#Summer2026 - Jamaica Beach

This is a bittersweet outing, as it is the last outing with the 2020 Sportsmen.  Three trips to Florida and a number to the coast, the RV has been a faithful friend.  

But things, primarily cosmetic, began to bug us, and after the trip to Orlando we wanted to try a more stable pull.  

So between trips we found a fifth wheel that met our needs.  But as we only had a few days, we opted to go to Galveston in the old work horse.  

Leaving home on Sunday morning meant lesser traffic, which was good.  Rain around Houston, however, was a bit stressful.  But we got to Jamaica Beach, settled in, and began our coast vacation.  We even managed a turn in the Lazy River. 

Monday was hanging around camp but lunch was at Bennos and we had burgers on the grill.

There were storms down here with lots of rain.  Tuesday was cooler and overcast so we went to Surfside and had lunch at the Seahorse Bar and Grill. The potions were huge.  

The storms last night kept us up, so we took a nap then went to eat at West Isle Marina.  Lance met is there.

It is cool to eat right on the water.

The rains didn't really clear until Wednesday afternoon.  Kay and Marvin came to visit and Mom and Dad went to Bennos with them for lunch.  We went to the beach.

The seven of us went to Miller's for supper. Our waiter was fantastic!. .the food was phenomenal too!.  IMHO the crab balls are the best.  The Shrimp n' Stuff food truck had good ones also but they were a close second!

Out habit has been to walk in the evenings, so we did that before bed.

Thursday was a slow morning, but after coffee we went to the seafood market for shrimp and redfish to take home.  I grilled up some shrimp for a light lunch and we air-dried our left over crab balls.   The to the lazy river.  Stephanie got really sunburned today!

The kite store is always fun!

Supper was Cooper's Landing at Lance's suggestion.  The food was really good.  The crab stuffed redfish was phenomenal!

Then back to walk and get to bed.  Tomorrow we head home. 

Last Day -

It was hot this morning.  Finally sun when there is work to do!

Brandon and family went to Galveston for breakfast while the rest of us rode bikes.  We struck out toward home around 11.

Dad was having issues towing his truck so we stopped at the Huntsville rest area.  The battery was dead and wheels locked up.  It's a new truck so the battery should not have been completely dead.  Jumper cables didn't help.

So we watched the truck while they went to Madisonville for a battery.  We got it installed, hit the road, and was home by a bit after 7 pm.  

It made for a long day.  In the end, just under 600 miles and a mpg of 10.3 at the end of it all.  Not too bad!

#Summer2026 - Last 2 Days

June 30.

Today we left Florida.  We didn't hit the road super early.  We had breakfast and walked the dog, the. Got started hooking up.  There was a family in a large 5th wheel from Abilene, Texas, that I visited with, and then we hit the road. 

Florida is great in that roads are well maintained and the rest areas are frequent.  Not so much for Mississippi and Louisiana.  In fact I had planned to trade of driving duties but could not find a place, so drove the whole 403 miles.  

We hoped to stop at the Louisiana welcome center but it was closed, and the roads (I-20) were so rough!  The only rest area was only 10-15 miles from our destination.

We got to Lincoln Parish Park around 4 pm and got set up.  An older gentleman next door greeted us.  I asked about local restaurants and he recommended the Flying Burger and Log Cabin Grill.  Steph was more interested in that so we filled the truck with gas to be ready for tomorrow and spent the last of our eat-out cash.  

The food was so good! Portions were huge!  We both got Smokehouse burgers and Sadie got the shrimp po'boy.

We got back and Sadie and I walked Ferg around the lake.  It was certainly hot.

Then to bed to prepare for tomorrow.  

July 1

We didn't get into a hurry today either.  We walked the trail around the lake again and were on the road a bit after 10 am.  More awful Louisiana roads - this state gets an F!

We stopped at the Texas Welcome Center and had lunch.  All we had left was a few slices of bread, just a little ham and cheese, and PB&J.  

Steph drove from here to the Casey's outside of Tyler and we got gas.  This was the lowest price we had seen at $3.02/gal.  

We arrived home right at 4pm, got unhooked and decided to unload the truck when it wasn't so hot this evening.  At 4:00 it was 97 degrees.  

In total the engine ran on this trip for 57 hours and we covered 2500 miles.  I had planned for 8.5 mpg so 9.5 wasn't so bad.  

We are already thinking about our next trip that way!  It was a good one!