CHRISTMAS TORNADOES

 It was difficult to leave Slidell, Louisiana and the serenity and peacefulness of the Elks’ campground. I learned to appreciate the mystical atmosphere of the South at this beautiful place. Check out these pictures - the bayou right in our own back yard.

 

 

 

 

Sportster lived the dream a cat dreams – stalking in the heavy humidity of the misty jungle.Check out his blog. As we left, I was certain Sportster blinked away a tear as he perched on the dash and watched the scenic beauty pass by as I drove the long drive to the main road.

 

 

Vicki and I visited the city of New Orleans. The bus took us to the typical sights, the French Quarter, the cemeteries and showed us the devastation that still existed from Hurricane Katrina. My lasting impression of the Big Easy will not be of the enormous tombs in the cemetery or the narrow Bourbon and Canal Streets, but instead I will remember the transformation in the afternoon. At the beginning of our tour, as our bus maneuvered the tight thoroughfares, we saw few people, perhaps only shop owners arriving to meet the delivery men dropping off the night’s wares.

At four in the afternoon a movie director must have yelled, “Action.” Music gushed from the restaurants and bars, drawing tourists from their hotels as they  crammed the sidewalks. Streets jammed with traffic and noise as Cajuns and Creoles did not hesitate to lean on their horns…car horns. This was New Orleans and Vicki and I were ready to return to our idyllic campground.

But it was the swamp tour of the Honey Islands that made me marvel at the vast differences of mother nature's scenic beauty. Just look at these pictures.

 

 

 

As we left, I was certain Sportster blinked away a tear as he perched on the dash and watched the scenic beauty pass by as I drove the long drive to the main road.

When Sportster and I arrived in in Summerdale Alabama at the Rainbow Plantation Escapee RV Resort I liked it immediately, perhaps due to the invitation to the Christmas party and dinner. I retired Christmas Eve after a pleasant evening with one hundred and fifty friendly folks, good food, a gift exchange and Christmas carols sung by "The Chanilles." 

 

 

Although Vicki and I enjoyed the festivities, a weather forecast of severe storms and possible tornadoes hung in the air along with the humidity. The locals laughed and ate and sang, immune to the impending forecasts. I am lucky to be traveling with Vicki who was employed many years on a safety committee when she worked for the university. With her guidance we planned our escape route and packed our emergency bags. We survived that night and although the threat is still blowing in the breeze until eight tonight,  the severity of the storm  will pass to the north of us.

As I write this Mobil, Alabama has been victim of the weather, without power and with damage. I will not sleep as the thunder rolls and the wind gusts, bombarding my roof with acorn pellets from the live oak trees I am parked under.

If we make it through the night we will leave Alabama Thursday morning. Stay tuned.