North Texas

We are now in the town of Alvarado, TX....just south of Dallas / Ft. Worth.   The journey here from the easternmost coastal point in Alabama is scenic.   In the southern part of Mississippi we passed through the town of Hattiesburg....one of those places just about everyone has heard about but no one knows just where it is....including me.   It turns out Hattiesburg was voted one of the top 100 retirement destination towns.  This racially mixed community of 60,000 folks offers local arts and theater, the University of Southern Mississippi campus, a very diverse economy and it is less than one hour from the MS coastline.  Seems the town was started by a lumberman / engineer in the 1880s who named the town after his wife, Hattie.   (Makes some sense now!).   Hattiesburg is also the hub city for the Army's Camp Shelby, the largest training facility for the Army's National Guard contingents.

After passing through Hattiesburg we drove north to Jackson, the state's capital.   We drove around the city on some of the roughest roads we have experienced.....so while we cannot comment too much on the city itself, we can say unequivocally that they need to do some road work....and in a hurry.   The motorhome was shaking and rolling over the bumps and the very poorly designed and constructed highway to bridge transitions.   Enough of picking on Jackson.....from there we got on I20 West and headed toward our destination for the night in Shreveport, LA.   It was fun to drive over the Mississippi River, especially since it has been 40+ years since Pam has done that.   The remainder of the drive to Shreveport was pleasant.

After spending the night in a Shreveport Walmart, we moved on toward the Dallas area.   I was a bit concerned that morning as bad weather was forecast to come through the area.....rains, winds, a threat of hail and even a tornado watch.   We got back on I20W and kept the speed down a bit as we were buffetted by quite a lot of wind.   As the day wore on the wind worsened and more than once we were blown around....nearly from lane to lane....to the point where I thought a few times of stopping for the night short of our target stop.  But we slowed down and pressed on...arriving in Alvarado, TX just before 4pm.   That night we dry camped again and experienced the brunt of the weather front passing through.   All night long the wind whipped up...we found out next morning we had gusts of 55 mph!!   The slide out toppers on the motorhome were flapping and the wind was rocking the RV despite the fact we were sitting on sturdy levelers.  More than once during the night I wondered about getting up to bring in the slideouts.  A rocky ride indeed!   We awoke to calmer conditions next day but also to reports that places in the Texas Panhandle had upwards of 19" of snow....and some places in Oklahoma had received almost that much.   Thankfully, we did not have to deal with all that.

We have not been doing much sightseeing around the area as it is very developed with a lot of factories and the like.   We move on tomorrow to the German settled town of New Braunfels and then Friday on to San Antonio, where we will stay for a week.   There will be lots of photos coming from our sightseeing there, for sure.   Last night we made our way to Babe's Chicken House restaurant in Burleson, TX.   Friends Larry and Lainie had recommended it....and they were spot on!   We enjoyed large helpings of very good Texas Fried Chicken with all the fixin's....and the side dishes and home made biscuits just kept coming.   Hats off to Babes!!!

Babes of Burleson.


So, stay tuned for more from San Antonio followed by the Texas Hill Country.

FLORI-BAMA

Orange Beach, Alabama is adjacent to (the more well known) town of Gulf Shores.   Both towns are right on the Gulf Coast of Florida and Alabama.   A short drive from our RV resort (you will see from photos below why where we are staying cannot be referred to as a campground!!) is the Perdido Beach Blvd., which hugs the gulf coast from Gulf Shores some 30+ miles east to Pensacola.  The beaches all along the coast are wide with many dunes and sand that is talcum powder white.  There are some beautiful high rise condos along the blvd......the nice ones constructed of a 'sea foam' colored glass that is gorgeous.   Then there are those that if they were not located on the beach might be confused with Cold War apartments behind the iron curtain....just drab looking.   Unlike Myrtle Beach at least here there is space between the buildings so one can see a lot of beach when driving alongside.   There is a wonderful and very large Alabama State Park campground called Gulf Park that has a few miles of frontage along the blvd......the campground is fully booked out through mid March of 2014!   The snow birds have discovered this place. 

Here we are nicely in place in Lot 5A at Terry Cove Motorcoach Resort here in Orange Beach.  The resort is a private community where the 40 odd sites are individually owned and managed by an association of the owners.   Each site has full electric (50amp), water, sewer and cable tv hookups.   The community also has a strong wifi for internet access.....giving our Verizon Jetpack a rest for this week.  The facilities also include two pools, a recreational center and a full sized (free) laundry setup.   We are doing laundry  today for the second time this week....the operative word is 'free'.   (Some MHs have washer and dryers in them.....the Tuscany has a place for them, but I wanted the extra storage space to use for other things.....sometimes you do wish you had them for convenience, though).



