Almost Home

We are in Milton, in the Florida panhandle at a great KOA campground. We are right off Rt.10 so hope we are not bothered by the traffic. It's a beautiful day here about 88 and the humidity is not too bad. Driving through Pensacola there is a tribute to the Blue Angles and I took a picture to post on this blog. This will probably be my last blog. We will hit the road tomorrow with about 420 miles to go to home. Unless Jay gets too tired and decides to stop another night, we should be home sometime tomorrow. All in all this has been a great trip. We have seen and done things we never thought we would. We have met so many people and I have to say that most of them have been very friendly. Gigi has been a trooper through it all. She was on her own many times and she did survive. She has a very forgiving nature. Good thing!

Touring New Orleans

This morning started with finding the "Gumball Rally". Remember that old movie? Well it seems that there is a group of people who get together and travel all over the country in old muscle cars and relive the movie. A couple of spots at the campground was the first one I saw. I didn't realize it was part of a group, but when we went into New Orleans later on we ran into the rally. I took pictures and one of the guys explained the group to me. They were really enjoying themselves. We had purchased tickets at the campground for the Paddle Wheel tour of the Mississippi River but were there early for boarding so Jay had a Bloody Mary and we went over to Cafe Dumone and I had to have another benign and cafe olea. We boarded the boat and took a seat on the top deck with wonderful views all around. The trip was narrated and was a different perspective of the city. It was out about two hours and it flew by. A lot of shipping on the Mississippi River. When were returned to the dock, we decided to also take the bus tour of the city which left in an hour, so we had lunch at an outdoor cafe. We were told that we got the last two seats on the bus and if we wanted to sit together we should be there 15 minutes before the time scheduled for boarding. Well, we were there and the bus was running, but the driver was not there and we had to stand in the blazing sun for almost 1/2 hour. I decided I should write a poison pen letter to Grayline Tours. When we finally got in we had such a great tour that I decided not to sent the nasty letter. We saw so much of this fantastic city. The archeticture is unbeliveable. I took so many pictures, but have decided to add a picture of the cemetery that we stopped at. Because New Orleans is below sea level they cannot bury their dead, so must keep them above ground. We stopped at one of the most beautiful in the city. It is actually on the National Historical Register. There are others in the city that are very crowded and dilapatated. I guess we will be staying in Florida tomorrow night. After that, we will be pushing home.

New Orleans/Lake Pontchartrain

We left Paragon RV Resort this morning after losing some more money last night. (Not too much). We also had dinner there last night in a 50's style restaurant. Very nostalgic. We drove through Baton Rouge on some of the roughest road so far. Louisana needs that stimulas money very badly. We had made reservations at a campground almost in New Orleans because I'm not too comfortable leaving Gigi at long distances. As we came off Rt. 10 looking for the campground we found ourselves in the industrial area of the city. Following the directions, we became more and more concerned about the safety of the area. When we found the campground our worries disappeared. It is right on Lake Pontchartrain and our view out our big window is of a yacht club. The pool is one of the nicest we've seen. We will be spending tomorrow in New Orleans, probably taking one of the tours. Jay would like to take the riverboat tour, but I would prefer being in the city that I am touring. There is a combination package which allows you to take both tours on different days. Decision to be made later tonight. Want to be sure of the timetable for departures as we found out when we were here before that they changed the times from what was published in the literature.I'm adding a picture of Gary and Kay which I should have added before. I'll also add a picture of the pool area here.

Louisana and a Casino again

I haven't had access to the internet for a few days so was unable to blog. We spent a few days at Lake Arrowhead State Park in Witacha Falls, Texas with Gary and Kay. They live in the middle of nowhere! They are on a lake and have beautiful views. Kay really is not a well girl. She is on dialysis and the doctor has told her her lungs are shot. They have to drive about 20 miles three days a week for her treatments. They are looking into a system that allows them to do the treatments themselves and that will free them up for travel, etc. We did have a good visit having Gary cook our breakfast one morning and going out to Johnny Carino's another night. The weather has really not cooperated. We never saw the sun until the morning we were leaving Lake Arrowhead heading to Tyler, Texas. As we drove the weather got worse and worse and by the time we reached our campground it was cool and overcast. We left there this morning and arrived here at Paradise Casino and campground. It is much better here, sun is shining and the temp is 88 degrees. I think that is a good omen as I intend to go the casino tonight. I'm adding a picture of the casino we stayed at while in Laughlin NV. I didn't win and money, but enjoyed losing some and the buffet was good. Will probably check out the buffet situation tonight.

Amarillo, Texas

We left Enchanted Trails Campground this morning, but before we did I took Gigi for her morning walk and what should I find??? LILACS.. I couldn't believe it. There were three lilac bushes in a cluster and the flowers had just gone by but the fragrance was still strong and the flowers were a little dry. We left about 8:30 am and drove approximately 300 miles here to Amarillo. This is quite a large city, but the weather went downhill as we got closer. First it was just cloudy but by the time we got here it was drizzling and the temp was in the low 50's. I did find a truck that we are considering buying. I'm attaching a picture!! I guess it's frozen pizza for dinner tonight. We did stop at a Wal-mart to restock. We have to stop more often than we would like because of limited refrigerator space.

Tomorrow we meet up with Gary for a few days.