Galveston Island State Park to Palacios Tx March 6

107.3 miles in 7:35. It was time to take a Texas size bite out of the distance toward Corpus Christi. My daily mileage since we've been in Texas has been really weak, because of weather and wind advisories. Texas decided to grant me a favorable wind direction today, so it was a day to pound some miles. The wind was at my back for about 25 miles as I rode along the Gulf Coast, the roads were newly paved, the scenery was beautiful, the temperature was warming, and I actually rode quite a bit no handed, just cruising along at about 17-18 mph.
As I rolled into the Surfside Beach, Freeport, Lake Jackson area, things got interesting. It was a much bigger metro area than I would have imagined, traffic picked up, and to top it off road signs were missing. I figured one intersection out where a sign was missing, but got lost in another area, and went 5 miles out of my way I'm guessing. When Pam came through in the motor home, she also got lost, and had a more difficult time than I did getting back on track. The highlight of the day did occur in Surfside beach. As I was riding over some grass lands on an elevated bridge, a flock of the roseate spoonbills took off over my head. I have only seen two in my life, and there must have bee fifty of them. They are really pink, and are often mistaken for flamingos.
I was given directions by a guy who did a good job helping me, and I ended up going by a huge prison farm that I would not have otherwise seen.

Prison farm

 That was a vision of things to come, as the scenery for the rest of the trip became very rural. After finding Texas Farm Rt 521 in a town called Brazoria, it was all cows, horses, donkeys, goats, and plowed fields waiting for the spring planting.

 There were also a few crawfish farms. One stretch was very poor, with run down homes, junk filled yards, but each family had a horse tied up in the front yard, near the road. Very Texas-like. Texas 521 varied greatly in quality, with sections being wide and newly paved, and others put a whoopin on my rear end.
The original plan was to ride about 80 miles, and stop in a small town called Wadsworth, but somewhere along the line, I decided to push past the century mark, and Pam did a great job adjusting on the fly, and finding a beautiful campground in Palacios. It is a bit of a worn down town, but it is right on the East Matagorda Bay. The view out of the front window of the motor home is a marina filled with sailboats, and it was beautiful watching the sunset over them as we ate supper.

Oh, and we crossed the Colorado River today.