The sites can be rented out by their owners, which is how we came to be here this week.   Each site has a shed for the owner to keep whatever items he / she wants on site while they are traveling and not here.   Each site also has a screened 'casita' or gazebo that is furnished....and some, like ours, inlcude a firepit.  As you can see, palm trees abound and the lawns are very well manicured....not to mention all sites are concrete and the roads are all brick.  Some folks own mulitple sites....one fellow owns 5 of them...mostly for rental income.  Not too shabby a place to find to spend a week on the AL coastline.

                                                                                                                                                                       

  As an aside, here is Ali with a front seat view out the MH windshield as we drive along the Florida Gulf Coast.   While she most often alternates between the blanket covered sofa and her 'throw rug' on the floor, sometimes she wants to be front and center.   To Ali's left is 'Randi', our Rand McNally GPS made specifically for RV's.   It is an amazing piece of technology that is programmed for our size, which then keeps us off certain roads where we may not have clearances, etc.   It is also connected to our Jetpack (wireless router) as are our computers and kindle, so it can alert us to both weather and traffic concerns up ahead.  Just amazing how things work today!!

While here we met up with Ron and Claudette Brown from Twin Mtn.....back home!!   We spent the day with them...visiting and touring the area.   They are here for their 5th consecutive year in a campground about 15 miles from where we are.   They treated us to a very nice lunch at a favorite haunt of theirs....Duck's Diner.   Easy to tell they are regulars as all the wait staff stopped to bestow hugs and kisses with them!!   The Browns are very nice folks and Ron in particular has a wonderful sense of humor.  He told me a story about Pam when she was with the bank in Whitefield.....Ron phoned the bank and Pam answered the phone saying "How can I love you today".....not how can I 'help you' mind....Ron and Claudette laugh like crazy whenever they think about that.....ha ha.   Good folks indeed.

This is our last stop at a beach location for awhile.....maybe for the remainder of this trip??   From here we push on into Texas, which is so big you have to be there awhile!!   Not all one sees at the beach is always a 'welcome sight'......here is an example:

Jellyfish

We like this area well enough to come back again next year for a longer stay.   To that end, we have booked the month of February next year at Perdido Cove RV Resort and Marina, a wonderfully located small campground with 9 pull in sites facing the intracoastal waterway.   We will have one of these sites to sit and while away the time watching all manor of watercraft go by...and if lucky, we are told one can be treated to dolphins swimming and jumping out of the water. 

The next several blogs will come from the big state of (Don't Mess With) Texas....with highlights from San Antonio (remember the Alamo!) and the Texas Hill Country.   Stay tuned to see if the penguins show up with their Stetsons!!!



 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



ST GEORGE ISLAND STATE PARK......

We arrived St George Island State Park 10 days ago....yup, in ten days we have not been able to adequately post to the blog (or do much of any internet really) given the remote location of the campground.   To access this very nice campground off the coast of Florida's Panhandle, you drive the 5+ mile causeway bridge to St George Island and then take a left and drive 4 miles to the point you see in the photo above.   A few hundred yards beyond this point we registered for our week long stay here and then drove still ANOTHER 4+ miles to the campground entrance!   Lovely and remote very adequately describe this Island State Park.

The Island is quite developed at its center, while the 10 miles of easternmost sections make up the State Park.   Excellent walking, biking and shelling on the beaches here....but unlike SC, FL has strict rules about dogs having access to the beach.   The only beach we could take Ali to was on the bay side where the waters are calm, the beach quite small and narrow and the sea life limited to some crabs. 

 

Here is Ali enjoying a dip on that bay side beach.   The dead trees scattered  along this bay coast of the island make for interesting interpretation....and the place can seem a bit 'spooky' when enveloped with fog or very late in the day as the sun goes down.

Above are two photos of us on the move to and from St George Island.....multiple bridge / causway connections are needed to get to / from the island to the mainland....this also applies to access to the island's nearest town, Apalachicola. 

 

Apalachicola  is a wonderful, out of the way, small community on Florida's 'Forgotten' Coastline.   It is beginning to be developed with several small shops and restaurants here and there in the small downtown area, but they co-exist with the shrimpers and oyster(ers) and fishermen.  It is good to see that (so far) the tourist stuff has not totally displaced the working waterfront in the town.   We liked this town a lot and will come back again....but we will likely find a campground on the mainland next time....one that is not so remote that computers and tablets don't work and phones barely do.

 



Yours truly driving......guess who grabbed the camera!!



Entering the main street of Apalachicola

 

 





Penguin Alert.........

Our penguin friends go to the Public Beach on St George Island.   The "dog waste" sign makes no reference to 'penguin waste'....so they will not have any problems!!





After a very nice stay at the Island campground, we were soon on the move again....our next destination.....Orange Beach, Alabama....just across the Florida line right along the gulf coast.  See you there soon.......the white sugar sands of Alabama beckon......

 

 

In closing.....did you hear the one about the mini cooper (NOT ours)...and the banana peel....???

 

One last thing..........the photo below is evidence that you never know what you might find / see while on the road.......

 

 



 

 

 



 

Internet not everywhere!

We love St.George Island....remote and lovely.  The price you pay...no internet. More next week from AL!

