After five days on Padre Island in the National Seashore we moved to San Antonio yesterday. At Padre we got lots of wind and the skies would be cloudy and foggy a lot. We found that the weather is not reliable as of yet. We got two beach days while there, and also got to tour the USS Lexington aircraft carrier and went to the Texas State Aquqrium. The regulars tell us that the end of February brings steadier warm weather and sunshine. We decided to move on to continue our itinerary. Before we left the Island we visited with Betty Goodfallow's cousin Snooky Lueger. We had a very nice visit but missed Paul as he went to the library earlier and was late coming back. Lueger's have spent the past 15 winters on Padre Island and love it.
Today we came to Guadalupe River State Park just north of San Antonio and met up with Bill and Barb Wright for some more camping together. We plan on touring the city with them for the next few days. The weather here is much drier although a bit cooler as well. 40 degrees this morning warming to 68 this afternoon. And sunny!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Greetings from Padre Island
We've been in Texas since Monday. We have poor Internet connectivity because we haven't been able to get our air card working properly yet. I have been relying on the park's WI FI and tonight am using the WI FI at McDonalds. We are camped on Padre Island near Corpus Christi at Padre Island National Seashore. There are seventy miles of beach on the gulf here that are undeveloped and natural. This is the longest stretch of undeveloped seashore in the U.S.
We have had wonderful weather with temperatures in the high sixties and seventies. We had a big rain storm yesterday but it dumped four inches of rain and moved on. We can;t complain because I figured that would have been about 20 inches of snow up in Michigan.
Traveling has been good with no problems and we are enjoying seeing new country this trip. We saw farm fields in Texas yesterday that stretched as far as the eye could see into the horizon. I have never seen so much cultivated land without anything to break it up in all my life. I guess things are bigger in Texas! Tomorrow will be a beach day with sunny skies predicted. When I get a good Internet signal I will post some pictures. But for now I just want to wish everyone well.
We have had wonderful weather with temperatures in the high sixties and seventies. We had a big rain storm yesterday but it dumped four inches of rain and moved on. We can;t complain because I figured that would have been about 20 inches of snow up in Michigan.
Traveling has been good with no problems and we are enjoying seeing new country this trip. We saw farm fields in Texas yesterday that stretched as far as the eye could see into the horizon. I have never seen so much cultivated land without anything to break it up in all my life. I guess things are bigger in Texas! Tomorrow will be a beach day with sunny skies predicted. When I get a good Internet signal I will post some pictures. But for now I just want to wish everyone well.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Saturday in Louisianna
We are on our third day at Sam Houston Jones State Park on the western edge of Louisiana. Planning on spending super bowl Sunday here then moving southwest to the Texas shore. The weather has been beautiful with blue skies and temperatures at around 60 in the day and 40 at night. The next few days are bringing warmer weather.
We are camped with the Wrights until we leave on Monday. They are headed northwest to San Antonio and we are headed southwest. We have had a great time with them and plan on exploring the area today. The day will take us to the town of Lake Charles and then down to the coast at Holly Beach. The Creole Nature Trail is a loop that goes through the Louisiana's outback and we don't know what to expect. From my reading I learned that this area has been devastated by Hurricanes Ike and Rita and that it is slowly recovering, but will never be rebuilt totally since the government has put tough restrictions on rebuilding along the coast.
We are also celebrating Nancy's birthday today as she has caught up to me in age. Hope everyone is well wherever they may be!
We are camped with the Wrights until we leave on Monday. They are headed northwest to San Antonio and we are headed southwest. We have had a great time with them and plan on exploring the area today. The day will take us to the town of Lake Charles and then down to the coast at Holly Beach. The Creole Nature Trail is a loop that goes through the Louisiana's outback and we don't know what to expect. From my reading I learned that this area has been devastated by Hurricanes Ike and Rita and that it is slowly recovering, but will never be rebuilt totally since the government has put tough restrictions on rebuilding along the coast.
We are also celebrating Nancy's birthday today as she has caught up to me in age. Hope everyone is well wherever they may be!
