Victoria, Texas - Day 22

Brand new KOA - Our site

Victoria, Texas - Day 21

As we were packing up this morning, I had to get some pictures of the local ducks.  They live in the RV park lake.

What kind of duck is this? 

Fall In - Morning Maneuvers

Almost Heaven RV wasn't quite heavenly in our book. There were pros and cons. Pros - great wifi, close to shopping and restaurants yet in the country. Cons - constant barking of dog next door, sites too close together and roads narrow, lots of ants and public roads leading to park ruined by constant travel of dump trucks. All in all, we probably won't return to this park.

In stark contrast, the park we are in tonight, is pristine, beautiful and brand new. The Victoria Coleto Creek KOA has only been open for a couple of weeks. The site is hard packed totally level white gravel with a separate parking spot for the truck. We have a patio, picnic table and even solar powered butterfly lights. Just to make it even better, a herd of deer come to graze every evening just across the road from our site. Too cool.

We are staying 2 nights here just south of Victoria.  Then on to Mission.  Finally.

Manvel, Texas - Day 20

A quiet relaxing day.  Oh except for the irritating dog next door.  When I say next door, I mean 8 feet away.

We went to a mall.  The mall was not an indoor complex like in Canada.  Instead all the stores are lined up on small streets simulating a downtown shopping area.  Very attractive.

We also went to my favourite American department store J C Penney or JCP as it is now known.  I bought a pair of shorts, a new top, a pair of New Balance running shoes and 6 pairs of ankle socks for a whole $64.  lol  The shorts were $2.10.

Then we went to Panera Bread for lunch.  What a nice place.  You can buy loaves of bread and baked goods to take home as well as soup, sandwiches and salads to eat in or take out.  The servings are very large and I brought home half my panini and a bowl of soup for supper.  Yummy!

Manvel, Texas - Day 19

We've made it to Texas...

The Lone Star State

 Here we are just south of Houston.  Small park with really tight sites and lots of ants.  We sprayed all over.  Despite my fears, the drive today was not bad.  We chose to travel the toll road - Sam Houston Freeway.  Cost us $15.75 in tolls - worth every penny.

We passed by several oil refineries along the interstate.

Our campground is out in the country but only 3 miles from a mall complex.  We enjoyed supper at The Olive Garden tonight and plan to check out the mall tomorrow.  I saw a JC Penney and a Panera Bread when we went to supper.

 A few more days and we will be in Mission.  We're getting tired of packing and unpacking every other day or so.  Can't wait to get set up for real.  Soon.

Kinder, Louisiana - Coushatta Red Shoes Casino RV Park - Days 17 & 18

Flashback to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.  This small town was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  Most of the town was destroyed.  The waterfront has been rebuilt with a levee the entire length of the beach.  The Highway 90 bridge was completely wrecked. A new bridge has been built.  It has won several awards.  Hopefully hurricane resistant.

Destroyed Ramp to old bridge - Perhaps left as a monument?

New Beautiful Bridge

Bay St. Louis Beach

Still boarded up - Across road from beach

Tree of Angels - Levee Boardwalk in background

Angel Closeup

A lot of the town has been rebuilt or restored.  However there are gaps and empty lots throughout the area.  Many of the houses are built on stilts to minimize future flooding.  I have heard advertisements for companies that will raise or even move your entire home.

House on Stilts

Atchafalaya Wildlife Refuge Swamp

 We passed through or I should say over the Atchafalaya Wildlife Refuge.  Interstate 10 travels through the park for about 20 or 30 miles.  The road is a bridge built high above the swampland to minimize disruption of the waterways and animals.  Very unique.

Is this sugar cane?

Yesterday we headed to Kinder, Louisiana and another casino RV park.  This park is a lot fancier than the last.  It has about 100 RV spaces and 100 cabin trailers as well as a normal hotel in the casino complex.  We have a shuttle bus available 24 hours a day to ferry us to the casino including any of its nine restaurants.  We had supper yesterday at the cafe and brunch today at the buffet restaurant.  Both were tasty, but I think the buffet in Bay St. Louis was nicer.

Chicken and sausage gumbo - a tasty local delicacy

Pool and club house just for the RV park

Today we did laundry, again.  The laundry facilities are in the clubhouse.  It is just as nice inside as out, with a lovely lounge with a fireplace, couches, tables and a large TV.  There was complimentary coffee and pastries laid out for the tasting.  We met several other rving full timers.  Wayne was out walking this afternoon and met a man from Mattawa.  For those of you not from northern Ontario, Mattawa is just 30 minutes east of North Bay.  What a small world.

