Gadsden, AL

Thursday we arrived at the Noccalula Falls campground at Gadsden in the afternoon. The falls here at the campground were much larger than the other times that we were here due to the recent rains. Vic and Phil here got the news that his aunt had passed away, so they we didn't see them until Sunday afternoon because they were out of town for the funeral. Friday I did a little shopping for some hardware for the Jeep brake system that had come off on the road. Not a big problem, a cotter pin had worn out and a pin fell out. Lowes fixed me up with what was needed.

Saturday we got up early and went to a large flea market at Collinsville about 12 miles from here. We had been there years ago and finally made it back. We had a corn dog there for lunch and came home. We started a 1000 piece puzzle and finished it up today.

Sunday we met Vic and Phil at a Chinese buffet for lunch after Mass and spent the afternoon at their house.

Today we finished up the puzzle and then Vic and Phil came over after work and we fixed fajitas for supper and had some left over bread pudding that Janice had made on Saturday for dessert

Tomorrow we pack up and move to Little Tallaposa Park at Carrollton, GA. We will be there for the month of March.

Waveland and Meridian, MS

We arrived in Waveland on Monday and just kicked back a relaxed for the rest of the day, watching the gulf shore in front of the windshield. Tuesday morning I made a Wal-Mart run for a few groceries. By the time I got home, a storm was blowing in. The worst of it missed us, but we had strong winds into the night.

Today we drove to Meridian, MS. It was windy for the whole trip and we got a pull through site here at the Bonita Lakes RV Park and didn't unhook the Jeep, so we just fixed lunch and supper in the motorhome and relaxed. Tomorrow we should make it to Gadsden, AL to spend a few days with Janice's sister and her husband.

Eunice, LA

On Friday we packed up and headed to Eunice, LA. We have stopped there a couple of times before and really like the area. It is the center of Prairie Cajun culture and the food and music is great! We stay at the L'Acadie RV Park (pronounced lock-a-dee). Friday night was supper at Rocky's Cajun Restaurant. Boiled and deep fried shrimp and fish, and live Cajun music. 

Saturday morning I went down to a big flea market north of Lafayette and stopped at a Camping World there to pick up a couple of drawer latches. We spent the afternoon at the prairie acadian cultural center in Eunice. Historical displays, live Cajun music, and a cooking demonstration (with samples!), then next door to the Liberty Theater for a concert.

Today after Mass we had lunch at Rocky's again. Broiled fish for Janice and shrimp Etouffee for me. and a couple of bowls of Gumbo to go for tomorrow. Then we drove out to look at a herd of miniature deer that I had spotted yesterday. This farmer had quite a herd.

Then we saw signs leading us to Christine Richards grave, so we followed them. To learn more about her click here.

And finally a picture of me and a gorilla. Just because.

Tomorrow we move to Waveland, MS.

Another Night in Winnie

We headed out again today with the Jeep down to the Bolivar Peninsula. Heading south out of Winnie we crossed a couple of large bridges to get there. After we got there we discovered miles of empty beaches like this.

We spent quite a while there walking on the beach, and then found this old fort site. It was called Fort Travis and was built after WWI. There are a few of these gun batteries left standing there. The guns were mounted at each end of the batteries. This the back side of the larger one.

This is the view of the same one from the gulf side.

This is the smaller one.

There were a few of these located around the site.

This one was located on the edge of the water.

The gun mount at the end of the smaller one.

A row of colorful fishing boats near the fort.

Next was a ferry ride to Galveston Island. We had to wait here for awhile for the ferry.

And here it comes.

Loaded aboard and on the way.

Another ferry passing the other way

Riding comfortably!

There was a motorhome on the other side and a school bus behind us. We counted about 50 vehicles aboard.

The Jeep GPS says we are on the right track.

Janice watching for dolphins.

We pulled in next to this one and unloaded.

We had a late lunch on Galveston Island and then headed back to Winnie across this bridge.

Winnie, TX

On Tuesday we left Victoria and headed north through Houston.

We made it through the busy city without any trouble and in the afternoon we arrived at our planned stop at the Winnie RV park in Winnie, TX. I found the local post office and mailed off our tax info to our tax guy. We ate supper next door at the Waffle House and made plans for today. We reserved the site for two more days, and headed out in the Jeep to explore. We headed east to Port Arthur and then south to the gulf and crossed Sabine Lake over into Louisiana. It was an interesting drive. There are a lot of oil refineries in Port Arthur.

Here you can just see the up coming bridge in the distance.

Over the bridge and looking back at it.

There was a little barge traffic in the inland waterway.

This ship seemed to be pulled up into shallow water for some reason.

A new refinery was being built on the Louisiana side. It sure seems to take a lot of construction cranes to do the job.

We had a long drive along the shore in Louisiana. Most of it was undeveloped.

Most areas in Louisiana had canals on one or both sides of the road with a lot of pastures and rice fields.

Most of the buildings, including this church and school were built on stilts.

Some areas had sand beaches and some just a rocky shore.

A few places had some houses or weekend beach cottages along the shore.  Driving into one of these areas we spotted an alligator along the road, but he was too quick to let us get a picture.

We left the shore and headed up to Sulphur, LA and after a mid afternoon lunch there, back to Winnie. Tomorrow we are going to try to drive the Jeep south down to the Bolivar Peninsula.

Victoria, Texas

Today was the day to leave the Rio Grande Valley and head toward Georgia.  The volunteers here had a Valentine's day potluck last night so we were able to tell most of them goodbye there. One of the workers there gave me this picture a few days ago. The other guys in the picture are Reggie and Larry that I worked with here.

Most of the scenery today looked like this.

We were a long way from the border when we ran into this border patrol check station. Dogs were being used to check cars and they asked us if we were citizens and if we had any fighting chickens in the RV.

We saw signs about the King Ranch and looked it up on the ipod and found out that they had tours, so we stopped. It was an interesting hour and half tour.

The running w brand of the King Ranch.

Janice gazing into a live oak tree while waiting for the tour to start.

We saw a lot of horses and cattle, but most of the pictures were shot from the bus window.

Can you find two baby alligators in this picture?

This is the weavers studio where one of the employees made saddle blankets.

The spinning wheel for the wool.

And the loom for weaving.

On one wall was this collection of brands.

I couldn't get a clear shot of the huge house, but I cought these peacocks on the steps. They are said to help to drive away the rattlesnakes.

One of the old buildings on the ranch.

It was an unexpected stop, but we enjoyed the tour very much! Tonight we are staying at the Gateway to the Gulf RV Park in Victoria, TX.