October 31 through November 6, 2003

Friday October 31:

The drive from Baton Rouge to Hammond today is a short one, and we decided to wait for Sam's to open before proceeding.  While waiting we filled fuel at Sam's pumps; $1.309/g, better than we have recently seen.  We plan to overnight tonight in Hammond's Walmart, then attend the opening day of the Louisiana Renaissance Fair there on Saturday.  This annual fair runs every weekend in November and early December.  Hammond's Walmart seems a good place to buy a bag of candy against the REMOTE possibility we might have a visit from a trick or treater...  Yeah, RIGHT, on a Walmart parking lot!!!  :-)  Well, we go through this every year, and are always careful to buy what WE like; this year it is Almond Joy miniatures...... Walmart is out of Mounds!  :-(

Saturday November 1:

There are no tricks, nor treats requested this night, so we will (AGAIN this year!) need to dispose of the treats before they spoil ....  YUM!  The cell signal here is strong native Verizon, so all Internet features work well.  Claire cooked beans before our departure, to avoid cooking in the heat of the afternoon, after driving, with engine heat added to cooking heat in this warm weather.  We depart for the fair around 9:30 AM, intending to get there at opening time.  It is considerably further than expected from the location in Street Atlas, but we eventually find it, and miss the narrow dirt driveway; we drive an extra mile to turn around in the High School, and this time we are CAREFUL not to miss the turn. There is plenty of parking for us in a grassy field that looks softer than it really is, and after opening up and setting the fan to run to keep Purry comfortable, we walk towards the gate.  An elderly gentleman was walking from a "building" with "Front Office" painted on it, and I asked where to buy tickets...he accompanied us to the ticket booth, and asked the ticket seller to "take good care" of us, then got us a pile of brochures to pass out as we travel...it turns out they had a two for one special going, so we got in for $10 for both of us!  :-)  The fair was fun and interesting...my best description is "carnival with a theme".  Period costumes were available to buy or rent, and of course EVERY sort of bauble is available to buy here.....and not at particularly good prices. Limos were available for hire if you preferred not to walk...

 The stage entertainment was not particularly memorable; the singing executioners were cute for a short time, but they started late, and having to sit out in the hot sun to watch got OLD real fast!

Of course, from the stage we should have KNOWN this would not be exactly like Broadway....  :-)  We were disappointed that the scheduled falconry demo did not go off as planned in the AM, as the sound system was not working, but the lad manning their booth was MOST cooperative, especially when I preferred to take my own pictures rather than pay him $5 for a picture of ME with a bird.... This red tailed hawk was looking pretty!

You certainly can understand the need for the heavy leather gloves!  The lad told us the secret to good falconry is to keep the birds light weight; overfed birds are not as eager to please.  It is the free meal that keeps them coming back for more!  :-))  This young lady fiddler is well costumed, but I am surprised she does not MELT in this weather.

Claire was interested in this different form of martial art....

These lads were from the Louisiana area, and made their own period costumes.  This was real competition, and they were judged by referees and awarded points, but in our short watching period were not able to fully discern the rules or the objective for winning points.  They did get to roll in the dust quite often, and the combat was furious for a very short time before refs called "BREAK".   I was happy to see the weapons were both soft and flexible, as the armor did not appear adequate for protection against a sharp blade.  The Jousting Demo was NOT real competition; I would liken it to wrestling; a show for the audience.  Quite a show it was too!  We chose a tiny spot of shade and moved a bench to it, rather than choosing the best location for viewing; this day was getting HOT!  The master of ceremonies rode a magnificent Shire horse, closely related to the Clydesdale ...HUGE, with handsome foot hair.

 The knight on the ground has just been vanquished in a mock sword battle. :-)  This mock battle has even more real risk than the sword play it seems to me....

There were lance pieces flying through the air as the riders made contact on some of these charges.  The demonstration was conducted by a professional group from Sarasota FL, and was very well done.  The Falconry demo was also first class; the licensed falcon lady was emphatic about how they were working to preserve raptors in the wild by teaching them to hunt before releasing them, much improving their survival chances after release.

Here a pair of Harris Hawks fly in formation. They always come in for their reward treat before returning to their cages.  The falconers were quite careful not to let the big birds fly loose with smaller hawks, as the big ones will feed on their smaller cousins.  This group had been at the Topsfield Fair in Massachusetts before coming here.  They have a beautiful American Kestrel, the country's smallest hawk, carried here with the colorful talking Scarlet Macaw.

