Momentary escape
One that lasts forever.
Truly lovely time I had with my lovelove. We arrived in Galveston around noon, set up camp. There were a couple RVs and one tent in our loop. But everyone pretty much just kept to themselves. There was lots of space, no one was ever in the restroom which worked well for me because I shit 4 times a day when I was there. We packed lots of fruit, fresh veggies for salads, veggie burgers to cook on our grill, trail mix, granola bars, hummus, triscuits, lots of water and tea. Delicious soy.
First we explored the beach side campgrounds, we came prepared with bikes so we rode around to check it out. Beautiful, housings and buildings were all so far off in the distance one could feel detached, surrounded by just space, air, ocean breeze, and lots and lots of birds. Really ugly black birds with their feathers all disheveled. Some only had one or two tail feathers. Their beaks were always open and their eyes so beady and selfish but we made friends anyway. They shit all over our picnic table but we fed them beer-soaked bread. There was one with only one foot. We called him “one foot” and speculated many a story to explain his missing limb.
Next stop was the beach obviously. Since it wasn’t a commercial spot there was hardly anyone to share the beach with. Just a couple people. The shoreline was bare, just dunes, not lined with skyscraping hotels and Wings and Alvin’s Islands. Superb. Silent, secluded. I held Cory’s shorts so he could swim naked and he jumped out of the water into the gentle waves.
We drove into town later on to get charcoal and ice. We cooked around sunset and watched the sun turn pink from our campsite, we had the perfect view. We opened a bottle of wine, we collected wild beach flowers and used a tea bottle as a vase. Dinner by lantern light, I felt so happy I could have cried.
That night we went to sit on the beach again. We sat very close to the waves, the water almost lapping our toes and smoked just enough. I remember the last time we sat on the beach together in the dark, I said. It was May 19th and it was the first time he told me he loved me. And I felt too pleased to say a word, there aren’t words for some things and they’re the best things and they are felt in moments like these that hang like portraits in our minds forever. I hugged him close and we watched the waves until they splashed violently against our knees and then finished the night with love in the open-air tent with the stars above head and the grass under back. I don’t know how I could possibly love him more.
In the morning we awoke to an overcast sky, mostly white and grayish against the vast blue. So much blue, we had remarked the day before. How much sky there is! You don’t realize it when you’re boxed in, when you’re in the car, when you’re surrounded by buildings and signs but really the world is so open and the sky is endless. We showered and ate breakfast before the storm rolled in. First the breeze kicked up very suddenly then the drizzle slowly fell. We put the cover on the tent and drank beer under our shelter as the air turned chilly. The wind blew with ferocity and the tent buckled under the pressure. We climbed inside to get away and to ensure the thing didn’t fly away. We lay there and smoked some more and watched our walls flap and batter. We talked, happily against the rain drops patting our canvas roof.
When the wind calmed down we loaded up the bikes and drove into town. We sipped coffee on the wave breaker, examining the creatures hiding amongst the rocks. We hopped on the bikes and explored the neighborhood. Such old historic houses, some remodeled, fixed, others in need of repair. Beautiful beach houses. Hardly any trees but the same wild flowers everywhere, the air seeped in salt, it was like a beachy New Orleans. We tried to imagine living there.
Back at the campsite, we had salad and beers. Then we went to the beach again, this time with a hot pink inflatable tube floatie and we managed to both get stuck in it at one point. Still overcast, the water was chillier and the air made me cold. We rode bikes again over to the bayside area of the park. Just a short ride on a few streets, and you can enter a hiking trail. We rode down it past the bay flora and mounds of what looked like giant rabbit poo and arrived at a lovely bridge straddling a large lake. We sat there and watched the sunset again, the the yellow fading to orange to red to pink to blue to green across the bay waters, which gently rippled as though frozen in time, except for fish that continually jumped out of the water with loud splashes. Continuous splashes from the water and it fascinated me. The same fish would jump once, twice, four times, even, trying to catch an insect I suppose. It was beautiful and I don’t know how I could have loved him more.
Back to the site, we drank wine while we cooked. It was dark and the wind wasn’t so strong anymore so these crazy termite looking bugs came out and swarmed our lanterns. We both got pretty drunk at this point and after eating I passed out in the tent even though there was a multitude of bugs in it. Cory had trouble but we slept at opposite ends of the tent, finally able to sprawl out because this tent was our house and its floor our first king bed.
We awoke much earlier the next morning because the cloud cover was less dense, allowing the sun’s light to pry our reluctant eyelids open. Our last day there, we cooked veggie sausage and slowly packed up everything up. Taking down the tent, we worked together like we had been the past two days. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we don’t. But we always smile at each other, we always kiss each other. Our last mission was to further explore the bay side so we hopped on our bikes when everything was packed and made off under the sun’s heat and gentle breeze.
It was no joke. We came to the bridge again and this time, crossed it, to the expansive lakes and plants and small trails. Everywhere around was flatness with tufts of plant life, mostly succulents to withstand drought and flourish in the sun. The sun reflected off the waters nearby and those in the distance. The sky was the clearest, most potent blue. We just rode and stopped when there was something to look out. We climbed an observation point and could really get a look at how far away civilization was, just the outlines of rooftops on a vast horizon. At night time, we could see the cities from far away. With nothing between, the light pools in the sky above those areas like smog or pollution in the clear air.
We had to go back after about an hour, the sun was unrelenting and unforgiving. We ate then walked down to the beach for one last time. Cory. I love you forever.
We sadly said goodbye to our campsite, it was our home for those wonderful few days that felt like an entire week. It was the best vacation I’ve ever had and having Cory all to myself was superbly wonderful and I’m still glowing with the beauty and grace and joy and love that I felt and I feel and I carry it with me. I love him so much I can’t stand it and I think about him holding me, marrying me, making me his and loving me all the time. We are certainly in this together, that has been established beyond a doubt. Nothing will ruin this. Nothing will contaminate this. We were positively made for each other and anything that makes us question is only a test and we will come back to each other and that’s the beauty of it. I have my doubts sometimes, because we all feel insecure in moments of solitude. But I’m quite certain he wants me the way I want him and he loves me just as much as I love him and we will be together for a very long time and have many more adventures together of all different kinds because I know this: we are both adventurers at heart, we love poetry and we love life and we will embrace it by embracing each other.