Saguaro National Park and Sonora Desert Museum

Today we toured the Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park near Tucson. Brian and Laura spent last night at our friends the Kayfes’ house (Randall, Angie, Alyssa and Hailee), while Teressa and I braved the cold (for Tucson) temperatures in the trailer at Catalina State Park, about fifteen minutes away. There was frost on the ground and windows of the truck when we awoke in the morning, as the temperature hovered around 32. After a quick breakfast and shower, we drove over to pick up the kids and head for the park.

With eight of us we took two vehicles across the valley to the museum. Temperatures started in the mid 40s, but warmed into the mid 60s as the day went on. The Sonora Desert Museum had been recommended by almost everyone we met on the trip, and we weren’t disappointed. Offering a unique blend of historical and animal exhibits, the museum does a great job of educating while entertaining. Our favorite experiences from the day were the big cats (cougar, ocelot and bobcat), hummingbirds, and hawks. The Harris Hawks, one of the only raptors to hunt cooperatively in family groups, were spectacular. A special program featured four birds swooping over the guests’ heads, landing on large saguaro cactus spires, and floating effortlessly on the afternoon thermals. We also enjoyed the diversity of cactus life in the desert – saguaro, organ pipe, jumping cholla, teddy bear, etc. One of the docents was describing the unusual phenomenon that saguaro cactus plants only seem to grow in Arizona, and that the minute you reach the California border, they disappear. Nobody knows why, she said. I thought for a moment, and then said “It’s obvious, Arizona is a red state!”. She laughed and said she would use that in her future talks. After thinking about it further, I’m pretty sure it is true. Saguaros are very rigid and a little prickly – just like George Bush! ;-)

After enjoying some of the best museum food on the trip at the on-site café, we drove a few miles down the road to the Saguaro National Park. Again we found the park rangers extremely helpful. Teressa was curious about the snakes in the park so one of the rangers, a retired military instructor from Spokane, educated us on all the wildlife in the park. She also gave us a great recommendation for a short hike in the hour we had before dark. We drove to the trail head and then hiked to Signal Hill to view Indian petroglyphs – drawings chiseled into the stone. With the sun setting over the desert illuminating the carved figures in the stone, it provided the perfect venue to reflect on the events of a perfect day!

PS – My brother Dirk and niece Cece made it safely home to Helena late yesterday afternoon – driving the 2700 miles from Durham, NC, in less than 72 hours! At that rate, we could have done our whole trip around the USA in less than three weeks!

Allen, Texas

The temperatures are moderating here in Texas, with the high today predicted to be near 60 and the low tonight down to 45. That’s much nicer than the 18 degrees we hit in Oklahoma City yesterday, and nothing like the -15 to -20 degrees the rest of our family is enjoying in Montana!

The kids studied in the morning while Teressa and I did four loads of laundry. The KOA here in Arlington is larger than we expected, with lots of people either living here or visiting for an extended period over the winter (we met several retired couples that are visiting their kids for a couple of months over the holidays).

After lunch Brian drove us the 50 miles from Arlington to Tim and Julie’s (my cousin) house in Allen. Essentially it is one big city the entire way, even though the names change every 10 miles or so (Arlington, Irving, Richardson, Plano, Allen, etc.). We all commented that it’s a fun place to visit, but we wouldn’t want to live here -- the drivers are insane. We drove the 60 mph speed limit most of the way, and everyone else was doing close to 80. Tim said the police won’t pull you over unless you are doing 15 mph or more over the limit, and they are really looking for people doing 30 over!