A note on the Macaw's cage requests NO BAD WORDS be repeated for the parrot...  :-)   "Hello" got a loud clear response for us!  When we returned to the falconry tent, we were able to convince this owl we really were NOT using flash before he would consent to an eyes open picture.  

Every time I pointed the camera he would hide his head like a shy child, until he finally realized a painfully blinding (to him) flash would not follow my pressing of the button. The term "Dumb Animal" just does not apply!!  There were other attractions galore, all trying to separate us from our money; fortunately pictures were free and at least as much fun!.  :-)  This camel ride was intriguing, for only $7.  

I did notice the beast was kept in the shade when not actually in use.  :-))  The glassblower was interesting.

He made a glass plate, then turned it into a basket with the same blow, but after attaching the handle, destroyed the piece as fatal cracks had developed in the bottom.  We tried to see another show of the sword fighters, but found them delayed by another show, which we found uninteresting, so we determined we had as much fun as we could have in one day, and took our leave.  We found the jousting demonstration, falconry demonstration, the sword fight demo and glass blowing most interesting, and well worth the price of admission.   We drove 20 miles to Covington LA for the night, and found a welcoming Super Walmart.  The beans heated quickly, and we were soon working to finish up the website and uploading it.  We were late to bed, but slept well when we got there.  

Sunday November 2:

This morning we awoke early despite the late night.  This is another Internet day, and we use it before departing for the drive to the Gulf coast.  Claire again cooks early, squash soup this time.  It can ride in the pot in the sink 'til dinner time.  We stop for lunch in an empty mall parking lot; I notice most businesses do not open 'til after noon on this Sunday.  I spend time cleaning the bugs off the windshield and front of the RV; this chore seems to be needed every few days since we got into warmer weather.  We drive on and cross more and more bridges, then finally find the beach; what a BEAUTIFUL beach it is too, just coming in to Pass Christian MS……

The sand is snow white, water calm, not a cloud in the sky, and almost NOBODY on the beach...WOW!  There are fishing piers leading out into the water, but locked gates on them.  One looks storm damaged.  We walk the beach, Claire wades in the water, pronounces it quite warm and swimmable, and we consider changing for a swim, but there is always the problem of keeping salt water out of the motorhome.  Folks we pass on the beach say it will not get deep until we get WAYY out either.  We delay until it cools a bit, and swimming does not seem so much a necessity. We drive toward the center of Pass Christian, and park overlooking the harbor.  

We walked the harbor, watching the shrimp boats and pleasure boats enter and leave.  

It was quite pleasant.  I chatted with some folks fishing, and just watching the sun go down over the gulf.  During dinner, the harbor security officer approached and explained that we could not stay overnight here.  We told him we intended to move after our dinner in this beautiful spot, and he had no problem with that.  As the sun sank into the gulf, we had to say goodbye to this beautiful spot.

 The Walmart in Pass Christian turned out to be REALLY classy digs, just across US 90 from the Gulf beach.  

Our parking slot overlooked the water!  :-)  It is REALLY worth the money we spend in Walmart to use a place like this every once in a while!!  :-)))  We finished our phone use and Internet before the midnight witching hour (when we must start using REAL minutes again) and turned in.  In the middle of the night I awoke cool, and closed the overheads.

Monday November 3:

This morning it was 60 under the RV, and I wanted jeans and a jacket, and a warm drink.  I caught up on the journal for the weekend, which gets neglected during Internet time.  Today we plan to buy shrimp and swim in Gulfport, before showering and overnighting in Flying J to dump and replace our water. We drove into the Gulfport port by turning right at the first light east of the Grand Casino.  There were two fish stores there; the one closest to Rt 90 had lower prices and a better smell too...  :-)   We put 2 pounds of uncooked headed shrimp with ice in our fridge for dinner, and headed west to find a beach parking spot for the day.  The choices were numerous, all BEAUTIFUL and unoccupied!  We chose a pullout with easy parking and a divider from the highway.  We parked 7 feet from the sidewalk, with a stepped seawall down to the beach.  A trash barrel was 100 feet away, the water 200 ft across brilliant white fine sand.  :-)   We had lunch, Purry got another chance to go out, and as the heat increased Claire suggested we might put out the awning to keep the sun off the side of the RV.  OF COURSE, why didn't I think of that!  This place is MADE for that...just enough space between the street and the sidewalk for the awning!  We quickly put it out and found the interior temperature went from sweltering with the fan running to IDEAL with the door and window open and no fan.  The air is nice off the Gulf if you do not have to deal with the sun.....a gentle sea breeze....mmmmm  mmmm  good!  We lazed drinking in the scenery for a while.