A pileated woodpecker was eating berries while hanging on the branches of a bush.
The Geico lizard was hanging around in the Laundry Building.
This looked like holly, but the leaves are different. Bright red berries stood out in the woods along the Orange Nature Trail at SHJ State Park.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Touring LA (Louisianna)
Today got off to a rocky start as we had a big cold front come through and thoroughly douse us with rain and then drop the temperature from 74 to 58 in just a couple of hours. By 11 o'clock the rain stopped and we were able to get outside.
We are starting to know our way around here near New Orleans. We've toured the city and today we toured the bayou country. On Tuesday we went the Cafe Du Mond for their chicory coffee and Baguettes. Then we walked to the French Market and walked around through the flea market booths and the food bars. We wound up having lunch there and tried their Mouflette and gumbo. Great eating! Later we took a streetcar ride through the Garden District on St. Charles Street and went through some affluent neighborhoods and went past Tulane and Loyola universities. It was a very scenic ride and interesting to see how the trolley system works.
On Wednesday we waited out the rain then took a ride to the Jean Lafitte Nature Area. This is a preserve in the bayou country of the Mississippi Delta region. We learned a lot about the history of southern Louisiana and how the canal ands levy system is washing out this part of the state.
Here are a few pictures from the past two days...
We are starting to know our way around here near New Orleans. We've toured the city and today we toured the bayou country. On Tuesday we went the Cafe Du Mond for their chicory coffee and Baguettes. Then we walked to the French Market and walked around through the flea market booths and the food bars. We wound up having lunch there and tried their Mouflette and gumbo. Great eating! Later we took a streetcar ride through the Garden District on St. Charles Street and went through some affluent neighborhoods and went past Tulane and Loyola universities. It was a very scenic ride and interesting to see how the trolley system works.
On Wednesday we waited out the rain then took a ride to the Jean Lafitte Nature Area. This is a preserve in the bayou country of the Mississippi Delta region. We learned a lot about the history of southern Louisiana and how the canal ands levy system is washing out this part of the state.
Here are a few pictures from the past two days...
New Orleans sky line across the river
What it says!
Inside the French Market. Vendor stands and a flea market.
The corner of St Anne and Bourbon Street
A jazz park where live performers played through out the day.
One of the ritzy homes on St Charles Street in the garden district of NOLA
One of the many street cars
On Wednesday we walked on the boardwalk through the wetlands of Jean Lafitte nature preserve.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The City of New Orleans
We took another trip into town to walk the River walk and then to see the French Market. While we were walking around we went through the area where all of the sports networks were setting up booths and doing pre-game shows for the Super Bowl. Exciting stuff!
Here are a few pictures ...
Here are a few pictures ...
St Francis Parish
Nawlins skyline on the Mississippi River
We are at a fountain on the river walk
Who is that joker?
Paddle wheel on the Creole Queen river boat
Bubba Gump (remember him?), Shrimp Co.
Superbowl seats for only $350!!
Shooting a pre-game show.
The set for sportscast.
Carriage Rides on the boulevard
Near the French Market
Monday, January 28, 2013
Checking In
We arrived in New Orleans yesterday afternoon. Our trip has been good and we haven't had any trouble other than slowdowns on the freeway for various reasons.
We were out of the snow by the time we got to Louisville, Kentucky. Traveling on I-65 was good until we hit the mountains north of Nashville. They had an ice storm there and traffic was stopped in several places due to accidents. Slow going, but we made it through. We spent our second night south of Nashville on the Natchez Trace Parkway. We had a free campground with nice facilities although no showers. When we arrived at camp it was a balmy 36 degrees, but cooled down to about 28 overnight. We were warm in the camper with the heater going and our covers piled high on the bed.
We spent the third night in a state park south of Jackson, Mississippi. The weather by this time was 62 and sunny. We spent a much more comfortable night before driving to New Orleans on Sunday.
