Sunday May 1 Our week at a glance.
Sunday last we meandered from Dallas into Lake Conroe where we spent two nights. It was a pleasant quiet park and we enjoyed looking out over the Lake and watching the birds do their thing.
Tuesday, was supposed to be an overnight in Midland, Texas but we passed through that area relatively early in the day and decided to go on. As it turned out, we did not find a suitable RV spot until we reached Tye Texas, between Odessa and Abilene. That turned out to be a bit noisy inasmuch as there was an air base nearby and each time a jet took off it sounded like it was flying through our coach. The first one startled us enough that we thought it was falling for sure. Fortunately, we only had to endure three departing flights but at 2AM, all of the birds came home to roost and there must have been 15 jets landing within the space of 1 hour. Needless to say, I don’t think we would choose that park again.
On Wednesday we arrived at Abita Springs just across Lake Pontchartrain, from New Orleans. We enjoyed a warm pleasant Thursday at the park and a rather mediocre dinner at a local restaurant, but alas it’s okay, it was for a good cause, local enterprise. .
On Friday we braved the traffic into downtown New Orleans and enjoyed a quick visit to Bourbon Street, river walk and a ferry ride to Old Algiers before calling it a day and making our way back to our home base. There is a jazz festival in New Orleans and we toyed with the idea of attending that on Saturday but our enthusiasm was subdued by the anticipation of great crowds.
Friday night we were tormented by a gala of electrical storms that passed over the area and Saturday remnants of thundershowers were severe enough for us to relax within the safety of our RV. In the afternoon, the storm clouds subsided and we braved the elements for a drive up the road to Picayune, Mississippi, where a friend from our younger days resides but alas, we didn’t locate her. Also located near there is a NASA facility where engines for our space vehicles are made but alas, we missed the last tour of the day. Tours are conducted Monday through Saturday but the last tour on Saturday is at 2PM and we were too late.
Today, Sunday, we drove up the to Plaquemiines Parish, along the Mississippi River and its delta and the long Gulf Coast coastline. We drove to the very end of the road, at Boothville/Venice. We were impressed with the beauty of the area as well as the enterprise exhibited by the many refineries and oil related industries, fishing and farming along the delta. According to a local brochure, “the rich delta that makes up Plaquemines Parish was created over 700 years ago when the Mississippi River shifted 50 miles east from its ancestral banks and created a landmass and wet lands that is unique in the entire world. Nearly 14 percent of United States wetlands are contained in Plaquemines Parish.”
We stopped at historic old Fort Jackson and toured that old facility where a famous Civil War battle took place. According to my trusty brochure, “In April of 1862 Fort Jackson was in battle for several days before surrendering to the Union forces on April 28,1862. Each year the battle is reenacted at the fort and includes a living history encampment.” All in all an interesting day.
On Tuesday, we will move on en route to Orlando, and the arrival of our daughter, Terri who, along with our friend, Helen Holzaepfel, will join us for a week in Key West, Florida. Goodness, a week from today, we will be reporting from Key West.
Have a good week.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After celebrating grandson Sean’s 16th birthday and spending a very pleasant afternoon with family and friends of the Gary Burns family, Monday April 18, was our getaway date. Organized, packed and ready at 10am we were on the road and passing through Pasadena via the 210 freeway. A quick stopover at Camping World for replacement windshield wipers (in case we hit rain along the way) and a lunch stop at the White Water rest area cleared the way for a windy passage through the desert . Once beyond Indio, we made good time with a clear road before us and a good wind at our back. We arrived in Ehrenberg shortly after 3 for our first night on the road.
Tuesday morning we dallied a bit with only a short trek from Ehrenberg into Casa Grande on the schedule. We arrived at the Casa Grande RV resort at 2PM and enjoyed a warm afternoon of “laid back” relaxation. Life is tough.
Wednesday we overnighted at RV Docks Resort in Las Cruces. Before we left our friend Bruce told Ken that by reducing his mileage down to 55, he was able to improve his mpg performance. Ken acted on this information and by doing so, added an extra mpg in fuel performance. Kudos to Bruce for his recommendation.