Claire did Pilates exercises to the TV tape, then we decided to go beat the heat and go swimming in the gulf...

Well, deep wading may be a better description. The beach is so shallow sloped we did not get in much above the waist, but it was warm yet quite refreshing.  The hot sun finally drove us back inside; too much of this on our pale northern skin will result in lasting PAIN.

 Even with hats and shirts, we can feel the reflected rays doing their thing...  After bathing we rinsed off with the featured outside shower on the RV;  I have always wondered what that was for; we use it so seldom, and then only to rinse off dirty stuff we don't want to bring inside.  It really HAS a use as a shower, and this beach scene is where you need it, to keep all traces of sand and salt off the inside rugs.  

Claire soon started dinner; daughter Carol had reminded us last weekend of an oriental shrimp dip we used to use; soy sauce, ginger, chopped onion (or scallion), a touch of toasted sesame oil.  This would be the perfect accompaniment to the shrimp.  :-)  Claire had bought the ginger at our last Walmart, so we were READY!   Tossed salad, steamed rice, shrimp pressure cooked until just up to pressure.....then vented out on the sidewalk, brought in, drained and eaten...WOW, are they good!  After dinner and dishes the sun was already below the horizon as we took in the awning.  This has been a great relaxing beach day!  It is very hard to believe we have this all to ourselves here.  It's almost as good as being on a deserted island...hmmm, maybe even BETTER;  here we have roads, a trash barrel, mowed grass, city sidewalks, and steps to the deserted beach.  :-)  A few folks walk along the water line...but they are not within speaking distance.  The few folks using the sidewalk cannot see us for the low awning.  We decide to spend another day here in this delightful area, so choose the Walmart over the Flying J, as we still have enough water for another day.  Flying J will still be there tomorrow night.  The weather is expected to worsen then, with heavy rain and small craft warning winds associated with a subtropical low crossing the gulf from Sarasota FL.  We will be closed up then, and Flying J noise will not be as annoying.  Of course this Walmart just south of I-10 is right on the glide path of the airport here, and they come over at 300 feet just prior to touchdown...when a big jet is coming in, we kinda NOTICE...  :-)  They do seem to stop around 9 or 10PM though, and wait 'til 6AM to start.  I sleep early and well here, making up for the late weekend nights on the net...

Tuesday November 4:

The day dawns sunny, but the weather forecast is for increasing clouds and wind with rain possible this afternoon, so we leave early for the beach and find a parking place on the east side of Gulfport, protected by a point from the NE wind that is blowing lightly now.  This pullout has no divider from the highway, and we lurch a bit with vehicles passing close by, but protection from an onshore breeze and associated salt spray is most important today, and this spot IS pretty!  Claire took Purry out while I prepared and put the awning up....

