The last day in Beaumont began at 8 am. We went down to get breakfast but there was nothing much there so McDonalds for a sausage burrito.

Our plan for the day was to go to the Spindletop oil well but to our surprise, it is closed on Mondays. So we had to figure out another plan for the day and we went to 3 different places, The Edison museum, The fire museum and the Big Thicket National Preserve.

The Edison museum was a very small old transformer building in downtown Beaumont. It tells the story of the inventions of Edison such as the light bulb and the gramophone amongst others. It is something to see if you are really interested. Just round the corner from there is the Fire museum which shows a history of firefighting. Outside it there is the worlds largest fire hydrant, you can see it in the picture above. Inside it has displays of various fire engines and equipment. It is worth a visit.

After that we headed out towards the Big Thicket National Preserve. This is an area of forest land dedicated to preserving the wildlife and vegetation. Unfortunately a large chunk of the preserve was destroyed by wildfires earlier on this year. As you drive through you will come across a trail which takes you through some trees. This is very interesting, between the different types of trees, insects and lizards. Make sure you have your camera.

On our way back to the hotel, we dropped in to a mall to have a look around and then headed to the hotel. Both of us had been feeling a bit dehydrated, so we stocked up on fluids. I then went for a swim in the hotel pool which was very enjoyable.

Later on, I felt hungry and went round to Floyd's for some take out seafood gumbo. That's is some of the best gumbo I have ever tasted. Make sure you have some ice tea on hand to calm the heat.

And that was our jam packed dayv tomorrow we move on to San Antonio which is around 4 and a half hours west of here. Watch this space to see what its like.