Wednesday, November 21st:  Tooth not hurting today - so I went to the waffle breakfast put on by the owner - huge waffle, two biscuits swimming in turkey gravy, sausages, and maple syrup - holy cholesterol, batman!
Man, I thought the rest of the day was going to be about going to the beach on the Gulf side and catching up on my long-neglected memoirs - but somehow it's morphed into a walk-in-the-ocean, take pictures of the horses as they canter past, chat with the mother of the teenagers frolicking in the surf, take pictures with my iPad, and just soak up the glorious sunshine sort of day!  It's just not a time for dwelling on the past, but on the here and now!  It's an "eternity in a grain of sand" sort of day.
On Monday, I returned the rental car and the same driver, Jason, drove me back to my RV.  He confided that he has prostate cancer and he moved to Galveston so that he could die on the island and have his ashes scattered in the Gulf of Mexico, right across from Joe's Crab Shack.  He was baptized there, in the ocean (not the Crab Shack).  He sold his house in Houston, and the American health care system has let him down so badly that he can't get any help from the government unless he gets rid of the proceeds of his house sale. He wants to leave that money to his nieces and nephews, so he's opting out of expensive treatment and plans to just live out the rest of his days on the island that he loves.  He's organized a hospice and morphine for his final days.   Says he has no fear of death, since he knows he's going someplace a whole lot better.  Sitting here, looking out at the ocean, I can understand how he feels.  Don't know if any of these pics can communicate the serenity which is here . . .
And no, kids, I am not dying - just contemplating the universe - I'm allowed!
I just can't describe how great it is to be here, on my own, with no responsibilities, no timelines, nothing to worry about other than what on earth I'm going to bring to the Thanksgiving potluck tomorrow!

I'm sitting on the stairs of a little wooden bridge, looking at the beach and the ocean, typing on my iPad.

Guess I have to include a picture of myself sometime, eh?

Also from the bridge stairs.

And - the horses!  Walking now, cantering before.  Check out the  - I guess - instructor lady on the third horse from the right.  She rode over to chat with me - I think she wanted to be sure that I wasn't taking pictures in order to report her and her entourage to the authorities - there's a rather large sign saying, amongst other things, "No horses allowed on the beach" .

Amazing - the eternal ebb and flow . . .

Also on that sign is a line that says "No cars allowed on the  beach" . . .

Apparently, some artist lives here, hermitting herself off from  the world.

The two buildings in the distance are the offices of the RV park - it's that close to the beach!