December 28, 2004

December 28, 2004

Rainbow's End & Livingston

DAY 193

 

Today was sunny and warm again. It's supposed to be like this for at least the rest of this week.

This morning after I showered, Bo wanted to go outside, so I let him out, attached to a tie out rope tied to the picnic table. When I went to check on him after about half an hour, all I found was the rope attached to the picnic table, with the clip end chewed off, and Bo gone. Bad dog ! I rushed around the front of the trailer, calling him. There he was, sitting beside the fifth wheel trailer next to us, with about a foot of chewed tie out rope attached to his harness, waiting to be let in the door. Bo is still a little confused about which fifth wheel trailer is his.

I went outside to wash Dee-Dee, and Bo wanted to be outside with me. I attached him to the end of the tie-out that still had a clip, and tied the chewed end to the leg of the picnic table. As I washed the truck, I kept looking over my shoulder at him, as he sat in the sun, looking around, just being a good little dog. No more than a few minutes after I last looked at him, a neighbour from the next road over came by, asking me if I had lost something. There was Bo in his arms, tail wagging, with a foot of tie-out rope hanging off his harness. BAD DOG ! They sure learn their new "tricks" quickly, don't they ?

At noon, we went over to the Club House to join in the weekly communal lunch. After lunch, I headed off for Livingston, to have the slow leak in the tire repaired. As I was waiting to turn out of the Escapees gate onto the highway into town, I recognized the fifth wheel rig turning in. It was Hans and Peta Arends, from Ontario Chapter 18. We had last seen them at the Escapade in Goshen, Indiana. We chatted for just a few seconds through our truck windows.

I went to a tire shop in Livingston, and had the tire repaired. They couldn't actually find a leak, and surmised that it's probably just a leaking valve stem, or valve extender. We tightened up the valve stem, and the cores in the valve stem and valve extender. I sure hope that solves the problem.

As soon as I returned to Rainbow's End, I got Bo and off we went to find Hans and Peta, and introduce Bo to their Keeshond, Tucson. Hans and Peta got Tucson about three years ago, in, of course, Tucson, Arizona. I chatted with Hans and Peta for about half an hour, while Bo explored all over their fifth wheel. Since all fifth wheel layouts are somewhat similar, Bo knew his way around in no time, checking out their bed, and nudging open the kitchen cupboard where Tucson's dog biscuits are kept. Bo sure has a terrier's nose !

At 4:00 P.M., I took Bo back to our trailer, because we all wanted to go to today's social hour. Joanne and I walked into the Activity Centre, looked around to see where Hans and Peta were sitting, and they were right beside Brad and Jan Barnes, a couple that we had met at Rainbow Plantation in Alabama. They were there when we adopted Bo, and were eager to know how it was working out with Bo. They are also from Ontario, although they didn't know Hans and Peta. We all sat together at a table chatting, a trio of couples all from Ontario ! Well ... sort of. We consider ourselves either from Ontario or Manitoba, whichever suits our purpose at the moment. And we still belong to the Escapees Ontario Chapter 18, since there is no Escapees chapter in Manitoba.

Brad and Jan Barnes have been exploring the Cajun culture in and around Lafayette, Louisiana for the last 2 weeks. Hans and Peta have been at Rainbow Plantation in Alabama for the last 2 weeks, arriving there just after we left. As they were leaving there, Sandy and Peachy McGeachy arrived there, and are headed here next. Sandy and Peachy are also from the Ontario Chapter 18. We also saw them last at Escapade. Sandy and Peachy are the couple that were just finishing 2 years of full timing, when we began in June. Sandy's advice and encouragement were very reassuring to us at the Kingston rally in June, just as we were starting.

It really does seem like a small world here in Escapees. Or a big family.

DSK

December 27, 2004

December 27, 2004

Rainbow's End

DAY 192

 

Today was a sunny, warm day. Temperatures are back up into the 70's. AAAAAHHHHH ! ! !

I spent the morning puttering around with some minor maintenance. I discovered a slow leak in one of the truck tires. I'll have to get that fixed tomorrow. I took Bo for a ride in the truck down the highway a few miles towards Livingston. He sure is a good little traveller dog. I had to refill a propane tank. We've had the furnace on for the last few days, and Joanne has been doing some Christmas baking, so we used up a tank of propane in 12 days, quicker than usual.

As I type this in early afternoon, Teddy and Bo are cuddled together on the sofa, napping in a sun beam. When Bo first lay down to cuddle up against Teddy, Teddy started licking the top of Bo's head. Teddy and Toby used to have those mutual grooming sessions lying in sunbeams. Bo seems a little puzzled by Teddy licking him on the head.

Joanne went into Livingston by herself this afternoon to buy groceries and supplies, and pick up our mail, while I worked on a maintenance project, read a book, and napped with the animals. Our November investment mail forwarded by Bruce Petersen in Thunder Bay had arrived at General Delivery in Livingston, but the rest of our November mail forwarded by Sharon still hadn't arrived.

After I finished my maintenance project, I took Bo for a long walk, then Teddy in his sling carrier. Teddy likes to get outside, look around, and get some fresh air on sunny, warm days. I reviewed the mail received from Bruce, updated my investment files, then worked on degreasing and deodorizing the bathroom grey water holding tank.

Joanne seems to have come down with a cold today. She's not feeling great. She made us a "comfort food" supper, we did a load of laundry, watched TV, and went to bed early.

DSK

December 26, 2004

Boxing Day, 2004

Rainbow's End

DAY 191

 

Americans don't call this Boxing Day. I think Boxing Day is a British concept. I recall that we had a discussion about this with Front Desk Deborah at YMCA Of The Ozarks. My understanding of the origins of Boxing Day are different than Joanne's. Hers make more sense than mine.

Today was another sunny, cold day. Today should be the last of the cold days. Yesterday's bright sunshine warmed the afternoon, but the evening and night were cold. We were watching on the TV news yesterday about the snow in Houston, and on the Gulf Coast, at Galveston. It's odd that there is snow south of here, but not here. It's because of the moisture in the air from the Gulf Of Mexico. We're just far enough inland here to have drier air. There was snow in Texas 15 years ago in December of 1989, but this is the first time since weather records have been kept that Texas has had snow on Christmas. You're welcome !

Bo had us up for awhile in the middle of the night as he tried, for quite some time, to vomit. He was unsuccessful. Poor little fellow. This morning he was constipated. Perhaps eating an entire rawhide bone in one sitting wasn't such a good idea. We won't permit that again. This morning he chewed the neck strap on my camera. Bad dog ! It's been a long time since we've had to "dog proof" our home.

This afternoon, we went to the "leftovers lunch" at the Activity Centre. After lunch, George Cantelon invited me to play a game of pool with him. First time I've played pool in over 30 years. That will be my excuse for my pathetic performance. Joanne went with Doris back to their motorhome, and they discussed travel plans while George beat me soundly at the pool table.

We invited them over this evening to watch a movie with us, since George can't remember how to work their VCR. HA HA HA ! Their large, quite new motorhome is filled with electronic gadgets that George keeps forgetting how to program.

We took Bo for a long walk late in the afternoon. The temperature had climbed up into the mid-60's.

We spent the evening watching a movie, and chatting, with George and Doris, who are leaving here tomorrow. We watched "Meet The Parents", because some other Escapees here said we had to see it to make sense of the sequel which is playing in the theatres now. George and Doris are in their late seventies, and are "retired" farmers.Their three adult sons now run their 4500 acre farm just east of Lake Huron in Ontario. George still works on the farm somewhat each fall. Maybe farmers never can retire in a traditional sense.

DSK

December 25, 2004

Christmas Day, 2004

TEXAS

DAY 190

 

Merry Christmas to all y'all !

 

Daniel, Joanne, Teddy, & Bo

______________________________________________________________________________

Besides the obvious, this Christmas was special in at least 2 different ways. Firstly, this is the first Christmas in my life that I did not have waffles for breakfast. Having waffles for breakfast, served with jam and ice cream on top, was / is an annual Christmas tradition in my family. Secondly, this is the first time since 1987 we have had an opportunity to share a Christmas dinner table with other people.

It was a beautiful day to be in Texas for Christmas. It was sunny, and warming throughout the day. No snow, no wind, bright sunshine, green grass, and warming temperatures. Dreaming of a white Christmas ? ? ? I don't freakin' think so ! ! !

We got up, fed Teddy and Bo, walked Bo, and went back to bed. When we finally got up, I made pancakes for breakfast. Not waffles, but similar enough. After a late breakfast, we unwrapped our gifts. The only surprises were the 2 small gifts we received last night at the gift exchange. Teddy's main gift was a bust. A catnip sack from Wal-Mart. I guess Teddy's taste in catnip is quite refined, after our years in the pet supplies business. Wal-Mart catnip apparently isn't good enough for Teddy. I suppose the differences between high quality catnip and lesser catnip must be similar to the differences between B.C. Bud and North Dakota Ditch Weed. Did I really just say that ? ? ? Bo's package of Wal-Mart rawhides, on the other hand, was a huge success. We gave Bo one of the little rawhide bones, and he spent the next two and a half hours devouring it, scarcely coming up for a breath of air occasionally, until it was gone.

Early in the afternoon, we phoned our sisters. Cell phone reception here at Rainbow's End is poor. We lost our call to Sharon about 3 or 4 times. We never lost the call to Lorri, but the reception was pretty bad.

I had to go outside to do a bit of maintenance. Yesterday, while I was emptying tanks, the handle broke off the kitchen grey water holding tank drain valve. I had to fix that today.

At 3:00 P.M. we went to the communal Christmas dinner. It was very pleasant. Lots of good food, lots of good company.

After Christmas dinner and chatting with our table mates, we came back to the trailer, put away leftovers, and took Bo for a walk. We walked with Bo over to George and Doris Cantelon's motorhome and visited with George for awhile. Doris was out for a walk. On our way back to our trailer, we met Doris walking home. Joanne and Doris went over to the Club House to each pick out a video from the video library, and I went home with Bo. Teddy wanted to come outside, so I put Bo in the trailer, and took Teddy out for a short walk.

Today we listened to the "smooth jazz" radio station. Very mellow Christmas music all day.

We spent the evening watching a movie ... by candle light. A "feel good" movie about a boy and his dog. I felt more relaxed tonight than I have felt in ... I don't know ... two decades ?

DSK

December 24, 2004

Christmas Eve, 2004

DAY 190

 

Today is the second of three cold days. It should start warming on Boxing Day, with temperatures increasing daily until it's back in the mid-70's by the middle of next week. When Joanne walked Bo early this morning, a few little pellets of snow were falling. Now we understand why stores down here in the south use little polystyrene beads to simulate snow in their window displays. What passes for snow this far south is actually little ice pellets, and it does look exactly like little polystyrene beads.