We met up with Bill and Barb Wright at Bayou Signette State Park, just outside the city. Temps here are in the seventies. We finally found warmth! We spent the evening in town walking on Bourbon Street and taking in the music, the ambiance and the party mood of the beginning of Mardi Gras.
We will spend the next few days exploring this area. They are preparing for a busy time here with the Super Bowl coming up on February 3, then Mardi Gras continuing until Ash Wednesday.
We were out of the snow by the time we got to Louisville, Kentucky. Traveling on I-65 was good until we hit the mountains north of Nashville. They had an ice storm there and traffic was stopped in several places due to accidents. Slow going, but we made it through. We spent our second night south of Nashville on the Natchez Trace Parkway. We had a free campground with nice facilities although no showers. When we arrived at camp it was a balmy 36 degrees, but cooled down to about 28 overnight. We were warm in the camper with the heater going and our covers piled high on the bed.
We spent the third night in a state park south of Jackson, Mississippi. The weather by this time was 62 and sunny. We spent a much more comfortable night before driving to New Orleans on Sunday.
We met up with Bill and Barb Wright at Bayou Signette State Park, just outside the city. Temps here are in the seventies. We finally found warmth! We spent the evening in town walking on Bourbon Street and taking in the music, the ambiance and the party mood of the beginning of Mardi Gras.
We will spend the next few days exploring this area. They are preparing for a busy time here with the Super Bowl coming up on February 3, then Mardi Gras continuing until Ash Wednesday.
Friday, January 25, 2013
We're off to a great start!!
Today was the first day of our winter vacation. Let me tell you a little bit about it.
We spent yesterday dropping our cat off in Traverse City with Stan who was kind enough to offer to watch him for us so we don't have to lug him all over the country and share the trailer with him and his litter box. I was also wondering if he would ever get used to wearing a leash!
Then we went to visit with Nancy's folks in Leland and had a great dinner with them. Needless to say not much packing took place that day, although we did manage to get our taxes done and ready to submit and we filled out the form for mail forwarding.
(In all honesty, we did do quite a bit of packing and preparation on Monday and Tuesday).
After not getting much sleep last night worrying about the roads and all that we had to do, we got up this morning and started going through the motions of packing and getting ready to go. I first cleaned out the fireplace and built a fire pile ready to light for Laura and Sean when they get here in February. Nancy cleaned our bedroom and bathroom and got the bathroom stuff ready to go.Then, I poured a cup of coffee and took a couple of swallows. Nancy put sheets in the laundry to wash. Next, I put on my coveralls and snowblow(ed?) the driveway. I put out the mail and the notice to forward mail to Leland, then went back inside to have breakfast. After eating I pulled out the stepladder and swept snow off of the camper. When I tried to pull the tarp off I found that it was frozen to the top of the camper and wouldn't come loose. Luckily I have a hot water faucet in the garage so I hooked up the hose and tackled the tarp with hot water. After about fifteen minutes I had the thing loose and on the ground! Next was getting the bikes packed and tools and stuff packed in the truck.
Back indoors we got the last of the clothes packed and then when Nancy was done cleaning the house and refrigerator we started hauling the rest of our vacation goods out to the trailer. Nancy took up her position in the camper squirrelling things into any available nook or cranny, and I kept taking things from the house to challenge her skills. After I made the tenth and last trip, (this included emptying the refrigerator and freezer), we were well on our way to being packed.
Here's a math problem for everyone; how many 25 cubic foot refrigerator freezers will fit into a four cubic foot camper refrigerator freezer? (No fair looking up the answer, just don't open the door too fast or you might get caught in an avalanche) !!
While Nancy finished loading the sardine can, I hooked up the camper to the truck and we were ready to roll. But first we had to go in and shut off power to the appliances and turn the water off and open all the faucets and flush toilets. We turned the heat down to 55 and put some antifreeze in all the toilets. Hopefully we can get through the winter without freezing up!.
