By Charlotte Byus
Because our boat was hand made in Palacios we need to purchase a trailer made for this boat. (Who knew, not me.) RR knew, so one weekday he says, “How do you feel about taking a little drive to Seadrift?” I said, “I’ll be ready in 10 minutes, including a cooler. He laughed, well not that soon how about tomorrow? Being the one in the family who is always up first, my ears perk up the next morning as I hear the shower. You got it, he is already up, hit the coffee button and in the shower. No, he is not too excited to head out!

We catch the 7am ferry and head down memory lane. You see we really do not like to travel interstates, we prefer back roads with a view. Across the causeway, down Hwy 6 to Alvin and on to 35 we go. If you have never traveled TX 35 down the coast, please try it. The trees are hundreds of years old, covered with moss and branches yards long down to the ground. Lots of small towns to visit and lovely parks to enjoy. But this trip, we are on a mission.

Our first stop is Palacios where our boat was made in July, 2004. Well, really our first stop was the Baptist Youth Summer Camp grounds. When I was young my Mom would allow me to go to camp with my BFF, Pat. Every summer we headed to Palacios for a week of fun in the sun and Bible study. We always sang 99 bottles of Milk on the wall all the way from Houston, poor bus driver. Then we visited Tran Sport Boats and met Tran’s son Donnie. He showed us everything it takes to make our boat, from the hull to fixtures. It was very interesting and let’s just say several things have changed since 2004.

RR had already received a quote from the trailer company in Seadrift for the price to make our new trailer, but he decided to ask Donnie for a price. That was smart, it was several hundred dollars less. We never made it to Seadrift.

We left there and toured the town of Palacios, stopped at a park on the bay for a beverage, crackers and cheese. The view was beautiful and very relaxing. RR asked me, “do you want to head on down to Port O’Conner? He tried to say it is only an hour away, but I did not let him, I said “YES!” Off we went.

You see, we spent many a summer vacation in Port O’Conner. Sometimes with the two girls and sometimes the dear Grannygirl would keep them for us. RR and friends would enjoy duck hunting and fishing in the winter and we would enjoy summer weekends traveling there. We lived on 59 near Sugar Land so it was a hop on the freeway and we were there.

Nothing is ever the same but we both so enjoyed this visit and memory lane. Oh my I had forgotten how green the ICW is there. We stopped at a boat camp that used to be Cap’s and now it is called Froggie’s. That is ok, it is still two boat ramps and a bait shop and a place to sit in the shade to watch the boats up and down the ICW, and pet the cats and talk to the pelicans. When the girls were little we would stay here in the cab-over and after supper enjoy the sunset and watch the boats and tugs go by.

Our next stop was where Melba’s cafe was, once upon a time. Both are gone now but our memories are not. Along the way to this stop I spotted a very large sport’s fisherman boat coming down the ICW. RR asked me if I wanted to stop and take a picture, of course, I did. So he let me out and found a parking space. Well, who knew, the boat-ship was stopping at this place. I got a few good pictures, the ship was about 90ft and beautiful. Back in the truck and down memory lane again. Oh, where is the runway for the planes? Not here any more, just million dollar homes and boat lifts and storage. Maybe I need to go back to playing the lotto again.

On the way back we needed to stop for a bathroom break and diesel. We stopped in Bay City. On RR’s way back to the truck he noticed the truck is leaning in the front, walks around to my side and the new, not even a month old, tire is flat. Yipes! So the nice man in the gas station tells me about the tire store one block down Main Street. Off I go, I know the owners name, “Cowboy.” I walked into the station and asked the first man, are you Cowboy? He said no, “I’m Country.” Excuse me, He says my name is Country. Thank goodness I had on my dark sunglasses. He called over a lady who is the manager so I can tell my story. She informed me her service truck was broken and she was two men short today, but she would call Lopez for me. OK, into the office we go. Called Lopez, he was out on a call and will call us back. No cell phone in hand, I guess. Believe it or not, he called back very shortly. Yes, he would be glad to help. I thank Roselyn at Cowboy’s Tire store and head back to RR. Within 10 minutes, a young man in a service truck shows up. Out he jumps, grabs the heavy duty jack and gets to work. Finds the problem, plugs the hole and we are ready to go. Would you believe, $20, for the service. Of course, there was a tip for him. Really, can you get over that – only $20!

RR had tried Good Sam’s at first, but they could not find our member number. The moral here is there are still wonderful people in this world. Let’s face it, most small towns the people are helpful and friendly, we know we live in one of the best.

I was kind of long winded this time. Have a great week, and be kind to each other.