December 25th, 2009
Fresno, CA
Rob and I got up, got ready and went to Dad & Barb's they live up in River Park near my brother. We are having Christmas there.
We had moved the Seville out of the Elks and it is now parked in front of Dad's house and will remain there until we take it to whomever is going to fix it.
Rob and I arrived at Dad's at about 10 am, Mom around noon, and my Brother Art and his boys, Cam and Cole, arrived around 2.
We opened gifts, drank champagne and had nice snacks. We talked to Anne, Katy, Sarah, Brad and Nancy. Everyone is having happy holidays.
We had a lovely dinner of Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Yum Yum. Pumpkin and Pecan Pies for dessert.
It was a very being together for Christmas.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
December 20 - 24 2009
Fresno, CA
So Rob ended up having to go out on a trip. Naturally, that ment that I drove up to Fresno on my own. It went well, I didn't notice any excessively bumpiness or anything.
I got to the Elks Lodge and a nice man and his wife helped to back into our spot. It was nice and easy. I had been listening to the Raider game on the radio and was hoping I would be able to watch the last minute or two on TV, but that was not to be.
It looked like a tornado went through our little house. Stuff was everywhere. When I started opening the sofa slide a heard a pop. I stopped and crawled back there to make sure nothing was on the floor and in the way. Nothing was, so I continued to open it. No other noises. I noticed spices had fallen out and had to get a broom to reach some to get them out of the way of the recliner slide. Luckily nothing had come open so I didn't have any big molasses messes to clean up. Stuff fell out of the refrigerator and the pantry when I opened those doors.
I went to the bedroom and opened that slide, and I noticed something on the floor. A bracket was sitting on the floor under the slide edge. It is supposed to be bolted on and raise the slide up on a roller, so that whole side is sitting heavily on the frame. Damn! Then I went in the bathroom and the drawers were open and one was completely out. I couldn't get it back in.
I found 2 parts of a bracket something or other on the ground outside at the edge of the sofa slide. I couldn't figure out where it belonged and didn't know if it was off our rig or had been there on the ground already. The pop I heard kept haunting me though.
I packed a bag and went to Mom's I wanted to deal with the Seville later. Mom had dinner ready and was waiting for me.
Rob ended up flying with a friend from the B lot who had borrowed Rob's truck and driven it to Visalia which is only 45 miles south of Fresno. It was pretty amazing that they were flying together. So, when their trip ended they both flew into Fresno, Rob rode down to Visalia with Todd, picked up his truck and drove back.
The bracket I found on the ground does go to the Seville and we were not able to get the bracket on the slide back on. Crossroads is closed and all the service departments are also closed until after the holidays. Rob of course is not happy about all this.
Nothing we can do, so we will forget about it for now.
Had a nice visit with my Mom, played cards, ate well, drank to much and got ready for Christmas. It was so nice to finally be back. I missed her.
Fresno, CA
So Rob ended up having to go out on a trip. Naturally, that ment that I drove up to Fresno on my own. It went well, I didn't notice any excessively bumpiness or anything.
I got to the Elks Lodge and a nice man and his wife helped to back into our spot. It was nice and easy. I had been listening to the Raider game on the radio and was hoping I would be able to watch the last minute or two on TV, but that was not to be.
It looked like a tornado went through our little house. Stuff was everywhere. When I started opening the sofa slide a heard a pop. I stopped and crawled back there to make sure nothing was on the floor and in the way. Nothing was, so I continued to open it. No other noises. I noticed spices had fallen out and had to get a broom to reach some to get them out of the way of the recliner slide. Luckily nothing had come open so I didn't have any big molasses messes to clean up. Stuff fell out of the refrigerator and the pantry when I opened those doors.
I went to the bedroom and opened that slide, and I noticed something on the floor. A bracket was sitting on the floor under the slide edge. It is supposed to be bolted on and raise the slide up on a roller, so that whole side is sitting heavily on the frame. Damn! Then I went in the bathroom and the drawers were open and one was completely out. I couldn't get it back in.
I found 2 parts of a bracket something or other on the ground outside at the edge of the sofa slide. I couldn't figure out where it belonged and didn't know if it was off our rig or had been there on the ground already. The pop I heard kept haunting me though.
I packed a bag and went to Mom's I wanted to deal with the Seville later. Mom had dinner ready and was waiting for me.
Rob ended up flying with a friend from the B lot who had borrowed Rob's truck and driven it to Visalia which is only 45 miles south of Fresno. It was pretty amazing that they were flying together. So, when their trip ended they both flew into Fresno, Rob rode down to Visalia with Todd, picked up his truck and drove back.
The bracket I found on the ground does go to the Seville and we were not able to get the bracket on the slide back on. Crossroads is closed and all the service departments are also closed until after the holidays. Rob of course is not happy about all this.
Nothing we can do, so we will forget about it for now.
Had a nice visit with my Mom, played cards, ate well, drank to much and got ready for Christmas. It was so nice to finally be back. I missed her.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
A busy, but enjoyable day at the beach
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Dockweiler RV Park, Playa Del Rey, CA
I woke up early this morning. I could hear the waves which is always a nice sound. I got up and fixed coffee. I cleaned up from last night as well. YumYum got up so I fed her. I sat down at the compute and checked email, then I started working on bills. Yuk. I got them all paid.
Rob got up so we had coffee together. Then we got busy. We went through everything. We started in the living room, then the kitchen, then the bathroom, then the bedroom with all our clothes and stuff stored under the bed. And finally we went through everything in both storage compartments. We completely filled the truck inside and the bed with stuff that was in the RV that we decided we didn’t need. We probably lightened our load by 300 lbs.
Then we went to Rob’s trailer and picked up a big bottle of tequila (He found ½ gallons for $18.50 so he bought a couple) we also picked up plastic dinner ware. We are thinking that plastic is better than ceramic both for weight and breakage.
From there we went to storage. We contributed to storage all the stuff in the pickup, and then we looked for some items that I wanted. I was specifically looking for my Body Bugg and the bag of syringes for YumYum. I found neither. We picked up some nice paper ware and I found some of my thermal shirts. We grabbed two containers of kitty litter, and some supplies of zip-locks, and Kleenex.
From there I went home and vacuumed and straightened up. Then I showered and fixed a cheese platter. Rob got home and, bless him, he picked up already prepared food. He got a rotisserie chicken, a green salad, a potato salad, a Cole slaw, and rice crispy treats. It was great. I made a double batch of margaritas and just as I finished Jim and Marlene arrived. They are awesome. I have heard so much about both of them from Rob and they are great. They are both so easy to be around. We had a couple snacks, fixed drinks and then went for a quick walk on the beach. It had been a beautiful, warm, sunny day with joggers, bikers and skaters going by all day. We didn’t get to enjoy any of it because we were working, working, working. So, that is why I wanted to go for a quick walk and go see the ocean on the other side of the berm.
We came back and while Rob lit a fire in the pit I brought out all the dinner stuff. It was very relaxed and enjoyable.
We sat around the fire and swapped stories. I believe we can grow to be the best of friends. I really enjoyed them. They live in the Seattle area and Marlene is a teacher. She wants to retire and Jim wants her to but she loves her students. Rob and I are hoping that she will retire and that they will come and stay at Seabreeze for the summer while we are there. It would be really fun.
Anyway, we ate, drank and were merry. We sat around the fire and chatted until we were all yawning so much we were turning our faces inside out. Then they left.
We cleaned up all the dishes, checked out all our email and journal stuff and watched the news. And then we went to bed.
Rob has a three day trip that starts tomorrow eve so I will drive up to Fresno alone. He goes to San Francisco tomorrow and spends the night, then Monday he goes to Cabo and then Seattle and spends the night, then Tuesday he returns to LAX. He will come to Fresno after his trip.
He will be off and be in Fresno for Christmas.
Dockweiler RV Park, Playa Del Rey, CA
I woke up early this morning. I could hear the waves which is always a nice sound. I got up and fixed coffee. I cleaned up from last night as well. YumYum got up so I fed her. I sat down at the compute and checked email, then I started working on bills. Yuk. I got them all paid.
