050226-Fort Worth

050226 – Saturday

As a disclaimer, let me tell you if you expect this entry to be exciting or even entertaining, stop reading now.

This past week has been low key and just an attempt to keep away from the bad weather – which we were not successful at.

In fact, one morning, the thunder and lightning was so dramatic and loud, Peter actually was so scared or depressed that he did not come out from his hiding place (under the steering wheel) when I poured his food into his bowl.

One evening it was so warm that I had to use the air conditioner, and the next day it was in the 40’s.

We spent 4 days in Tyler, Texas to wait out the rains; one day on and one day off.
Peter really gets cranky when it rains all day and we are stuck indoor, and it is not a pretty sight.

We arrived in Fort Worth today with a dry morning but rainy afternoon and night. The prediction of no rain tomorrow is hopeful.

The most exciting thing I did was battle these giant mosquitoes with my swatter – I felt like King Kong on top of the Empire State Building swatting at the attacking airplanes.

Till next time,

Natchez,MS 

Abita Springs,LA 

050218 - Post Carnival

050211-Abita Springs, LA

After almost 2 weeks of non-stop activities, interrupted by a few days of illness, it was good to getaway to a quiet, peaceful place.

Since joining AOR campgrounds, we decided to try to get our money’s worth on this trip since we never know what the future holds.

Abita Springs RVP is about 80 miles north of New Orleans on the north shore of lake Ponchatrain. The quick way to get there is on the causeway, which is a 24-mile highway across the lake (the longest causeway in the U.S.) I don’t mind driving over water in a car, but when you are large, flat sided, with a high center of gravity, wide and difficult to drive with any crosswind, I chose the slightly longer, land-based route around the lake.

The park is a destination site – meaning a place campers come to stay a while something for months. For us it will be 6 days. It's woodsy and serene and the best part is a full time kitchen with daily meals at reasonable prices.

Our site was a long walk to the main house and the roadways are dirt and gravel. We took out the Batmobile for a test run and although there were areas of rough running we managed to do a run around the park to check it out. We noticed a small section across from the clubhouse connected by a bridge over a small neck of the lake and there were some empty spots. When we inquired it turns out they were electric/water only-no sewer hook-up. We decided to downgrade and move and it was a great move.

We have a great view of the lake (Shady Lake), with a large space and room for Peter.
A short walk across the bridge for lunch and dinner and they have a great large screen TV in a den-like setting.

The weather has been clear and beautiful but cold – low in 30’s and high in 50’s. I dress warm and Peter keeps his coat on.

By the way, the last days in New Orleans, my rolling walker had a breakdown. One side froze and would not fold in. I sent a poignant email to the president of the company and he had one of his service people arrange to have a brand new walker over-nighted to Abita Springs. What a great company – INVACARE - I highly recommend their medical products and customer service.

We moved on to Natchez, Mississippi – the oldest settlement on the river. The RVP was right on the river bank but had lots of gravel – the enemy of rolling walkers and Batmobiles. We only stayed 2 days – enough to get some laundry done.

We are staying 5 days at another park in our new membership – trying to cash in as much as we can. From here we are heading for Tyler, Texas and then Fort Worth to visit a friend.

The weather has been like a yo-yo … warm and rainy or cold and clear. I know it is colder in the east and raining in the west but here it is in-between, and really annoying. Oh, did I mention the mosquitoes – some of them are so big they should have numbers on their tails and registered with general aviation. They hover like rescue helicopters looking for survivors. I will say I am getting good at swatting them but when I miss they hide and really frustrate me.


Till next time.

Fat Tuesday-2 

Fat Tuesday-1 

050208 - FAT TUESDAY

050208-Mardi Gras

Fat Tuesday – the Rose Bowl Parade DAY of the Carnival holiday – the big show – is finally here.

And like the Rose Bowl Parade- regardless of what the weatherman forecasts, it is a beautifully sunny and warm day.

We get up early 7:30 am to catch the buses to the grandstands and prepare for a long day. It is predicted that the parades- and we don’t know how many – will last 8 hours or more – non-stop along the route.

Even before the official parades – there are groups of people in costumes, some pulling wagons, and some just walking around that are making their own parade. Everyone’s in some kind of costume, and one guy across the street from us is naked except for 2 coconuts on his chest and a grass skirt.

Six foot ladders with special seats for children to sit in on top of, line the parade route so nobody misses anything.

The first marching band approaches with a blaring rendition of God Bless America – and the crowd is on their feet cheering – and right behind is the first float from Zulu with 27 more to follow. The beads and stuff are flying and the crowd goes into bead frenzy – shouting and flailing their arms to attract and catch every trinket they can.

That’s how the whole day went without a let up except to grab a snack and a drink.

The only disappointment was the lack of lovely ladies baring their chests for beads. It seems we were in the wrong section for that activity.

One of our group told me he wandered over to Bourbon St. where the wild activities were, and he said he saw more tits than a dairy farmer.

I guess that area was too rowdy to take our tour group to.

By the end of the day, we were all exchanging names and email addresses, and wishing each other a safe journey to their next port of call.

We slept well that night, arose early, broke camp and headed out.

If it wasn’t for this organized rally –I don’t think Peter and I could have ever been able to enjoy or even survive Mardi Gras week. It was rainy, it was cold and I got sick, but I still wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Peter and I can now say we were at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Thank you CREATIVE WORLD RV TOURS.