Bo had a pretty uncomfortable night, groggy from anaesthetic, sore from surgery, and cold. I guess as a result of the anaesthetic, he's having difficulty maintaining body warmth. He's shivering on and off. I think the temperature outside is why the vet clinic wanted him to come home early. From what we saw, their kennels are unheated indoor / outdoor pens. I don't think they wanted to have a sick little dog in an unheated pen over night.

I got tired of the radio station we were listening to this morning, so I switched to a station from Mexico. We don't understand a word of what they're saying, but it's an interesting change in music.

This evening we attended the Escapees Christmas Eve potluck finger foods buffet, and talent show. SHEESH ... talent show ! I guess, to give credit where it's due, one has to admire people with such little talent, getting up in front of a large group, and "performing". Actually, that's one of the nice things about Escapees. As a general rule, they're not shy. I admire that.

As we were standing in a huge circle of people around the perimeter of the Activity Centre, participating in the Christmas gift exchange, we were pleasantly surprised to see George and Doris Cantelon, a couple we know from Ontario Chapter 18. They arrived here today, having left Ontario on Tuesday. Gee ... that's hard driving, especially since much of it was through snowstorms. We chatted with George and Doris for awhile, getting caught up on each other's travels this summer, since we last met at the Ontario Chapter 18 Spring Rally in Kingston in June, in our first week as full timers. George and Doris drove their large motor home ( and toad ) to Victoria and back this summer.

Tonight I saw the Christmas decoration that I want for our rig. A fifth wheel on the next road has a string of musical bells strung along the edge of their awning, entwined with lights. The bells, controlled by a computer chip, no doubt, are playing Christmas carols. It's not recorded music. Each little bell's clapper strikes its bell, like a teensy little automated choir of bell ringers.

DSK

December 23, 2004

December 23, 2004

Rainbow's End & Livingston, Texas

DAY 189

 

Today was cold and sunny. We drove by a temperature display in Livingston at 8:00 A.M.. It read -3 º C. / 27 º F.. We got up very early this morning, to take Bo to the vet before 8:00 A.M.. From there we went into Livingston to do some shopping and pick up our mail. Wal-Mart is open 24 hours a day in most locations here in the United States, so that's where we headed first. I was very surprised by how many people are shopping at 8:00 A.M.. After Wal-Mart we went to Dollar General, a local pharmacy, and the Post Office. Our November forwarded mail from my sister in Lorette, and my cousin in Thunder Bay, had not yet arrived. I was expecting mail from both of them before Christmas. I guess the Post Offices are a bit backlogged.

Back at Rainbow's End, we went on the weekly tour of Escapees Headquarters and the Escapees Mail Forwarding Service. The Mail Forwarding Service is quite large. Their operation is larger then the Post Office in Livingston, a town of about 5500 people. Most U.S. full time travelling Escapees use the Escapees Mail Forwarding Service as their legal address. This is facilitated by the ease with which one can become a legal Texas resident. There is much giggling and winking about Escapees that are " three day Texans ", like our WorkCamper friend Julie. It takes about three days in Texas to get set up with an address through Escapees Mail Forwarding Service, then change one's driver's license to Texas, then register one's vehicles in Texas. Julie "lives" in Texas, her driver's license is in Texas, and her rig is registered and insured in Texas. She has been in Texas a total of three days in her life ! We have considered doing the same, but it's a bit more complicated for Canadians. For one thing, it jeopardizes health care coverage. Provincial health departments look suspiciously on provincial "residents" with Texas mailing addresses. We use my sister’s address in Lorette, Manitoba for most things. For our investments, we use my cousin’s address in Thunder Bay, Ontario. For our company, we use our business accountant’s address in Ottawa. It would be simpler if we could just use one address, and a professional mail forwarding service, but that’s not workable for our circumstances.

Bo was supposed to be at the vet’s over night, after his neutering, but they phoned after lunch, and said he was ready to go home, so we went and picked him up. He’s groggy from the anaesthetic, and sore. They estimate his age at 2 ½ to 3 years. Joanne thinks that’s right, because the hair dresser who originally “found” him near the Escapees RV Park in Alabama “thought” he might be 2 ½ to 3 years of age. Joanne’s intuition tells her that Bo belonged to, and was being “dumped” by, either this hairdresser, or somebody that she knew, and that’s why her “estimate” of age was accurate. I think he’s younger, but I’m out voted.

We got a phone call from the Park Ranger at West Hawk Lake. We got the job as Campground Hosts at West Hawk Lake next summer. Woo-Hoo ! This is really what Joanne wanted to do next summer, and where she wanted to do it. We will have to be there about mid-May, so we will have about a month to travel from Vancouver to the Ontario border. We have to be back in Canada on April 15. We will be re-entering Canada into B.C. right about at Vancouver. West Hawk Lake is at the far east edge of Manitoba, right at the Ontario border. That should give us about 4 weeks to cross 4 provinces. Sounds about right. Gives us a bit of time for exploring as we drive across.

DSK

December 22, 2004

December 22, 2004

Rainbow's End

DAY 188

 

Today was quite cool, and it rained most of the day. I spent most of the day in bed, indulging in laziness. Bo would not willingly go outside this morning. There was low grumbling thunder for much of the morning, and he was terrified. I wonder if that's because he lived through Hurricane Ivan as a six month old pup ?

I woke up, fed the animals, showered, and went back to bed until almost noon.

After lunch we went to the C.A.R.E. Centre to have the nurse check our arms where she gave us TB detection shots the other day. Negative reaction. I don't think I've had a TB detection shot since about grade one !

I spent the afternoon lying in bed, reading, and napping.

This evening, we watched a movie. Three or four years ago, Lorri and Doug gave me three James Bond videos as a Christmas gift. Tonight I finally watched the second of the three. I watched the first one a couple of years ago while Joanne was in the hospital having cancer surgery. Maybe I'll watch the third one next Christmas season ? Tonight we watched Thunderball. PEEEEUUUUWWWW ... what a stinker ! Made in 1965, it seems horribly dated now. Politically incorrect ... 30 year old special effects ... nonsensical plot line.

The TV news tonight was dominated by the weather. There was snow today in northern Texas, around the Dallas area. We're in the southeast, near Houston, so no snow, but the next three nights will be below freezing over night. The coldest it's been in this area in fifteen years. Our presence seems to inspire record low temperatures wherever we travel, whether it's France in January / February, Winnipeg in August, Missouri in November, or Texas at Christmas. I've just come inside after walking Bo, and disconnecting the outside water and sewer connections to prevent frozen lines. For the next three nights, we'll just use the inside fresh water and waste holding tanks over night and in the mornings.

DSK

December 21, 2004

December 21, 2004

Rainbow's End

DAY 187

 

We certainly are meeting interesting, and sometimes a little odd, people in our travels. We have chatted a number of times since we've arrived here with an elderly gentleman who has lived, and travelled full time, in a regular sized, beat up old van with nothing more than a bed and an ice box in it, for nine years ! Another man Joanne met last night has been living in his motor home for four years since his wife bought it for him, and told him to get out ! Today we met a couple from Japan who are touring the United States in a motor home for a year.

Today was partially cloudy, but very warm. It rained for a few minutes. Our morning started with a failed phone interview. We were to have a phone interview regarding our application to be campground hosts at West Hawk Lake in Manitoba next summer. The cell phone reception was so poor, that we had to reschedule to 3:00 P.M. this afternoon, using a pay phone. I did some maintenance, trimmed my beard, then we decorated our rosemary bush Christmas tree. We had kept four special Christmas ornaments, all of them in the shape of airplanes, and we received two more ornaments as parting gifts from YMCA Of The Ozarks. The ones from YMCA Of The Ozarks will always serve as mementoes of Toby, and his final resting place. Then we wrapped all our Christmas presents. Gifts for each other, for Teddy and Bo, and for the Escapees gift exchange. HA HA HA ... they're all wrapped in the same paper. Full time RV'ers don't have room for multiple rolls of wrapping paper. It was a little silly to wrap our gifts for each other, since we each picked out our own gifts, but we felt we had to have something for each other under the tree on Christmas morning. We went to a communal lunch, but pork was being served, so we left and returned to the trailer for lunch. After lunch, I read a book for awhile, then napped with Teddy and Bo. With my career being in retail, and Canada Post before that, this is the first Christmas season in 25 years for me that is calm and relaxed.

At 3:00 P.M. we walked over to the pay phones for our rescheduled phone interview. We have applied to be the "after hours" camp ground hosts at West Hawk Lake, a Manitoba Provincial Park east of Winnipeg right near the Ontario border. The phone interview lasted half an hour, and was conducted by the Park Rangers from West Hawk Lake, and Falcon Lake, a Manitoba Provincial Park very near West Hawk Lake. The position is from mid-May to mid-September. The Campground Hosts are required to be on-site and available on Friday evening and Saturday evening every weekend, as well as two weeks full time in each of July and August. I think the interview went well, but with bureaucrats, who knows ?

At 4:00 P.M we went to the daily social hour, because there was a meeting afterwards with all the people seated at our Christmas dinner table. Each table seats 10 people. Escapees provides a turkey for each table. The meeting was to plan who brings what else to the table. After the Christmas dinner planning, we sat around and chatted. One of the couples who will be at our table was at Rainbow Plantation in Alabama when we adopted Bo. To some degree, despite an active membership of some 40,000 travellers, the Escapees world seems small. Part of that is because of their motto of "Sharing and Caring", I guess.

We had dinner, and turned on the TV at 7:40 P.M. to watch Amazing Race at 8:00, only to discover that it was on an hour early tonight. DARN ! We missed 2/3 of the episode.

DSK

December 20, 2004

December 20, 2004

Rainbow's End & Livingston, Texas

DAY 186

 

We have a new morning ritual. I get up and feed Teddy and Bo, then take Bo for a walk while Teddy goes back to sleep with Joanne. When I return with Bo, he jumps up on the bed, rushes over and licks Joanne in the face a few times, then turns to Teddy and licks him across the face for a few seconds. For the first week that we had Bo, this would inspire Teddy to jump off the bed and run away. Now it's evolved to a point where Teddy just closes his eyes tightly and flattens his ears while Bo licks his face vigorously for a few seconds. I guess our adjustment to Bo is proceeding well.