Rob got up so we had coffee together. Then we got busy. We went through everything. We started in the living room, then the kitchen, then the bathroom, then the bedroom with all our clothes and stuff stored under the bed. And finally we went through everything in both storage compartments. We completely filled the truck inside and the bed with stuff that was in the RV that we decided we didn’t need. We probably lightened our load by 300 lbs.
Then we went to Rob’s trailer and picked up a big bottle of tequila (He found ½ gallons for $18.50 so he bought a couple) we also picked up plastic dinner ware. We are thinking that plastic is better than ceramic both for weight and breakage.
From there we went to storage. We contributed to storage all the stuff in the pickup, and then we looked for some items that I wanted. I was specifically looking for my Body Bugg and the bag of syringes for YumYum. I found neither. We picked up some nice paper ware and I found some of my thermal shirts. We grabbed two containers of kitty litter, and some supplies of zip-locks, and Kleenex.
From there I went home and vacuumed and straightened up. Then I showered and fixed a cheese platter. Rob got home and, bless him, he picked up already prepared food. He got a rotisserie chicken, a green salad, a potato salad, a Cole slaw, and rice crispy treats. It was great. I made a double batch of margaritas and just as I finished Jim and Marlene arrived. They are awesome. I have heard so much about both of them from Rob and they are great. They are both so easy to be around. We had a couple snacks, fixed drinks and then went for a quick walk on the beach. It had been a beautiful, warm, sunny day with joggers, bikers and skaters going by all day. We didn’t get to enjoy any of it because we were working, working, working. So, that is why I wanted to go for a quick walk and go see the ocean on the other side of the berm.
We came back and while Rob lit a fire in the pit I brought out all the dinner stuff. It was very relaxed and enjoyable.
We sat around the fire and swapped stories. I believe we can grow to be the best of friends. I really enjoyed them. They live in the Seattle area and Marlene is a teacher. She wants to retire and Jim wants her to but she loves her students. Rob and I are hoping that she will retire and that they will come and stay at Seabreeze for the summer while we are there. It would be really fun.
Anyway, we ate, drank and were merry. We sat around the fire and chatted until we were all yawning so much we were turning our faces inside out. Then they left.
We cleaned up all the dishes, checked out all our email and journal stuff and watched the news. And then we went to bed.
Rob has a three day trip that starts tomorrow eve so I will drive up to Fresno alone. He goes to San Francisco tomorrow and spends the night, then Monday he goes to Cabo and then Seattle and spends the night, then Tuesday he returns to LAX. He will come to Fresno after his trip.
He will be off and be in Fresno for Christmas.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Our last leg!
Is this pretty or what! Sunset at Playa Del Rey, CA
Arriving at the RV park at Playa Del Rey
Rob getting us ready to go, AZ
The last RV park we stayed in on our jurney. Arizona
I alway love the mesas in ArizonaFriday 18 December 2009
Arizona to Las Angeles
This RV Park is a very pretty place, up against some pretty mesas and stuff, but it is right up against the highway, and very close to a very active railway as well.
I took a glorious shower at the park while Rob fed the Yumster. When I got back we finished buttoning things up and hit the road. It was 8:50 when we got back on I-10. It was surprisingly cold, in the very low 40s. It was sunny and clear though.
The drive was pretty and pretty easy. It was about 8 hours. I drove first and finished off the tank that Rob started last night. Then we fueled again and Rob drove the rest of the way.
Driving through Arizona was pretty. It is odd the way the desert of Arizona and New Mexico are so pretty, but the same desert of California is not so pretty.
We arrived at Playa Del Rey at about 5 pm. It is a beach park. We are right up against the beach, but unfortunately they have plowed up a huge berm to protect from winter storms and high surges. So, we can’t see the water from here. But it is sooooooo nice to be in Calif, in LA, to be home.
We were all settled by 5:30. There was a beautiful sunset. Rob climbed up on the roof to check it out.
We ate dinner, chilled, and watched a couple episodes of “The Closer” then we went to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow. We are going to go through all the stuff in the Rv and get rid of that which we don’t need, and go to storage and find stuff we have been wanting.
Also, we have friends coming for dinner. I have not met them yet, but I am looking forward to meeting them. Rob likes them a lot.
Arizona to Las Angeles
This RV Park is a very pretty place, up against some pretty mesas and stuff, but it is right up against the highway, and very close to a very active railway as well.
I took a glorious shower at the park while Rob fed the Yumster. When I got back we finished buttoning things up and hit the road. It was 8:50 when we got back on I-10. It was surprisingly cold, in the very low 40s. It was sunny and clear though.
The drive was pretty and pretty easy. It was about 8 hours. I drove first and finished off the tank that Rob started last night. Then we fueled again and Rob drove the rest of the way.
Driving through Arizona was pretty. It is odd the way the desert of Arizona and New Mexico are so pretty, but the same desert of California is not so pretty.
We arrived at Playa Del Rey at about 5 pm. It is a beach park. We are right up against the beach, but unfortunately they have plowed up a huge berm to protect from winter storms and high surges. So, we can’t see the water from here. But it is sooooooo nice to be in Calif, in LA, to be home.
We were all settled by 5:30. There was a beautiful sunset. Rob climbed up on the roof to check it out.
We ate dinner, chilled, and watched a couple episodes of “The Closer” then we went to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow. We are going to go through all the stuff in the Rv and get rid of that which we don’t need, and go to storage and find stuff we have been wanting.
Also, we have friends coming for dinner. I have not met them yet, but I am looking forward to meeting them. Rob likes them a lot.
I-10 goes on for 864 miles??!! across Texas
Still in Texas
I-10 through TexasThrusday 17 December 2009
Somewhere in Texas.
We didn’t set an alarm. We figured we should get whatever sleep we needed. It is 34° this morning. Really glad we didn’t stay without heat. In fact, we forgot to turn it down before we went to bed and I heard it come on during the night.
We fixed coffee, and fed YumYum and then hit the road. We were on Hwy 10 at 8:50. We were trying to figure our goal for the day. El Paso, Tucson? We drove 627 miles yesterday which was 12 hours. We figured we could do that today. That would put us somewhere between El Paso and Tucson. Perhaps we can make it to Tucson, but I think we will probably find a spot along the way again.
Rob is finishing his tank of fuel and then I will take over. We finished John Lescroart’s book, now we are listening to Patricia Cornwell’s “The Scarpetta Factor.
We stopped in Ft Stockton for fuel and to switch drivers. Then on to El Paso. It is a beautiful sunny day. Blue skies and in the 60s. Quite nice. The drive is going quite well.
4:05 pm we have finally left Texas and entered New Mexico. We have 298 miles to go today which will put us in Tucson. We should arrive sometime between 8 and 9 tonight. Tomorrow night we will be on the beach in Playa Del Ray. We will stay there 2 nights and swap out stuff between storage and the RV and then head to Fresno. We will be there through New Years.
It is so nice to be in the West again. I love New Mexico and Arizona. I believe my favorite states are California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Vermont.
At 5:54 pm we passed over the Continental Divide. That is always fun. Only 50 miles left of New Mexico. The sun is in our eyes!
We continued on past Tucson toward Casa Grande. We finally decided to stop and so we are staying at Picacho Peak RV Resort in Picacho, AZ.
Tomorrow we will probably check out Palm Creek Resort in Casa Grande tomorrow. It is supposed to be really nice and may be a nice place to spend the winter. We will see.
At any rate, we will be in LA tomorrow. Yea!!!
We are finally out of Louisianna
Wednesday 16 December 2009
Opelousas, LA to Ft Stockton. TX
We set the alarm this morning for 6am for some reason. I really have no idea why. We only hit snooze once and then got up. Now what? We started packing up the stuff we had strewn all over the place, but that didn’t take very long. It was finally time for breakfast so we wandered down there. I cute little gray and white cat is hanging out outside our door. We grabbed some cereal and Rob went back to the room with it. He didn’t really want to eat yet. I stayed and ate mine.