We had a great visit with the Woods/Marks clan. Julie and Lois (my aunt) had the house decorated for Christmas by the time we arrived just after 2. Julie took Brian and Laura to pick up Andy after school at 3:30, and Tim made it home from work around 4:30. We visited and munched on appetizers, and then had pizza delivered for dinner. They all seem to be doing well, and we got to tour Lois’ new RV. She didn’t have any trouble getting to Texas from Arizona, except for the high winds along the way. We finally left around 8:30, making it back to the trailer around 9:30.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Another day, another two new tires! These are the eleventh and twelfth tires to grace the Cougar since we purchased it a year ago. As we were leaving the campsite in Oklahoma City Teressa noticed a bulge in one of the tires that we had purchased in Ohio in August. I pulled back into our campsite, plugged back into power, and spent the next hour calling dealers all over Oklahoma City before finding one that carried the right trailer tire. They are the same brand, so technically I could have just replaced the bad tire, but decided to get two new perfectly matched ones on the front axle. That leaves me with two good spares, so the next blowout I won’t have to buy any more tires (no matter which tire blows).

The day started innocently enough. I got up at 4:30 and got a lot of things accomplished before Teressa and the kids stirred. We left the trailer and drove down to the Federal building memorial in Oklahoma City, the site of the bombing back in 1995. The reflecting pool was frozen over due to the cold temperatures, but the site was beautiful. Across from the reflecting pool are rows of chairs, one for each person that died in the bombing. Two park employees greeted us and provided lots of history about the site and event – we were the only ones out on such a cold weekday morning. I think the kids are getting tired of seeing so much death and destruction (e.g. Revolutionary War battlefields, Civil War battlefields, the Holocaust Memorial, 9/11 memorials, etc.), but it gives them a much deeper understanding of our nation’s history. Life’s not just iPods and roller coasters!

The Goodyear dealer was located right in the middle of downtown Oklahoma City. They didn’t have a facility large enough for our trailer, so while they stopped traffic on the main street, I backed the trailer into their main driveway and as close to the building as possible. Luckily I was able to avoid hitting any cars or their building, as it was a rather tight squeeze. Our tire adventures did allow us to sample a great little Thai restaurant across from the Goodyear shop. When the owner found out we were from Portland and on a trip around the country, she sent us out the door with two additional “take home” containers of food from the buffet, so we had Thai food for lunch and dinner yesterday! With our late start in Oklahoma City, we violated my “no driving after dark” rule by an hour, arriving at the KOA in Arlington at 6:30.

Other than the propane running out in the middle of the night (I had to go out at midnight and switch to the backup tank) and the water line freezing (it was 5 degrees colder than forecast last night), it was a perfect day and evening! ;-)

Branson, Missouri

It is a cool 19 degrees here in Oklahoma City, with the wind chill factor hovering around 5 degrees. We arrived at the Twin Fountains RV Park shortly after 4:00 yesterday afternoon, and after fighting 30 mph winds and freezing rain most of the way down from Branson, abandoned our plan to outrun the storm into Texas. Apparently there were over 100 wrecks across the state of Oklahoma yesterday, and one tornado near Tulsa, but thankfully we just caught the edge of the storm. We’ll wait till things thaw out a bit this morning, and then wind our way down to Arlington this afternoon.

Our one night stand in Branson on Monday was highlighted by a trip to see the Grand Jubilee at the Grand Country Music Hall. Here is Laura’s account of the day:

Today we took a long drive down to Branson, Missouri. To get to our campground, we drove through the town to see what it was like. The whole way, I was glancing out the car window thinking... "Cheap version of Las Vegas". There were tacky stores and hokey displays all along the road. I told the family, "I don't think I'd want to live here. I'm more of a NYC girl." Later, we decided to go to a play called the Grand Jubilee. While we were getting our tickets, someone decided they didn’t want their front row seats, so we immediately took them! The usher escorted us to our seats, and was very interested in our trip across the country (see our picture together). In the performance, there was a quartet, a female singer, and a couple comedians. I got to go up at intermission and get their autographs, and we all had a great time. Plus, at the beginning of the show, I recognized one of the singers in the quartet as a man named Jason Pitchett, who was in last season's "America's got talent" that I love to watch. As my brother put it, I was pretty "star struck". :^) I got to talk to him a little and got a picture with him, where I suppose my smile went from ear to ear. Yup, I would have to say I'd give that show a 10! It was a fun night full of great music, and amazing talent! **And I am so thankful for such loving, caring, amazingly BEAUTIFUL and HANDSOME parents! ;) Thanks mom and dad! **

Laura now thinks that living in Branson might be a great thing to do, assuming she can get a job performing in one of the shows!

