Cleveland to Silsbee, TX

It definitely feels more humid down here. The terrain is wetter, with standing water int he ditches and in small ponds. Today we went on the same road as big logging trucks. Most of the drivers were pretty good and pulled away as we had a very small shoulder for a good part of the ride. They were hauling tall pines and we could see many areas that had been clear cut along the route we were taking.

Most of us are not quite as comfortable using the side of the road for the "green door" to the outdoor bathroom, as it seems like it would be home to many other creatures hiding in the grass and marshy areas. After about 20 miles of a very straight, and shall we say boring flat ride, Liz found a mud mound on the side of the road made by some creature. That at least led to some thinking about what creature had made it. The structures varied from a few inches tall to some high rise mud mounds with a diameter opening about the size of a quarter at the top. After some investigation, we discovered they were crayfish mounds and at lunch, we stopped at Mama Jack's, in the town of Kountze, where they had a buffet with a special crayfish dish. I heard from everyone that tried it that it was delicious. As my tummy was a little upset in the morning, I opted to stay away from heavy butter and fried okra, catfish and chose something a bit milder.

The rest of the ride was broken up with a trip to the Dollar Store where we are trying to get some things for our talent show that will be coming up in a few weeks. I also spent an hour at CVS getting some photographs developed before going to the hotel for a shower and dinner.

For Susan's birthday, she requested, Pad Tai, Asian slaw, fruit, and homemade vanilla pudding. It was all so yummy. I don't think I ever had home made pudding before with real cream and eggs.

We are on some new routes for the next few days so there may be little "bugs" in the directions that we are given. There may be a four mile bridge coming up tomorrow with no shoulders so we may have to be escorted across with the SAG vehicle in little groups.
I believe we have a 72 mile day tomorrow and Sunday may be thunderstorms so we will see what the weather brings as we head out of Texas and into Louisiana.

Stay safe,
Robin