We packed up the rest of our stuff and loaded it all into the truck. We grabbed the Yumster and then we all climbed in. We drove over to the RV place. It wasn’t open yet and we had to wait for about 15 min. All the slides were open. I went in and paid the bill (for our seals which are not under warrantee while Rob talked to the man about our locks. Apparently they couldn’t swap them all. Two of the new ones didn’t fit. So now we have two new locks and two old locks. We now have to carry two cargo keys. Oops, not exactly what we wanted.
We finally got underway at 8:22. According to the mapping program we will get to Ft Stockton at about 9:15 pm. We’ll see. At least we can switch off driving. And, we are listening to a John Lescroart book and they are always good.
There was an issue on the highway, a semi went off the road and they had a big crane and other equipment in one lane which closed it off and backed up traffic. We were slow and go for about 20 min. Then a man passed us and told us to check or spare which was hanging too low. So we had to pull over and tighten it back up. We’ll have to check it each time we stop.
We entered Texas at 10:50. Thank goodness we are finally out of Louisiana. Now we will be in Texas for the next day and a half. This is the worst part of Texas to go through (highway 10) because it seems to go on forever. We were about 30 min late entering Texas according to the mapping program which means it will be closer to 10 pm before we get to Ft Stockton. We may spend the night just in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
We went through Houston at 12:45. It is overcast, but not raining. Three hours to San Antonio. Its 1630 we are in the outskirts of San Antonio. Its overcast and starting to get dark. We are going by Randolph AFB. We saw T-38s and the new T-37 replacement. I don’t even know what it is anymore (I think it is a T-6, like the good ol WWII T-6). We are looping around north of the city to avoid traffic at rush hour. Cat is at the controls. We have about 300 more miles to go today to our goal of Fort Stockton, TX.
We didn’t make it to Ft Stockton. I finished my tank of gas. We talked about staying in a Wal-Mart rather than a campground since it would be so late. Rob had noticed that the temperature was in the upper 30s and stated we better not stay in a Wal-Mart, we will need the electricity to run the heater. We decided we’d better get the Yumster out of the back and bring her up in the cab. It is getting really cold back there. When we grabbed her her ears and feet were really cold. I put her in her sack and held her in my lap. She was pretty happy there.
We continued on. We still had 2 more hours of driving before we were to get to Ft. Stockton. I told Rob if we saw an RV park between here and there I would be ok with stopping. It was already 8:30 and we had been on the road for 12 hours. Boom there was a giant RV sign so we pulled in.
We hooked up, turned on the heat. Fed Yummy, read a bit and went to bed.
Opelousas, LA to Ft Stockton. TX
We set the alarm this morning for 6am for some reason. I really have no idea why. We only hit snooze once and then got up. Now what? We started packing up the stuff we had strewn all over the place, but that didn’t take very long. It was finally time for breakfast so we wandered down there. I cute little gray and white cat is hanging out outside our door. We grabbed some cereal and Rob went back to the room with it. He didn’t really want to eat yet. I stayed and ate mine.
We packed up the rest of our stuff and loaded it all into the truck. We grabbed the Yumster and then we all climbed in. We drove over to the RV place. It wasn’t open yet and we had to wait for about 15 min. All the slides were open. I went in and paid the bill (for our seals which are not under warrantee while Rob talked to the man about our locks. Apparently they couldn’t swap them all. Two of the new ones didn’t fit. So now we have two new locks and two old locks. We now have to carry two cargo keys. Oops, not exactly what we wanted.
We finally got underway at 8:22. According to the mapping program we will get to Ft Stockton at about 9:15 pm. We’ll see. At least we can switch off driving. And, we are listening to a John Lescroart book and they are always good.
There was an issue on the highway, a semi went off the road and they had a big crane and other equipment in one lane which closed it off and backed up traffic. We were slow and go for about 20 min. Then a man passed us and told us to check or spare which was hanging too low. So we had to pull over and tighten it back up. We’ll have to check it each time we stop.
We entered Texas at 10:50. Thank goodness we are finally out of Louisiana. Now we will be in Texas for the next day and a half. This is the worst part of Texas to go through (highway 10) because it seems to go on forever. We were about 30 min late entering Texas according to the mapping program which means it will be closer to 10 pm before we get to Ft Stockton. We may spend the night just in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
We went through Houston at 12:45. It is overcast, but not raining. Three hours to San Antonio. Its 1630 we are in the outskirts of San Antonio. Its overcast and starting to get dark. We are going by Randolph AFB. We saw T-38s and the new T-37 replacement. I don’t even know what it is anymore (I think it is a T-6, like the good ol WWII T-6). We are looping around north of the city to avoid traffic at rush hour. Cat is at the controls. We have about 300 more miles to go today to our goal of Fort Stockton, TX.
We didn’t make it to Ft Stockton. I finished my tank of gas. We talked about staying in a Wal-Mart rather than a campground since it would be so late. Rob had noticed that the temperature was in the upper 30s and stated we better not stay in a Wal-Mart, we will need the electricity to run the heater. We decided we’d better get the Yumster out of the back and bring her up in the cab. It is getting really cold back there. When we grabbed her her ears and feet were really cold. I put her in her sack and held her in my lap. She was pretty happy there.
We continued on. We still had 2 more hours of driving before we were to get to Ft. Stockton. I told Rob if we saw an RV park between here and there I would be ok with stopping. It was already 8:30 and we had been on the road for 12 hours. Boom there was a giant RV sign so we pulled in.
We hooked up, turned on the heat. Fed Yummy, read a bit and went to bed.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A boreing, rainy day in Opelousas, LA
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Today, for the most part, was a very quiet, laid back day. They had a continental breakfast here at the hotel that was pretty disappointing. We did get a bowl of cereal. We skipped the coffee. We experienced the local coffee at the restaurant yesterday and it is pretty lousy. We had grabbed our coffee maker and coffee from the rig when we went over there to get YumYum and our clothes last night.
We sat around drinking coffee, reading the paper and working on the crossword puzzle until about 10:30 then we went to a local gym.
I climbed hills on the tread mill for 45 min and Rob jogged for about 30. Then he completed 2 weight circuits. I did some big ball abs and other core stuff and a couple machines. It was cold a rainy when we left the gym.
We stopped at Quiznos for sandwiches and salads. This will be our lunch and dinner. From there we went back to the room.
I had to let the water run for 15 full mins before it was hot enough to take a shower. But boy did I enjoy it when it did get hot. Then I ate half my salad and half my sandwich. Rob ate right away. He continued to work on the crosswords then he took a shower.
He went for a walk and walked over to Piggly Wiggly and purchased a few items on our list. I sat and crocheted and watched (actually listened to) TV. Rob came back and we basically sat, ate, read, crocheted, drank and were mostly bored for the rest of the day. Even YumYum just laid around.
We are all looking forward to getting on the road tomorrow. We are hoping to make it to Ft Stockton, TX tomorrow. It is half way between San Antonio, TX and El Paso, TX. The next day we are planning on making it to Casa Grande, AZ, and then to LAX on Friday.
My Dad’s surgery went well. He came out of it really hungry. Thank You! ! Thank You!!He gets to go home either tomorrow or Thursday.
Today, for the most part, was a very quiet, laid back day. They had a continental breakfast here at the hotel that was pretty disappointing. We did get a bowl of cereal. We skipped the coffee. We experienced the local coffee at the restaurant yesterday and it is pretty lousy. We had grabbed our coffee maker and coffee from the rig when we went over there to get YumYum and our clothes last night.
We sat around drinking coffee, reading the paper and working on the crossword puzzle until about 10:30 then we went to a local gym.
I climbed hills on the tread mill for 45 min and Rob jogged for about 30. Then he completed 2 weight circuits. I did some big ball abs and other core stuff and a couple machines. It was cold a rainy when we left the gym.
We stopped at Quiznos for sandwiches and salads. This will be our lunch and dinner. From there we went back to the room.
I had to let the water run for 15 full mins before it was hot enough to take a shower. But boy did I enjoy it when it did get hot. Then I ate half my salad and half my sandwich. Rob ate right away. He continued to work on the crosswords then he took a shower.