We have had a good time visiting these casinos.  Didn't make out very well with the slots last night, but it was still fun.  Tomorrow. we head for Texas.  I am not too crazy about going to Houston.  Not a fan of large cities and busy highways.  Not sure how to avoid this one.  Oh well, it should be the last large city on our trip.  We're getting closer.

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi - Days 15 & 16

We're camping at the Hollywood Casino RV Park.  Shuttle to casino next door.  We both got haircuts today and enjoyed the large lunch buffet at casino.  It was extremely tasty.  Lots of choices including salad bar and lots of southern specialities.  All desserts are made on site.  Must have been about 100 different choices.  Dad wouldn't have got past the peel and eat shrimp.   I'm stuffed.

The WIFI here leaves much to be desired.   Actually I'm amazed to be able to post at all.

Friday we head to Louisiana and another casino.  Another casino, another buffet. lol

Oh we tried our luck at the slots.  Wayne won $5 and I spent $2.  Last of the big spenders.

Tree in Campground dripping with Spanish Moss.

Foley, Alabama - Day 14

Our time here in Foley is almost over.  We've been relaxing today.  I had a great pedicure.  While I was being pampered, Wayne was browsing at a large book store.  He stocked up on audio books and music cds.  We're both happy.  Lunch was a repeat visit to Firehouse Subs.  Really good subs - especially the Italian Meatball.

Tomorrow we hit the road again.  We have changed our itinerary a bit.  Couldn't find a camp near New Orleans so we decided to leave that city for another time.  Instead we are going to visit some casino RV parks.

24,25 Oct Hollywood Casino RV Park in Gulf Port, Mississippi

This will give us a new state sticker on our map. (We have a map on the side of the fifth wheel.  Every time we spend a night in a new state or province, we add the sticker to the map.)

26, 27 Oct. Coushatta Red Shoes Casino RV Park in Kinder, Louisiana

28, 29 Oct. Almost Heaven RV Park, Manvel, Texas (suburb of Houston)

30, 31 Oct. Victoria KOA, Victoria, Texas.

We were going to head back to the coast for our last couple of nights, but the park we picked was totally full.  The KOA in Victoria is brand new.  Only been open for about a week.  I don't think our mileage will change much with our change in stops, but we won't be backtracking to and from the coast.  If all goes according to plan we should arrive at Chimney RV Park in Mission, Texas on the first of Nov.

Well, I had better sign off and go start stowing stuff.   Amazing how much creeps out when you stay somewhere longer than a day or two.

Foley, Alabama - Days 9 to 13

Piggly Wiggly Sign

As promised, Piggly Wiggly. Not as dramatic as the huge 3 dimensional head we saw last year, but still makes me smile.

World Famous - Home of the Throwed Rolls

Waiter wanders around dining room throwing rolls at customers.  Too funny and the food is good too.

Our pool with hot tub

Day at the Beach

We spent a day at Gulf Shores Beach. It's 5 miles from Anchors Aweigh RV Park.  So beautiful and not at all crowded this time of year.  We had a great shrimp lunch and then went to a state park.  It has a very long pier.  We walked out to the end to watch lots of people fishing for Spanish Mackerel.  Super day.

Wayne on the Pier

View From Window at Restaurant

Wayne and I have really enjoyed our time here in Alabama.  It is so beautiful and the people are really friendly.  Might be someplace to come back to in the future.

Foley, Alabama - Day 8

We were up and out the door early.  Eight thirty and on the interstate.  Who kicked us out of bed? lol  Because we had such an early start, we decided to stop and have breakfast at Denny's.  Now that we have reached the ancient age of 55, we can eat off the "special" menu - also known as the Senior Menu.  I like the senior's omelet as it is made with 2 eggs not 3 and actually has vegetables in it.  Very tasty.

We arrived in Foley without any drama, but then couldn't find the campsite.  We found County Road 20 easily enough - no Anchors Aweigh RV.  Hmm.  Must be  in the other direction.  Nope not there either.  So I called the campground.  Guess what - there are two county roads labelled 20 and 20 south about a half kilometer apart.  Lola (our gps)  only has the first and we of course needed the second.  Okay, no problem now.