Purry did not stay out long, and when Claire came in we had an idea why.....her shoes were COVERED with sharp dry sand spurs that had penetrated the rubber, and were transferring to the rug...YIKES!  Oh well, this spot is the only protection we can see close by from increasing wind, so we'll stay.  It is early, and we need to plan the rest of our trip anyway.  We are enjoying this beachy lazing, but it seems it must come to an end soon......and only a plan will say HOW soon.  Several hours later we have a plan covering the 940 miles from Gulfport to Ft Myers along the FL panhandle coast; not the fastest nor shortest path, but it seems most interesting, and takes us past areas we've always wanted to see.  It also includes places we can dump and replace water every 4 or 5 days and places it is reasonably expected we might be welcome to overnight along the RV unfriendly Florida coast.  Two long driving days of 250 and 300 miles each get us to the interior of the FL peninsula where we will be more welcome.  We will try to start these early to be finished in daylight.  Then a break to visit our new grand nephew, and on to easier drives through central FL to Ft Myers.  After the plan, the BEACH!  We looked at the clouds building in the east and decided the awning should be stored before we left.  The water is not as clear as yesterday, with the waves churning little whitecaps, and we waded only in to our knees; it cooled us well, but I could see the effects of the sun on my thighs...  :-)  We walked the beach to the end of the point, and here the spray was beginning to become airborne in the increasing wind.  We walked the other way past the RV, but the wind was definitely increasing; soon spray would be drifting onto the RV.  Time to leave this pleasant but EXPOSED place!  We drove to Sam's Club to shop for a few essentials, then to Flying J.  The gas pumps were all busy, so we pulled in to an open parking slot for the night; time enough to fuel in the AM...and apparently prices are falling now, so waiting is GOOD.  The weather has WARMED; we miss the sea breeze on the beach, but the fan will have to do here.  Claire heats squash soup for dinner; it is delicious with some left over mushroom soup mixed in.  We are fortunate to have several days of prepared meals in the fridge; long driving days and cooking do not go well together!  We will buy more shrimp before we leave Gulfport though...a repeat of the shrimp meal is DEFINITELY required!  It will be warm sleeping tonight; it rains intermittently forcing closed overhead vents, and humidity is WAAAAY up.   Oh well, we are tired and sleep will certainly come!

Wednesday November 5:

75 under the RV this morning.  It showered a lot overnight, and we could not leave the overhead vents open.  The side kitchen window is enough for comfortable sleeping, only a sheet needed, and the humidity is HIGH.  I started the webpage until Claire awakened.  We showered, and as I ended mine the shower would not drain.  Oooops, we cut it a bit close on the gray water tank this time!  After my shower, I bailed the shower out into the toilet so we could move to the dump station without any spillage onto the rugs....then we drove the 300 feet to the dump.  There was a paper sign on the dump "not operational"...  YIKES!  Our first ever sewage emergency.  I asked inside whether there was another dump here we could use...NO.  Another dump close by? Perhaps Love's across the highway exit.... We drove there, and found what LOOKED like a dump, but the sign said air, water.   After our experience out west where we almost dumped into somebody's well, we ALWAYS ask about dumps.  :-)  Three people including the manager said they do not offer dump service...oh well, we and our full waste tank move on.  Across the street there is a commercial campground; I asked in the office if they had a dump...the lady said SURE, out behind the trailers...no charge! Whoopie! :-))  Out behind the trailers we found a dumpster for trash....but no sewer dump.  I asked again, suggesting we would pay for a few minutes in an empty space with sewage.  The lady was emphatic that the owner did not allow that.  She suggested we ask at a nearby RV repair place.  They had no dump either, but the friendly worker suggested a Williams truck stop in Biloxi 10 miles east on I-10...."oh, it is now Pilot, but I used to work there, and it is on the grass near the RV parking".  We decided to drive there directly, no intermediate stops!  True to our tip, the RV dump was there, working, and fuel was only a penny above Flying J.  Next time we count on a dump we will LOOK before we shower!  This is a common habit of mine, but this time I had been too relaxed!  Oh well, no harm done except 20 miles of extra driving....this is a very short driving day, and is cloudy anyway.  We stop at Sam's for lunch, and bought a pair of inexpensive Family Radio Service walkie talkies.  These will make it MUCH easier to back the RV into awkward spots, like the last RV dump which was on the wrong side of the coach.   These are not exactly easy to set up, but they have keyboard lock which keeps them setup, and they also receive NOAA weather broadcasts (but no better than the CB radio we have), and work on the same AA NiMH rechargeable batteries that the camera uses.  Hopefully the batteries will stay charged fairly long...if not, the radios will also use alkaline cells, which may be best for the infrequent and short use these will get.  We moved on to the Seabees museum; the sign directed us to a gate, but the gate guard said we must use a different entrance now...and let us swing around inside the gate.  The second gate said we would have to get a pass at a nearby building, but there was no parking for us there...we backed several times to turn around and barely made it...INCHES to spare.  The military person manning the gate needed our registration and proof of insurance; I managed to convince her MA does not issue registrations without insurance, and she let it pass.   Only two forms later, we are free to enter the base WHEN our escort arrives.  He led us and another vehicle to the small museum building, and allowed me to park the RV on the edge of the lot...again, no parking places suitable.  He gave us permission to leave the base without escort when we were finished....  :-)  The museum was largely a display of historic newspapers, very well done WW ll photographs, and artifacts contributed by Seabee units posted to various parts of the world in various conflicts. I had seen these Viet Cong hand grenades before....in a less pleasant environment.  