OFF TO THE PANHANDLE

The Penguins getting ready to depart Jacksonville for Appalachicola....

 

 

 

 

 



We have been in Jacksonville, FL for 5 days.  While the city campground we are in is okay, once you leave the campground you are consumed by the traffic of sprawling Jacksonville.   This very spread out city and its 1 Million folks are not our cup of tea....so  we are moving on a day earlier than planned.   We will split up our 5 hour drive to Appalachicola by stopping for one night at "Ellie Mae's RV Park and Lounge"  (figure that one out....we can't just yet) en route to Appalachicola.



We took one day and headed the hour plus south to St Augustine, as we both wanted to see it.   We had a good time but the city did not meet our expectations.   As the oldest city in Florida, we expected to see a bit more history than we did....instead, the center of the town was more of a tourist haven.   We put Ali on the leash, parked the car and walked the area for several hours.....stopping to enjoy lunch at Sara's Crepes.....yup, more crepes for Pam!

Ali and Pam sitting at Sara's Crepes....Pam enjoying a 'cuppa' (tea) and Ali has just finished a chewy bone (it doesn't take her long to eat one up).   Margarita Abramova, the owner of Sara's, is a Russian Emigre to the St Augustine area who began her business in 2011....and opening after just 8 weeks after signing the lease.   The Crepe Shop / Restaurant has been her lifelong dream.  She fell in love with Ali and wanted to take her home, so we kept a good hold on the leash!!

 

Pam & Ali talking to fellow tourists in St Augustine.

 

As you can see, Sara's ambience changes a bit as the sun sets on St Augustine....more folks coming in for the Hookah Menu than for the Crepes. (No, we did not try the hookah....although a few of the offerings were tempting).........!!

 



Pam and Ali "posing" by the gate of a fabulous local garden.
Ali is very good while waiting for us to amble on....after stopping to look into a shop window or to talk with a passerby.   A few of the shops even invited her in....and one provided a treat!   In several hours of walking around St Augustine, the  only time she faltered a bit was when she spotted the horse and carriage going by....she barked loudly and yanked the leash to its full 16 feet.....it took a few minutes to get her to calm down!

 

Time for me to get off the computer and grill the andouille stuffed chicken breasts while Pam prepares the squash and asparagus.  Of course, we have a fresh loaf of boule to go with dinner!!  Tomorrow we bring in the slideouts, bring up the levelers, hookup the mini and program the GPS for Appalachicola......stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 



 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





BLOG PHOTOS

TIP:  Photos in the blog are uploaded in a rather small format.   To view photos better just clik on the first photo in any blog entry and all the photos in that entry come up at the bottom of the screen.  Then, using your arrow keys, scroll through the photos as they appear larger on your screen....then you are better able to see detail.   

Lowcountry in the rear view mirror....Florida beckons

Blogging in Florida.....note who has the life of Riley while some of us work!!   My friend Ali taking it easy after a long walk on the beach.   The flowers on the table are by the way, Pam's.....not mine!  (courtesy of Amy Remick)

Our last campfire at Hunting Island in South Carolina.   We left HI with mixed feelings: looking forward to new adventures along our now Westerly route....but also saddened a bit to say goodbye to Beaufort and its surroundings.   We came to love the area and decided once our travel days come to an end we could easily spend winter months in the area....continuing to spend summer and fall months in the North Country of course.   Interesting to think about.....swapping the North Country for the Low Country....hmmm.


We are now in the Kathryn Abbey Hanna City Park in Jacksonville, FL.   The park is quiet when the Navy helicopters are not flying overhead....and it feels quite remote.   But drive the one mile to the entrance to the park and one is quickly reminded of the hubbub created by upwards of 1 million folks scurrying every which way.   Our plan is to visit historic St Augustine (one hour south) tomorrow....and then over the weekend possibly make the 60 mile trek to the Okeefenokee National Wildlife Preserve and Swamp in nearby southern Georgia.   We will let you all know in future blogs.

 Below is a photo of the interior area of the Beaufort Tidal Basin.   The large building in the center is the Beaufort Hospital....where Pam spent the night following her injury.   (Her room was the top floor, 5th window from the left).






Above is another view (looking away from the city) of the tidal basin, with the Lady's Island bridge in the background (and Parris Island, the Marine Corps training center, beyond the bridge). 





To close this blog edition, here are a few photos from Savannah, Georgia.   Lots of history in Savannah, the end to Sherman's march to the sea near the end to the Civil War.   Many beautiful houses in the city as well....a testimony to the wealth that once (and in many cases still is) located here.



Leopold's famous ice cream parlor.  It dates back to 1919 and
has the best ice cream!!

One of the many manor homes in Savannah.

A small cafe that gives discounts to Girl Scouts in honor of
Julette Gordon Low, the group's founder in the 1920's.

Stay tuned, Y'all.  Our blogs will continue as we venture West from this area....we can now say "see you next month", John and Alison!!!