He went for a walk and walked over to Piggly Wiggly and purchased a few items on our list. I sat and crocheted and watched (actually listened to) TV. Rob came back and we basically sat, ate, read, crocheted, drank and were mostly bored for the rest of the day. Even YumYum just laid around.
We are all looking forward to getting on the road tomorrow. We are hoping to make it to Ft Stockton, TX tomorrow. It is half way between San Antonio, TX and El Paso, TX. The next day we are planning on making it to Casa Grande, AZ, and then to LAX on Friday.
My Dad’s surgery went well. He came out of it really hungry. Thank You! ! Thank You!!He gets to go home either tomorrow or Thursday.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Stormy night in Opelousas, LA
Double rainbows when the rain stopped
These were double rainbows all the way across the sky. They were beautiful!Monday14 December, 2009
Opelousas, LA
We set the alarm and got up early. I fed the Yumster and put stuff away. We finished packing stuff up and hit the road by 7:30. We had a appointment at Courvelle at 8:00. They took us in right away and we unhooked the truck. They were going to call us by noon and let us know whether it would be done tonight or not until tomorrow morning.
We went to breakfast. We split a delicious crawfish omelet and an order of Cajun French toast. They were both really good. The coffee, however, was lousy. After that we went shopping. Rob is still looking for a New Orleans Saints hat. We went to Lafayette and looked for some Malls with sports stores.
We found a store called Academy Sports. I bought a pair of jeans and at.
Christmas present for Rob, he apparently bought a Christmas gift for me as well, but no hat.
We went to a movie theatre. We saw “Blind Side” . It was really good. We enjoyed it a lot
Afterward we went by another mall and this time Rob found his hat. I did a little shopping myself while I was waiting for him.
From there we finally went to our home. Unfortunately we don’t get to stay there. The glue on the roof (it is also held down by molding) has to dry all night. So we gathered clothes, YumYum, her food and medicine. While we were there they told us all of the seals around our windows and storage compartments need to be replaced. They are all cracked and will leak. So we decided to go ahead and have it done now and “get ‘er done” especially since it is supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Unfortunately they will do them tomorrow and then they will have to sit and dry overnight so it will be Wednesday morning before we will be able to leave.
We have a really good storm going on around us with pouring rain, thunder and lightning. The sky was really dark. When we came out of the RV after gathering all our stuff the clouds had parted, the sun had come out and there was a giant double rainbow. It was really pretty.
We checked into a Super 8 motel, with our little Yumster for tonight and tomorrow night. We settled her in and then went to dinner. We went back to the same restaurant that we had breakfast. We split a really good spinach salad with blackened shrimp and pecans, and a crawfish platter with various ways, of preparation. They were both delicious and we brought half of it home.
From there we came back to our room and watched the SF 49ers game.
I talked with my Mom on the phone and then I called Dad and Barbara. Dad is going into the hospital tomorrow to have a plate placed over the area of his skull that was removed last February. This is the first surgery that he has had in which I haven’t been there. It is supposed to be a pretty simple procedure and he is only supposed to remain in the hospital over night. I pray everything goes well for him.
After the game we went to sleep.
Opelousas, LA
We set the alarm and got up early. I fed the Yumster and put stuff away. We finished packing stuff up and hit the road by 7:30. We had a appointment at Courvelle at 8:00. They took us in right away and we unhooked the truck. They were going to call us by noon and let us know whether it would be done tonight or not until tomorrow morning.
We went to breakfast. We split a delicious crawfish omelet and an order of Cajun French toast. They were both really good. The coffee, however, was lousy. After that we went shopping. Rob is still looking for a New Orleans Saints hat. We went to Lafayette and looked for some Malls with sports stores.
We found a store called Academy Sports. I bought a pair of jeans and at.
Christmas present for Rob, he apparently bought a Christmas gift for me as well, but no hat.
We went to a movie theatre. We saw “Blind Side” . It was really good. We enjoyed it a lot
Afterward we went by another mall and this time Rob found his hat. I did a little shopping myself while I was waiting for him.
From there we finally went to our home. Unfortunately we don’t get to stay there. The glue on the roof (it is also held down by molding) has to dry all night. So we gathered clothes, YumYum, her food and medicine. While we were there they told us all of the seals around our windows and storage compartments need to be replaced. They are all cracked and will leak. So we decided to go ahead and have it done now and “get ‘er done” especially since it is supposed to rain all day tomorrow. Unfortunately they will do them tomorrow and then they will have to sit and dry overnight so it will be Wednesday morning before we will be able to leave.
We have a really good storm going on around us with pouring rain, thunder and lightning. The sky was really dark. When we came out of the RV after gathering all our stuff the clouds had parted, the sun had come out and there was a giant double rainbow. It was really pretty.
We checked into a Super 8 motel, with our little Yumster for tonight and tomorrow night. We settled her in and then went to dinner. We went back to the same restaurant that we had breakfast. We split a really good spinach salad with blackened shrimp and pecans, and a crawfish platter with various ways, of preparation. They were both delicious and we brought half of it home.
From there we came back to our room and watched the SF 49ers game.
I talked with my Mom on the phone and then I called Dad and Barbara. Dad is going into the hospital tomorrow to have a plate placed over the area of his skull that was removed last February. This is the first surgery that he has had in which I haven’t been there. It is supposed to be a pretty simple procedure and he is only supposed to remain in the hospital over night. I pray everything goes well for him.
After the game we went to sleep.
Golf at The Farm, Carencro, LA
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Carencro, LA
So today we are supposed to go golfing at 10:00 and guess what!! It’s not raining. Instead it is very foggy. But hopefully it will lift and the sun will come out. That is what is forecasted anyway. It is to be in the mid 60s.
We went to the golf course. We were dressed for a cold fog, but in actuality it was very warm and wet.
Although the course was pretty, with a lot of wild birds, it was very, very wet. In fact, It was a swamp. We had to move our ball many, many times out of standing water. We were both covered with mud that would fly up when we hit the ball. If it had been cold it would have been absolutely miserable and we probably would have quit. It wasn’t cold though and it wasn’t miserable, it was just really wet and slushy and yukky. In spite of it all I didn’t play all that bad. The sun never did come out, and I kept thinking that if it did it would be really humid so I was actually glad it didn’t.
After our round we had a BLT there at the club house and watched a little bit of the Saints / Falcons games. The people at the golf course were all real friendly. There definitely is Southern Hospitality in this part of the area.
From there we went back to our abode. Neither of us felt like going back out. We turned the TV on and watched the rest of the Saints/Falcons game. Then we turned the Cowboys / Chargers game on, but we had it muted. I found the Raiders Radio on the computer and we listened to the Raiders loose miserably to the Washington Redskins. So depressing. I hemmed a pair of pants for Rob and then made a cover for YumYum’s cushion.
We ate in and watched more TV, then we packed up and strapped down everything in the living and dining rooms and then went to bed.
Carencro, LA
So today we are supposed to go golfing at 10:00 and guess what!! It’s not raining. Instead it is very foggy. But hopefully it will lift and the sun will come out. That is what is forecasted anyway. It is to be in the mid 60s.
We went to the golf course. We were dressed for a cold fog, but in actuality it was very warm and wet.
Although the course was pretty, with a lot of wild birds, it was very, very wet. In fact, It was a swamp. We had to move our ball many, many times out of standing water. We were both covered with mud that would fly up when we hit the ball. If it had been cold it would have been absolutely miserable and we probably would have quit. It wasn’t cold though and it wasn’t miserable, it was just really wet and slushy and yukky. In spite of it all I didn’t play all that bad. The sun never did come out, and I kept thinking that if it did it would be really humid so I was actually glad it didn’t.
After our round we had a BLT there at the club house and watched a little bit of the Saints / Falcons games. The people at the golf course were all real friendly. There definitely is Southern Hospitality in this part of the area.
From there we went back to our abode. Neither of us felt like going back out. We turned the TV on and watched the rest of the Saints/Falcons game. Then we turned the Cowboys / Chargers game on, but we had it muted. I found the Raiders Radio on the computer and we listened to the Raiders loose miserably to the Washington Redskins. So depressing. I hemmed a pair of pants for Rob and then made a cover for YumYum’s cushion.