Today was another sunny, warm day. A lot of people were wearing shorts today. The weather is going to deteriorate over the next few days. We spent half the day at the C.A.R.E. Centre, taking a tour, meeting the staff, filling out forms, and getting a TB test. After a late lunch, we headed for the town of Livingston, about 6 miles away. It's about twice the size of Potosi, Missouri, with a population of about 5500, and a considerably more upscale town. On the way into town, we stopped at a small local vet clinic to make arrangements for vaccinations and neutering for Bo. So much for a "free" dog ! Bo gets castrated for Christmas. HA HA HA HA HA ! In town, we stopped at the Post Office to pick up our mail at General Delivery. We got a Christmas news letter card from Dwight and Jennifer in Vancouver, and a photo card from WorkCamper Julie, who had one of the photos I took of her at Trout Lodge's Teddy Bear Picnic as Mrs. Santa Claus made into a Christmas card. We had a large shopping trip at Wal-Mart, stocking up a bit on groceries and supplies, as well as buying some Christmas gifts, wrapping paper, and a little Christmas tree. We are participating in the Escapees Christmas gift exchange. We also bought gifts for Teddy and Bo.

Teddy and Bo have started to nap cuddled together on the sofa. Teddy always liked napping cuddled up to Nikki, and then Toby after Nikki was gone. It's great to see that these two are becoming good buddies.

Joanne went on a group Christmas carolling outing tonight, the second of three this week. Tonight the group went carolling at the C.A.R.E. Centre.

Once again I didn't quite do my research thoroughly enough. I had vowed to myself, and family, that I was going to put the few Christmas decorations that we kept, on a Saguaro Cactus, and e-mail a photo of me beside it. There's no Saguaro Cacti here. We're still too far east. We're going to have settle for a little, fragrant rosemary bush pruned into the shape of a Christmas tree < shrug >.

DSK

December 19, 2004

December 19, 2004

Rainbow's End

DAY 185

 

Today was another one of those bright, sunny, warm days that I am so fond of. When we were leaving Ottawa on June 18, it was this sort of day, and I commented to Joanne that it was my goal to chase "Ottawa June 18" weather. For the most part, I've succeeded.

Today started early. Bo and Teddy woke us up a little earlier than usual to be fed. I got up and fed them early, thinking that I could make up for it later in the afternoon with a nap, since we weren't going anywhere today. I spent the morning slowly puttering away at maintenance and housekeeping chores. After each little chore, I took a break to take Bo for a long walk. I had forgotten how much more exercise I get when we have a dog. Bo is always "up" for a walk. I just wander around the park with my little dog, like all the rest of the old "retired" guys here. We walk around in our shirt sleeves, with our little dogs, in the warm sunshine, thinking about this being the busiest shopping weekend of the year, and how stressed out everybody working in retail must be. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA SNORT HA HA ! All that laughing made me tired, so Teddy, Bo, and I took a long nap.

This afternoon we wandered around the park, exploring. We wandered over to the C.A.R.E. Centre to take a look. We bumped into an old man shuffling slowly around, breathing heavily. He patted Bo, and then told us how much he misses his dog. He's just had heart surgery, and is recuperating. He's unable to take his dog for walks so soon after major surgery, so she's being boarded in a nearby kennel. He would like to bring her home in 2 weeks, but can only do that if the C.A.R.E. Centre can recruit volunteers to walk the dog for him. We told him we would do it. The old man was almost in tears with joy.

This evening we went to the weekly ice cream social. Everybody sits around eating ice cream or drinking root beer floats, socializing. The founders of the Escapees organization, Joe and Kay Peterson were there. Joanne and I had signed up yesterday as volunteers to clean up after the event. Almost all activities here are planned, prepared, done, and cleaned up after, by volunteers. Each daily or weekly activity has a sign up sheet, and all Escapees are expected to make small contributions of time and effort from time to time. The system works amazingly well.

DSK

December 18, 2004

December 18, 2004

Beaumont to Livingston, Texas

DAY 184

 

“Warm winds blowing

Heatin’ blue sky

And a road that goes forever

I’m going to Texas

Big steaks, big guns,

No trouble here

That’s the place for me”

from “Texas”, a song by Chris Rea on his album “The Road To Hell”

We have completed the pilgrimage to the Mecca of full time RV'ing. We have arrived at Rainbow's End, the Escapees RV Park and National Headquarters near Livingston, Texas.

Today was sunny and warm. Bright, blue, “big” sky ! We had a nice breakfast of big cinnamon bun, and big chocolate chip muffin, courtesy of Gulf Coast RV Resort’s continental breakfast. We headed out on Interstate 10, back tracking east about 7 miles to Hwy. 69. North on Hwy. 69, we stopped at Lumberton for diesel and groceries, then continued north to Woodville. We turned west on Hwy. 190 at Woodville, and stopped at a very pretty road side rest area for a late lunch. An hour after lunch we were at Livingston, then Rainbow’s End, about 6 miles south of Livingston on Hwy. 146.

This is a very nice, very large RV Park. We’re in the older, original section, where the sites are further apart, in a forested area. We were unhitched and set up just in time to attend the daily 4:00 P.M. social hour. At the end of the daily announcements, as newcomers we were required to come up to the front of the large activity centre, and announce on the P.A. system who we were, where we’re from, etc.. Then everybody in attendance was invited up to give us our Escapee hugs, welcome us, and chat. We stood there getting hugs and chatting with a variety of people for an hour and a half. This organization does such an exceptional job of making newcomers feel welcome. A few people were expecting us, and Bo. They were at Rainbow Plantation in Alabama when we adopted Bo.

It’s a little village here. In addition to Rainbow’s End RV Park, Escapees National Headquarters offices are here, as well as their Mail Forwarding Operations Centre, and the C.A.R.E. Centre. C.A.R.E. is the adult day care and health centre that we will be WorkCamping at for the month of January.

Joanne made gumbo for supper, and we studied the activities schedule for the next 2 weeks to decide what we’d like to participate in. There are half a dozen activities on a daily basis here. With Christmas and New Year’s, the next 2 weeks are particularly busy with activities.

Since I had Wi-Fi access, late last night I updated my investment portfolio files. Since Bush's re-election, the markets have finally shown some positive activity. For the first time since we "left home" six months ago, our investments are worth more than when we left. That needs to continue for us to be able to afford this lifestyle.

Teddy has decided he likes dog biscuits, so whenever I give Bo a biscuit, I have to snap off a corner of the biscuit and give it to Teddy. Stupid cat !

DSK

December 18, 2004

December 18, 2004

Beaumont to Livingston, Texas

DAY 184

 

“Warm winds blowing

Heatin’ blue sky

And a road that goes forever

I’m going to Texas

Big steaks, big guns,

No trouble here

That’s the place for me”

from “Texas”, a song by Chris Rea on his album “The Road To Hell”

We have completed the pilgrimage to the Mecca of full time RV'ing. We have arrived at Rainbow's End, the Escapees RV Park and National Headquarters near Livingston, Texas.

Today was sunny and warm. Bright, blue, “big” sky ! We had a nice breakfast of big cinnamon bun, and big chocolate chip muffin, courtesy of Gulf Coast RV Resort’s continental breakfast. We headed out on Interstate 10, back tracking east about 7 miles to Hwy. 69. North on Hwy. 69, we stopped at Lumberton for diesel and groceries, then continued north to Woodville. We turned west on Hwy. 190 at Woodville, and stopped at a very pretty road side rest area for a late lunch. An hour after lunch we were at Livingston, then Rainbow’s End, about 6 miles south of Livingston on Hwy. 146.

This is a very nice, very large RV Park. We’re in the older, original section, where the sites are further apart, in a forested area. We were unhitched and set up just in time to attend the daily 4:00 P.M. social hour. At the end of the daily announcements, as newcomers we were required to come up to the front of the large activity centre, and announce on the P.A. system who we were, where we’re from, etc.. Then everybody in attendance was invited up to give us our Escapee hugs, welcome us, and chat. We stood there getting hugs and chatting with a variety of people for an hour and a half. This organization does such an exceptional job of making newcomers feel welcome. A few people were expecting us, and Bo. They were at Rainbow Plantation in Alabama when we adopted Bo.

It’s a little village here. In addition to Rainbow’s End RV Park, Escapees National Headquarters offices are here, as well as their Mail Forwarding Operations Centre, and the C.A.R.E. Centre. C.A.R.E. is the adult day care and health centre that we will be WorkCamping at for the month of January.

Joanne made gumbo for supper, and we studied the activities schedule for the next 2 weeks to decide what we’d like to participate in. There are half a dozen activities on a daily basis here. With Christmas and New Year’s, the next 2 weeks are particularly busy with activities.

Since I had Wi-Fi access, late last night I updated my investment portfolio files. Since Bush's re-election, the markets have finally shown some positive activity. For the first time since we "left home" six months ago, our investments are worth more than when we left. That needs to continue for us to be able to afford this lifestyle.

Teddy has decided he likes dog biscuits, so whenever I give Bo a biscuit, I have to snap off a corner of the biscuit and give it to Teddy. Stupid cat !

DSK

December 17, 2004

December 17, 2004

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana to Beaumont, Texas

DAY 183

Dan's Louisiana translator

Christmas = Krittmas

fifty = fitty

sixty = sitty

Chevrolet = Shevolay

dog = doe

door = doe

more = moe

your = yoe

this = diss

that = datt

there = dare

they = day

ask = ax

help = hepp

( Fr. ) les haricots = zydeco

something = sumpin

child = chile

didn't = dinn

won't = woan

 

This morning as we were preparing to leave, the "next door neighbour" brought over 5 grapefruits for us. They have a grapefruit tree in their yard. We left Poché's RV Park and wound our way around 6 miles of back roads, back to Interstate 10. We headed west on I-10. We stopped for diesel at Lake Charles, Louisiana. As we drove, we listened to our new zydeco Christmas music CD. ARGH ... it was horrible ! What a disappointment. We have been listening to such interesting zydeco Christmas music on the radio for the last few days.

HELLLOOOOO, TEXAS ! We stopped for lunch at the Texas Tourist Information Center at the border. I struck up a conversation with the couple in the fifth wheel parked next to us, because I recognized the RV dealer sticker on their rig. They are from Kanata, a suburb on the west side of Ottawa. We ate lunch, and studied the Texas campground information, deciding to stay at Gulf Coast RV Resort in Beaumont, Texas. That's where we are now. The couple from Kanata are also staying here. As soon as we pulled in here, we met a full time RV couple from Toronto / Ottawa. They are actually from Toronto, but are using their son's address in Ottawa.

We arrived mid afternoon, and spent a quiet late afternoon and evening. This park offers free Wi-Fi, so I got caught up on some online stuff. We took Bo for a long walk. He's been feeling a bit neglected the last few days. As I type this, Joanne and Bo are searching the trailer for Bo's lost squeaky blue doughnut. How can you lose a squeaky toy in a space this small ?

We have been on the road for six months now. We've travelled 17,546 kilometres.

