February 16 through February 22, 2002

The last report was sent Saturday February 16 from the parking lot of the Super Walmart in Boutte LA, where we had surprisingly ended our Friday travel earlier than planned and closer to our direct path of travel to Grand Isle State Park.  The cellphone signal was DIGITAL; weak, but nonetheless digital, and we were able to UPLOAD the main website with little difficulty.  Downloading was a much slower process thru this tower however, and some email awaits us next week, as the server repeatedly refused to transfer, and disconnected at the SLOOOW download rate.  This is the second weekend we did not have time to update the mirror site as well, so it is WAY behind the primary site.  After finishing the work we COULD do on the net (not much downloading), we headed for Grand Isle, most of the way a state road running along Bayou Lafourche.  The drive was interesting, with the roadway many times running only a few feet from the navigable waterway, with boats tied up at the bank, and fish houses, and marine facilities abundant in the small towns along the route.  Speed limits were understandably low in built up areas, but that made sightseeing easier for us.  We arrived in Grand Isle in early afternoon, after failing to buy the fresh shrimp or oysters we sought at any of the places along the way where we could find room to stop the RV; all were closed this Saturday, despite their displayed signs advertising shrimp and oysters. We found Grand Isle to be a town of vacation homes, fishing docks and oil refineries. We checked into the state park, and found lightly occupied campgrounds with no hookups, but fresh water and a dump station; PERFECT for our needs!  Note the offshore oil rigs visible on the horizon of this shot.

We selected an area with a few other RVs (keeping in mind the tourist bureau warnings about security in Lousiana), just behind a vegetation barrier from the beach, and settled in. It was not long before the first mosquito and no see um found us.  We had finally arrived in BUG COUNTRY!  We hurriedly renewed our screen door discipline, much to the disgust of the cats, and started slapping every one we could find in the RV.  I cannot IMAGINE how so many mosquitoes found their way inside in that short time, but they were there.....  We decided to seek a restaurant in town that opened at 5PM for soft shell crabs, and decided to drive the RV instead of biking.  Although there was not a lot of traffic, it was late enough that we would return after dark, the roads were narrow, and we had seen a number of drive through Daiquery places; no need to tempt fate.  The crabs at the Lighthouse restaurant were delicious, and Stacy our waitress was quite talkative.  She indicated her intent to move further up the Bayou, closer to New Orleans. Though she had been here 14 years, she did not appreciate the sand and salt that blew into everything, nor the threat of high water from both NE storms blowing across the Bay, or southerly storms off the Gulf. She said life on Grand Isle was hard, in either fishing or the oil industry, and many died in their 50's, with much cancer that she blamed on oil refineries. I could not notice much effect from the refineries dotting the horizon on land nor the oil rigs visible at sea, but the flaming towers burning off the refinery waste were quite evident.  

Stacy did not show her 40 years, but her belief that the refineries harmed folks here was real, and she intended to leave.  However, the waters in the ditches outside the refineries teemed with life; who knows where truth lies?  This lively blue crab lived in a roadside drainage ditch right outside the flaming refinery.  He sought refuge from big threatening me in...MY shadow.  :-)

Perhaps the refineries have cleaned up after exposing residents too much?  Perhaps the exposure to employees is higher and risky?  I know I like to be able to buy gasoline and fuel oil.......... but I also noticed the large billboard on the road advertising a new form of treatment for brain tumors.  YIKES, enough of this!

Sunday February 17 we decided to bike around Grand Isle.  We were surprised at the firmness of the beach; it supported the bike tires with almost NO penetration.  The sand appeared brown from the soil washed down the Mississippi.  

We enjoyed the observation tower and informative park display; it is interesting to note that Grand Isle is the ONLY beach resort along Louisana's 300 miles of coastline. We decided to stay another day here, and paid our $10 daily fee from the bikes on the way out of the park. We again missed the oyster vendor; his hours are morning and ours are much more  afternoon. I chatted with an oil worker who had just arrived at the Exon Gulf Support Center heliport, and was walking along the road toward town with his large "hockey bag" style duffle of personal belongings over his shoulder.  

