I woke up refreshed and ready to explore Texas, the only thing I needed was a hearty breakfast. I would not be disappointed. Cherie made a beautiful breakfast frittata with sausage, onion, spinach, tomatoes and 'erbs (herbs). After a serving (or three) we prepared to visit Cherie's son Sloan, who was working in a chemical plant in Port Arthur, a couple of hours to the East. This was perfect for me as it gave to to see a lot more of Texas.
Before we set off, I briefly visited Tim's counsellors office in town. The building had some great original brickwork in the walls, and Tim's room had some wonderful artwork painted by Cherie and his father. In the same building I also got to see Cherie's office where she worked part time as a skin-care specialist (I am unaware of the technical term).
On our journey, our first stop-off point was in the town of Galveston, which used to be the largest and most important town in Texas before a great storm in 1900 destroyed the entire town. It was a very pretty place with lots of wonderful turn-of-the-century Southern architecture. On the outskirts of town we stopped for lunch in the Mosquito cafe. It was located off the beaten track but it was overflowing with customers, showing how popular it was with the locals. After sampling their turkey sandwich, I can see why. To say the sandwich was merely good would have been the biggest mistake since Neville Chamberlain came back from Germany in 1939 holding aloft a piece of paper signed by Hitler saying he would not expand German territory any further. In other words, the sandwich was tasty.
Rather then drive around a bay, it was decided we should take the car ferry. Our luck was clearly in as we drive straight onto the ferry and within a couple of minutes we cast off. The wind coming off the sea was very much appreciated as for all those who don't know, Texas is warm.
We continued on our journey, driving right beside the Gulf Coast. Although there were some nice buildings overlooking the Gulf, their residents were clearly taking their lives in their own hands as the area was very prone to hurricanes and storm surges. In fact, most houses were built on 20ft high stilts.
We arrived at Sloan's hotel just as he was pulling up. He worked as an environmental officer in a local chemical plant, after graduating from the University of Texas in Austin. The work seemed very tough as he would work 5-5 every day, getting a day off every 2 weeks. It was clearly evident to other people I spoke to that workers rights in the USA are nothing in comparison to those we get in Britain. Furthermore, after an incident in the plant the previous day, safety did not seem to be a high priority.
We went up to Sloan's hotel room and chatted for a while. He was a really nice guy, very funny and always had a smile on his face. After a while we headed out to dinner at a great Texas BBQ place and I had a wonderful speciality burger. Before we drove home, we grabbed some coffee, chatted some more, and said our goodbyes.
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