Throwed Rolls, Sikeston, Missouri

As Teressa mentioned in her journal entry, we arrived at our campground around 1:30 and then took a leisurely Sunday drive across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers into Western Kentucky to explore. We had fully intended to have dinner back at the trailer, but kept seeing signs for Lambert’s – the home of the “throwed rolls”. When we arrived back at the campground, Teressa went to the office in search of enlightenment on this new culinary mystery. The staff here said that Lambert’s is “the destination” in Sikeston, and that people come from all over the Midwest to experience their unique southern comfort food. Rationalizing the experience as part of the kids education, we jumped in the truck and headed to Lambert’s.

When we arrived, the place was hopping. License plates from every state and neon signs grace the walls. The main restaurant is a large open room with booths around the edges and open booths with big wooden tables in the middle. Everyone in the place seemed happy – the staff, the customers, the cooks. Their strategy is simple – great comfort food in large portions – and throwed rolls! What’s a throwed roll you ask? Well, just stick your hand in the air, and from across the room comes flying a hot freshly baked roll. The only tricky part is catching it, although I’m happy to report our family was three for three (maybe we should get the kids back in baseball!). When you catch your roll, the place erupts in loud cheers. If you miss, there are groans and another server comes by and tosses you a short “gimmee” from the aisle! And this is all in an establishment that doesn’t serve alcohol (probably a good idea or things might quickly degrade into a full blown “Animal House” food fight!).

The most amazing thing was that the food was outstanding – meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, hamburgers, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried okra, etc. I don’t think we have ever enjoyed such good “comfort” food at a restaurant, and with the portion sizes, we will be having it again tonight. If you ever come to Sikeston, don’t miss Lambert’s – but make sure to practice “catching” beforehand.

Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee

Teressa provided the write-up for our visit to Memphis:

Saturday morning Brian drove us from our campground in Mississippi to Graceland in Tennessee. Graceland exceeded our expectations in that it had all the warmth and charm of a real home--not a show home like the Antebellum houses of the south. Throughout the self-guided audio tour, we heard Elvis crooning or watched him on videos placed throughout the house and grounds. He truly was gifted--especially in his younger days, in my opinion. During one of his concerts he sang a medley of Dixie and the Battle Hymn of the Republic that brought me to tears. As much as we appreciated Elvis' amazing voice and talent, we were disappointed to hear that more people watched Elvis's Aloha concert in Hawaii than watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon!

After Graceland, Brian drove us into downtown Memphis to Beale Street. We were all hungry and on these kinds of excursions we just can't go back to the RV to eat. Too many miles. Within a block of parking the car we were conned out of some money by a recovering drug addict who claims to have been clean for 11 months. His gig is to approach the tourists and give them all kinds of information like best places to eat on Beale Street and history about the statue we were looking at (at first I thought it was Louis Armstrong, but was corrected as it was WC Handy, the Father of the Blues). The guy wanted money to help pay the costs to sleep at the Baptist church/rescue mission. Whether he conned us or not, we were impressed that he was offering a service. We saw him hit up a bunch of other tourists and wondered if we might have to borrow some money from him when we return from our trip...

Beale Street was...unique. It's a pretty run down part of downtown Memphis. We did get to hear good music coming from many of the clubs (all taped as it was afternoon). The whole of Beale Street is about 4 blocks of clubs and restaurants. The kids wanted to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe but we talked them into trying one of the local joints – Alfred’s. It was reasonable and had the ambiance of a not-quite-seedy blues club, and it had good food. Brian thought the Cajun fettuccine was one of the best things he has ever eaten.