Finally at about 1:30 we hit the road. I should say we hit the snow because that's all we saw for the first hour and a half of our trip. The roads were a mess and snow and ice was the rue of the day. I skidded through a couple of our turns and did manage to climb hills with the trusty four wheel drive. We didn't see any pavement until we hit M-115 south of Lake Ann about an hour and a half into our journey. We drove in slush and sandy slush for the next forty miles until we got to US 131 in Cadillac and finally found dry pavement.
We finally had smooth sailing all the way to Indianapolis, and we arrived at our hotel at 10:30! We had bowls of soup for dinner and sat and watched TV. We wondered why the late show with David Letterman came on so early. (Oh, I guess it is 11:30 AFTER ALL)!!
Well I hope the rest of our vacation gets better as we go. Tomorrow we are hoping to be in slightly warmer weather as we will be camping. Tonight we are spending the 18 degree night at a Hampton Inn.
Safe travels to all!
We spent yesterday dropping our cat off in Traverse City with Stan who was kind enough to offer to watch him for us so we don't have to lug him all over the country and share the trailer with him and his litter box. I was also wondering if he would ever get used to wearing a leash!
Then we went to visit with Nancy's folks in Leland and had a great dinner with them. Needless to say not much packing took place that day, although we did manage to get our taxes done and ready to submit and we filled out the form for mail forwarding.
(In all honesty, we did do quite a bit of packing and preparation on Monday and Tuesday).
After not getting much sleep last night worrying about the roads and all that we had to do, we got up this morning and started going through the motions of packing and getting ready to go. I first cleaned out the fireplace and built a fire pile ready to light for Laura and Sean when they get here in February. Nancy cleaned our bedroom and bathroom and got the bathroom stuff ready to go.Then, I poured a cup of coffee and took a couple of swallows. Nancy put sheets in the laundry to wash. Next, I put on my coveralls and snowblow(ed?) the driveway. I put out the mail and the notice to forward mail to Leland, then went back inside to have breakfast. After eating I pulled out the stepladder and swept snow off of the camper. When I tried to pull the tarp off I found that it was frozen to the top of the camper and wouldn't come loose. Luckily I have a hot water faucet in the garage so I hooked up the hose and tackled the tarp with hot water. After about fifteen minutes I had the thing loose and on the ground! Next was getting the bikes packed and tools and stuff packed in the truck.
Back indoors we got the last of the clothes packed and then when Nancy was done cleaning the house and refrigerator we started hauling the rest of our vacation goods out to the trailer. Nancy took up her position in the camper squirrelling things into any available nook or cranny, and I kept taking things from the house to challenge her skills. After I made the tenth and last trip, (this included emptying the refrigerator and freezer), we were well on our way to being packed.
Here's a math problem for everyone; how many 25 cubic foot refrigerator freezers will fit into a four cubic foot camper refrigerator freezer? (No fair looking up the answer, just don't open the door too fast or you might get caught in an avalanche) !!
While Nancy finished loading the sardine can, I hooked up the camper to the truck and we were ready to roll. But first we had to go in and shut off power to the appliances and turn the water off and open all the faucets and flush toilets. We turned the heat down to 55 and put some antifreeze in all the toilets. Hopefully we can get through the winter without freezing up!.
Finally at about 1:30 we hit the road. I should say we hit the snow because that's all we saw for the first hour and a half of our trip. The roads were a mess and snow and ice was the rue of the day. I skidded through a couple of our turns and did manage to climb hills with the trusty four wheel drive. We didn't see any pavement until we hit M-115 south of Lake Ann about an hour and a half into our journey. We drove in slush and sandy slush for the next forty miles until we got to US 131 in Cadillac and finally found dry pavement.
We finally had smooth sailing all the way to Indianapolis, and we arrived at our hotel at 10:30! We had bowls of soup for dinner and sat and watched TV. We wondered why the late show with David Letterman came on so early. (Oh, I guess it is 11:30 AFTER ALL)!!
Well I hope the rest of our vacation gets better as we go. Tomorrow we are hoping to be in slightly warmer weather as we will be camping. Tonight we are spending the 18 degree night at a Hampton Inn.
Safe travels to all!
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