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.
Sunday morning we left The Rovers Roost, an Escapee RV park in Casa Grande, Arizona. They offered the first night free in their boondock section. Remember our first night at Dome Rock in Quartzite, Arizona was on BLM (Burea of Land Management - government owned land.)- and was free? And now as members of the RV club, Escapees, we spent our second night at no cost. For the first two days of this trip we have spent nothing on camping. Of course we are not hooked up to electric or water , but that is the beauty of being self-contained. I carry my own water and a generator that powers the microwave, the furnace for chilly nights and, oh yes, and the lights.
