We've parked for the night at a Texas state highway "Picnic Area" -- what Texas calls many rest areas (map). We are on a spit of land known as the Bolivar peninsula, on our way to the Galveston ferry and Galveston Island. The great state of Texas is generous to allow travelers to spend up to 24 hours at a rest or picnic area. This one's pretty spartan -- just a loop of pavement with a couple of picnic tables -- but we can see just a glimpse of the gulf past the nearby housing development. In any case, it will likely be quieter and nicer than the myriad low-end RV parks we passed on the way here, and free to boot.

We've been visiting friends in the Beaumont area for the last two days, which is why we have been off-line. We parked the coach in a local Wal-Mart, and our friends whisked us off to their ranch about an hour north, in Woodville. We left the vicious attack cats to guard Odyssey, while the dog came with us. Opal was in dog heaven, roaming the ranch off-leash and chasing us as we rode aboard Yamaha four-wheelers. Now, however, she's exhausted. Our friends were the consumate hosts, and we had a great couple of evenings with them.

Notwithstanding our last ferry experience, where we unseated an air bag during embarkation, we intend to try again tomorrow morning with the Galveston ferry. This is a much larger vessel and the crossing is around 15 minutes. We've heard that dolphins can often be seen swimming along with the ferry. Interestingly, the Galveston ferry utilizes Voith-Schneider propellers, a unique propulsion system more commonly found on large Eurpoean ferries.

With any luck, tomorrow's crossing will be uneventful, and we will be enjoying Galveston proper for lunch.