We were in Westlake in February 2021 during our Winter Warmth trip.

Hooray! This is the last post from our Winter Storm Uri series! In February, we drove into the cold and snow in Mesilla and it got worse in Fort Stockton and was absolutely awful in Austin. After being stuck in Austin for a couple days without power or water, we sprinted east and didn’t stop until we were in Louisiana, since the entire Texas power grid was struggling.

J called a campground from the road to confirm they had power and we made arrangements to spend the night in Westlake, near Lake Charles. But somehow he had called a hotel, not an RV campground, and our campsite was a spot in the back of the hotel parking lot with a long 30 amp power cord. We thought it was hilarious; the hotel proprietor was incredibly welcoming and helpful, and we were thrilled to be safe and warm. If you need lodging in Westlake, give the Mulberry Hotel some love. The lobby was clean and tastefully decorated, and everyone was just so nice there.

We didn’t explore Westlake much, but did notice there’s still a lot of hurricane damage from Laura and Delta which hit last September and October. J got tacos from the El Tapatio Dos truck at the Texaco (they’re operating out of a truck until they can repair the restaurant next door) on impulse while we got gas. Our friend at Mulberry Hotel said the best food in town is at Jeanne’s Bourbon St BBQ, and it was packed when we drove by.

We left first thing in the morning for warmer weather, and my next post will be a normal post from a normal visit where we did normal things and behaved like normal people!