Base Camp
Home for week 47 was Cypremort Point State Park, a campground located in southern Louisiana. I chose this location based on the fact that I didn’t think we could drive from New Orleans to Houston in one afternoon, so I was trying to break up the trip. This spot was right off the coast and had the wind gusts to prove it, but the beach view from every site really stood out. One downside of this newly created campground was that there was only 1 bathroom (single stall) with a shower in it - and on top of that, it wasn’t permanent - it was a temporary trailer bathroom. We got by with the only option for a shower in the whole park and quickly learned that the other half of the trailer housed free washers and dryers. This meant we did as much laundry as possible to take full advantage. I’d say the pros of this State Park outweighed the cons and resulted in a relaxing, secluded week.
Sunday, March 9th
On our way from New Orleans to our new base camp we made a slight detour to Baton Rouge to check this state’s capital off the list. We swung past the current capitol building and then subsequently the old capitol building. I would have loved to see the inside of the old one (see pictures here) but unfortunately it’s closed on Sundays. This felt like a very short and almost wasteful trip off our path, but we both agreed that we wouldn’t make it back to the capital city anytime soon. With this one checked off our list, we headed to Cypremort Point State Park, where we got settled in and relaxed the rest of the night.
Monday March 10th - Friday March 14th
Since this was a week away from major cities, we chose to stay at the campground every night to unwind after our week of partying in New Orleans. We walked the park constantly, seeing an alligator the first night and witnessing fish jumping around the creek a few times. Every night we were blessed with a beautiful sunset before heading in to catch up on the tv shows and movies that we’ve been missing. (If you have any recommendations please let me know!)
Saturday, March 15th
This morning we woke up early to hit the road. The weather was predicted to be pretty bad with thunderstorms and wind advisories across the country. Although our drive was very windy, we managed to dodge the worst of the weather and Zac was a total champ driving with the trailer. We left Louisiana and made it to the Houston area within about 6 hours. After a quick set up at our new campground, we headed towards the coast to check out Galveston and The Strand (main street). The place was packed and we figured it might be because it was Spring Break and this is where a lot of cruise ships take off from. We wandered the streets and stumbled across a market or two before grabbing a bite to eat. Our expectations for Texas Barbecue were quite high and this place just didn’t quite hit the mark. Afterwards we went to an old fashioned soda shop/candy store to get milkshake and an ice cream. My ice cream was delicious, but Zac (with his high milkshake standards) was not too impressed. We then drove to the other side of Galveston island to see the beach and pier but kept it moving back to the campground to call it a night.
Sunday, March 16th
With an entire Sunday ahead of us, we slept in and then headed into Houston. Our first stop was at Waterwall, a self-explanatory water feature on the west side of town. This was a quick hop-out-the-truck-stop to snap a few pictures before continuing on to another taste of BBQ. This time we stopped at a little neighborhood market that sold wine, artisan bread, coffee, salsa and the best smoked brisket ever. Zac even splurged on a mini cheesecake that was to-die-for. With the brisket, we sampled their pulled pork, Mac and cheese and the creamed corn. Everything was fantastic and made up for the flop on Saturday - shoutout to Henderson & Kane, and if you’re ever in the area you have to check them out.
After fueling up, we headed to Space Center Houston, where we felt like little kids again. We took a tram to see Saturn V - one of the rockets responsible for launching American astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program of the 1960s and early 1970s. It took my breath away when we walked into the building that this rocket was housed in, it was massive. Next, we were able to walk through the Boeing 747 that transported space shuttles 223 times across the US over 42 years, we were even able to walk through the mounted shuttle replica of the Indepence. We explored more exhibits inside the museum and then finished the day with a quick trip to the grocery store.
Thanks for reading, stay tuned because the Houston area is already proving to fill our week with fun! As always, check out the reel below.
That brisket looked excellent!