He was back for 7 days off, after working 14 days on an offshore platform.  He said many opt for 7 days on, 7 days off.  We again experienced the incredible friendliness of the Louisiana people when Claire threw the chain off her bike, and got quite greasy hands replacing it.  A Cablevision truck with two employees stopped alongside us, and offered a very welcome wet handwipe to her through the truck window, then drove on.  That sure made the rest of the trip much more pleasant for her.  The folks here in the rural areas seem to anticipate others needs, and figure out how they might help....even in the driving, I notice they are willing to let me in if I signal, and one guy pulled AHEAD to let me pull behind him and correct a lane choice mistake I had made at a traffic light.  Not often do we see folks so aware of what is happening behind them.  We rode over 10 miles, and were quite ready to sleep after dinner.  We moved the RV forward, further away from the standing water and vegetation, in hope that we'd experience fewer bugs at the screen door while Claire cooked delicious blue cabbage with pork (German style).  The move must have helped; we still had enough blood left to enjoy it!  The cats enjoyed Grand Isle Park; especially Pookie who likes to walk at night and seldom gets the chance.  He does like to go close to the vegetation though, and provoked many disturbing (to us at least) noises from hidden wildlife.  Claire is much more willing than I to don insect repellant and take him walking after dark....

Monday February 18 the wind was up from the Gulf, and we opted for a walk on the beach instead of a bike ride.   Notice the  brick fort along the water's edge across the channel; it was built to protect this channel into the Mississippi River.  It never saw military action.

 We walked as far as we could without hacking through beachfront brush or getting our feet wet. The sky was clearer than previous, and I retook lots of pictures of the gulf seascape, with offshore oil rigs dotting the horizon.  We then returned to shower, and pack up to leave by the 1PM checkout time.  I took time for lunch; left over crawfish from our feed a few days earlier.  Still just Yummy!

On the way out we filled water and dumped our waste tanks.  I worked the waste tanks in the sun, as the mosquitoes were less annoying there, and noticed the midday sun here now is uncomfortably WARM, even though we need the furnace to keep the RV comfortable overnight!  We retraced our steps north along Bayou Lafourche, stopping at a place advertising oysters.  The man suggested Margie's Oysters, a place 12 miles north where we could get shucked oysters.  We found it easily from his directions, and  handed the lady $20 for the smallest quantity we could buy; one half gallon! She was quite nice, told us how to keep them and how she cooked them.  They turned out to be deliciously plump and quite large, and a bargain compared to supermarket prices.  We were taking State Route 24 into Houma, intending to overnight at the Walmart there.  We did follow the signs, but did not appreciate that the road ran one way on one side of a bayou (local term for ANY body of water here) and the other way on the other side, with limited bridges between them.  We got lost, and the GPS did not help much.  The map we had printed from the computer did not seem to help much either....not a lot of correlation between the map and what we saw on the ground.  We finally asked a police officer parked along the road, and he first wrote directions, then offered to lead us to 24 north where we had to be to find our way.  Folks here do seem VERY helpful!  Houma had been recommended to us as having the NICEST people by some residents who were camping in Grand Isle when we arrived.  We continued trying to follow the computer generated directions to the Super Walmart here, with more problems. Road signs were turned around, confusing us, but finally we found the familiar blue sign we sought.  When looking at our track on the GPS, it appeared we drove over some miles of land with no roads.  Apparently at least PART of the problem here is recent development not on the map.....  :-)  After Claire cooked a marvelous New England oyster stew using 1/4 of our aquisition of the day, we visited the bookstore in the shopping center adjoining Walmart where Claire bought a night sky star book.