Saturday evening Gary and I had errands to run. We left the kids home and went to get gas and buy some things at the local Walmart. Upon checkout, I happened to do a 360 degree scope of the place. Of over 100 people, Gary's was the only white face I saw. Quite a contrast from our demographics in the West. To me, it was fascinating to be seeing the reverse of what so many African Americans in the West see every day.

Today, Sunday, we left Mississippi and drove north through a piece of Arkansas into Missouri. You won't believe us, but we probably saw 300 hawks today. They were perched in the trees or on telephone posts along the freeway. Pretty cool. We are staying at Hinton RV park in Sikeston, MO. In order to get our Kentucky post cards, we had to drive 30 miles, across the Mississippi (again) and the Ohio rivers. We found a little shop in Wickliffe, Kentucky. I kid you not---1/3 of the store was cigarettes. The rest was staples and tourist stuff. We found our post cards showing Kentucky horses and stables, none of which we saw, and hurried back to Missouri before dark. Oh---most of the Arkansas post cards had hillbillies on them! I chose not to buy those and perpetuate the stereotype, but I thought that was interesting.

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Here is Teressa's account of our visit to the Vicksburg battlefield:

Brrrrr... it is cold here in the south. The temperature dropped into the low 30's last night. Fortunately our propane heater keeps the trailer toasty warm, but the dog walking chore is not the most popular these days.

This morning (Thursday), our first stop was the Vicksburg Park and Museum. The museum has one of those boards that light up with red for the Confederate troops and blue for the Union troops and shows their movements throughout the days of the battle. We studied that for a few minutes and proceeded to the auditorium for a short film about the battle followed by a drive through the battlefield with an informational CD.

Everyone, it seems, wanted to control the Mississippi River, and for a long time the Confederates had it. But, Federal naval and military forces fought southward from Illinois and northward from the Gulf, capturing post after post. By the summer of 1862 Vicksburg was one of the last areas on the river still controlled by the south, and it was--according to Lincoln--the "key." General Grant marched his troops down the Louisiana side of the river and circled back to trap General Pemberton at Vicksburg. After trying to take Pemberton's army the honorable way, through hand to hand fighting, Grant finally resorted to a siege and basically cut off all supplies to the Confederate troops as well as the civilians of Vicksburg until, nearly starved, the Confederates called a truce.

Again we were amazed and horrified by the number of dead. The cemetery at Vicksburg contains the remains of 17,000 Federal soldiers. Only 4,000 are identified (and have full-sized grave markers). The other 13,000 graves are marked only by a 4" square white marker. Although the Union won this battle, only 5000 Confederates are interred in Vicksburg making it a monumental win but at an incredible price.

Our children are sick of Civil War battlefields, so I believe this will be the last. ;-) The rest of our day was spent driving. We were underwhelmed with Mississippi. The small towns between Vicksburg and Memphis are depressed. The countryside is heavily treed and views were few until we got to the northern part of the state. Tonight we are at the Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Upon arrival, they filled our propane tank and sent someone out with a compressor to top off our tires. This is a pretty area and is just 10 miles from Memphis.

Natchez, Mississippi

Good morning from a chilly Vicksburg, Mississippi. We have ice covering the mud puddles this morning, and the high this afternoon when we arrive in Memphis is only predicted to be 40. I know that’s not cold for you Montana folks, but it sure feels cold in a trailer!

We got a slightly later start than planned yesterday leaving New Orleans. Teressa and I had to make a quick trip back to the French Quarter to pick up a few extra items, and since it was pouring down rain at the time, we took the truck. Driving isn’t a problem in the Quarter, as most streets are one way and it is laid out in an easy grid. Parking is the challenge. I had to drop Teressa off and then circle for a while before picking her up. We finally hit the road around 10:30. The first 50 miles of interstate was all causeway, concrete pillars rising 30 feet above the swamps of southern Louisiana. Even though we stuck to the Interstate, it was slow going – the concrete slabs had ridges between them that shook the truck and trailer pretty good. We stopped for gas and a late lunch at a Cracker Barrel just before entering Mississippi.

