More pictures

It got very cold last night!

Our beautiful spot at McKinney Falls State Park, the site of the dog dragging incident

There was a huge back up on the freeway due to a bridge "incident".  Patricia and I just jumped in the trailer for wine and cribbage and waited it out.  Cars were allowed on the frontage rd on the right, but we couldn't go there with the trailers.

A few more pictures

Hal and Sam at McKinney Falls

Lower McKinney Falls

Terri and a Street person in New Orleans

Sun just starting to come up in the dessert near Deming, NM

headed back home

We've left New Orleans and are headed back home.  Driving through Texas is no small feat!  It is a very wide state.  The first night we stayed in a lovely campground called Village Creek State Park.  Then the next two nights in Austin, Tx at the McKinney Falls State Park.  While there, we (Terri and Hal) enjoyed BBQ  for lunch one day.  AMAZING.  We waited in line for an hour at this place called Franklins.  He started out in a small trailer and now has a small brick and mortar place that has a well deserved terrific reputation.  I had a sampler plate - Ribs, turkey, pulled pork and brisket.  The brisket is just mouth watering.  We bought two pounds to take home and froze it for lunches along the road.  Hal had a combo plate of brisket and ribs and ate the entire thing which was huge.  Also beans and cole slaw.  The open at 11 am with a huge line already in place and usually run out of food at 1 pm and then they are done until dinner.  While you are waiting, a person comes by with cold beers in a bucket to buy and as you get closer, they have little samples of the brisket to taste.  I guess he is a judge on the BBQ competition TV show, maybe Grillmasters?  We never wait in line for a restaurant unless there is a bar to sit in, but I guess this kind of qualified with the beers in a bucket. 

Then in the warm evening, we met up with Patricia and Julius at a dog-friendly happy hour outside place.  The dogs were happy to be included and everyone was so friendly.  We ate fried pickles and drank beer and wine and the dogs enjoyed everything, too.  There was a very cute 7 week old bulldog puppy there. 

One night at McKinney, we were walking home from Julius and Patricia's trailer after a great pizza dinner.  We had put Sam on a leash because she has been known to run after deer in campgrounds.  I had my hands full of stuff and the leash and sure enough, she saw a deer and took off.  I held on tight to the leash, but her powerful back legs were just churning after that deer.  I was running as fast as I could after her, Hal couldn't catch up and finally I fell down and she dragged me into the woods.  I knew if I let go, she'd be gone and eventually she stopped and Hal took over.  This dog is called Prey Driven and it is very hard to stop her.  Everything is OK, but I was pretty damn sore for a couple of days. 

The next morning we took off for a 400 mile drive to Balmorhea State Park.  Stopped in the little town of Friedericksburg, a old German town that has become quite a tourist attraction.  We had some delicious pastries and bought Hal some Ugh slippers so HE can take a turn taking Sam out to pee in the morning in case she sees deer again.

Balmorhea isn't what we expected.  It is out in the middle of the desert.  There is a huge pool and shelters over the campsites for hot sun, we expect.  But it was beautiful in its own way, for sure.  The sunset was amazing over the distant mountains.  It got down to 21 at night, but we were cozy with our bed heaters. 

This morning we are heading for Demming, New Mexico.  Will stop in Los Cruces New Mexico for Mexican food at lunch time. 

We've been playing a ton of cribbage and making delicious dinners.  I was thinking this morning how amazing it is that we are as happy as we are in this tiny rolling house, 8 by 27 feet.  I think it is the simplicity and little routines we have that make is so good.  We listen to audiobooks in the truck during the day.  Hal has a set up that allows me to be online in the truck so I can do things like this blog, campground reviews and searching for the coming night's park.  We park, and Hal does the outside jobs like hooking up the water and power, I put down the trailer stabilizers, then I ready the inside, pour the wine and before you know it, Patricia and I are playing cribbage before starting dinner.  We go to bed about 9:30 or 10 and get up the next day to breakfast routines and hot coffee with our percalator.  Just a little life on the road, seeing so much of our beautiful country. 

The four of us going on a Mississippi River cruise

New Orleans on Mondagras

Today is also a big day here, like Fat Tuesday, except today it is pouring and windy and miserable so lots of things are being canceled.  What a shame that is.  The Krewes work all year on these floats and because they are themed, they can't just be put away and used next year. 