Thursday we traveled from Las Cruces to Tye Texas. In spite of my ultimatum that we would not travel more than 300 miles in any one day and preferably, no more than 250 miles, we did over 400 miles. By the time we settled in at a RV park the interior of the RV was decidedly “coolish” with the navigator and pilot barely speaking. The icing on the cake however, came as we were having a late dinner. A jet from the nearby air base took off and it sounded as if it was going to land in our coach for dinner with us. With that , Ken was reminded of the proprietor’s comment when he registered, as follows. “Oh that is what the guy meant when he said you should have a good night though there may be an occasional plane from the base nearby. I don’t know if they have any training exercises scheduled tonight or not”. Grrrr. Three such take offs before 9 PM put me in a more than “nervous” state but alas, that was the last of the take offs for the night. However, starting at 2AM, all of the “birds” came home to roost with at least 10 landing between 2 and 4 AM. Fortunately, their landings were gentler than their take offs and I never felt threatened that they might be joining us for breakfast. Those little incidents along with the horn blowing trains that went by on an hourly basis, capped off our fourth day on the road.
Friday we arrived in Dallas and luckily, the Elks Club, just five miles from SMU, where Lauren attends school had room for us. Another “peak” at our mileage chart shows that our mpg at the reduced speed has improved our mileage and fuel usage. We may not be the fastest RV on the road, but we are trying to be fuel conscious. It is interesting that so few people are concerned enough about their gas mileage or the cost of gas as to reduce their speed. Ahem. Perhaps it is easier to complain about the cost than it is to exercise some independent jurisdiction over that which we can ourselves, impact.
Saturday, we were joined for lunch by our granddaughter, Lauren, which capped off our week with a joyous visit with our favorite granddaughter in spite of her bad cold.
It has been a good week from the road.
Until next time, stay well and our best to all.
After celebrating grandson Sean’s 16th birthday and spending a very pleasant afternoon with family and friends of the Gary Burns family, Monday April 18, was our getaway date. Organized, packed and ready at 10am we were on the road and passing through Pasadena via the 210 freeway. A quick stopover at Camping World for replacement windshield wipers (in case we hit rain along the way) and a lunch stop at the White Water rest area cleared the way for a windy passage through the desert . Once beyond Indio, we made good time with a clear road before us and a good wind at our back. We arrived in Ehrenberg shortly after 3 for our first night on the road.
Tuesday morning we dallied a bit with only a short trek from Ehrenberg into Casa Grande on the schedule. We arrived at the Casa Grande RV resort at 2PM and enjoyed a warm afternoon of “laid back” relaxation. Life is tough.
Wednesday we overnighted at RV Docks Resort in Las Cruces. Before we left our friend Bruce told Ken that by reducing his mileage down to 55, he was able to improve his mpg performance. Ken acted on this information and by doing so, added an extra mpg in fuel performance. Kudos to Bruce for his recommendation.
Thursday we traveled from Las Cruces to Tye Texas. In spite of my ultimatum that we would not travel more than 300 miles in any one day and preferably, no more than 250 miles, we did over 400 miles. By the time we settled in at a RV park the interior of the RV was decidedly “coolish” with the navigator and pilot barely speaking. The icing on the cake however, came as we were having a late dinner. A jet from the nearby air base took off and it sounded as if it was going to land in our coach for dinner with us. With that , Ken was reminded of the proprietor’s comment when he registered, as follows. “Oh that is what the guy meant when he said you should have a good night though there may be an occasional plane from the base nearby. I don’t know if they have any training exercises scheduled tonight or not”. Grrrr. Three such take offs before 9 PM put me in a more than “nervous” state but alas, that was the last of the take offs for the night. However, starting at 2AM, all of the “birds” came home to roost with at least 10 landing between 2 and 4 AM. Fortunately, their landings were gentler than their take offs and I never felt threatened that they might be joining us for breakfast. Those little incidents along with the horn blowing trains that went by on an hourly basis, capped off our fourth day on the road.
Friday we arrived in Dallas and luckily, the Elks Club, just five miles from SMU, where Lauren attends school had room for us. Another “peak” at our mileage chart shows that our mpg at the reduced speed has improved our mileage and fuel usage. We may not be the fastest RV on the road, but we are trying to be fuel conscious. It is interesting that so few people are concerned enough about their gas mileage or the cost of gas as to reduce their speed. Ahem. Perhaps it is easier to complain about the cost than it is to exercise some independent jurisdiction over that which we can ourselves, impact.
Saturday, we were joined for lunch by our granddaughter, Lauren, which capped off our week with a joyous visit with our favorite granddaughter in spite of her bad cold.
It has been a good week from the road.
Until next time, stay well and our best to all.