When we finally arrived in Natchez at 3:30 in the afternoon, we were faced with a dilemma – keep driving north to Vicksburg for another 90 minutes, or violate my nighttime driving rule and stop for a couple of hours in Natchez to see the Melrose Mansion operated by the National Park Service. We stopped, and were very glad we did. A Greek Revival style home, the Melrose mansion was completed in 1849 and is an excellent example from the Antebellum period (the period between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars). Four massive columns grace the front of the house, and a two-story colonnaded porch spans the entire rear elevation. The home was owned by John McMurran, a northerner who married into a rich southern family. His father-in-law gave him the 133 acres of land to build the home.

Melrose and the other large mansions around Natchez are not plantation homes, as we had assumed. The large plantations were located in southern Mississippi where the soil was better. The Natchez mansions were trophy homes for the rich plantation owners and their families to showcase their wealth. Guests were only allowed on the lower floor of the home, and nobody other than family ever stayed the night. The tour guide indicated that all the movies you see about southern hospitality were made up in Hollywood. These were very private people who only interacted with others in their same social circles. The mansions around Natchez were saved from Sherman’s plundering during the Civil War, largely because the townspeople were friendly to the Union, letting Grant use many of the homes for his campaign against Vicksburg. And it appears that many of those here in the south still haven’t forgiven the people of Natchez!

The tour ended at 5:00, and we traveled in the dark on good roads another two hours into Vicksburg. It took a little longer than planned, as I couldn’t cross three lanes of traffic in .3 miles to make our exit when we arrived in town, so we ventured across the Mississippi into Louisiana and back just for fun! Our RV park is run by the Ameristar Casino here in Vicksburg, and cost a whopping $22 per night plus two free breakfast buffet coupons. As long as you stay out of the casino, it is a great deal!

New Orleans, Louisiana

Just like hurricane Katrina, we first touched New Orleans from the eastern side of the city. Traffic on the bridge across Lake Pontchatrain was restricted down to one lane, so we were stuck in a traffic jam for 20 minutes on the way into town. Waves from the 25 mph winds stirred the sediment in the large shallow brackish lake, turning it the color of coffee (with cream) for our morning ride. Entering town it was immediately obvious that the city has a long way to go to recover from Katrina. Many homes are vacant – some boarded up, others in shambles.

Our RV park is located just a few blocks from the French Quarter, near a couple of the old cemeteries and one of the city’s housing projects. The facility is first rate, with brick parking pads, an exercise room, and a salt water hot tub and pool. It is completely surrounded by a concrete block fence with razor wire on the top. The owners recommended we not walk outside the walls (they have a golf cart to shuttle guests the four blocks to the visitor center in the French Quarter).

On Tuesday morning the kids did a couple of hours of homework before we ventured into the French Quarter. Our hosts at the RV park provided a ride on their golf cart to the visitor center on the edge of the Quarter. There we watched a short film on the history of the Crescent City, including the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina. Armed with recommendations and maps, we ventured south into the Quarter.

Brian and Laura had fun trying on Mardi Gras masks and shopping for shirts in the shops along Bourbon street. We stopped for lunch at the Gumbo Shop restaurant on St. Peter street, a recommendation from the staff at the RV park. The food was outstanding – Teressa and Laura had gumbo with chicken sausage, Brian ordered jambalaya, and I enjoyed the best red beans and rice of my life! Our waiter was a real southern character, and kept us chuckling the entire meal. After Teressa had ordered a spiced sausage appetizer on ihs recommendation, he said “Did I mention we also have alligator sausage?” Without hesitation Teressa replied “I figure if I don’t eat them, they won’t eat me!”. Our waiter considered her response for a moment, then retorted with a wry smile “You feel free to test that theory out in the swamps Ma’am!” ;-)

From the restaurant we headed south to Jackson Square, and enjoyed several street musicians playing jazz on the sidewalk. We toured the Cabildo, the Louisiana State Museum where the Louisiana Purchase was signed. The museum provided an excellent opportunity to learn about the rich history of the city, from the early native tribes, to the Spanish and French explorers, and on through the Revolutionary and Civil wars. This diverse history gives the city an incredible character and has helped it withstand more than its fair share of disasters (fires, wars, and hurricanes).

