route, stopping in Dallas once again, to be back in Lawton sometime on Thursday.

So that's the itinerary. I have not seen East Texas before (in fact, I haven't been south of Dallas as yet) and I'm hoping that it will provide me with fresh sights and insights that I can bore everyone with when I return. Apart from anything else, it's a couple of years now since I last saw the sea and this will be the first time that I see the Gulf. Cool, huh?

Of course, this means that I will be strangely silent for a few days. Fear not, dear friends, for I shall return, perhaps bearing tales of strange encounters with sea food and sand. It is not inconceivable that I might even be humming a tune about "Galveston, oh Galveston" when next you see me. Be warned!

Until then I wish you all happy holidays and a bounteous New Year.