DSK

December 16, 2004

December 16, 2004

St. Martinville & Lafayette, "Loozeeann"

DAY 182

 

Radio ad for service department of local Shevolay dealer ; "Even if you dinn buy it from dem, day woan treat you like no red head step chile"

I keep being addressed as "honey" and "darlin" by sales clerks. Joanne heard one elderly gentleman address another elderly gentleman in a grocery store as "Boo-Boo". We don't know if the old man's name was Boo-Boo, or if that's the Loozeeann equivalent of "dude".

This morning when I took Bo for his morning walk, the people in the motor home next to us were outside cooking on their picnic table. The woman was preparing "roux" on a little one burner stove, while her husband was chopping up the "golden trilogy" as its known here. Roux is the fried flour and oil base for gumbo, as well as some other Cajun dishes. The "golden trilogy" is a combination of three vegetables chopped finely ; onions, bell pepper, and celery. All gumbos start with roux as the base, with these three vegetables as a minimum. I started up a conversation with them, and after awhile, Joanne came out of the trailer to see where I was. Both of us chatted with them, and two other "neighbours" for quite awhile, in both English and French. While chatting, we had a sample of Cracklins, which are deep fried balls of pork rind and pork fat.

English and French are equally difficult for us to understand here. On the other hand, whites and blacks sound the same here, so we misunderstand them equally here. In Mississippi we understood the whites, and not a word spoken by blacks.

Milton, the 63 year old man next door, speaks openly ( and innocently ) of the three way segregation of schools when he was a young boy in this area. The French speaking Cajuns ( like him ) were put in one area of the class, and punished for speaking French. The "rednecks" ( the non-Cajun whites, I assume ) in another area, and the "niggers" < cringe > in another.

After visiting with neighbours, we left to drive about a half hour south of here to the town of St. Martinville, to the Longfellow-Evangeline Historical Site National Park. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Evangeline" about two young Cajuns in love, separated by the exiling of the Acadians / Cajuns from Nova Scotia in the mid 1700's, is a big deal in this area. This National Park is a "living history" museum dedicated to Acadian / Cajun history. We learned a lot.

After the park, we drove to "downtown" St. Martinville and walked around exploring this small town. On the banks of the Bayou Teche, where we went to visit the "Evangeline Oak", the reuniting place of Evangeline and her lover Gabriel, I found a found a very skinny, very hungry, affectionate, filthy little stray kitten. Sorry, baby ... with Bo the inn is full.

On the way back to Breaux Bridge we stopped at a Wal-Mart to look for a zydeco Christmas music CD. We found one ! We returned to the trailer to walk Bo, and feed Teddy and Bo. They both think we've been leaving them alone in the trailer too much in the last few days. Sorry, guys. Just one more evening.

We left to drive to Lafayette, where we had supper at Luther's Bar-B-Q. I had barbecued beef po-boy. Joanne had barbecued pork po-boy. Hooooo-eeeee ! ! ! After supper, we drove over to Cowboys Night Club to see a performance by Leroy Thomas & The Zydeco Roadrunners. When we were at Canada's National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin, Manitoba, in August, I was very impressed with the dancing skills exhibited by most of the "locals". How naive. I hadn't yet seen dancing in a Louisiana cowboy zydeco bar ! ! !

If anybody has the internet skills to find KBON, 101.1 FM in Lafayette, Louisiana, do it. It's the most interesting radio station we've listened to so far.

DSK

December 15, 2004

December 15, 2004

Breaux Bridge & Lafayette, Louisiana

DAY 181

 

Gee ... and I've been critical of the ignorance of "Merkins". I thought Santa coming from the North Pole, in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, was universal in North America. NOOOOO ... here in Cajun country, children have to leave lights on outside on Christmas Eve, so Santa can see his way as he comes down the Mississippi River. In a Cypress pirogue, no less ! A pirogue is a Louisiana dug out canoe sort of boat.

Joanne loves the zydeco Christmas carols we keep hearing on K-BON, the Cajun radio station we are listening to down here. We've got to get a Cajun Christmas Carol CD.

This morning we headed into Lafayette, just a short distance away. We found our way to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, to see Cypress Lake. Cypress Lake is about a one acre swamp in the middle of the campus, with Spanish Moss covered Cypress trees, and alligators. It was only listed in one of the many tourist brochures Joanne picked up, and she wanted to see it. It was interesting. The kids on campus seem to take it for granted. "Oh, yeah ... the swamp".

Louisiana seems to be mostly swamp. I can't figure out the naming protocol. Some swamps are called lakes. Some are called rivers. Some are called bayous. Some are called swamps.

After Cypress Lake, we found our way to Jean Lafitte National Historical Park / Acadian Cultural Centre. We watched a couple of movies about the history of the Acadians / Cajuns, and wandered around their Cajun museum. Very interesting. From there we drove back towards Breaux Bridge, with a little detour to see nearby "Lake" Martin. We drove all the way around the lake. I have no idea why this swamp is called a lake. What a fascinating place. Signage on the side of the road on the levee around the swamp warns of aggressive alligators. As opposed to the docile ones ? ? ?

Finally, we made a stop at Poché's Market, the butcher shop owned by the same people who own the RV park we're camped at. We bought a whole bunch of Cajun specialties, for the freezer. I'm a little leery of some of them. Wish me ( and Mr. Colon ) luck.

We returned to the trailer to walk Bo, and feed Teddy and Bo, before heading out for supper at Mulate's, a well known local upscale Cajun restaurant. I had alligator for supper. I kid you not ! Joanne had catfish and shrimp étouffée. I ate the shrimp. Drank bourbon for the first time ( well ... except for the mint julep at the plantation the other day ). HEY ... Mr. Colon ... here comes some deep fried alligator and Jack Daniel's. Laissez les bons temps rouler !

DSK

December 14, 2004

December 14, 2004

Baton Rouge to Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

DAY 180

 

Today was a sunny, calm, cold day. All day we've been listening to people complain about the weather. Apparently tonight is going to be the coldest night in many years here in Louisiana. By the way, that's pronounced "Loo zee ann". We've just finished watching Amazing Race. They kept running weather alerts across the screen, as if some horrible natural disaster was about to strike. FROST WARNING ! ! ! It's going to drop to about 25 degrees tonight < snicker >.

We left Baton Rouge this morning after a brief stop at a Dollar Store, heading west on I-10. We drove about 20 miles on a bridge, crossing over the Atchafalaya Swamp. We are now in an RV Park in Breaux Bridge, just on the eastern outskirts of Lafayette. This is the heart of Cajun Country. This region is known as Acadiana. We are tuned to a Lafayette radio station that plays Cajun music, mostly zydeco. I did not know that there were zydeco Christmas songs.

" Pappy St. Nick is coming down the bayou

with his sachet of toys and a red manteau "

The accent in this area is different than anywhere else, including New Orleans. Here they speak a strange mix of English with a bit of French mixed in, and the last consonant of most words is dropped / silent.

After arriving at this RV Park, and unhitching, we headed into Breaux Bridge for some exploring. We're camped about 6 miles outside of town. The first place we stopped was a specialty butcher / meat market near this RV Park. Poche's Market, Restaurant, & Smokehouse make and / or sell alligator meat, alligator and pork sausage, crawfish sausage, chaurice ( ? ), andouille sausage, boudin ( ? ), duck and chicken sausage, tasso ( ? ), and turducken at $110 a pop ! We wandered around their market, but didn't buy anything today. We will go back to buy some stuff before we leave this area.

We got lost trying to find this RV Park after leaving the Interstate, and we got lost trying to get from the park back into town. The one thing we really notice about Louisiana is really poor directional and road signage. Even in downtown New Orleans. Once we made it to downtown Breaux Bridge, which is where the Breaux Bridge crosses the Bayou Teche, we parked and walked around the old, scenic downtown. It was amusing to us how many of the businesses were closed, with handwritten signage in the windows explaining why. "Gone to Dr. appt., see you tomorrow". "Closed early due to party". "Louisiana Time" seems remarkably similar to "Jamaica Time".

We came back to the trailer by dusk, shortly after 5:00 P.M., where we had a quiet evening. I'm experiencing a bit of a colitis flare-up, and feeling ill as a result. Mr. Colon and Cajun cooking don't seem to get along.

DSK

December 13, 2004

December 13, 2004

New Orleans to Baton Rouge, Louisiana

DAY 179

 

Today started out sunny and warm again, although the evening cooled down quite a bit. It was one of those days where no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't seem to get out on the road early. We pulled out of our camping site early enough, but then it was one stop after another. First we drove across the State Park to the trailer dumping station to dump the holding tanks. Then we drove to a nearby service station that we had noticed last night had a great price on diesel fuel. They were sold out. Yeah, right. I've been in business. It's one of the oldest scams in the retail book. Undercut your competitors by a huge amount ... on product that you don't have in stock ! Then it was a stop at Piggly Wiggly for groceries. Another stop at another gas station for diesel. Lastly, a stop at Wal-Mart, which infuriated me. We waited ten to fifteen minutes at the checkout for a "customer service manager" to come over and "approve" our traveller's cheque. We have cashed a lot of traveller's cheques at a lot of Wal-Marts, and we've never had a delay before. Sometimes you just run into business ineptitude ! Finally ... we were on the road.

Southwest on Hwy. 90 out of New Orleans, and onto Hwy. 3127 following the Mississippi River to the northwest. Quite frequently we saw storks alongside the road. At the town of Vacherie we took Hwy. 20 north a very short distance to Great River Road, running right alongside the Mississippi River Levee. A levee is the raised banks of a river. I guess we would just call it a dyke.

We stopped for just a few minutes in the town of Vacherie to buy stamps when I saw the town's Post Office as we drove by it. I pulled over onto the shoulder, turned on the flashers, and waited while Joanne ran into the Post Office. Within a minute there was a sheriff with flashing lights pulling up alongside me. "Y'all alright ?" Yeah ... fine, thanks. "Well ... what y'all waiting on ?" My wife ... buying stamps. And away he drove ! My first encounter with a southern sheriff.

We wanted to drive on Great River Road along the Mississippi to visit a "Plantation". This stretch of the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Baton Rouge was known 150 years ago as "Millionaire's Row". It was all wealthy sugar cane plantations. The cotton plantations were north of Baton Rouge. South of Baton Rouge, to New Orleans, was a bit too wet for cotton, so they grew sugar cane. They still do. We stopped and visited Oak Alley Plantation. What a magnificent place. It has been used in many movies, TV shows, and commercials.