Our next stop was the National Park Service site commemorating New Orleans Jazz on the banks of the Mississippi river. We were able to sneak next door to Café Du Monde for beignets and hot drinks before watching the park service movie on jazz parades. Our bellies full of sugar and our heads swimming with music, we retreated via taxi to our trailer at the RV park around 4 PM to rest for a couple of hours and walk Rocky.

At 7:45 we took the golf cart shuttle to the visitor center and made our way back down to Bourbon street. The kids couldn’t believe the transformation which happens after dark, and this was a very “tame” evening in the Quarter. Music filled the street from numerous venues as we navigated our way to Preservation Hall to listen to some live Jazz. Preservation Hall is one of the oldest buildings in the city, surviving two massive fires in the early days of New Orleans. Every night from 8 to 11 they showcase local Jazz talent. They don’t offer food or drink, which is great when you have kids that want to hear jazz but can’t get into most of the nightclubs. We paid our $10 entry fee and took a seat on one of the wooden benches in the small hall. You can almost feel the history radiating from the walls, and I couldn’t help but think of my parents sitting in the same small room over 40 years ago when our family visited my dad’s aunt Lura for Christmas in New Orleans. Last night’s group, the Preservation Hall Stars, entertained the faithful with a variety of traditional Dixie Land Jazz numbers. You can’t help but stomp your feet and clap your hands. We stayed through the first set, then grabbed a piece of pizza next door before catching a cab back home. It was a great day for both young and old jazz lovers in the Big Easy!

On Wednesday morning the kids worked on their homework in the morning while Teressa and I did the laundry for the week. The RV facility here has nice new washers and dryers, and a unique “debit card” style of payment that is more convenient than searching for quarters. We finished up by 11, and after a quick lunch in the trailer, set off again for the French Quarter via foot.

Our first stop was St. Louis cemetery #1, the oldest in the city and reputed burial place of Marie Laveau, the notorious “Vodoo Queen”. Due to flooding, all the tombs are placed above ground, giving it a haunting feel. From the cemetery we walked down to St. Charles street to catch the Streetcar to the Garden District. Most of the grand old mansions along St. Charles Avenue are in good shape, as apparently this part of the city didn’t get hit as hard by Katrina. Teressa struck up a conversation with a black gentleman on the trolley car who believes “THEY” dynamited some of the levies around the 9th Ward, thus minimizing flooding in the richer parts of the city. So begins the conspiracy theory.

After our trolley ride we walked back to Café Du Monde in the Quarter for another round of beignets and hot drinks. It is a good thing we are heading north this morning, as we can’t find a single diet book that mentions beignets as a part of the plan! We walked next door to the National Park Service Jazz site so the kids could stamp their passport books (they forgot them the day before). Teressa confirmed the levee conspiracy theory with the park ranger, but still couldn’t find out exactly who “THEY” were. She did find out that the Park Service lets people bring their instruments in on Saturday to play Jazz together, but unfortunately we will be gone. Teressa told the ranger “our son isn’t saying anything, but he is a very good tenor sax player.” The ranger looked at Brian and with a big grin replied, “You don’t need to do that, you got your mama to do that for you!” We all laughed.

