Day 6 - Houston Ship Channel

We had a wonderful time sightseeing today. Since the weather was nice we went back to the Kemah Boardwalk. We also took some time to go up the coast to see where the ship will come through the Houston ship channel. The picture here is one of the Fred Hartman Bridge, which I believe we’ll be sailing through in a few days. We also managed to procure a fine bottle of champagne ($5) so we’ll be prepared to ring in the New Year.

Day 5 - Kemah Boardwalk

Houston seems to be the city of the u-turn. Last night when I mapped a route to a nearby restaurant I thought the software was pushing it when it included a u-turn in the route. However, after having to make a u-turn to start-off and seeing that it’s commonplace I decided that maybe the software was right. Today was still fairly cloudy after last night’s storm although the weather has started to clear. We drove out to the coast to a place called the Kemah Boardwalk. It’s a collection of restaurants, shops, rides and (of course) the boardwalk. As the weather was still cloudy we didn’t spend much time there. The forecast appears nicer for tomorrow so I think we might go back.

Day 4 - Bodacious BBQ

Today’s travelling was pretty much a whole day of rain. Sometimes it was light rain, sometimes it was driving rain, it just rained all day. During lunch the rain was pouring off the roof of Bodacious Barbecue, however, it let up for a few minutes so I took a quick snap. The lunch was good although until we try more Texas BBQ we won't know if there is better. Tonight in Houston it’s extremely stormy with a few tornado warnings. Coming back from dinner we realised that there’s a power outage just past the hotel for quite a distance. Called the port agent earlier and found out that the ship isn’t due in until late afternoon on the 1st, which means we’ll likely board on the morning of the 2nd. So for the next few days we’ll explore Houston, or rest up from all the driving.

Day 3 - Cracker Barrel

Today was a long drive with few stops, but I did manage to find something to snap a picture of. This is the front porch of a restaurant chain called Cracker Barrel. They bill themselves as half store / half restaurant. Up until today we've pretty much had most of our meals in them as the selection is wide and the quality and service are consistently good.

Anyway – we’re in Texas now (just over the Arkansas border) in a town called Texarkana. The weather is…. warmer, saw 62F on a sign sometime today. We should be in Houston tomorrow with no problems.

Day 2 - Wal-Mart

After the pictures of the luggage yesterday I thought I’d show you our first stop after checking out of the motel. Yes, sure enough, we stopped to buy a few things. In our defence they were very little things, items that can be slipped into bags – not ones that require buying another suitcase or anything. The weather was nicer today and we’ve made good progress, ahead of schedule actually. So we’ll drive a little further tomorrow and we’ll be in Houston on Friday. That will give us a day extra in Houston to look around a bit.

Day 1 - Just a little luggage

Well, after months of planning we're finally on our way. I didn't have the camera with me as we crossed over the bridge at Windsor - so today's picture will be luggage (ie. the few bags we've taken). As I look at the truck I think we've perhaps over done it, but what's done is done. I asked my mother today if she finally feels like she's on vacation and the answer was 'once we've crossed the border'. So, it is officially the start of the vacation since we're in Dayton, OH. I'm now about to find out how well (or poorly) the wireless connection on the laptop works.

Ports - Dec 22

Well, I'm packed (my mother is close) at least 3 days before I have to be. The port list was updated again today (although it's been changed so many times since I made a list in November). This is likely the last update before we leave Canada. I'm convinced we're both taking way too much stuff but what's done is done. The next update will likely be on the road somewhere in the US (mainly to get used to updating on the road).