Houston, We have a problem!

Well not exactly but more of that later. I awoke this morning bright and early and had a short run (nearly two miles) around Battleship Park in Mobile, Alabama. A lovely way to start the day, the sun was up and after showering I enjoyed a some Eggs Benedict and off in the car with my destination being Houston.

Just twenty-nine miles later I crossed over the state line from Alabama to Mississippi. Almost immediately the scenery changed from the majestic oaks of Alabama to that of a wetlands area similar to the Everglades in Florida but not as flat!

I decided to take a break at about 100 miles of driving and at 104 miles I found myself at The NASA facility in Hancock County. So, I thought that I would take a look. I was exceptionally disappointed, not because of the quality of the exhibit but because I was denied entry to the tour because I did not have my UK passport with me! I have never been asked for it at Space Kennedy Centre in Florida and I telephoned and checked with the NASA facility in Houston and they do not require me to show my passport. Bizarre! Oh, well!

Just down the road I stopped at a road side rest area and it was one of the finest buildings I have seen. It was just like an antebellum house, beautifully presented. Have a look at the photograph at the end of this post.

Fourteen miles later and I’ve crossed the state line into Louisiana. The countryside has changed again to a vast collection of swamp like waterways. If you have ever watched Swamp People on the History Channel you will get the idea. Having gone through Baton Rouge I went over an incredibly long piece of suspended roadway above the Atchafalaya river basin (the largest river basin in the USA covering nearly a million acres) and stopped at its visitor centre. This looks like a fascinating area and one that I would like to spend some time in at some point in the near future to view the enormous array of wildlife.

After traveling a total of 280 miles the swampland completely disappears and becomes cultivated farmland which extends a considerable distance. Eighty miles further on and I have started to run into some ominous looking very dark clouds. Seven miles further on and I cross the state line into Texas. Traveling on the Interstate through Beaumont you can smell the petrochemical plants as well as see them. It’s an alien, industrial, ugly landscape.Having left the city limits it started to lightly rain. By 4.15 pm the sky is nearly black and I have seen forked lightning on the horizon.

I decided to answer the call of nature and stopped at a road side rest area near Orange. Just as I was about to leave a family arrived in their open truck and started carrying in their golf apparel into the rest area building. They had heard a severe weather warning on the wireless, 60 mph winds, hail, thunder etc and it was about to arrive. I felt it prudent to wait with them and indeed the storm blew in with boiling clouds, strong winds, thunder, lightning and heavy rain but no hail stones. The good thing was that the storm washed all the bugs off the front of my Corvette! Soon, the rain had eased and I was able to continue my journey.

The last 45 minutes of my journey on T146 South, which is a regular four lane highway, was fairly difficult due to the levels of surface water and the quantity of traffic so, I was really pleased to arrive at my hotel. A quick wash & brush up and I walked across to a local restaurant and dined on stuffed Jalapeños and a platter of grilled mixed fish.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the forecast promises to be good. For the techies out there I have covered today 475.10 miles at an average speed of 63.4 mph and achieved an average of 22.3 mpg.

To my next post, toodleloo!