We ate in and watched more TV, then we packed up and strapped down everything in the living and dining rooms and then went to bed.
A visit to Lafayette, New Iberia & Breaux Bridge
Rob at the dateline wall in New Iberia, LA
an awesome oak with regenerate fern and Spanish Moss
Entering Sadows-On-the-Teche
The Beautiful Shadows-On-The-Teche, New Iberia, LASaturday, December 12, 2009
Pontchartrain Landing, New Orleans to Opelousas, LA
We didn’t set any alarms or anything, so slept until about 7:30 or so. Rob got up around 8. We just chilled (We chill alot), drank coffee, he read and I caught up on the journal. I had packed some of the stuff up last night, so we can get on the road anytime. It is still blowing, cold (47°) and rainy.
I look forward to moving on.
We did hit the road at about 10 am. It had just started to rain as we finished hooking up and putting away the chalks.
It was a 3 hour drive to the Bayou Wilderness RV Park. It was pretty uneventful, thank goodness, except for a couple patches of pouring, pounding rain. But, we managed to get through it and find our destination without any issues. We have a decent (nothing fancy) pull through spot. It is fairly level and we were unhitched and set up very quickly.
After getting settled we decided to go explore. We wanted to go see the RV place where we have to take the rig early Monday morning; we wanted to go check out Lafayette, New Iberia, and Breaux Bridge.
First we did take a back road up to Opelousas where the RV place is. On the way we came across a golf course. Naturally we had to stop in and check it out. The man was very nice. We made a Tee time for tomorrow at 10 am. He gave us a play book for free, very nice and told us where we should go for some good crawfish. He was very nice. We continued up the road and found Courvelle. It is a big place and we did see a Seville on their lot. They are not open on the weekends. Kind of odd, I guess people can only buy RVs during the week.
We drove down to Lafayette. It is a cute little town. We went down Jefferson which is the main street with all the little shops and it was real cute. They were supposed to be having a Christmas festival all day, but I guess it didn’t really start until later in the afternoon. So, we drove on down to New Iberia. I couldn’t remember why we were supposed to go there, so I called my Mom. She told us we needed to check out the “Shadows-on-the-Teche” which was a sugar plantation home. It was Weeks Hall from 1840 which was restored back to its original condition with all the original furnishings, paintings clothing etc. The home was left in tact with chests full of original papers, letters, clothing, everything. It was pretty amazing. The gardens are quite lovely as well, even this time of year. And really awesome was that it is dressed for Christmas with real trees, garland, pine cones, and holly. When we walked in we could smell all the pine and it was heavenly. We had a personal tour as well. It was late in the day and we were the only ones there with the guide. She was very sweet.
From there we drove to Breaux Bridge to a famous “Original Cajun Restaurant” called Mulate’s Cajun Restaurant. Rob ordered several appetizers: a bowl of Gumbo, hushpuppies, and Louisiana Sausage. I had half fried and half shrimp etouffé. It came with jambalaya and a little coleslaw. Now that’s the kind of Cajun food I’m talking about. The place was really cute and very popular. At 7 pm a Cajun band started and everyone danced Cajun. Oh Rob and I struggled, but we finally caught on. Some of the songs were modified two-steps and others were modified waltzes. Everyone, of course, was very nice. We had fun.
We stopped at Wall Mart on the way home. We needed a couple items and we both needed cash desperately. From there we came home where we were met by and scolded by YumYum. How dare we go off and leave her for so long without extra food in case she got hungry while we were out gallivanting. She meowed the entire time that I was getting her food together.
We enjoyed a little cocktail, a little reading, and went to bed. I sure hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow. It did rain all eve. We want to play golf. Not to mention the fact that I am sick of the rain.
Pontchartrain Landing, New Orleans to Opelousas, LA
We didn’t set any alarms or anything, so slept until about 7:30 or so. Rob got up around 8. We just chilled (We chill alot), drank coffee, he read and I caught up on the journal. I had packed some of the stuff up last night, so we can get on the road anytime. It is still blowing, cold (47°) and rainy.
I look forward to moving on.
We did hit the road at about 10 am. It had just started to rain as we finished hooking up and putting away the chalks.
It was a 3 hour drive to the Bayou Wilderness RV Park. It was pretty uneventful, thank goodness, except for a couple patches of pouring, pounding rain. But, we managed to get through it and find our destination without any issues. We have a decent (nothing fancy) pull through spot. It is fairly level and we were unhitched and set up very quickly.
After getting settled we decided to go explore. We wanted to go see the RV place where we have to take the rig early Monday morning; we wanted to go check out Lafayette, New Iberia, and Breaux Bridge.
First we did take a back road up to Opelousas where the RV place is. On the way we came across a golf course. Naturally we had to stop in and check it out. The man was very nice. We made a Tee time for tomorrow at 10 am. He gave us a play book for free, very nice and told us where we should go for some good crawfish. He was very nice. We continued up the road and found Courvelle. It is a big place and we did see a Seville on their lot. They are not open on the weekends. Kind of odd, I guess people can only buy RVs during the week.
We drove down to Lafayette. It is a cute little town. We went down Jefferson which is the main street with all the little shops and it was real cute. They were supposed to be having a Christmas festival all day, but I guess it didn’t really start until later in the afternoon. So, we drove on down to New Iberia. I couldn’t remember why we were supposed to go there, so I called my Mom. She told us we needed to check out the “Shadows-on-the-Teche” which was a sugar plantation home. It was Weeks Hall from 1840 which was restored back to its original condition with all the original furnishings, paintings clothing etc. The home was left in tact with chests full of original papers, letters, clothing, everything. It was pretty amazing. The gardens are quite lovely as well, even this time of year. And really awesome was that it is dressed for Christmas with real trees, garland, pine cones, and holly. When we walked in we could smell all the pine and it was heavenly. We had a personal tour as well. It was late in the day and we were the only ones there with the guide. She was very sweet.
From there we drove to Breaux Bridge to a famous “Original Cajun Restaurant” called Mulate’s Cajun Restaurant. Rob ordered several appetizers: a bowl of Gumbo, hushpuppies, and Louisiana Sausage. I had half fried and half shrimp etouffé. It came with jambalaya and a little coleslaw. Now that’s the kind of Cajun food I’m talking about. The place was really cute and very popular. At 7 pm a Cajun band started and everyone danced Cajun. Oh Rob and I struggled, but we finally caught on. Some of the songs were modified two-steps and others were modified waltzes. Everyone, of course, was very nice. We had fun.
We stopped at Wall Mart on the way home. We needed a couple items and we both needed cash desperately. From there we came home where we were met by and scolded by YumYum. How dare we go off and leave her for so long without extra food in case she got hungry while we were out gallivanting. She meowed the entire time that I was getting her food together.
We enjoyed a little cocktail, a little reading, and went to bed. I sure hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow. It did rain all eve. We want to play golf. Not to mention the fact that I am sick of the rain.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Too much good stuff to eat
Jackson Square.
Shrimp po-boy.
Cold, wet Christmas display.
Peace, ya'll.
Friday, 11 December 2009
New Orleans, LA
Pontchartrain Landing
We spent pretty much all of the morning working with Crossroads to figure out how to get our roof and wheel fixed. They are going to send a new rim and we need to figure out where to send it to. They also said yes we need to have the roof fixed BEFORE we head on down the road.. At first we were trying to coordinate the two. But, the wheel will take 7 to 10 days to arrive. We contacted a place in Metairie which is only about 13 miles away but they are swamped. Tara (Crossroads) gave us another dealer in Baton Rouge and one in Opelousas . We contacted Opelousas , it is about a 2 hour drive. We made an appointment with them for Monday. Our plan is to put the spare tire on which is a full size, mag, and everything, have the roof fixed and hit the road. We will have the rim sent to Dad in Fresno . There we will have the tire taken off the cracked, but it on the new and then we are required to send the cracked back at no expense to us. They really have been great about taking care of everything, it is just having to wait for the parts that is the drag.