Our first stop at Oak Alley Plantation was the restaurant, for a late lunch. The table we were seated at had a framed photo of the actors Gerald McRaney, and Delta Burke, in her wedding dress, having their wedding dinner at that table. Oh, my ... what a lunch ! Joanne had chicken, ham, and andouille sausage gumbo. I had shrimp gumbo and an oyster po-boy. A po-boy is a sandwich, like a sub, made with a French roll, usually with oyster, shrimp, or soft shell crab. It used to be the "blue collar" lunch of choice for "poor boys". For dessert Joanne had fresh pecan pie, somewhat of a specialty down here. I had Praline Cheesecake. Pralines are another specialty down here. We saw a few places in New Orleans yesterday selling Pralines. They are sort of a fudge like cookie.

After lunch, we walked across the grounds to "The Big House", the home of the plantation owner, his family, and the "house slaves". The "field slaves" lived in a series of outbuildings. We took a guided tour, led by a woman in period costume. After the guided tour, we walked around the grounds some more, sipping on a mint julep. A mint julep is 2 parts bourbon, and 1 part mint syrup, with, of course, a sprig of mint leaves sticking out the top. Quite nice ! Must be a great drink on a hot, humid Louisiana summer day. I can picture "Missy Joanne" walking around sipping on a mint julep, giving gentle orders to the house slaves, mumbling under her breath about how hard it is to get good help.

As I typed the last sentence, Joanne called me to dinner. HUH ? What's this meat and rice

stuff ? "Jambalaya." And what's this vegetable that looks like a cross between peas and lima beans ? "Butter peas." She keeps coming out of the groceries stores down here with stuff that she has absolutely no idea what it is, but it's certainly making our meals interesting.

Anyways, after leaving Oak Alley Plantation, we continued northwest along Great River Road. I noticed a plaque on the side of the road, and read as we passed it something about the site of the first Acadians in Louisiana. Cajun is just a bastardization of the word Acadian. The French Canadian Acadian "refugees" from Nova Scotia are the forefathers of the Louisiana French Cajun culture. We have explained that numerous times during this journey, to Americans, who seem to be totally unaware of that. I stopped, and we got out to look at the plaque. Even more interesting was that we were parked right beside a rural Louisiana graveyard, on the muddy banks of the Mississippi. The big old trees in the graveyard are all dripping with creepy looking Spanish moss. The ground is so soft and swampy that the graves are not dug down. The coffins are placed on the ground, or perhaps in very shallow graves, then enclosed in brick, then concrete is poured over the brick. The graveyard is a collection of these concrete crypts in various states of disrepair, depending on how old they are. On the very old ones, the concrete has completely crumbled. Much of the brick work has crumbled, especially the tops / roofs. You can look down into the tops of these crypts and see nothing but swamp water down below. It's easy to see where Louisiana voodoo culture and mythology comes from.

When we got to Hwy. 70 we once again crossed north over the Mississippi, and followed Hwy. 70 to Interstate 10. We got on I-10 heading northwest towards Baton Rouge. We're camped tonight in a private RV park on the southern outskirts of Baton Rouge.

We finally got to hear what Bo's bark sounds like. He barked when Teddy decided to stick his head underneath Bo's, and share Bo's dish of dog food. It's hard to believe Teddy is that stupid !

DSK

December 12, 2004

December 12, 2004

New Orleans

DAY 178

 

" Have mercy and say Hallelujah "

" Laissez les bons temps rouler "

Welcome to " The Big Easy ". I have no idea why New Orleans is called that.

What a great day ! Woke up to a sunny, warm day. I stepped outside to take Bo to the bathroom. We both stepped off the trailer's bottom step, and ... SPLOOSH ! Geeeez ... we're camped in a swamp. Once off the asphalt parking pad, there's grass with an inch of water. There are rabbit droppings on the asphalt pad that the picnic table is on. Poor little bunnies have to climb up on the asphalt pad to find a dry enough place to have a dump. While I unhitched the truck from the trailer, and did my regular daily preventative maintenance, Joanne phoned to make reservations at Dan Akroyd's / Elwood Blue's "House Of Blues" Sunday Gospel Brunch. We drove downtown, to the French Quarter / Vieux Carré, and parked in the indoor parkade of the Wyndham Hotel. Gee ... Dee-Dee is not very easy to get in and out of an indoor parkade, especially one where you have to drive 5 stories up a spiral ramp to get to the parkade, then, of course, 5 stories down the spiral ramp at the end of the day. Sunday Gospel Brunch Buffet at The House Of Blues included mimosas, cheese grits, chicken jambalaya, blackened catfish with caviar, huge boiled shrimp, white chocolate bread pudding, and everything else one would expect to find at a Louisiana Cajun / Creole Sunday Brunch. The performers were a large, black, female Gospel singer, Paulette Wright, and a group of a dozen or so men called The Zulu Gospel Ensemble. It was quite a performance, and quite a meal ! Hallelujah ! Amen !

After the performance and brunch, we went outside onto Decatur Street, where I went shopping at Zydeco Blues Cajun Country Store while Joanne went shopping at The House Of Blues Store. I bought myself Joanne's Christmas gift to me, and Joanne bought herself my Christmas gift to her. Well ... at least we end up with what we want ! We walked a few blocks down Canal Street to the beginning of Bourbon Street, then wandered slowly down Bourbon Street, about 3/4 of the way down its 14 block length. In and out of stores, and bars, and restaurants, it's easy to imagine the atmosphere of Mardi Gras. We walked a block over to Royal Street, then a few blocks down to Preservation Hall. < sigh > It's closed on Sunday afternoons. So ... a couple of blocks over to Jackson Square, which was filled with painters, musicians, fortune tellers, and buskers of every sort. We listened to some street musicians performing blues. We watched a fascinating street performance by a group of acrobats. As the sun began to set, we wandered from Jackson Square towards French Market. In the Flea Market section of French Market, we bought another Christmas gift from me to Joanne. By now, we were pretty tired, and our feet were pretty sore, so we started to head back to the Wyndham Hotel where we were parked. Our last stop was at the world famous Café Du Monde, for café au lait, and, of course, their famous beignets. Man ... their café au lait was sooooo good, as was the coffee at the House Of Blues ... I sure would like some New Orleans Coffee for Christmas !

We were / are still so stuffed from brunch, that the café au lait and beignets was quite enough for supper. We finally got back to where the park was trucked, and began the 5 storey spiral descent. I don't think I should ever take Dee-Dee up into an indoor parkade again ! I just took her up there because the House Of Blues validated that parkade's ticket. We found our way out of downtown, and onto the bridge over the Mississippi River, no easy feat, and made our way back to Bayou Segnette State Park. We realized as we were driving "home" that we forgot to leave any lights on for Teddy and Bo, so we were a bit concerned. It was the first time Bo was left alone in the trailer, and we had been gone for the entire day. We were pleasantly surprised to find that there were no "accidents" or misbehaviour. What a good little pup !

Whew ... we're both suffering heartburn tonight. I wonder why ?

DSK

December 11, 2004

December 11, 2004

Summerdale, Alabama to New Orleans, Louisiana

DAY 177

 

It's official ! Bo is now our dog ! ! !

Today was sunny, and cool. First thing this morning, I bought the Mobile Register and checked the lost ads. Nobody looking for Bo, so he's ours. And a fine little fellow he is. Today was the first day of travel with him. He was great. Spent most of the day napping on the back seat. A real good little traveller.

We left Rainbow Plantation this morning headed for New Orleans, Louisiana, which is where we are now. We wanted to be here tonight, because there's a Sunday Brunch here in New Orleans we want to attend.

We left Rainbow Plantation travelling east on County Road 28 for about 5 miles back to Summerdale on Hwy. 59, then north on Hwy. 59 to Interstate 10. From here on, our travels will be mostly west until California next March. West on Interstate 10 back to and through Mobile. On the west side of Mobile we stopped at an RV dealer to buy a few parts I needed. Back onto I-10 until we entered Mississippi where we stopped at the highway rest area / tourist information centre to have lunch. After lunch, west on I-10 to Gulfport, Mississippi where we filled up with diesel at Flying J, and bought Bo an engraved ID tag at PetsMart. WOO-HOO ... Bo from Alabama now "resides" in Lorette, Manitoba, Canada !

More west on I-10, driving hard all the way across the southern part of Mississippi, and into Louisiana. Shortly after entering Louisiana, I-10 crosses the eastern side of Lake Pontchartrain, and enters New Orleans. We drove through, and got seriously lost in, New Orleans trying to find Bayou Segnette State Park, on the southwest side of the city, which is where we are now. It's very stressful for both of us to drive through a new city, and get lost, at dusk. I crossed the same long, narrow bridge over the Mississippi River three times ! Eventually we got here, and settled in.

DSK

December 10, 2004

December 10, 2004

Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, & Foley

DAY 176

 

A bright, sunny, warm day, albeit a little windy. A great day to rescue / adopt a new dog. First thing this morning, we bought the local newspaper, the Mobile Register, to check the lost ads to see if any one was looking for Bo. No lost ads matching him. Then we drove a very short distance to the Baldwin County Animal Control Centre to have him scanned for a microchip and check their lost listings. No microchip, and no lost listing. We checked their dog reference book to see if we could better identify what he is besides Yorkie. An old fellow in the park came by this morning with a Yorkie while I was outside with Bo, and we compared dogs. Bo definitely has something other than Yorkie in him. Looking in the dog book, it looks like he might be crossed with an Australian Terrier, or a Norfolk Terrier, or who knows ? We returned to the trailer, where Sharon in the motor home next door had gone to the Post Office to check the ad there about a lost dog. It wasn't Bo. Doesn't seem as if any one is looking for him. Perhaps not surprising. We know from our business experience that if a dog is going to be "dumped", it's going to be in the 7 to 11 month age range, when their body is already near adult sized, but they're dumb as rocks. Bo is in this age range. He's not dumb as a rock, but he's certainly got a lot of intellectual maturing to do. He travelled very well in the truck, although the ride was only a few minutes in each direction. He climbed into the back seat, lay down on Teddy's bed, and was ready to nap while we drove. He's very cute, and very sociable. Over night went well, although he did wake us up about an hour earlier than we would have liked. He started out the night in bed with us, but left soon as he seemed too warm in the bed with us. Teddy and him get along just fine. He irritated Teddy for the first couple of hours he was here, by trying to play with him, but he finally gave that up. He needs to be neutered ... like, yesterday ! Teddy wasn't very impressed with Bo trying to hump him. As soon as we get to Livingston, Texas, Bo will be seeing the vet !

We'll buy the newspaper first thing tomorrow morning, and if he's not in tomorrow's lost ads, he's leaving here with us tomorrow.