Tuesday February 19 we drove toward Lafayette LA, taking the fastest way, with a stop at Avery Island to visit McIlhenny's tabasco sauce factory.  The free (after 50 cent bridge toll) factory tour was interesting, and my eyes could tell there was some pepper in the air... :-)  We stopped at the "Company Store" where we could sample tabasco products on pretzel sticks, found them on sale at under supermarket prices, and bought a few bottles.  It would be easy to overstock here; this stuff goes a long way! The gifty items here were NOT bargains!  The factory tour took us about an hour, and we chose to skip the island tour, although there was a salt dome with salt mining operation and numerous oil wells on the island, as well as McIlhenny's pepper seed growing operation and an egret sanctuary.  Most of the peppers for the sauce are grown, ground, and packed in barrels in Central America, then shipped to Avery Island for the 3 year aging and bottling.  I still find it INCREDIBLE that they bottle half a million bottles of tabasco sauce a DAY here..... We continued our drive to Lafayette, and found the Walmart easily despite our fears that the computer generated map seemed to have all the attributes of the Houma map we had used Monday; the split northbound and southbound roadways connected by bridges were all there as the map said this time, as was the Super Walmart.  We selected a spot, then noticed it was only 2 PM.  We decided to visit the Jean Lafite Acadian Cultural Center immediately instead of tomorrow as planned.  We had passed the road to it on the way, so retraced our steps.  The sky looked dark and threatening to the northwest, so we took an umbrella into the center.  There were friendly staff and a number of interesting exhibits here relating to the tragic suffering of the Acadian people deported from Nova Scotia during the numerous wars between France and England in the 1700's, and the life they picked up in southern Louisiana.  The Cajun people can be proud of their accomplishments here, and their heritage!

 These folks here seem to still feel the pain of exile; I do not fully understand, but then this is not part of my background.  I do not fully understand monument row in Richmond either, and probably never will.  My tendency would be to try to forget this sort of tragedy, put it behind me, and move on.....  We did notice that a great number of the people we met in New Orleans and Southern Louisana spoke to us with a light French accent, but all were extremely friendly and accomodating toward us. We drove back to Walmart's and picked up the same spot we had vacated several hours earlier. Claire started dinner, and we soon heard a horn blow outside; the Walmart security guard asked us to move to the side of the lot, with door facing the store, where he could keep a better eye on us overnight. We certainly were happy to oblige!  He patrolled frequently; we could see his flashing light pass in the dark.  It rained HEAVILY during the night; the noise of rain on the roof and thunder was unusual.  We had decided that we would move on tomorrow, into Texas.  Our mail should arrive by Friday, and we would like to be positioned to pick it up then.

Wednesday February 20 we started early (for us), and were on the road by 9:30 AM;  we had over 4 hours of driving planned. The drive on I10 in Louisana and East Texas was ROUGH; not quite as bad as I40 thru Arkansas last August, but still rough.  We stopped at the Texas welcome station just west of the Sabine river forming the Texas-Louisiana border to collect pamphlets on the attractions of Texas;  there were a LOT of pamphlets to look through as one might expect for a BIG state.  They also had an interesting boardwalk over Blue Elbow swamp;  we spent over an hour here before continuing toward Houstin.  They seemed to have an abundance of turtles enjoying the warm sun.

This boardwalk had some of the best signs depicting the life of the swamp we have seen, including this poster on recognizing poisonous from non poisonous snakes. (No, I'm still not gonna pick any of them up....