The small arms displays were interesting. The towed road grader looked like a smaller and earlier model of one my father's uncle used to operate on the dirt road I grew up on.  The old Caterpillar tractor on display out front had more interesting work to do in former years I'm sure....

 It did seem to be doing a good job of holding the concrete pad down now though.....  :-)  I think we will pass on future military base attractions though, largely because of the MAJOR exercise we seem to put the military through before we get on base; they have enough to do now without us making them more work.  We can put up with the now necessary hassle and delays...but it just does not seem fair to add work to their already over busy lives just to amuse us geezers.  :-)  The guidebooks that list these military attractions have not yet caught up with the post 9/11 times; even street signs have not yet caught up with the times...We left the museum (without getting lost on base) and drove to get more shrimp....  :-)  We found none for sale without heads, but paid 20 cents a pound extra for heading to avoid the head mess on the RV.  As the heads are 1/3 the weight, we had to buy 3 pounds to get two, so the ended up paying much than the previous batch we bought here.  We drove east 20 miles past Biloxi's many casinos....notice the unique architecture of  Treasure Bay.

I do wonder idly at how many treasures are forever buried here....  ;-)  Biloxi is more "typically tourist trap" than Gulfport;  here folks quite willingly walk into the maw of the giant shark.

It IS quite appropriately the door to a souvenir shop!    :-)  We continue to Ocean Springs and find the Walmart there.  Dinner was simply SUPERB!  These shrimp were even BETTER than the first batch.  :-)))  Maybe you really DO get what you pay for??  :-)  Ahh, well, we do not get into shrimp country very often!   We shopped Walmart for a few things, then off to bed.  

Thursday November 6:

73 under the RV this morning at 5 am.  This end of the parking lot is DESERTED.  At least the lights are on and it's QUIET except for the occasional train passing.  I finish a few more days of webpage.  We depart a bit early, knowing we have an oil change coming up, and need extra time today.   The Alabama welcome station was careful to point out that the water at AL beaches is clear, in contrast to Mississippi's churned up brown beach water that is sometimes polluted....and the locals do not use???  :-)   We found the Mobile Bay ferry fee for motorhomes was too expensive to make sense for us to use ($33 with the two passengers).  We decide to skip the planned drive down the western side of Mobile Bay rather than drive back through Mobile to cross the bay.  We can see similar things on the eastern side and cut out at least 1.5 hours of driving by going directly to the eastern side on I-10.  It was HOT, and we ran the generator for air conditioning during lunch, something we very seldom do.  We dumped on the way out, and marked the water tank with tape.  We can get water more easily than a dump, and can fill it to the proper level at that time to hopefully assure our waste tanks do not overflow (again)!  Mobile is another military town, with this Navy ship visible from the Bay bridge.

On the way through Mobile, Claire accidently found a mode in the GPS she did not know how to get out of; it turns out it has a helpful but hard to find "Go To" navigation feature we had never used that is activated by only a few button clicks when you find a place you want on the map, either by street name or latitude/longitude.  It then keeps track of straight line distance to that point and displays that distance on the map, as well as the straight line direction.  This will help us find things more easily I hope, and result in fewer missed turns at the end of our day's travels!  We drove down the east side of Mobile Bay; we were one lot away from the bay, yet could not see the water.  The drive through little towns such as Point Clear were interesting, but all we could see was trees....without driving down narrow roads to the bay with no guarantee we could turn around easily.