Just before lunch, we walked over to site 43 to visit the people we were talking to last night about New Orleans. We are heading to "Nyawlins" and they have been there a number of times, usually for Mardi Gras in February. They invited us over to get some maps and tourist directories. They seem to have an abundance of them. They also gave us a shopping bag full of beaded necklaces. During Mardi Gras parades, of which there are many during each 2 week period of Mardi Gras, the people on the floats in the parades throw beaded necklaces out to the parade watchers. This couple seem to be the type who can't throw anything away, despite the fact that they live in an RV. Last year they collected a few hundred pounds of these Mardi Gras beads. I have no idea what we're going to do with a bag full. I suggested to Joanne we mail them to her little nieces in Winnipeg, but the postage is likely prohibitive. These things are heavy. Anyways, we got maps and directories from these folks, and Joanne is planning our "Nyawlins" visit.

After lunch we went to Muscle Car Mania, the car museum nearby in Summerdale. It was neat ! Mostly late 60's and early 70's restored, classic, muscle cars. Some are for sale. Joanne fell in love with a 66 Mustang that was for sale. Cinnamon coloured, with cinnamon and beige interior. Very lovely. I suggested that maybe we could sell Dee-Dee and Harvey, buy a motor home, and buy the Mustang as a "toad" ( the vehicle towed behind the motor home ).

After the museum, we ran up to Foley to buy some groceries and dog supplies at Wal-Mart before we hit the road again tomorrow. We returned to the trailer just as it got dark. Bo had been left in the trailer with Teddy all afternoon. Everything was fine. He seems like a good little fellow.

Since we left YMCA Of The Ozarks 12 days ago, I have undertaken to toss at least 5 lady bugs per day out of the trailer. I haven't had any problem meeting my daily quota yet !

DSK

December 9, 2004

December 9, 2004

Rainbow Plantation

DAY 175

 

Today was a cloudy, but warm day. I spent the morning and half the afternoon installing some rain gutters on the trailer. I ordered them by mail order while we were at YMCA Of The Ozarks, but this was the first chance I've had to install them. They're adhesive backed, so must be applied on a day when the temperature is above 70 degrees. By the time I received them in Missouri, the temperatures were too cold, and we had other matters to attend to.

The balance of the afternoon I spent reading a book, and napping. I don't read quite as much as I'd like to. There always seems to be something else to do. As a matter of fact, I waffled a lot after lunch about whether to stay here and read, or go visit the nearby muscle car museum. I'm somewhat interested in seeing this museum of muscle cars from my teen years. Maybe tomorrow I'll go see the car museum.

For supper we went to the communal dinner and talent show here in the Escapees RV Park. At least every second day there is some sort of a social activity here in the park. That's typical for Escapee parks. Any excuse to socialize. The roast pork dinner was quite nice, so I'm told. Since I can't digest pork, I had to pass on the roast pork. I brought my left over liver and onions from Lambert's last night as a substitute meat for my dinner. Over dinner we chatted with the only other Canadians here at the moment. A couple from Grand Bend, Ontario, the city on Lake Huron where I celebrated my 50th birthday having Thanksgiving dinner at the Oakwood Inn Golf Resort. The talent show entertainment was pleasant. A musical group of four playing varied instruments and music. An old guy with a guitar playing and singing classic old Country And Western Music from the 40's and 50's. A woman with a keyboard playing and singing some Eagles tunes, and Christmas music. And finally, a large group of elderly women dressed comically, doing a musical spoof.

And ... the announcements. First, there will be a bus day trip to a casino in Biloxi next Monday. For $3.00, you get a bus ride to Biloxi and back, about an hour and a half away, lunch, and $10 worth of casino chips. Not a bad deal. Too bad we'll be gone by then. Then the lady in the motor home parked next to us had an announcement. She was in possession of a stray dog picked up by her nearby hairdresser. When she had her hair done this morning, her hairdresser had this stray looking for a home, so ... as I type this ... Bo the Yorkshire Terrier cross is lying at my feet.

Yes, yes ... say hello to Bo !

Adoption of Bo is not finalized yet. Tomorrow we'll take him to the nearby animal shelter, and see if he's microchipped. As well, someone else at the dinner tonight thought she had seen a notice at the local Post Office about a little lost dog that might be Bo. Sharon, in the motor home next door, will check that out tomorrow. And we'll check the lost column in the local paper tomorrow. But ... Bo might be leaving with us when we leave here in 2 days.

He is a very young adult , or older puppy, perhaps between 8 and 12 months. He has the hair and colour of a Yorkshire Terrier, but he's a little bigger and stockier than a Yorkie. Perhaps he's a Yorkie crossed with a Cairn Terrier. He looks pretty much like Disney's "Benji". He's lying on his back right now, and I'm rubbing his chest with my foot. Teddy accepts him well, although he would like to play with Teddy, and Teddy doesn't really want to romp around with a puppy. I wanted him to have a Southern name, and since he doesn't really look like a "Bubba", I chose Bo, since we got him here at RainBO Plantation.

DSK

December 8, 2004

December 8, 2004

Rainbow Plantation to Pensacola, Florida, & return

DAY 174

 

Another warm day, partially sunny. This morning I removed the driver's side battery and battery tray out of Dee-Dee, and replaced the windshield washer pump and reservoir. Now that I've put some hard miles on her since lowering the acid level in the batteries, and ascertaining there was no more acid leak problem, it was time to replace the windshield washer system. Wish me luck !

After lunch we set off for a day trip to Pensacola, Florida, about an hour east of here. County Road 49 from Rainbow Plantation to Magnolia Springs, then Hwy. 98 east through Foley and continuing on to Florida. Bought diesel in Elberta, Alabama, for the lowest price so far in the United States ; $1.91 a gallon. I think the highest I've paid was about $2.20, and average has been about $2.05 to $2.10 a gallon.

Across the bridge over Perdido Bay, and we were in Florida, on the outskirts of Pensacola. South on Hwy. 173 to Pensacola Bay and the Pensacola Naval Air Station, where the Navy trains their "top gun" pilots. We spent the afternoon at the Naval Aviation Museum at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. I don't really understand why the U.S. Navy has its own Air Force, and its own Ground Force, the Marines. How do they differ from the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army ? Actually, I do know the differences. Anyways, we spent the afternoon touring the Naval Aviation Museum. It was interesting, although not as interesting as the Western Canada Aviation Museum that Bud took me to in August. I find that civil aviation history, particularly in Western and Northern Canada, is more interesting than military aviation history. The only thing I really miss in this RV lifestyle is flying. It's now been about a year since I've last flown an airplane < sniffle >. Mea Culpa ... 3 Hail Marys !

I should be more careful. Down here, they take their religion very seriously. Although that doesn’t seem to prevent most young women from becoming pregnant at about 15.

On the way back to the RV Park, we decided to stop in Foley for supper at a restaurant we wanted to try. First, we stopped at the Coleman store. WOW ... an entire store full of products made by Coleman. Bought a camp stove toaster. We've been looking since we began this journey for a gas stove toaster that was somehow more sophisticated than the Coleman four folding rack thingy. There isn't any ! So today I finally bought a Coleman folding toaster. It was on sale for less than 2 bucks !

We went for supper to Lambert's Cafe ; "Home Of The Throwed Roll". The first time we saw a Lambert's was in Sikeston, Missouri, on "the day of the tornado". I changed a flat tire in their parking lot. Then we saw one a few days later in Ozark, Missouri, near Branson. We didn't know what "Home Of The Throwed Roll" meant. Escapee / WorkCamper Julie explained it. She had been to one. Every 10 minutes or so, an employee comes out of the kitchen with a large tray of hot rolls right out of the oven, and asks loudly as he wanders through the restaurant "who wants a hot roll ?" When a patron responds, he throws a roll to them. Uh-huh ! When we saw a few days ago that there was a Lambert's in Foley, we decided to give them a try. We thought they must be a large, national chain. Turns out they're a small family owned restaurant with only three locations, and we've been near all three of them recently.

"Throwed rolls" are only one of the many included "pass arounds" offered by this restaurant. As you are eating, serving people are wandering around offering deep fried okra, macaroni and tomato, thin sliced fried potato and onion, black eyed peas, and apple butter and sorghum molasses for your throwed rolls. Part way through our meal, our waitress came by to refill Joanne's iced tea. She placed the pitcher of iced tea down on the table in front of me, then "accidentally" knocked it over towards me. I jumped ! It was an empty trick pitcher, painted to look like a half full pitcher of tea. What an amusing place, with huge portions of great food. There was so much on the menu that I didn't understand, and asked so many questions, I finally felt compelled to apologize, and actually said "Sorry, I'm a Northerner".

< sigh > We’re all missing Toby a great deal.

DSK

December 7, 2004

December 7, 2004

Rainbow Plantation to Foley and Gulf Shores, & return

DAY 173

 

Today was another hot, humid day. Fine by me ! For those of you who are reading my blog while looking outside at the snow ... NYAH NYAH NYAH !

This morning was raining lightly and intermittently. Right after lunch we set off for a day of exploring. We started off heading east on County Road 28 to County Road 9, then south on County Road 9 following the Fish River. At Hwy. 98 we turned west, passing through the pretty little village of Magnolia Springs, and on to the city of Foley. At Foley, we got back onto the main road that runs north / south from Interstate 10 to the Gulf Coast, Hwy. 59. At Gulf Shores, we travelled east on Hwy. 182 along the coast, to the end of the road, maybe about 10 miles. All the beachfront dwellings were extensively damaged by Hurricane Ivan in September. Most are beyond salvation, and are just sitting there awaiting demolition. The entire stretch of this coastal road is filled with construction vehicles, and workers. Every front end loader for hundreds of miles around must be here. They have to scoop all the sand off the beach, and load it into massive sifting machines to remove out all the debris. The way dump trucks line up behind snow clearing machines back home, waiting to be filled, is how the dump trucks are lined up here behind these giant sifting machines. Every few minutes, another dump truck is filled with debris.

The devastation is stunning. It makes me wonder why anybody would even consider building on the beach. Maybe they just accept that every 20 or 25 years, or whatever, they will have to rebuild. In Florida, it must be even more frequently.

We came back along Hwy. 182, and drove through Gulf State Park. We wanted to see the campground in the State Park. It was closed because of damage. While driving slowly through the park, I saw an armadillo on the side of the road. I stopped and jumped out to take a picture. What a bold little creature. It allowed me to approach within ten feet before rearing up and charging me. HA HA HA HA HA ... the cute little thing is about as intimidating as Teddy. I guess that little armoured back makes it feel invincible.

HEADLINE ; CANADIAN SNOWBIRD ATTACKED BY PISSED OFF ARMADILLO !