We had picked out a Super Walmart in the Houston suberb of Pasedena to overnight, convenient to our Johnson Space Center destination. We noticed a sign forcing vehicles with propane to exit at a certain exit in Beaumont TX; we followed the directions, but after the exit no other guidance was given on the signs. We were on our own.....   Claire started the GPS to let it aquire, and  hurriedly opened all our maps looking for details on Beaumont.  She determined we were going to go the wrong way and miss I10 if we did not turn back at a certain road, but still could not find the reason for our being forced off I10; it seems it must have been a tunnel under Beaumont harbor, but the maps including the Street Atlas computer map program we had did not indicate such. Oh well, we found our way back onto I10 and continued as planned.  The rough road made for TIRING driving, and we planned to switch drivers at a rest area just east of Houstin;  Claire would drive the last leg through city traffic while I navigated.  Alas, the rest area was CLOSED due to road construction.  I needed a break, and we tried to switch at a service road; I got confused and missed the entrance back onto the highway; we were lost in Houstin. :-((  We switched fast, stopped on the service road, then Claire found a way to get back on I10...but eastbound.  A few exits later we could reverse direction and resume our journey as mapped.  We do find the computer mapping software AMAZINGLY knowlegeable about local restrictions on turns, one way traffic, and such in urban areas; when we let it plan the route, it usually picks the best way even when it looks STUPID on the printed out map.  As long as we can follow the planned track it lays out, we have an easy day finding what we seek.  When the map information is somehow WRONG (new roads, renamed roads), or we fail to follow the directions as planned, driving gets a lot more tense.  It would be a lot less fun travelling in this vehicle without it, fer sure!  We found the Walmart we were seeking in Pasedena without further difficulty.  We were both glad to end the driving this day!  Claire prepared macaroni and cheese, while I made a few essential purchases at Walmart.  I spoke with the secutity guard, who had no problems with our staying where we had parked at the edge of the lot.  He said a few cars were stolen here, but expected we would have no problems.  He was keeping a watchful eye on the parked vehicles.  We retired early this night!

Thursday February we arose early to prepare to visit Johnson Space Center; we had a 12 mile drive, and allowed an extra 15 minutes for rush hour traffic.  We did not find much rush, but road constructiuon on NASA Road 1 consumed the extra time and we arrived just at the opening hour amongst a covey of yellow school busses with classes of visiting grade school children .  We managed to gain entrance, went through a search similar to those at airline gates, and Claire asked the greeter for the best way to see the center and avoid the crowd of kids.  She received the PERFECT answer; take the tram tour of the Space Center first.  The first tour was not full, and was all adults or families. Later we noticed LONG lines waiting for the tram tour. We were somewhat dissapointed that Mission Control has been closed to visitors since 9/11, but it is understandable.  We were also not permitted to leave the tram unless under strict control of the tour guide; picture opportunities were thus rather haphazard.  We were permitted to photograph anything we wished, but often could not get the best unobstructed view from our seat on the tram.  NASA maintains extensive websites which will have better pictures by far than we could take;  http://www.nasa.gov is the main homepage and the International Space Station is covered by the NASA website http://spaceflight.nasa.gov  much more fully than I can cover here.  My impressions of the Space Center; it was quite a thrill to actually TOUCH a slice of moon rock, although it was obviously covered with a sprayed on coating of some kind, and had a display cage that forced you to reach under, then up to touch it.  :-)  Our total inventory of moon material returned is a bit over 840 pounds; not enough to support a fingernail full for every visitor here, so I guess I understand the precautions.  I'm glad I do not have to deal with the public......  I thought the center was totally team NASA; always supporting the NASA image that the space effort is worth the cost, and necessary for our future as a society.  It was well done, emphasizing the need for mathematical and technical study, and obviously intending to inspire kids to want to grow up to be astronauts.  One theme that probably will NOT show up on the NASA website is this "Gross Aspects of Space Flight" exhibit, which covered the topic VERY thoroughly in a manner intended to appeal to (and thereby educate) kids.  Yeah, I know...they skipped some I know too......  :-)

We were glad we went here, despite the $15 admission for each of us the and $4 for parking.  I was surprised at the cost, but the Center claims to be only "self supporting", not an income center for NASA.  :-)  The food service and gift costs were VERY high;  we were quite happy with the lunch we had brought in with us, and the eating area was pleasant. By 4PM we had seen as much as we could absorb in one day, and left the center for the planned 35 mile drive to the Angleton TX Super Walmart WITH gasoline.  We found the Walmart without incident, and were happy to see that for once we had made the right choice; the 96.9 cents per gallon price was the lowest we had seen since Florida, and the Seabreeze was thirsty.  We filled immediately, as we were below the 1/4 tank threshold that allows us to run the generator, and had a quick dinner of leftovers.  The sky had been dark to the north since we left Houston, and cooler weather was forcast for tomorrow.  Despite the opinion of the local I talked to at the gas pump that the front would stay north of I10, the wind soon came up so hard that the RV moved with the gusts, and the bicycle straps were clacking against the ladder; the RV door was pulled right out of my hand as I went out to secure them, slamming HARD against the side of the vehicle.  It must have been blowing at least 40 knots!  I was happy to return to the relative calm of the RV interior as fast as possible.  We soon retired, and it rained during the night.  As it cleared, we sought the extra blanket stored in the closet and turned on the furnace.  The front had definitely pushed south of I10!