The trees are NOT unattractive; it's just our EXPECTATIONS that were not quite met.  :-)  We arrive in Foley not long after noon, and stop in the Walmart for a break.  The "Go To" feature worked perfectly, locating the Walmart to within 300 feet! :-)  This is only as helpful as our knowledge of the real location of the destination, but it makes navigation much easier, especially when coupled with another newly discovered feature;  Latitude/Longitude map notes Street Atlas will put on the printed "turn directions" maps we use.  Perhaps we will not have as many missed "go fish" turns near our final destination in the future?  :-)  We decided to drive to the seacoast, as we had the whole afternoon remaining;   I had already started the engine, and was just starting to roll when a man knocked on our window; he had questions about how to use our awning.  He had just bought a trailer with the same one, and could not figure out how to use it.  We stopped and provided a demonstration.  They had bought their trailer used from a dealer, and did not have the advantage of careful instructions from the previous owner that we had.  They would be using theirs as a construction trailer on a lot they were building on, so were not as interested in the "anti-unfurl" rope we have rigged on ours to prevent unrolling while driving, but were quite appreciative of the demonstration.  They had been told wrong use instructions by their dealer .....  :-(  We then drove the 8 miles to the Ft Morgan parkway, and the 22 miles along the beach to the fort. The drive was a bit disappointing after Gulfport; very little of the beach was visible from the road.  Trees on private property obscured it. There were few available  places to pull off and park.  Near the Fort there were several high rise apartment buildings, then a helterskelter mix of buildings on stilts next to trailers, next to handsome block construction. The appearance was of uncontrolled development...but who knows for sure.  The ferry landing and Fort admission were at the same gate, and we asked if we could turn around inside, as there was no other place.  We decided we did not need to see this fort for $8; it was too hot to walk anyway!  The ferry dock was small and primitive compared to the ones we had used on the outer banks of NC.  Of course, this ferry only cuts off 45 minutes of driving, and is probably much less used.  We did not see the boat.  We drove a narrow asphalt road to the beach, but at the end there was no place to park; we backed out 1/4 mile to the state highway rather than risk wheels in the sand to turn around.  We decided to have dinner at the only convenient place we had found; a boat launching ramp 8 miles before the ferry landing.  I took Purry out for a walk while I took pictures...he did NOT want to stay.  I took him down onto a TINY patch of sand at the waters edge, and he LEAPT up this sloping rock retaining wall, pulling hard on the leash.

 There is a LOT more life in the old guy than we give him credit for!  I was being devoured by "no seeum" gnats, so picked him up when he got tangled in briars at the top, and we both retreated hastily to the motorhome.  'Nuff of THIS outdoors!  The gnats were small enough to crawl through the screen, so we closed the side windows, then ran the air conditioner again while heating the beans in the microwave for dinner.  The burritos we made with fresh cut cheese and vegetables were DELICIOUS!   It was nearly dark when we finally finished dinner and dishes, and we both were eager to leave this buggy place.  The drive back to civilization was pretty, with the nearly full moon, and we passed numerous campgrounds; I cannot help but wonder how they deal with the gnats though....  On the boat we used to saturate our screens with diesel fuel to keep them from crawling through...I guess we have gotten old, as the thought of living with the smell of diesel fuel in our motorhome is now DECIDEDLY unappealing!!  However, we have the advantage of  fast moving wheels to get us out of this waterfront area that sailboats do not have;  we ROLL those wheels!  We stopped on a mall parking lot a few miles from the water to watch the last part of the news, then drove on to Walmart to buy groceries and fuel.  Alabama Murphy/Walmart gas stations do not offer the usual 3 cent discount for use of the Walmart gift card, but we expect even higher prices in Florida, so we top off.  We are a bit late to bed, and plan an early departure in the morning, as the day's drive is over 250 miles with an overnight planned in Apalachicola National Forest;  if we are to find a spot it is essential to arrive well before dark.

Plans: We will be making all possible time driving through the Florida panhandle, but intend to take the coastal route; we have been through here too often on I-10 to skip it again, unless it gets impossibly slow.  We plan a dump/water stop Saturday evening, then a visit to see our new grand nephew on Sunday.  :-)  From there it will be two days to Fort Myers, where we prepare for storage and the drive home Saturday/Sunday Nov 14/15.  This will be the last webpage update until after we arrive home.  Change 1 to plans: We started out early along the coastal route, but it was such a hassle with traffic lights, low speed limits, and complex driving directions, we decided it was NOT worth the hassle.  The route put us on I-10, and at a rest stop we decided to continue on the super slab the rest of the way to central Florida.  This gave us leisure time for a nap and necessary chores like greasing the RV  (even THAT beats long days of slow driving).  :-)  We arrived at the Tallahassee  Flying J just at dusk, having lost an hour of our day to the time zone change, and being VERY glad we had chosen this route over slow but coastal.