We drove back to Hwy. 59, then a mile or so north to Hwy. 180, another road that runs along the coast, although a teensy bit more inland. We travelled about 20 miles west along Hwy. 180, to Fort Morgan. Hwy. 180 is just far enough away from the coast line to be in forest, as opposed to actually on the sand beach. On this road, the damage was a bit lighter, although it was somewhat comical to see household appliances which have been blown right out of destroyed beach houses, scattered in the forest. We counted twenty fridges, freezers, washers, and dryers, blown into the forest, in a 20 mile stretch. We didn't count hot water tanks, but the hot tub count was "one" ! Above ground swimming pool count was "one". In ground swimming pool count was "one". The moral of that must be ... don't install an in ground swimming pool on a sand beach in hurricane country.

We drove back to Foley, to buy groceries and get an oil change. An oil change at Wal-Mart is half the price of anywhere else !

We got back to the trailer at Rainbow Plantation just as it got dark, shortly after 5:00 P.M.. It was so warm yesterday we opened some windows in the trailer, for the first time in a couple of months. It was nice to sleep with open windows. Tonight was even warmer than yesterday, and we had to open even more windows when we got home.

DSK

December 6, 2004

December 6, 2004

Rainbow Plantation to Foley and Gulf Shores, & return

DAY 172

 

Today was hot and humid. 78 degrees F. and 90 % humidity. Actually, a somewhat pleasant change from the weather we've had lately.

Today was a day for doing almost nothing. A chance to rest and recuperate from this miserable cold. The only thing I did today was take a short drive to the town of Foley, to check out where I could get an oil change done, and a little beyond to Gulf Shores to see the beach, and the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Ivan recently.

It's difficult to describe. All beachfront properties have been either destroyed or heavily damaged. The public beaches are closed. There are huge piles of construction debris everywhere. Reconstruction is underway. Most of the damage was to the buildings right on the Gulf Of Mexico. Inland, behind the beach front "strip", the damage is less severe, but still considerable. Buildings are still standing, but all glass has been blown out, all wood decks and stairs have been reduced to tangled piles of scrap lumber. It's hard to imagine that wind could be so destructive.

DSK

December 5, 2004

December 5, 2004

Rainbow Plantation

DAY 171

 

Today started out raining heavily. I had to go outside in the heavy rain first thing this morning to connect the sewer hose from the trailer to the sewer outlet. I had not unhitched the trailer from the truck, nor had I connected the sewer, yesterday when we arrived. As I was connecting the sewer, I had a sewer valve malfunction and spilled quite a bit of raw sewage out onto the ground beside the trailer. This kind of sewer valve malfunction is inevitable when full timing. One tries to keep such occurrences down to a minimum frequency. This is my first in almost six months of travelling, so I guess that's not too bad. And ... if one is going to spill raw sewage all over the ground beside one's trailer, might as well do it on a day that's raining heavily.

Most of the rest of the day was spent doing absolutely nothing, an indulgence I haven’t allowed myself in a long time. I lay in bed reading and napping all afternoon. A day of rest seems to have helped my cold symptoms diminish, finally.

When it finally stopped raining late in the afternoon, I unhitched the truck from the trailer. We want to go out and do some local exploring in the next few days. We loaded our laundry into the truck, and drove over to the club house, where the laundry room is located, and to attend the “ice cream social”. Every day there is a social activity of some sort at these Escapee RV Parks, to encourage “meet and greet” socializing. Eating ice cream and drinking root beer floats are just excuses for socializing. We sat for a long time chatting with a single man full time RV’er from Northern Minnesota. He was quite familiar with Winnipeg, Kenora, and all the way to Thunder Bay. He had visited St. Boniface a few times when he was a university student in Minneapolis. It’s nice to be back in the world where people realize that you don’t risk falling off the edge of the earth once beyond St. Louis, Missouri.

For supper, I prepared pickerel we've had in the freezer since Port Stanley, Ontario, coated with seasoned corn meal coating for cat fish, with turnip greens and hush puppies. I liked it all. Joanne didn't like the hush puppies. < snort > Northerner !

DSK

December 4, 2004

December 4, 2004

Flint Creek Park, Mississippi to Summerdale, Alabama

DAY 170

 

Well ... we've finally made it to the Gulf Of Mexico ! Tonight we're at Rainbow Plantation, an Escapees RV Park. near Summerdale, Alabama.

We left Flint Creek Park this morning heading east on Hwy. 26 through about 35 miles of Mississippi swamp land to Lucedale. At Lucedale, we picked up Hwy. 98 heading southeast to Alabama. We entered Alabama and were at Mobile by lunch time. We stopped in Mobile for supplies, diesel, and lunch. In Mobile we picked up Interstate 65 south for a short time, then onto Interstate 10 heading east over Mobile Bay, probably the most northerly point of the Gulf Of Mexico. After crossing Mobile Bay, just east of Mobile, we stopped at a Travel Information Centre in Spanish Fort, where I took a picture of our first palm tree on this adventure. A bit more east on I-10, then onto Hwy. 59 heading south towards Gulf Shores. Halfway between I-10 and Gulf Shores, at Summerdale, Alabama, we turned west onto County Road 32, and the Escapees RV Park here, Rainbow Plantation.

At the Escapees Fall Escapade in Goshen, Indiana, Joanne decided she wanted to try to visit 8 of the 9 RV Parks owned by the Escapees RV Club. The first was in Branson, Missouri, just before our WorkCamping job at YMCA Of The Ozarks. The second was supposed to be the Escapees RV Park at Knoxville, Tennessee, about 400 miles or so east of where we were in Missouri. When it was time to leave last Monday morning, it was raining, and cold, and I was feeling so miserable with this cold, I couldn't bring myself to drive in any direction other than south. We skipped Knoxville, Tennessee.

And, so, here we are in Summerdale, Alabama. The temperature when we arrived late in the afternoon was in the mid-60's, and now, late at night, it's in the high 50's. I can live with that !

My cold has begun to improve ... finally.

We are going to stay here anywhere from 3 days to a week. Tomorrow we'll start to figure out what we want to see and do while we're here, as well as what we want to see and do on the way to Texas. We want to be at Livingston, Texas by Christmas, so we need to do some planning.

We picked up a movie tonight in the park's club house, and watched it after supper. A Michael Moore film called Canadian Bacon. It's hilarious. It pokes merciless fun at America, and Americans. The star is JohnCandy. There are some "inside" Canadian jokes that only Canadians would get. When the credits roll, credit is given to Johnny LaRue, thanking him for the crane shots. HA HA HA HA HA ... too funny !

DSK

December 3, 2004

December 3, 2004

Dry Creek Park to Flint Creek Park, Mississippi

DAY 169

 

I couldn't help but notice that I shared my shower stall in the camp ground comfort station this morning with three locusts. Two were greenish brown, and one was bright fluorescent neon green ! Welcome to Mississippi !

Well ... we are in the deep south tonight, at Flint Creek Park at Wiggins, Mississippi. Louisiana is about an hour west of here. Alabama is about an hour east of here. The Gulf Of Mexico is about an hour south of here. The temperatures here are 30 degrees warmer than they were in Missouri ; high 50's to mid 60's.

After perusing the Mississippi maps and tourist information books last night, Joanne decided that today needed to be a day of exploring backwoods Mississippi. Since I ended the day on an empty tank of fuel, that meant we had to back track about 10 miles north on Hwy. 49 to Magee, to fill up with diesel. After fuelling up, we headed back south on Hwy. 49 to the little town of Mount Olive, where we headed east on a little back country road, Hwy. 532. About 14 miles down Hwy. 532 was the little village of Hot Coffee, Mississippi. Joanne wanted to visit the two quaint little general stores in this village. The first one, J & H Harper Grocery hasn't changed much since it opened for business about 75 years ago. While Joanne browsed, I chatted with the store owner, who says that the store was built by her "granddaddy" in 1929, and run by him, then her "daddy" until she took over about 3 years ago. A short distance down the road, we stopped again at McDonald's Store, opened in 1940. The first thing I saw that I wanted to buy, was a couple of moon pies. We had been chatting with Escapee / WorkCamper Julie at YMCA Of The Ozarks, and were laughing about encountering stereotypes in our travels. She said wait until you see people eating moon pies and drinking RC Colas in the deep south. I didn't know what a moon pie is. I do now ! It's like a Wagon Wheel in Manitoba or a Jos. Louis in Eastern Ontario / Quebec. The store owner asked if I wanted help, and I said I needed some of their local foods explained to me. I didn't know what the bucket of pork chitterlings in the freezer section was. I pronounced it as if it rhymes with "bitter things". Turns out it's pronounced "chittlins". DUH ! Northerner ! Chitterlings / chittlins are pig's intestines. While I was chatting with the store owner, Joanne was walking around picking up groceries that we had never seen before, to buy and try. She bought ;

Dirty Rice ( a New Orleans hot, spicy type of "Hamburger Helper" sort of thing )

a frozen package of Collard Greens

a frozen package of chopped turnip greens

a package of "Fish Fri" ( a seasoned corn meal mix for coating cat fish )

a package of hush puppies ( a shaped corn meal thing sort of like "tater tots" )

a couple of Satsumas ( oranges from Louisiana similar to mandarins )

As we were leaving the store, the owner gave us a couple of "stage planks" to munch while driving. They were somewhat like ginger bread cookies.

From this store, we picked up Hwy. 37 south for a few miles to Hwy. 84, then Hwy. 84 west back to Hwy. 49 at Collins. A quick stop for a few more groceries in Collins, then south on Hwy. 49 to Hattiesburg, where signage says we are now in Southern Mississippi. We were going to head west on Hwy. 98 towards Alabama, but it was so late in the day we stayed on Hwy. 49 heading south, to this camp ground at Wiggins. Just before we got here, we stopped at a road side vegetable and fruit stand where we got a sample of something we've seen advertised as available in the last couple of days ; boiled peanuts. They taste like ... well ... peanuts that have been boiled. Soggy, mushy, peanuts. Must be an acquired taste.

Both the park we were at last night, and the one we are at tonight, are administered by the U.S. Department Of The Interior. I'm not sure what that is !

Tonight we had the Dirty Rice and Collard Greens for supper. Well ... at least Teddy liked the Dirty Rice.

DSK

December 2, 2004

December 2, 2004

Lake Enid to Dry Creek Park, Mississippi

DAY 168

 

Another bright, sunny day. Thank goodness ! It's still a bit cool, but a lot warmer than when we were leaving Missouri a few days ago. There's little improvement in my cold, and it's wearing me down.