Anyway, Rob got up on the roof and taped some plastic over the part along the side that is bubbling and Fred, Tom and another incredibly nice man came over with a jack and changed the wheel for us. Then they brought over a compressor and we filled all the tires on the rig and the front tires on the truck (can’t get to the dualies). So, now our plan is to spend the night tonight and possibly tomorrow night and go explore the French Quarter and then head to Opelousas .
So around 1pm we finally headed down to New Orleans and all the cool stuff. First we watched an animation of the flooding from Katrina. It gave hour blocks of the storm, then the hurricane itself and where and when all the flooding occurred. This RV park was underwater. We are sitting on the edge of the Pontchartrain Canal which goes from the Lake Pontchartrain to the ocean. This is why Barges, Shrimp boats and everything else has been going by while we have been here.
Anyway, first we drove around several of the areas that were underwater. There are many new houses, and many boarded up houses. It is so sad. Then we went to “Uptown New Orleans” to a little hole in the wall place called Domilise’s Po Boys. I had a shrimp Po Boy and Rob had an oyster one. We both really liked mine. From there we drove around the Garden District. There are some beautiful homes there. It is really nice this time of year because many of them have the beautiful garlands and wreaths up for Christmas.
Next we walked around the French Quarter. We headed straight to Café Du Monde for Café au laits and Beingets. Oh they were sooooo good. We continued to wander around the French Quarter, Bourbon St. etc. , and then headed down to the Warehouse District for dinner. We ate at a place called Cochon. It serves all parts of the pig. Cheeks, ears, livers etc. We basically had appetizers. We each had a small salad, crab and artichoke dip, Rob had the cheeks, and I had a couple ribs. Then we had dessert, I had pumpkin pie with orange flavored whipped cream and Rob had pineapple up-side-down cake with pineapple sorbet.
From there we went to a park that was featured in USA Today as one of the “top 10 places in America to see Christmas lights.” What a disappointment. It was really a theme park with rides and some walk-through areas that were decorated. And we paid $7. each for that disappointment (not to mention it was raining and freezing.) Oh, we did remember to grab an umbrella this time. This is something we rarely remember. It is one of those that folds down to about a foot. Anyway, we opened it up and half of it was broken and limp. Too funny! I still had to use it though, because I don’t have a rain coat with a hood.
From there we headed home. We drove through an area that had brand new mansionettes. They were beautiful and all decorated with the garland and wreaths and many with lights and displays.. We decided that since it is so unusually freezing here (40s – 50s) that we would leave and go to Opelousas tomorrow rather than stay here longer. It is supposed to continue to be cold and rainy here and it is supposed to be sunny and warm in Opelousas (72°) on Sunday. We will play golf.
So back in our abode we watched 2 episodes of “The Closer” and went to bed
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Stuck in Lodi Again (actually in New Orleans)
Is this amazing or what
I was taking a picture of the sunset and falling off the stepsCan't really see our decorations
Need our roof fixed
Oh this needs to be replaced!
Need our roof fixed
Oh this needs to be replaced!Thursday 10 Dec 2009
New Orleans, LA
The wind really kicked up last night. Also, at one point while I was watching TV last night I heard a weird noise. It turned out to be a shrimp boat going by.
I woke up, wide awake at 2:30 this morning. I have no idea why. I tossed and turned until 3:30 and then went back into a deep sleep until 8:30 this morning.
I feel like I am on a boat. I left all the shades up last night and so this morning while standing in the kitchen and looking out the living room windows all you see is water going by. Plus, it is still real windy so the RV is making creaking noises. It is pretty cool.
Yesterday when Fred was helping me he pointed out that one of the Mag wheels on the RV has big cracks in three of the spoke things, also, that the roof is bubbling and looks like it might be coming undone. Great, here we go again. Actually, first he pointed out that my tires were low on air and while there looking to see how much pressure was supposed to be in them he noticed the cracks. It is only one wheel, and it has not been hit.
So, I went out and took pictures of the wheel and the roof and called Crossroads. Tara asked me to take pictures and send them to her, so since I had the pics I sent them off. So, I wonder where we are going to get stuck and for how long. This is making me crazy. Thank goodness for warrantees.
So Crossroads is going to send a new rim here. These nice people will jack the RV up for me so we can take the wheel off and I can go and have the rims swapped. They need better pictures of the roof. I hope it will be fine for now and can be taken care of back in either Arizona or Los Angeles. I am a bit tired of being stranded so far from home.
Rob is arriving at 4:30. He has the next 2 days off so he is flying out here. I didn’t want to go explore today. I’d rather do it with him.
I wrapped all the Christmas gifts I have purchased. I am thinking about mailing all of them in case I have to leave the trailer and fly home. I bought a fiber optic tree and now have gifts under it. It is looking a bit festive.
There was a lot of traffic, but I got to the airport with perfect timing to pick him up. It was good to see him, but he was not in a very good mood. He was impressed with our new setting though. He likes being on the water and especially likes having all the window shades open. He also likes the Christmas decorations.
We Bar-B-Qued stakes and made shrimp scampi and kicked back planning out what to do tomorrow.
We had the most beautiful Sunset this evening.
New Orleans, LA
The wind really kicked up last night. Also, at one point while I was watching TV last night I heard a weird noise. It turned out to be a shrimp boat going by.
I woke up, wide awake at 2:30 this morning. I have no idea why. I tossed and turned until 3:30 and then went back into a deep sleep until 8:30 this morning.
I feel like I am on a boat. I left all the shades up last night and so this morning while standing in the kitchen and looking out the living room windows all you see is water going by. Plus, it is still real windy so the RV is making creaking noises. It is pretty cool.
Yesterday when Fred was helping me he pointed out that one of the Mag wheels on the RV has big cracks in three of the spoke things, also, that the roof is bubbling and looks like it might be coming undone. Great, here we go again. Actually, first he pointed out that my tires were low on air and while there looking to see how much pressure was supposed to be in them he noticed the cracks. It is only one wheel, and it has not been hit.
So, I went out and took pictures of the wheel and the roof and called Crossroads. Tara asked me to take pictures and send them to her, so since I had the pics I sent them off. So, I wonder where we are going to get stuck and for how long. This is making me crazy. Thank goodness for warrantees.
So Crossroads is going to send a new rim here. These nice people will jack the RV up for me so we can take the wheel off and I can go and have the rims swapped. They need better pictures of the roof. I hope it will be fine for now and can be taken care of back in either Arizona or Los Angeles. I am a bit tired of being stranded so far from home.
Rob is arriving at 4:30. He has the next 2 days off so he is flying out here. I didn’t want to go explore today. I’d rather do it with him.
I wrapped all the Christmas gifts I have purchased. I am thinking about mailing all of them in case I have to leave the trailer and fly home. I bought a fiber optic tree and now have gifts under it. It is looking a bit festive.
There was a lot of traffic, but I got to the airport with perfect timing to pick him up. It was good to see him, but he was not in a very good mood. He was impressed with our new setting though. He likes being on the water and especially likes having all the window shades open. He also likes the Christmas decorations.
We Bar-B-Qued stakes and made shrimp scampi and kicked back planning out what to do tomorrow.
We had the most beautiful Sunset this evening.
Tallahassee to "The Big Easy"
I feel like I'm on a boat
Our new home on the Pontchartrain
Another View 
And still another!Wednesday 9 December 2009
Tallahassee, FL to New Orleans, LA
I had left many of the things packed up and strapped down last night, like the recliners and the dinning room table so I didn’t have a lot to do inside this morning. I fed YumYum, fixed coffee and filled two to-go mugs, grabbed a yogurt and an apple and got ready to hit the road. I was on my way by 7:30.
I was a lot more tired today, which I was afraid of because it always seems to skip a day when you haven’t had enough sleep. I kept alternating between listening to a book and singing along with many of my favorite songs from the 70s.
About 3 hours into my drive, somewhere before Pensacola, it rained so had I could barely see. I turned on my emergency flashers, slowed way down and just kept the white line in sight like when I drive in a snow storm. I was about as white knuckled as when driving in a snow storm. I went through 3 patches of this really heavy rain and then back to light rain and finally blue skies.
