Port Arthur, Texas

Yesterday we took a drive south to Port Arthur, expecting to see a waterfront town with little boutique-y or tourist shops….NOT!!!

Here is what we found……

We were fascinated by the many, many oil refineries for miles and miles.  I had no idea there was such a concentration of oil refineries here. Hard to image all the work it was to build one of these things with all the tubing connected together….fascinating! 

Oh, and here is the bridge we had to cross…look at the steepness of that bridge in the distance!!!!  On the right is the scene from the top of the bridge.
    

We saw an oil tanker leaving the area with an empty belly and loved the seagull

        
We drove all the way downtown and it was shocking to see it empty, devastated by Hurricane Ike in 2008.  Everything was boarded up, windows blown out, etc.  Noticed no one is walking around.  The police department was active as was a transit authority, but nothing else.

As we drove down Sabine Pass we saw a lot of off shore oil drilling rigs, we assumed “beached” because there isn’t any use for them right now in the area. 

Couldn’t figure out what this was used for	Square things are jacks that go down in the water and anchor in the bottom
Rescue vehicles attached to side of these offshore oil rigs	Older rig

We had a good day seeing all this.  I can’t say I will ever return to Port Arthur but it was interesting to see all the oil refineries.  After seeing “Mr. Charlie” in Morgan City, LA we understood the offshore oil platforms and the function of all the parts.

The last couple of days we have had the pleasure of the company of Paula and Tom Nankivell, fellow Escapees and members of Class of 2007 (those of us who retired and hit the road as fulltime RVers).  We enjoyed happy hours and an evening campfire together.

We are off today heading west towards Colorado with a stop off in Santa Fe to see our daughters.  We leave our dearest friends, Jim and Linda Mossman, after traveling together for the last six months.  But it will only be a three month absence as they will be coming to Colorado in June to spend the summer with us.  That’s a good thing!!!

So I’m off to button down the rig and hit the road.  Remember, you are loved.