We took our time getting ready to leave this morning. My stamina is really low. We headed south on I-55. I only drove for a short time before I felt too tired to drive. I think my cold medications might be making me drowsy. Joanne drove for most of the morning. We stopped for lunch, and to change drivers, at a Love's Travel Centre near Canton, Mississippi. Love's Travel Centres are like Flying J's ; 98 % commercial trucks, 2 % RV's, no soccer moms in minivans. After lunch, I resumed driving, continuing us south on I-55 into Jackson, Mississippi. In Jackson I transferred over from I-55 South to Hwy. 49 heading southeast.

We passed an area that had obviously been hit by a tornado recently. What amazing devastation. Buildings destroyed, huge trees snapped off close to the ground, all on a swath no more than a few hundred feet wide.

We're stopped for the night at Dry Creek Park near Mount Olive, Mississippi. The further south we go, the cheaper the camping fees become. Camping fees up north were in the $30 range. Tonight we paid $6.50 for a site with water and electrical hook-ups, in a very nice park. Large, level sites, well spaced from one another. Large, clean showers and restrooms building. It's a public park, although I'm not sure what agency administers it.

Tomorrow we're going to do some exploring in this area. Joanne found some interesting things to see near here, in the Mississippi tourist information book.

DSK

December 1, 2004

December 1, 2004

Memphis, Tennessee to Lake Enid, Mississippi

DAY 167

 

Finally ... a day of sunshine. The temperature is still a little low, and my cold isn't any better, but at least I didn't get wet repeatedly today.

We took a long time to get ready to leave this morning. Joanne did most of the hitch up work that I usually do, but I needed to start pampering this cold or I'm never going to start feeling better. We pulled out of the RV Park heading south on Elvis Presley Boulevard which became Hwy. 51 as it left Memphis. Hwy. 51 is the old highway running parallel to the Interstate, and we wanted to explore off the Interstate for awhile. Just after it crossed into Mississippi, we went back onto the Interstate, to stop at the Travel Information Centre for a highway map, campground book, etc..

At Batesville, Mississippi, we stopped at Wal-Mart to buy groceries and diesel, and have lunch. As I approached the deli counter, the woman behind the counter said "Hep ya ?". It's becoming increasingly difficult to understand what people are saying. When we came out of Wal-Mart with our groceries, there was a motor home parked beside us. The front license plate said it belonged to Larry and Jan Kirby. What a coincidence ! I chatted with Mr. Kirby for awhile while he waited for his wife to finish her shopping. He suggested we consider stopping for the night at the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Park ( HUH ? ) they were headed to. They had been here before and thought it was very nice. So ... that’s where we are tonight. The U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Park at Lake Enid. A very nice camp ground on a very nice lake.

The lake is actually a reservoir created by a dam on a river. We picked up a booklet at the office that sort of explains the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers. They manage water ! Water conservation, hydro-electric power, water supply, etc.. There are many of their projects that have recreational parks adjacent.

Teddy likes Mississippi. It has grass to eat ! Stupid cat ! I carried him around outside for awhile at the Travel Information Centre while Joanne was inside getting maps and stuff. I put him down on the ground while I snapped a picture, and in 2 seconds he was munching grass. He’s been somewhat “clingy” since Toby died. I guess he misses snuggling up against Toby. He’s back to travelling in the truck with us during the day instead of staying in the trailer while we drive.

Mississippi has such a rich musical heritage. It is the birth place of much of the music, and the musicians, of our time ; Elvis Presley, B. B. King, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis. It's interesting to drive by places that are embedded in songs. Today as we drove over it, I threatened to throw Teddy "off the Tallahatchie Bridge, up on Choctaw Ridge" ( Carly Simon's "Ode To Billy Joe" ).

DSK

November 30, 2004

November 30, 2004

Caruthersville, Missouri to Memphis, Tennessee

DAY 166

 

Yesterday we drove down out of the Ozark Mountains. Today we drove along the Mississippi Delta. The radio stations made a transition from Bluegrass Gospel to Delta Blues.

Today was cold and raining heavily again. I felt very sick. This is the fourth day of my cold, and I usually start to improve on the fifth day of a cold, so I'm hoping for improvement tomorrow. However, I've been getting wet and cold a lot in the last few days, so I'm not getting much of a chance to "nurse" this cold.

We left Caruthersville, driving 5 miles back to Interstate 55 at the town of Blytheville, where we filled up with diesel. South on I-55 and soon we were in Arkansas. We've been in Missouri for about six weeks now, and I'm glad to put it behind us. The cotton fields all along the Mississippi Delta are flooded from the heavy rains of the last few days.

We stopped for lunch at a road side rest area. By mid-afternoon, I-55 curved a bit east, crossed the Mississippi River, and we were in Memphis, Tennessee. Joanne had picked out an RV Park to stay at, on, of course, Elvis Presley Boulevard, about a half mile down from Graceland. We checked in to the park, unhitched and set up. Joanne cleaned up a big mess in one of the cupboards, while I lay down for awhile. A bottle of Cola had spontaneously exploded in a cupboard. As difficult as that was to clean up, it was made worse by the huge number of stowaway ladybugs that were in the cupboard. YMCA Of The Ozarks had a ladybug "problem", and they seem to have taken up residence in every nook and cranny in the trailer.

Late in the afternoon, we drove back to Graceland, just down the street. The first thing we did was check out the Graceland RV Park ... on Lonely Street ... right behind the Heartbreak Hotel. Yes, yes ... you did read that correctly ! We parked around the corner, and walked by Graceland. It is surrounded by a tall stone fence that prevents you from seeing into the grounds except near the entrance. Yes, yes ... the entrance with the wrought iron gates with the musical notes on them.

We took a few pictures, then got back into the truck to go a few blocks to a restaurant recommended by the lady at the tourist bureau where we stopped just coming off the Interstate. We went inside but didn't like it, so on impulse we decided to drive downtown to have supperon Beale Street.

AHHHHH .... Beale Street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. Home of the blues ! The first corner we approached on Beale Street had the Blues City Cafe and B. B. King's Blues Club. We checked out the menu at the Blues City Cafe, then crossed the street to look into B. B. King's Blues Club. The club was already pretty full, and it was only about 6:30 P.M.. I asked the doorman who was playing tonight. < GASP > B. B. himself was playing ! The cover charge was U.S. $40.00, and it was already standing room only for a set that would begin at 10:00 P.M..

We walked about 2 blocks down Beale Street and back, checking out restaurants and blues bars on both sides of the street. Joanne decided she liked the Blues City Cafe, the first place we had come to on Beale Street. She had Memphis Style Barbecued Ribs, and I had Southern Fried Catfish. HOT DAMN ... it was good ! I had so much catfish, I wrapped a piece into a napkin, and put it into my pocket. Teddy sure will have a big surprise tonight when I feed him his bedtime snack. While eating, we debated whether or not to go to the B.B. King set across the street. I decided I'm too sick. Walking around Graceland, then up and down Beale Street in the cold rain didn't help. I'm much too ill to be doing this tourist stuff tonight

DSK

November 29, 2004

November 29, 2004

Trout Lodge to Caruthersville, Missouri

DAY 165

 

Today was cold and raining. We went to Trout Lodge first thing this morning to say goodbye to Jessica Clay, the Volunteer Co-ordinator, and Julie, our new Escapee / WorkCamper friend. Julie was leaving today as well, headed for Florida. We hope to meet her again some day in our travels. After saying our goodbyes, we packed up, hitched up, and hit the road. This took considerably longer than it usually does for us. I was very sick today. It was cold and raining heavily. All the outside water hoses and sewer hoses were stiff from the cold, and dirty from lying in one place for five weeks. We said a tearful goodbye to Toby, and drove off.

Hwy. AA to Hwy. 8 to Potosi. We stopped for one last time in Potosi for propane, diesel, and cold medication. Goodbye, Potosi, Missouri ! And I used to think Fisher Branch, Manitoba was bush league ! Hwy. 8 to Park Hills where we got onto Hwy. 67 headed south. We followed Hwy. 67 south to Hwy. 72, then Hwy. 72 east to Jackson, where we stopped in a Wal-Mart parking lot to have lunch. After lunch, we got onto Interstate 55 headed south for Arkansas and Tennessee.

We were already in the mid-America “bible belt” when we were at YMCA Of The Ozarks / Potosi, but it really became obvious as we headed south through Missouri today. We spent the afternoon listening to a radio station that was all gospel, all the time.

We drove over "the bridges of Madison County" today, for what that's worth. We also drove over our first bayou.

At Sikeston, we got off the Interstate to head 2 miles to a campground Joanne had picked out. I was resistant to stopping so early in the afternoon, but Joanne thought it best to stop early since I was feeling so ill. We went to the campground and checked it out. I thought it was a dump, so we headed back out on the road, arguing. A couple of hours further south on the Interstate, we saw a bill board advertising a deluxe RV Park attached to a nearby large casino. We had read about these casino RV Parks and decided it would be an interesting adventure to check one out.

We are parked in the RV Park attached to Casino Aztar on the outskirts of Caruthersville, in the “boot heel” of Missouri, on the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. Across the river is Tennessee. Arkansas is about another 20 miles south. This RV Park has 27 fully serviced, concrete pad, pull through sites. It costs $1.00 more than the dump a couple of hours back. That includes free Wi-Fi access, 2 admissions to the casino, worth $3.00 per admission, and 2 vouchers for drinks in the bar. Beside the RV Park is a large building housing the casino entrance and registration, a restaurant, and a bar. Through the building, and out the back, is a long covered walkway on a dock to the riverboat casino. I think there are some quirky gaming laws here about gambling on the Mississippi River, and that’s why the casino is actually on a riverboat. We checked in, looked around the casino, then returned to the trailer to hook up water and electricity, and extend the slides. I went to the shower building right beside our trailer for a long hot shower while Joanne prepared supper. We’re the only rig in the park.

We’ve just finished eating supper. I want to go to the bar with my 2 free drink tickets and try a Kentucky Bourbon and a Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey. Wish me luck !

HMPH ! We've just returned from walking to the bar and back in the cold rain. They decided to close early tonight due to a lack of customers. So much for our drinks ! HMPH !

DSK

November 28, 2004

A tribute to Toby

September, 1987 to November 28, 2004

 

Toby died this morning. Rest in peace, my little friend. I dedicate today's entry to his memory.

Toby came into our lives in the summer of 1988, the first year we lived in Ottawa. I was on my back, on the driveway, fixing something underneath the boat. I heard his patented little "PRRRRT". I turned my head, and there he was staring up at the bottom of the boat, to see what I was fixing under there. He's been helping me do "guy stuff" ever since.

I was stroking him, and talking to him, when he crossed the Rainbow Bridge at 9:40 A.M. today.

This afternoon, we laid Toby to rest here in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, in the forest, with the sounds of birds singing.

He was dearly loved, and will be greatly missed. Our hearts are heavy with grief.

Farewell, Toby.

DSK