I drove out of Florida and into Alabama, and then through Mississippi and finally into Louisiana. I also watched the temperature climb up to 78° and then start dropping. When I finally got to New Orleans it was 66° and a bit overcast.
I had picked out an RV park on the Pontchartrain, but there is another one down by the French Quarter. It is a bit more money, but Rob thought it might be fun to be within walking distance. I called them and they had space available so I headed there.
Highway 10 going down to New Orleans is something else. It has seams in the concrete and little dips. The RV ends of bouncing. It is awful and all I could think of was poor YumYum I slowed down to about 45 mph (minimum is 40) and kept going. The French Quarter RV park is just two blocks from the French Quarter in what seems to be a very bad area and under Highway 10. I decided to go check out the Pontchartrain Landing instead. I called them to see if they had space, which they did and to get directions. While talking to them I got cut off and got off the highway at the wrong place. Here we go again. I did not seem to be in a very good neighborhood and was not finding a place to turn around. I finally found a block to go around and got headed in the correct direction only to get lost again. Frustration is beginning to build. I finally got on the correct road which was actually a hard-packed gravel road and was going down by warehouses. Please don’t let me be getting lost again.
The RV Park is only 2 years old and is nice. They have a beach type deck with bar, pool and hot tub. The office has a store and a kitchen where you can get wings and pizzas. The assigned me site 50 which was a pull through, but on my way to it I drove by a couple back-ins that were right on the water. I had a guide directing me, Fred, so I asked him if I could have one of the water spots. He said they were more expensive, but checked and I could. So, I drove around and he directed me into one of them. It is a little awkward because they are really Class A drive ins rather than back ins so the hook ups are all on the wrong side but he helped me and we got into it so that everything reached and fit (slides).
I love it. It is right on the water with a grassy area with a fire pit, and picnic table. Very cool! I got everything all set up then walked over to the office to pay them the additional money for the upgraded spot, bought a bag of ice and ordered a pizza.
I put out all the Christmas decorations and got cozy. Fred is really nice. We chatted about how he retired from his own business in Florida and his wife passed away so he sold his house in Florida and hit the road. He started work camping where you take jobs in the RV parks in exchange for your space. He is doing that here, but he is going to leave in a week or so and go to Arizona. He doesn’t like it here because it is to cold.
I ate my pizza, watched TV and went to bed. I was beat.
Tallahassee, FL to New Orleans, LA
I had left many of the things packed up and strapped down last night, like the recliners and the dinning room table so I didn’t have a lot to do inside this morning. I fed YumYum, fixed coffee and filled two to-go mugs, grabbed a yogurt and an apple and got ready to hit the road. I was on my way by 7:30.
I was a lot more tired today, which I was afraid of because it always seems to skip a day when you haven’t had enough sleep. I kept alternating between listening to a book and singing along with many of my favorite songs from the 70s.
About 3 hours into my drive, somewhere before Pensacola, it rained so had I could barely see. I turned on my emergency flashers, slowed way down and just kept the white line in sight like when I drive in a snow storm. I was about as white knuckled as when driving in a snow storm. I went through 3 patches of this really heavy rain and then back to light rain and finally blue skies.
I drove out of Florida and into Alabama, and then through Mississippi and finally into Louisiana. I also watched the temperature climb up to 78° and then start dropping. When I finally got to New Orleans it was 66° and a bit overcast.
I had picked out an RV park on the Pontchartrain, but there is another one down by the French Quarter. It is a bit more money, but Rob thought it might be fun to be within walking distance. I called them and they had space available so I headed there.
Highway 10 going down to New Orleans is something else. It has seams in the concrete and little dips. The RV ends of bouncing. It is awful and all I could think of was poor YumYum I slowed down to about 45 mph (minimum is 40) and kept going. The French Quarter RV park is just two blocks from the French Quarter in what seems to be a very bad area and under Highway 10. I decided to go check out the Pontchartrain Landing instead. I called them to see if they had space, which they did and to get directions. While talking to them I got cut off and got off the highway at the wrong place. Here we go again. I did not seem to be in a very good neighborhood and was not finding a place to turn around. I finally found a block to go around and got headed in the correct direction only to get lost again. Frustration is beginning to build. I finally got on the correct road which was actually a hard-packed gravel road and was going down by warehouses. Please don’t let me be getting lost again.
The RV Park is only 2 years old and is nice. They have a beach type deck with bar, pool and hot tub. The office has a store and a kitchen where you can get wings and pizzas. The assigned me site 50 which was a pull through, but on my way to it I drove by a couple back-ins that were right on the water. I had a guide directing me, Fred, so I asked him if I could have one of the water spots. He said they were more expensive, but checked and I could. So, I drove around and he directed me into one of them. It is a little awkward because they are really Class A drive ins rather than back ins so the hook ups are all on the wrong side but he helped me and we got into it so that everything reached and fit (slides).
I love it. It is right on the water with a grassy area with a fire pit, and picnic table. Very cool! I got everything all set up then walked over to the office to pay them the additional money for the upgraded spot, bought a bag of ice and ordered a pizza.
I put out all the Christmas decorations and got cozy. Fred is really nice. We chatted about how he retired from his own business in Florida and his wife passed away so he sold his house in Florida and hit the road. He started work camping where you take jobs in the RV parks in exchange for your space. He is doing that here, but he is going to leave in a week or so and go to Arizona. He doesn’t like it here because it is to cold.
I ate my pizza, watched TV and went to bed. I was beat.
Charleston, SC to Tallahassee
Tuesday 8 Dec 2009
Charleston to Tallahassee
This was the morning from hell. I tossed and turned for at least an hour or so after going to bed. At 4:15am a train went by hooting its horn and woke me up. It apparently goes by every morning at 4:15, but this is the first time it has awakened me. Then at 5 am the garbage truck, or perhaps it was a fork lift, came by and delivered a dumpster. Apparently it wasn’t very happy with its location so they kept banging and moving it for about 30 min. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I finally got up at 5:30. I didn’t have a whole lot to do, because I’d packed everything up last night.
I made coffee, fed the Yumster and then decided to get in the shower and just go early. I didn’t know what time they opened, but figured if I got there early I could always just wait in the truck and read.
So, by 7:30 I was outside getting things ready. The first challenge was seeing how far off the truck and the RV were. Oh my God, it was about 6 or 8 inches lower then the truck. I had to hand-crank it. I think I was told that 10 cranks equaled ½ inch. So, I tried to go 10 cranks before stopping to rest. I couldn’t do more than 5 at a time. I was bruising my right shoulder trying to hold the crank so it wouldn’t get bent while I tried to crank. It was awful and it took me 45 min to finally get it high enough so it matched the truck. I backed the truck into it, but it didn’t lock. What’s up with that?! I was getting soooo frustrated. Finally I got it to lock. Wes came out as I was cranking it the opposite was to lower the RV onto the truck. Naturally he offered to help (he got the easy part), but I really appreciated it. So on to disconnecting everything? What’s this Rob tightened the water hose onto the drain so tight I can’t undo it?! Augh!! Finally! Now the electrical, I couldn’t undo it at all. Wes had to do it and he even had to struggle. Not so tight next time please Rob!! Since we did not have sewer hook up at our site I had to go to the dump station. We have two gray water tanks, one for the kitchen sink, and one for the sink and shower in the bathroom. Being in one spot for 4 days can put a lot of water in those tanks and you certainly don’t want the weight going down the highway, so I had to dump them. Oh and that took another 15 min. So now, I only have 15 min to get there on time for my appointment. No problem, it is not far away.
I always travel with my computer on with Streets and Trips and the GPS mode on. I like to see where I am and how to get out of trouble if I make a wrong turn. Did I say wrong turn?!! Oh yeah, that’s what I did. Actually, it wasn’t a wrong turn, it was failure to make the right turn. There was a truck right behind me and no place to pull into to turn around. So what did I do?? I got stuck doing a U turn. OK, I’ve been in tight spots before. I took a deep breath, calmed down, and wiggled my way out. I made it to my appointment 15 min late. They are not the friendliest peoples so, I apologized big time.