Yesterday, we decided to go out for lunch and avoid the quarter where it is so busy.  So we headed for the garden district and upper Magazine Street.  Error.  It turns out that the parades start on Magazine street, so we were stuck driving on very narrow, very pedestrian crowded streets.  Hal was ready for a double vodka by the time we finished driving in this area, which took us a good half hour, and Julius was ready for a huge glass of wine.  Luckily, we found a good place to have lunch way up past Loyola University on St. Charles. 

Last night was our masquerade ball.  Hal was a fine pirate, complete with sword, and I went as a french maid, complete with crinoline and augmented undergarment.  Pictures to follow.  We are both recovering today.  Ouch. 

Julius made us all rum smoothies this morning to help ease the pain, which were delicious.  Don't know quite what to do today, but probably lots of cribbage and maybe some knitting.  We have dinner reservations at the Bon Ton Cafe tonight, great local place that we discovered on one of our last visits here.  Great fish dishes. 

It is just POURING and wild wind here. 

parade pictures

Muse Krewe float - all women Krewe

Another Muse float.  Very cute

Swamp Tour photos

big gator

Cypress trees of the swamp

Lovely swamp reflection

Did he just eat?

Giant White Egret building her nest

Baby gator head on

Nutria

Our trusty guide Guy

She's happier away from the gators

A great day on the water

For Julio too

 All the silver tin cans in a row at UNO

New Orleans

I've been a bad blogger.  We got so involved in the experience, that I didn't have time to blog.  Guess that isn't altogether a bad thing, right?

We've been in New Orleans for four days now.  Arrived on Wednesday afternoon, we were the last trailer in for our group.  We're parked in an area on the University of New Orleans campus, right next to Lake Ponchatrain.  The levee is in front of us, so we can't see the lake.  Guess that's a good thing if the water starts to rise! 

The first night, we had a nice chili and margarita get together under a big tent.  The New Orleans Airstream Unit only has 18 members (vs. the Oregon unit that has around 150).  Yet they put on this amazing national Mardi Gras rally each year.  It is pretty much due to one woman named Lonnie.  She is a whirling dervish of a woman, cheerful, irreverent, slightly profane, my kind of woman.  Her city is her love, and she shows us how to love it too.

The first day we were introduced to some Mardi Gras history and enjoyed our first King Cake.  This is kind of like a big coffee cake covered with purple, green and gold frosting.  Inside, is a little plastic baby.  He who gets the baby has to do any number of things, depending on the setting - bring the king cake the next day, serve on some kind of court, etc.  We didn't get the baby but we sure loved the cake.  That night, we attended our first night of parades.  The Krewes are groups of people who put on the parades.  They are usually named after Greek or Roman gods.  The Krewe members pay for everything including float development and the "throws", things that the Krewe members riding on the floats throw into the crowd during the parades.  Mostly these are beads, but other things, too - decorated shoes (glamorous and amazing), designer bags, cups.  We have reserved seats on St. Charles Avenue and we surely got into the parades and collecting beads.  We sit in metal bleachers, and lots of beads go beneath the bleachers, but both Julius and Hal have been seen dumpster diving under the bleachers to get great beads.  Amazing floats, so much work.  So we did parade watching on both Thursday and Friday nights.  After parades on Friday night, we walked down to  Bourbon street.  This is not a place for 60 year old people on Mardi Gras.  It is everything you can imagine and more, but packed, no place to move, great to watch.  We headed instead for Brennans for a light dinner and great wines.  so much fun. 

Friday we attended a Cajun cooking class overlooking the Mississippi.  We enjoyed crab and corn bisque, shrimp creole over rice, bananas foster and pralines.  And learned to cook them too!  Oh, and buckets of beer.  Forgot that. 

Saturday morning, we took a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi complete with music and an amazing lunch.  Tons of delicious catfish, more shrimp creole, red beans and rice, cole slaw and bread pudding.  Did I forget to mention the incredible bloody Mary's?  Huge strong bloody Mary's?  More than one?  It was so much fun too.