Friday February 22 we called the Post Office in the morning to check on the mail. They informed us that they could NOT tell us if there was mail there for us; we would have to come in and identify ourselves in person to find out.  :-(  We decided that it SHOULD be there in 7 days, so we drove the 40 miles to find out.  After seeing our ID, the clerk found our mail which had been there since the 19th.  She said if we called saying we HAD mail there, and asked them to hold it beyond the normal 15 days, she could do that.  She just could not confirm whether or not we HAD mail there.  Why is everything (even the simplest thing) always HARD???  :-)  We looked through the mail, and made and mailed a package for Carol with her mail and a few surprises.  Cellphone service in Bay City was analog, though most bigger towns we went through in Texas have had digital service.  We decided we could drive another 4 hours and be in Corpus Christi at another Super Walmart by evening, in time for hopefully digital cellphone service on Saturday.  We mapped the trip and started out; roads were good, though a few were narrow but traffic was light enough to take more than our share of the road un til we saw a vehicle coming MILES away in the flat terrain.  One semi even put his WHOLE set of right wheels on the grassy shoulder at 60 MPH to give us room;  THAT is friendly driving!! Most of the drive was through rural areas with mostly open land, lots of cattle, some horses, quite a few working windmill waterpumps,

a few towns, two oil drilling rigs (where is the camera when you need it?) and of course, plenty of OIL REFINERIES which popped up unexpectedly like giant erector set structures over the brushy rural East Texas landscape.  

We arrived suddenly in Corpus Christi, and RIGHT AWAY there was the Walmart.  The computer map had not been able to precisely locate the address; it appears the city expanded to the north, and the maps have not caught up.  Claire expertly maneuvered to the nearby left exit from the highway, and we happily pulled in and parked in back near another RV, although there was a fire engine and police cars at the main entrance (no, we did NOT ask why....).  There was a moderate strength and quite usable digital cellphone signal here, so we must get ready to upload this website.  Claire did her usual fine job with dinner; turkey burgers, mustard greens and brown rice.  :-))  I am again ready to retire early.  Tomorrow is another GREAT retired day!!

Saturday February 23 dawned quite cool;  we put the heat on and snuggled back under the covers, and reawoke quite late for an internet weekend.  The connection proved slow, although it did allow mail to be downloaded fully and other necessary work to be done.  We have noticed ever since entering oil country in Lousiana that connections have been slower than normal.  I am wondering if the oil industry uses a lot of cellphone capacity?  We decided to move to another Super Walmart in Corpus Christi, closer to Padre Island State Park, where we will go tomorrow and for the price of daily admission ($3 each person) we can use the dump station and take on water, and hopefully have time left to bicycle in the park too.  We ended up with a traveling carnival across the street, and a bus from Mexico was parked in the Walmart lot next to us.  Campgrounds are not inexpensive here; it is a Winter playground for snowbirds from as far away as Canada.  We must  make some arrangements to stay in Brownsville next weekend, before this weekend's free minutes are history.  Often special events mean expensive or unavailable accomodations.

 Plans:

We have decided to take in the Brownsville Charro (Gaudy Days) Festival  next weekend, with music, dancing, horseshows, and of course FOOD; we expect a strong Mexican flavor here, and we can explore how we might walk/bike/bus into Mexico from Brownsville also.  The RV definitely does NOT go there!  After that, we can travel along the Rio Grande until we tire of it, then head for San Antonio and the Alamo, then perhaps the Texas Capitol, Austin, and eventually Big Bend National park before thinking about heading north in late March to Canyon De Chelly in Arizona for Indian ruins and hopefully the Grand Canyon.  We're still having a ball folks!  Hope you ENJOY!