050206-Tuesday - Sunday

050201- Tuesday

With last night’s weather report predicting heavy rain all night and day, we were not surprised to wake up to a noisy downpour. When I looked out the door, there were large puddles – small lakes – all around us, and you know it’s bad when Peter – who usually jumps out the door as it is opening – just stood on the top step staring at the giant puddle – trying to figure out how to get out without stepping in it.

Today’s plans called for a half-day bus tour of two southern plantations. I made us both a quick breakfast, and we then pondered on whether we should go or stay home. We finally decided that we might as well go, and it turned out that most of the camp had the same resolve.
A very hail and hardy group.

The rain got worse as the morning went on, but we tramped thru the mansions and grounds like troopers, and made the best of it. I was very proud of Peter for the way he behaved both on and off the bus. He has become the mascot of the group and since we sit in the first row on the bus across from the driver, everyone has to pet him as they get on and off. He loves it.

Tonight was an open night in which they were gong to bus us to the “Quarter” and turn us loose, but the general conscientious is that very few are planning to brave it in this rain. We will stay home, watch some TV – have a nice big pot of spaghetti and meat sauce and go to sleep early.

Tomorrow is breakfast at Brennen’s – and it supposed to be quite a treat – but we have to board the bus by 8 am – and then a ride on the riverboat Natchez.

050202 - Wednesday

Today was quite a full and busy day starting with an 8 am bus boarding. By 8:30, we were passing thru the doors of Brennen’s, prepared to enjoy a sumptuous breakfast. As we walked thru the narrow doorway, the restaurant seemed to expand as we moved on. To our front, a large garden area could be seen thru the floor to ceiling windows, and then as we turned right and then left we were in a large dining room. After breakfast, we needed to walk it off, and we did by strolling thru the “Quarter” towards the riverbank where the riverboat Natchez was waiting for us to board. Peter and I have traveled on this boat last time we were in new Orleans, but this was a great day for a repeat cruise since we got to be in a warm, dry cabin for a couple of hours. We spent most of the trip talking to 2 couples in our group about our individual adventures on the road.

At about 2 pm we were bused back to camp, where we got to get a short break.

By 4 pm we were on board another charted bus heading for bay St. Louis, Mississippi where Pete fountain was performing at the magic casino. This was a 90-minute bus ride but it was worth it. Pete fountain used to perform locally but recently retired and now only plays twice a week at this casino.

We started the evening with a typical casino buffet – lot’s of food, and tonight’s specially was shrimp – every kind you could imagine. Peter is getting the hang of buffet dining. He sticks his nose up as high as he can to the counter – he stays on all 4’s, and when he smells something he likes he looks at me with “please get that for me” look. It’s a good thing we usually like the same stuff.

Casino magic is a very large complex, with it’s own RV park, golf course, etc. People tell me you can enjoy almost everything without leaving the grounds.

The rest of the evening we were entertained by Pete Fountain and his band and it was a fantastic experience. He is a true showman. In addition, john Goodman was in town for the Mardi Gras and did a little harmonizing and singing with Pete. Great fun.

Many of us slept on the bus ride home and crawled into bed quickly.

050204 –Thursday

The weather has finally dried up, but in exchange for that it has been colder than usual, in the 40’s daytime.
Nevertheless, the fun goes on. This morning we got to sleep in a little and our first scheduled even was lunch at the famous Court of 2 Sisters.

Also in the Quarter, and like Brennen’s, it was deceptively large inside, compared to the small, unassuming entrance off the street. This place is a lunch buffet set-up with everything you ever heard of from New Orleans. Everything was delicious and I don’t even know what half the stuff on my plate was.

From the restaurant, it was a about a half mile walk to the pick up point for our buses.
We had already walked the Quarter, and were not planning on buying any trinkets or T-shirts or antiques, so we just set our sights and trekked on. The cold weather and high humidity and slight breeze were not a good combination for the day. In addition, the streets are pretty old and irregular and my walker was having quite a workout trying to roll over cracks, potholes and cobblestone.

By the evening, I was feeling unwell, and opted not to go out. It turned out to be a wise decision and I did not go out for the next 3 days. Each cough turned into a painful rib-rattling explosion, and I turned the Beast into a sweat lodge for 3 days to break the fever-chills cycle. Of course I was fully equipped with all the necessities such as green tea, Cold-Eeze zinc lozenges, nasal spray, Drixoral, breath right strips, and Keflex to keep the bronchitis from turning into pneumonia.

As it turned out, all I missed was a day at the races, a visit to a cooking school, and 2 parades.

050206 - Sunday night

The fever is gone but the coughing lingers on.
This is our first night out in 3 days and while it feels good we are a bit leery as to the results of pushing it. While many of the friends we made on the tour were concerned about my illness and welcomed our return to the living, I found out that I was one of maybe 20 that had been taken down with flu and respiratory symptoms in the past few days.

Tonight we had reserved grandstand seats for 2 of the most popular parades this week; Bacchus and Orpheus. These parades were about 30 floats each and the “throwing” was amazing.
You actually had to keep your eyes and head moving all the time to keep from getting hit with beads, stuffed toys, small footballs, and anything else they decide to throw.

Since this was Super bowl Sunday, Bacchus decided to have their theme as the cities of the NFL so each float had some reference to either the their quarterback or team. Some of our group collected so many beads and stuff that they needed shopping bags to haul it away. We tried to limit our collection, but it wasn’t easy. We got back to camp late tonight – about 11 PM and decided to sleep in Monday and save our strength for Fat Tuesday.

Mardi Gras-2 

Mardi Gras - Sunday