Chris, Derek, and Kristen rode in from Houston and met us in Beaumont. Then it was I-10 and a beeline to New Orleans.
There was little stopping along the way, and once we got to New Orleans, it was a quick check-in at a hotel off of Causeway Blvd and a ride into the French Quarter for a well deserved night of a revelry… no worries though, Ron joined us to keep it sane… ahem!… yeah, that’s the ticket.
Hmmm… I wonder why there aren’t any photos. 
Well, Chris, Derek, and Kristen hit some nasty weather and rather than head up the coast, they made their way to Houston to meet up with Faith and hopefully avoid some of the rain and storms.
Ron, Wayne, Sergio, AJ and I made it as far as Edna, Texas the night before and were basically stuck between two fronts. One heading east-northeast and right behind us with lots of yellow and red showing up on Doppler radar, with the other sitting on the coast and just ahead of us dumping plenty of rain as well. We choose the lesser of two evils, put on our rain gear between showers, and hit the road making our way to Galveston, Texas. The ride was miserable, and rain followed us throughout the entire ride until we got to Galveston and it cleared up.
Once in Galveston, we jumped on highway 87 and took the ferry across from Galveston to Port Bolivar on our way up the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. We made it as far as Beaumont, Texas before calling it a night.
We were wet, cold and tired, but never so much so to keep us from plugging for Camp Hope.
Almost forgot… we met a veteran on the ferry, we shared with him our mission for Camp Hope, and handed us a flag to fly over the farm. Check it out flag below, and if you’ve never seen this and/or want to know the significance, follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag
On the Ferry crossing Texas Highway 87 from Galveston
The Gadsden flag
After an evening in Boerne, Texas with Ken and Lisa we were on our way to the Gulf Coast. Three of our riders—Chris, Derek and Kristen— headed for Corpus Christi , while the rest of us headed for San Antonio for some much needed service.
Once the service was complete, the rest of us headed out towards the coast hoping to meet up with the Chris, Derek and Kristen in Galveston tomorrow. The weather may have other plans though. We’re headed towards some unstable fronts with rain and thunderstorms.
We’ll see…
Ken and the Camp Hope Riders with our new addition, Sergio, in Boerne, TX
After leaving Big Bend National Park, we made a beeline to San Antonio with most of the ride occurring down I-10. We were being hosted for the evening in Boerne, Texas by our good friend Ken and his lovely wife, Lisa.
It’s always good to get a good home-cooked meal, and Ken and Lisa did it up Texas style— Barbeque meat, chicken, and corn on the cob, with lots of sides and desserts—and we did our best to put a dent on the spread.
Besides meeting with Ken and Lisa, we were also meeting with a new rider, Sergio, who had ridden in from Florida in order to ride back down with us into Florida. We’re back to six riders… the more the merrier.
First thing this morning we drove into Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and yes… it’s another must. I know I’ll be back to spend some more time there. While the photos below don’t do the caverns justice, check them out for an idea of what to expect.
From there we were headed south into Texas towards Big Bend National Park. We made it as far as Alpine, Texas where we stopped for the evening.
The Descent Too... gulp!
Scenes from Carlsbad Caverns