Last night we attended a Gay Ball.  Again, a social club, but this one (and there are eight of them) for gay men.  The dress was a tuxedo for Hal and Julius and long gowns for me and Patricia.  Before the ball, we went to a home in the Bywater for wine and appetizers, a great redone creole cottage (of several hundred square feet).  There were twelve from our group and several friends of the couple hosting us, David and Steve.   David is a collector and has a shop off the Esplanade.  The home reflects this beauty.  Then off to the ball.  Basically, the group members host this party with a theme, and observers sit theater style overlooking the party which is downstairs.  Lots of incredible costumes involved in the party theme, with musical presentations and a crazy MC.  Much profanity, lots of great cross dressing, nothing like we've ever seen before.  Definitely glad we went. 

Tonight we have our own masquerade ball for the Airstream group.  Hal is a pirate and I'm a waitress in a black and white short dress with crinoline and fish nets.  So silly but an open bar, dancing, craziness. 

We've met nothing but wonderful people here, both at our rally and in New Orleans.  This is a unique place with so many wonderful traditions. 

Today, we expect winds up to 35 miles per hour and 1-3 inches of rain.  Should be interesting!

Natchez and beyond

We spent the night of Natchez travel in Vidalia, LA, just across the Mississippi.  Found a nice RV park with sites available right on the river (again).  We watched the super bowl from our trailer and there was plenty of screen in the small space.  Poor 49'ers, they just didn't play as well as usual.  The next morning we headed over to Natchez to explore the old river town.  We came upon a lovely cafe called the Cotton Alley Cafe.  There, we had an early lunch of an incredible soup of shrimp and crab and corn, jambalaya and fried catfish.  An unexpected pleasure, for sure.  After lunch, we headed off to St. Martinville, LA.  This is a small town on Bayou Tesh that Hal and I have loved over the years.  It is the home  of the Longfellow poem's Evangeline.  There are large oaks on the bayou, shading the site of  the place where Evangeline waited for her fiance for years.  The whole Acadiana culture is so interesting and sad.  That evening, we went for dinner at a small cafe in St. Martinville.  We had alligator, gumbo, poor boys, 3 lbs of crawfish and jalapenos stuffed with crab and deep friend.  Classic southern fare.  Yesterday, we took a swamp tour.   We saw large and small alligators, tons of turtles and so many different kind of birds in a bird preserve in the swamp.  An incredible experience for all of us.  Pictures are attached.  Now we are headed for New Orleans for the Mardi Gras party.  Can't wait to see what the next week holds for us.

A barge at dawn

Sunrise on the Mississippi

On Our Way to Natchez, MS

I woke up this morning at 5:00.  Sam had to go pee and the arthritis in my elbows and hands isn't good right now.  But the good thing is, the dawn was just starting to lighten.  Sam and I went outside, it was slightly warm, about 47, and the lights of Memphis were in the distance.  As I looked to the right, there was a huge barge silently moving down the river with it's tug.  Where it covered the river, it was just black everywhere.  These barges are huge and so quiet.  The water in the river is moving so fast.  When we first checked into the campground, a man who works there instantly took to Sam and she to him.  He played with her a bit and told us to never let Sam get near the river, that it was too powerful and dangerous, even for a good swimming dog.  So naturally, the whole time we were there, I worried she would get loose and go down there, but she never did, thank goodness.  Hal estimates the river was 600-900 feet wide where we camped. 

All of our laundry is done and put away,  I cleaned drawers in the trail and I've finally finished getting just the right size containers for all the storage areas.  We're all stocked up with food, at least enough to get us to the amazing food of New Orleans.

New Orleans has always been one of our very favorite cities, and I've been wondering how it will be with so many people, many of whom will be drunk, I'm sure.  Patricia has never been to NO, and I want to show her this incredible city, but I fear it might be very different at this time of  year.  With the Super Bowl there, we understand a lot of people are staying for both.  Glad we aren't trying to get a hotel room!   After Natchez, we will head down to St. Martinville, LA for two days as we wait for some of the Super Bowl crowd to depart.  This is also one of my favorite places, right on the Bayou Tesh.  We're staying at a place called Catfish Haven RV Park.  Should be another adventure for sure!  I plan to fish for catfish and eat them too.

Every day when I fall asleep I remind myself how fortunate we are to be able to travel in this wonderful trailer with great friends to amazing places when some people don't even have a roof over their heads for the night.  I guess the only things I can do about that is to contribute appropriately, volunteer and be extremely mindful of all the blessings we have been given in this life - our immediate and extended family including Ryan and Jeff, our health, our friends, our dog Sam, our Airstream - the list is endless.

On Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas

catch the background - yikes - we might be glowing!

our terrific travel buddies

Red Rock Canyon - all by ourselves

Our other great travel buddy

Cocktail hour in the Airstream

Hal and Sam play ball

Memphis

February 2nd

We are nearing the end of our two night stay in Memphis.  Once again, an amazing campground.  This one, Tom Sawyer's RV park in West Memphis, is located right on the banks of the Mississippi River.  It is still cold, it freezes at night, but the days are sunny and warm. Yesterday afternoon, all four of us went to watch the ducks go upstairs at the Peabody hotel.  We had drinks in the lobby first, and just near 5 pm the duckmaster leads them out of the fountain and into the elevator to go up to their suite.  Those of you who have not seen this either here or Little Rock or Orlando probably think this sounds insane.  But it is quite the spectacle, the duckmaster in his red jacket and the ducks coming out of the fountain in the lobby, shaking themselves off, and heading for the elevator on a red carpet.  I'll bet there were 100 people watching, at least.   Then Hal and I went to hear music on Beale Street.  It is a great spot for blues.  Last night, there was some sort of big contest and there were incredible crowds everywhere.  We went to our favorite place, Rum Boogie, and it was packed and 7/8 of them smoked - inside.  It was really bad.  I worry most for the health of the servers and bartenders.  When we left, and it was early in spite of the great music groups, we just stunk of cigarette smoke.  We left our coats in the back of the truck and as many other of our clothes as we could.  This morning, I got up early and did laundry, it was really bad. 

After a relaxing morning of laundry and rum smoothies by Julius, we went to the Rendevous for ribs, cole slaw and beans.  OMG, so good.  Then back to Beale Street to listen to a little street music, now we're back in the park with the barges going by on the river.  They move all night long.  I will miss them tomorrow when we leave.  Next stop:  Natchez.  We'll drive mostly on the freeways but also a little on the Natchez Trace, then head into Natchez for the Super Bowl game.  Wish we had a bigger TV, maybe we'll find a cozy sports bar.

Arkansas and the cooling tower

Thursday, January 31st

Yet another great state park.  This time, we camped near Russellville, Arkansas at Lake Dardenelle State Park.  There were, once again, very few campers except us.  We camped right on the lake.  It was cold and crisp in the afternoon, but sunny.  Patricia and I took our dogs for a long walk along the lake, it felt so good to stretch our legs.  After a while, we took them off their leashes and they ran through the leaves that had fallen the previous fall wildly.  Lucy is getting much better at returning the ball when it is thrown, but still likes to play keep-away.  We dined on left overs which were just as good the second time around.  I’m becoming convinced that winter camping is the way to go if you like wide open spaces and very few neighbors.  Yes, it is cold and sometimes snowy but if you bundle up well, that’s OK. 

This morning we are heading toward Memphis for a two night stay.  We’re staying at the Tom Sawyer RV park, right on the river.  While here, we will get the truck oil changed, do laundry, wash the Airstream and truck and so some trailer cleaning.  Then, off for the fun!  Will keep you posted tomorrow assuming we can make bail ;-)

Really making progress now

Wednesday, January 30

We’re really making progress now.  Last night we stayed at another Red Rock State Park – this time the Red Rock Canyon State Park outside of Hinton, OK.  It, like our other one, was an incredible place.  The road down was steep and winding, but we made it up and down with no problem, really.  We had the entire park to ourselves.  The dogs chased their ball for a very long time with no one to tell us to keep them on their leash.  The park was in a deep deep canyon.

This morning, we headed out, driving toward Arkansas.  Our goal is just past Ft. Smith, AR.   We’ll be staying at Lake Dardanelle, just outside of Russellville, AR.   The weather is finally getting a little warmer during the day and the sun is out.  We’re traveling along I-40 all the way into Memphis where we will arrive tomorrow and stay for two nights.  Can’t wait to settle in for more than one might.  I’ve been to Graceland before but  the others haven’t so I suspect that will be on the agenda.  It’s an interesting experience.  We’ll also hit Beale Street and go to the Peabody to watch the ducks go in the elevator.  There will also be Airstream washing and laundry, just routine stuff.