About 30 miles east outside of Houston, the price of gas had
dropped by ten cents a gallon. I stopped
and fueled up. There was a guy from Tennessee
that was going around to everyone at the pump asking if anyone had any
cash. He and his family were stranded
and needed some help so he could get to a location of a job he found. When he asked me, I told him I was the last
person to ask because I was basically living out of my car. He looked at my loaded up car and then God
blessed me. I’m always wary of giving
people like this money because there’s never a way to verify their story.
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| Photo- Starvin' Marvin's Restaurant . |
On down the road I went and a few miles outside of Beaumont
I saw signs advertising Starvin’ Marvin’s restaurant. They advertised that they were the best of
Beaumont. Oh, these Texans love to
brag! Well, it was lunch time and I
thought what the hell. I swung by
Starvin’ Marvin’s. I’m glad that I
did. I sat outside on their wonderful
patio area and enjoyed a delicious crawfish enchilada. Then, I had bread pudding for dessert. Yummy!
It was as I paid for my meal that I noticed a credit card
was missing from my wallet. The last
place I used it was the gas station. I
went out to my car and looked through the seats and all through the bags and
what not where it could be. I’m getting
more and more nervous as I look and it’s not showing up. I must have dropped it when I fueled up
because I couldn’t remember what I did because I got side tracked by that guy
from Tennessee. Normally, I have a
system but talking to someone during the process threw me off.
I turned back on the interstate and headed back to that gas
station which was about 50 miles. The
whole time I’m praying to God that someone was honest and turned in my card to
a clerk at the counter. I never had a
longer 50 mile drive. I got to the gas
station and waited a few minutes while they contacted someone in the office
area of the Flying J. I described the
card and gave them my name. About 5
minutes later a gal comes down and yells my last name. I answer and she hands me the card. She never even asked for ID or anything. I quickly used the restroom and then was back
heading east on the interstate towards Beaumont.
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| Photo- A festive air in the Fireman's Museum in Beaumont, TX. |
There was a Fireman’s Museum that I was hoping to catch
before it closed in Beaumont. I made it
with time to spare. The museum is a free
self-guided tour and it was rather fascinating reading about how fireman came
into being. I found it very interesting
that Benjamin Franklin had a great influence on the history of fireman. He started the first volunteer fire company in 1736. It was also very interesting to see the
evolution of the fire truck and other tools that the fireman use change over
time. I had the place all to myself and
I took my time going through it. I
especially got a kick out of the HUGE black and white spotted fire hydrant in a
courtyard area across from the museum.
It was very much worth the stop.
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| Photo- A HUGE fire hydrant in Beaumont, TX. |
Next, I was heading further east towards Louisiana. It was interesting watching the landscape
change just a little more. There was
more marsh like areas with trees along the interstate. There was moss hanging in the trees.
I crossed the state line into Louisiana. The speed limit on the interstate dropped
from 75mph to 70mph. The interstate
widened with another lane and it was a smoother black top that seemed better
maintained. Another 30 miles, and I was
going over a long huge bridge into Lake Charles. I happily found my hotel which was close off
an interstate exit.
After getting settled in a bit at the hotel, I went down to
the front desk and asked the gal where was a go place to grab a bite to
eat. She asked what kind of food I was
in the mood for. I told her something
local that was casual, as I looked down at my jeans. She directed me to Steamboat Bill’s which was
just up the road about ½ mile.
Steamboat Bill’s is definitely a locals place. I walked in and was the only white person in
the place; which is cultural shock after living in Utah. There were two counters in the place. One where you ordered prepared food and
another on the other side that looked like it had fresh seafood you could take
home to prepare. I walked up to the
counter asked if they took credit cards and then ordered a chicken and sausage
gumbo with a soda. The gal behind the
counter gave me a number along with my receipt.
They would call that number when it was ready. I went over to the fountain area, got my
drink, and then decided where to sit.
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| Photo- Good Gumbo at Steamboat Bill's. |
Quite a few people were coming in and picking up to go
orders. The place wasn’t very busy. There were maybe six actual customers sitting
down to eat in the whole place. I got my
gumbo and sat at one of the simple tables that have paper towel holders at each
end. The gumbo was wonderful and I wish
I would have ordered the large portion instead of the regular.
It was as I was enjoying my bowl of gumbo that an older
blond haired man came in. He looked at
me and said,” Awww, I see you got the WHOLE place to yourself.” I just smiled and nodded at him. Though, surely he could see that there were 6
other Black customers in the place. Did
they not count in his book or what’s up with that; I thought to myself? He came over after he got his drink and
noticed that I hadn’t done the crawfish which was in season. “No crawfish?” he asked. I laughingly told him that I was building up
to that. He asked where in the north I
was from after I said that. I guess he
noticed I didn’t have a southern accent.
I said Utah. “Oh, that’s REALLY
up there!” he said. I chuckled and
wondered to myself if he had any idea where Utah was.
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| Photo- Christmas Lights by the Civic Center in Lake Charles, LA. |
It was as I was leaving the restaurant that he asked me how
long I was staying in Lake Charles. I
told him just the night and part of tomorrow and then I would head on to Baton
Rouge. He said,” Well, Miss Utah. You have a wonderful visit.” I thanked him and left. I then decided to explore some of the Lake
Charles area in the dark. There were
quite a few Christmas lights down by the lake area and by their civic center
that were festive.
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