Home for the Holidays

Yesterday was my first time to drive home in the daylight in a long time. It was a beautiful day. I passed through Alvin and was surprised to see it so busy mid-day. I waved at my sis' house when I passed by Danbury. In Brazoria, I stopped to pick up some cash at my favorite drive-through bank there and noticed several changes to the downtown area. When I passed through Wadsworth, things looked exactly the same as they have for the past year. Coming out of Wadsworth I saw several rigs carrying concrete bridge supports pulled over to the side of the road. When I passed the fourth or fifth rig, I could see the driver of the escort car and some of the rig drivers out in the grass...it looked like they were stopped to let their dogs run around a bit. I thought that a little odd, since they were almost to their destination. A few miles further and I saw that my guess was right, the big bridge being built on that little country road was really coming along. I have a guess about the bridge as well. The nuclear power plant expansion is HUGE and the amount of heavy equipment and vessels coming down that country loop will be amazing over the next few years. My guess is the bridge is being built to support that transport.

On the other side of STP ("South Texas Project", the nuclear power plant) I was going at a pretty good clip and didn't notice that the road looping into the north side of Palacios is now finished. I thought about turning back, but decided to check out the progress on my way home instead. I continued on the alternate route and it was only a few minutes more before I was back on course. Circling on the north side of Palacios back around to 35, I saw several nice size falcons. I forget about things like falcons and cow birds when I've been in the city too long. It takes a long trip on a beautiful day to remind me how much I enjoy driving the country back roads.

When I got to Carancahua, I called Leo to let him know where I was. We agreed to meet at El Patio in Port Lavaca in 15 minutes. There was a bit of traffic in Point Comfort, surprising since I usually don't see that except during Formosa's shift change. I realized I was speeding through Point Comfort, but I just couldn't help myself. When I reached the causeway, I was rewarded for the long drive with an incredible view. The water was a very bright blue with the sun shining directly overhead. I looked north, an old habit, but (of course) could not see my house. Still, I felt comforted knowing it was there waiting for me.

When I came into Port Lavaca, I decided to detour through downtown instead of hitting the traffic, and that one really long light, out on the loop. I saw that Main Street was in full swing with lots of folks strolling through the shops. I spotted a restaurant that I didn't know was there (the "Texana Grill", I think) and made a note to try it out sometime. One more right turn, and there was El Patio. Even though I haven't been there in more than a month, the waitress brought our tea and asked to make sure we wanted two #27's, the Monterrey Special. As I settled in to a nice late lunch with my sweetie, I realized that I was, indeed, home for the holidays.