Conjecture and speculation only here:
He liked fishing. The coast, I think he knew from before when he took off. He probably wanted to go to those out of the way fishing culture places way off the beaten track islands, like in LA and Miss (he called his Dad from LA and kept going). Those are real harsh places where people don't say much to strangers, lots of ex-cons, people on the run, not many cops, great places for him. Not places young women or co-eds hang out. That's why he ended up in Texas. It was the coast he knew, where he'd been to stay out of trouble. I've been to some of these place in LA. Beautiful but harsh, snakes everywhere, just out of this world resilient people with deep roots, very salty. They don't ask many questions of the people who show up to work. People stick to their own business and don't spill beans. Don't depend on anyone else. Katrina happened in '05 and JM returns.