Year 2 Day 350 – “Living the Dream”. Friday, 4/14/2023. Driving Little Rock, Arkansas to Galveston, Texas.
Our room last night in the Hilton Garden Inn North Little Rock, Arkansas was huge.
The hotel was nice and quiet and close to all kinds of restaurants, and stores. The bed was OK, a little soft for me but Steve loved it. Hotel was clean and employees were nice. Electronic room key worked perfectly. I have been in hotels where you get to the 4th floor and your electronic key doesn’t work. What a pain especially when you have been traveling by car all day long. There was no one at the front desk most times we when through the lobby. Room was dark and needed more lights or brighter lights. The breakfast was good and server very nice. Eggs were fried in a little too much different tasting oil though.
We will be staying at this hotel on the way home next month. If you have read any of my blog you will know I am not a big fan of Walmart. I try to avoid them, but they are everywhere and have everything. I prefer to shop at Target or Amazon. Funny thing is not that long ago I disliked Target and preferred Walmart. Things are always evolving. Ok, I regressed there a little bit. The point of this is Steve forgot his comb. We pulled out of the hotel driveway and right across the street is a huge Walmart. We went there and I have to say the store was well stocked, clean, and employees appeared professionally dressed. The huge turn off was how you always feel like you are being watched in these stores. The Beauty area was walled in with a separate cashier. Every self-checkout had a person at the end of the aisle where you leave. I said to the employee standing there guarding the check out. Wow this is very intimidating, and this is why I really avoid Walmart. There is lots of construction around Little Rock. From the highway you can see the capital building.
We did see the nicest church.
They must have a huge congregation judging by the parking and how much that complex must have cost to build and maintain. Looks like a church supported by a richer congregation. I officially don’t like Arkansas. The rest area bathrooms have stainless steel toilets. The seats are stainless steel. They are disgusting for a woman. Cold seat for sure!! I just can’t do it. Squatting on the side of the road might be better. Today’s Arkansas roadway after getting away from Little Rock reminds me of traveling through South Carolina on Interstate 95. We are on Interstate 30 west at 9:30 am.
We saw a pipeline that went over a river. Not sure if it was for oil or gas. Never saw that before.
As we near the border of Arkansas and Texas we see signs for Texarkana. Texarkana is a unique place that is located on the border of Texas and Arkansas. Between both cities there are two mayors, two city councils, two police and two fire departments. Texarkana is in Miller County and is named after three states: Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. The two separate municipalities, Texarkana, Arkansas, and Texarkana, Texas, sometime function as one city. The State Line Post Office and Federal Building at 500 State Line Avenue is the only U.S. post office situated in two states. Now how cool is that.
They say everything is bigger in Texas. SWEET! As long as I don’t get bigger. We stopped at the Texas welcome center and took a few pictures.
Oh yes Texas has real toilets.
Steve put on his sunglasses after we entered Texas.
You know he is on vacation when the sunglasses come out. This is not what I envisioned Texas to be like, it is very Green.
There are large patches of these orange flowers on the side of the road. I tried to take a few pictures. This is the best of them.
So far it reminds me of Northern Florida. This is beautiful. Arkansas was not as nice as Texas is.
We pass some stores I have never heard of or seen before like DG Market, and CEFCO convenience store service station. It doesn’t matter what state you are in there is always lots of road construction. We got to Houston around 4pm. There was heavy traffic. It reminded me of Miami with no natural palm trees. Minute Maid Park sits right off of Interstate 69. It has become a welcome home for the Houston Astros and has a 242-foot-high retractable roof.
We arrived at the Galveston waterfront about one hour later. Entering Galveston, it started looking like we were going to any shore area. Looking really nice. In Galveston, Texas there can be Alligators on the beach. It is not an everyday occurrence to see an alligator, but they do enjoy a day at the beach. Alligators that live in the bodies of freshwater throughout the island collect parasites on their bodies. These freshwater parasites can’t handle the saltwater. This means the easy way to get rid of them is a day at the beach! Alligators will typically spend a few hours in the surf before heading back home. We were told if we see one on the beach or in the surf, LEAVE IT ALONE and GIVE IT SPACE. It will go back home where it belongs. Alligators are protected by law. I don’t want to see one.
We checked into the Hilton Garden Inn Island Resort, Galveston, Texas. There was valet parking, but we elected to park our own car. The flowers were beautiful in the hotel landscaping.
This is the view from our balcony.
After we put our stuff in our room, we started looking for someplace for dinner. The hotel Restuarant seemed empty, so we were leery about eating there. Next door there was a Rainforest Cafe, but it was loud and crowded when we walked in. We also did not want to spend that much money on hamburgers.
Today’s product recommendations are for traveling by car. 1) We always carry this Igloo Playmate cooler in our back seat. She is always belted in. We carry water, lunch and snacks. We never go anywhere without it. https://amzn.to/41rWJNa 2) A first aid kit is also a necessity when you could be on the road far from a town. This is a great one. https://amzn.to/3Uyo2Ty 3) We also keep wet ones in all our vehicles. Using rest areas or eating snacks require the use of good antibacterial wipes. https://amzn.to/3UCWhJS 4) I also always keep these toilet seat paper covers in our vehicles. I hate those interstate rest area seats. Men have it so easy. Not us ladies we have to sit on those seats. Sometimes they are really wet from other people’s bodily fluids. How gross is that. These work great. Keep them in your vehicle or purse. https://amzn.to/41qjz7J
To view the complete daily diary, click here: Living the Dream – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count