They finished it up and so I hit the road at 10:30. I am really anxious now to get back to LA. We have to much weight and to much stuff we don’t need and some stuff we do need. I want to get back so I can unload everything and repack.
Anyway, I was supposed to just drive 4 hours to Jacksonville, FL, but I decided I wanted to try and drive 7 hours and go all the way to Tallahassee. I was a little worried, though, about being awake since 4:30 am.
The drive was actually no problem. I drove through South Carolina, Georgia and a large part of the Florida Panhandle. I made it to Tallahassee at about 6pm. I stayed at the Tallahassee RV Park. It is a nice place and they are all pull-throughs which makes it easy. Unfortunately I had to keep backing up and pulling forward to move the rig over so I had enough room for the Recliner’s slide out. It is the one that extends the furthest and I was to close to the electrical box. I finally got it all hooked up.
Oh, did I mention that it was 75° and humid? When I left Charleston it was 45° and overcast. I had on sweat pants, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a long sweatshirt. At one fuel stops It was 72° and I took the long-sleeve shirt off. I watched the temp climb to 78° along the way, but when I arrived in the dark it was 75°. By the time I hooked everything up I was afraid I was going to suffer a heat stroke.
I opened everything up, fed Yummy and settled down into a cocktail and a salad. I talked to my Mom on the phone. It was fun chatting about the South.
I watched a little TV and went to bed.
Charleston to Tallahassee
This was the morning from hell. I tossed and turned for at least an hour or so after going to bed. At 4:15am a train went by hooting its horn and woke me up. It apparently goes by every morning at 4:15, but this is the first time it has awakened me. Then at 5 am the garbage truck, or perhaps it was a fork lift, came by and delivered a dumpster. Apparently it wasn’t very happy with its location so they kept banging and moving it for about 30 min. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I finally got up at 5:30. I didn’t have a whole lot to do, because I’d packed everything up last night.
I made coffee, fed the Yumster and then decided to get in the shower and just go early. I didn’t know what time they opened, but figured if I got there early I could always just wait in the truck and read.
So, by 7:30 I was outside getting things ready. The first challenge was seeing how far off the truck and the RV were. Oh my God, it was about 6 or 8 inches lower then the truck. I had to hand-crank it. I think I was told that 10 cranks equaled ½ inch. So, I tried to go 10 cranks before stopping to rest. I couldn’t do more than 5 at a time. I was bruising my right shoulder trying to hold the crank so it wouldn’t get bent while I tried to crank. It was awful and it took me 45 min to finally get it high enough so it matched the truck. I backed the truck into it, but it didn’t lock. What’s up with that?! I was getting soooo frustrated. Finally I got it to lock. Wes came out as I was cranking it the opposite was to lower the RV onto the truck. Naturally he offered to help (he got the easy part), but I really appreciated it. So on to disconnecting everything? What’s this Rob tightened the water hose onto the drain so tight I can’t undo it?! Augh!! Finally! Now the electrical, I couldn’t undo it at all. Wes had to do it and he even had to struggle. Not so tight next time please Rob!! Since we did not have sewer hook up at our site I had to go to the dump station. We have two gray water tanks, one for the kitchen sink, and one for the sink and shower in the bathroom. Being in one spot for 4 days can put a lot of water in those tanks and you certainly don’t want the weight going down the highway, so I had to dump them. Oh and that took another 15 min. So now, I only have 15 min to get there on time for my appointment. No problem, it is not far away.
I always travel with my computer on with Streets and Trips and the GPS mode on. I like to see where I am and how to get out of trouble if I make a wrong turn. Did I say wrong turn?!! Oh yeah, that’s what I did. Actually, it wasn’t a wrong turn, it was failure to make the right turn. There was a truck right behind me and no place to pull into to turn around. So what did I do?? I got stuck doing a U turn. OK, I’ve been in tight spots before. I took a deep breath, calmed down, and wiggled my way out. I made it to my appointment 15 min late. They are not the friendliest peoples so, I apologized big time.
They finished it up and so I hit the road at 10:30. I am really anxious now to get back to LA. We have to much weight and to much stuff we don’t need and some stuff we do need. I want to get back so I can unload everything and repack.
Anyway, I was supposed to just drive 4 hours to Jacksonville, FL, but I decided I wanted to try and drive 7 hours and go all the way to Tallahassee. I was a little worried, though, about being awake since 4:30 am.
The drive was actually no problem. I drove through South Carolina, Georgia and a large part of the Florida Panhandle. I made it to Tallahassee at about 6pm. I stayed at the Tallahassee RV Park. It is a nice place and they are all pull-throughs which makes it easy. Unfortunately I had to keep backing up and pulling forward to move the rig over so I had enough room for the Recliner’s slide out. It is the one that extends the furthest and I was to close to the electrical box. I finally got it all hooked up.
Oh, did I mention that it was 75° and humid? When I left Charleston it was 45° and overcast. I had on sweat pants, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a long sweatshirt. At one fuel stops It was 72° and I took the long-sleeve shirt off. I watched the temp climb to 78° along the way, but when I arrived in the dark it was 75°. By the time I hooked everything up I was afraid I was going to suffer a heat stroke.
I opened everything up, fed Yummy and settled down into a cocktail and a salad. I talked to my Mom on the phone. It was fun chatting about the South.
I watched a little TV and went to bed.
My Last Day in Charleston
Nathaniel Russel Home 1808
Another cool Carolina Home
The Red (Carriage) Barn
Rainbow Row in CharlestonMonday 7 December 2009
Charleston AFB, SC
I was supposed to go visit a plantation or two today, but somehow I couldn’t get motivated to do it. I think I wasn’t so interested in going by myself. I putzed around in the abode and on the computer until about noon. I called The Trail Center to see if they knew the status of the motor that was being shipped to them. She told me it had just arrived and could I bring it in. That meant packing it up, hooking it up and hauling it out of this RV Park. It is a 4 hour drive to Jacksonville so, I asked if I could bring it in first thing in the morning so I could just hit the road once it was ready. We agreed to 9 am.
So, that motivated me to get going. This will be my last chance to see Charleston. I went to the Outdoor Rec Center to ask about discount tickets. He basically talked me out of going to the plantation. It is not a very pretty time of year to go visit gardens and grounds. Also, I didn’t really want to go see “Slaves Quarters”. I decided just to go downtown to the historic area and wander around and shop.
Charleston is definitely not as pretty as Savannah, but it is still pretty cool and there are some very pretty homes and places.
I went to the Market Center and finished up my Christmas Shopping. I had a Shrimp Po Boy at Bubba Gumps and then went home.
I spent the eve packing things up in preparation for my journey homeward tomorrow. I strapped the TV, the Recliners, and the dinette. Then I went to bed.
Charleston AFB, SC
I was supposed to go visit a plantation or two today, but somehow I couldn’t get motivated to do it. I think I wasn’t so interested in going by myself. I putzed around in the abode and on the computer until about noon. I called The Trail Center to see if they knew the status of the motor that was being shipped to them. She told me it had just arrived and could I bring it in. That meant packing it up, hooking it up and hauling it out of this RV Park. It is a 4 hour drive to Jacksonville so, I asked if I could bring it in first thing in the morning so I could just hit the road once it was ready. We agreed to 9 am.
So, that motivated me to get going. This will be my last chance to see Charleston. I went to the Outdoor Rec Center to ask about discount tickets. He basically talked me out of going to the plantation. It is not a very pretty time of year to go visit gardens and grounds. Also, I didn’t really want to go see “Slaves Quarters”. I decided just to go downtown to the historic area and wander around and shop.
Charleston is definitely not as pretty as Savannah, but it is still pretty cool and there are some very pretty homes and places.
I went to the Market Center and finished up my Christmas Shopping. I had a Shrimp Po Boy at Bubba Gumps and then went home.
I spent the eve packing things up in preparation for my journey homeward tomorrow. I strapped the TV, the Recliners, and the dinette. Then I went to bed.
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