This is a very nice new campground.  It is less than 5 minutes from the hustle and bustle of town, but seems like it is out in the country.  Very peaceful.  Beautiful looking facilities.  Wonder if they have monthly or seasonal rates.  We'll check out the clubhouse, pool and hot tub today.  Yesterday we had to zip to the grocery as the pantry was bare.  Except of course for the 1,000 or so teabags and gallon of peanut butter that we brought from home.

We shopped at the Piggly Wiggly.  I'll take a picture of the logo the next time.  Amanda, didn't you do a project for this company?  I giggle to myself every time I see the sign.

Foley has an outlet mall.  It's the same company as the one in Cookstown.  We'll have to check it out.  Maybe today, as the weather forecaster is calling for thunderstorms this morning.  Speaking of mornings, I saw my first sunrise in years.

Wayne did the last blog.  He didn't add pictures, so I will back track to the Welcome to Alabama Center.  There is a huge rocket on the grounds.  A lot of the work for the Saturn era rockets was done in Alabama.

 Memorials to veterans of both Vietnam and Korea were also at the Welcome Center.  Good to see that the vets are not forgotten.

We have a week to explore this area.  Should be lots of fun with lots to see.  We are about 5 miles from the Gulf of Mexico beaches and about 30 miles from both Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL.  Many, many restaurants with an abundance of sea food.  Let's check it out.

Day 7 Clanton Alabama

Today was a long day, 255 miles, whew. Going thru Birmingham wasn't to bad, all we needed was Amanda Marshall on the radio. Got into Clanton around 3pm got set up & went for supper. Tomorrow we head to Foley, AL and a week off.

Last night however when we went to Cracker Barrel for lupper (lunch/supper) we were early for the specials. We ate went back to the campsite and realized we had changed time zones and lost an hour. So our lupper was more lunch lol.

Nashville, Tennessee - Day 6

Beautiful Hills of Kentucky

How did we miss Dinosaur World?

Tennessee - Another new state

We're spending the night in Nashville.  Wayne had to back into our site and did a great job.  We usually try to book a pull through for ease of convenience.

Tomorrow we will wander through Tennessee to Alabama.  I think it is the longest travel day we have left.  A whole 250 miles. lol

Shepherdsville, Kentucky - Day 5

Breakfast at this Classic  Denny's Diner

Today we played tourist.  Learned all about the making of bourbon at the Jim Beam Distillery.  Even tried some.  Wayne didn't care for it - but he didn't make the baby face. lol

Bourbon Distillery Tour

Corn, Rye and Malt Barley Mash

Bourbon stored for 2 to 9 years in charred oak barrels

Each barrel holds 53 gallons - 300,000 used each year

Quality Control Locker

Two bottles from each batch are stored in this area to allow checking if any problems or complaints arise.  The 4.5 quart bottles pictured are only sold in Australia.  Apparently lots of bourbon is sold in Australia.  Bottles this large are not legal to sell in the USA.

Barrel storage - 9 stories  high

Lots of fun today.  It was very windy off and on.  Thunderstorms in the forecast but none materialized.  Tomorrow we head for Nashville.

Shepherdsville, Kentucky - Day 4

Today we travelled 146 miles in about 3 hours.  We travelled around Indianapolis and right through Louisville.  We crossed over the Ohio River which separates Indiana and Kentucky.   The Louisville skyline is very attractive.

Home of the Louisville Slugger Bat

We are staying at the Louisville South KOA.  I think it is the most expensive KOA we have ever stayed at.  It is however very nice.

Our site complete with patio furniture

 The temperatures have warmed up considerably.  We have been basking in the warmth all afternoon.

Wayne's in his shorts.  Is he finished with pants for the winter?

Tomorrow we are going to do some touristy things.  We are going to do a tour of the Jim Beam Distillery and maybe a couple of wineries. 

So far we really like Kentucky.

Indianapolis, Indiana - Day 3

No rain today.  As they said on the weather forecast, abundant sunshine.  Yeah!  Still on the chilly side but crisp and clear.  We had an easy day today.  Only 150 miles (250 km) and no large cities.  We are camping at the KOA east of Indianapolis.  Tomorrow we will drive through both Indianapolis and Louisville.

We had a bit of excitement while setting up.  The trailer slipped off the pads we had under the wheels and legs.  That's never happened before.  This site is made of large gravel and is slippery and hard to walk on.  All good now.  We have TV reception.  Another Yeah!

Indiana is mostly rural flat farmland.  Farmers are harvesting or cleaning up their fields.  It's pretty dusty and my allergies are acting up. 

Lots of farms

Changing colours - not as vibrant as Doe Lake