We did some Christmas shopping in the French Quarter as we worked our way back towards Bourbon Street. As fate would have it, Pat Obrien’s, the famous New Orleans drinking establishment was having its 75th anniversary last night. Teressa and I got half priced Hurricane’s in plastic go cups (just for old times sake), and continued our shopping down Bourbon Street. It was just after dark as we made our way back to the RV Park. Teressa heated a casserole for dinner and we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail with the kids before turning in for the evening (we liked the Spamalot play in New York much better than the movie).

Pass Christian, Mississippi

Good morning from Mississippi. If you remember, this wasn’t our planned destination for yesterday’s travels, but more tire problems landed us here. We left the Emerald Beach RV park in Navarre, Florida just after 9 yesterday morning, joining the steady stream of post Thanksgiving holiday travelers heading west on Interstate 10. We stopped for lunch and to search for Alabama postcards for the kids’ albums just west of Mobile. It took a couple of stops, but we were ultimately successful and continued on our journey towards New Orleans.

Just past Biloxi a car slowed beside us and motioned that we were having tire problems on the trailer. I pulled onto the shoulder of the interstate and got out to take a look. The right rear tire tread had separated from the casing, and a piece had flown off and dented the fender and under side of the trailer. Since the tire wasn’t flat and the traffic was wicked on the Interstate, we limped along the shoulder to an exit ramp a half mile up the road and called AAA. I removed the damaged fender and took the spare out of the back so everything was ready for them when they arrived.

Within an hour the tire was changed and we were ready to hit the road again. We only had an hour of light left, and since the spare is a different brand of tire than the others I didn’t want to push the extra 60 miles into New Orleans. While waiting for AAA on the exit ramp we had noticed a sign to an RV park nearby, so Teressa called and booked a site (and pushed out our reservation in New Orleans). As a result, last night was spent at the “Flea Market and RV Park” near Pass Christian, Mississippi (and yes, we did check out the flea market before it closed at 5)! For $26 a night it is a reasonable campground with full hookups. There are only a handful of travelers here like us, and about a dozen FEMA trailers (old camping trailers) with residents leftover from the Katrina hurricane back in 2005! Apparently FEMA has been trying to evict them, but many have nowhere to go. Our neighbor next door is from upstate Minnesota, and was quite eager to have new people to talk with. His daughter and her family live in Biloxi, so he and his wife come down every winter to visit. He said that since the hurricane, it has been quite an experience. Apparently this RV park was almost completely full with FEMA trailers the first year after Katrina.

This morning we headed back down the freeway to a tire store I called first thing in the morning and had two new trailer tires put on the Cougar. The tire shop was a slice of life (see the picture of their Christmas display out front), but the staff was helpful and the facility clean. I did notice the night before while I was researching tire stores that the only reference on Yahoo for their facility was posted by a user with the same name as the tire store – of course it was a good review! ;-) They had us back on the road headed for New Orleans shortly after 10.
Stay tuned….

Navarre, Florida

Good morning from the Florida panhandle. I’m sitting at the table looking out over a white sand beach at the Santa Rosa Sound. Our campsite here, compared to the muddy Tallahassee KOA the night before, is like night and day. When we called the Emerald Beach RV park with one day’s notice here in Navarre, they asked if we wanted a beach front site for the night. For only $55, we said sure (usually they are double that at most parks, if you can even find one). It is beautiful. The kids spent several hours on the beach behind the trailer digging in the sand after we arrived yesterday around 1 PM. It was also a pleasant surprise when we hit the central time zone while crossing the panhandle and gained an extra hour. I never realized how much the east coast drifts towards the west as you travel south, and we are now west of most of Michigan!

While the kids were digging in the sand enjoying the 70 degree weather, I washed the Tallahassee mud off the truck and trailer. This is one of the few RV parks we have stayed in that allows rig washing, and in fact has a separate well system to support it. It’s the first time we have washed the outside of the trailer since Brian accomplished the task in Helena! Rocky is the only one who doesn’t like this RV park – dogs aren’t allowed on the beach, and the palm trees have no squirrels!

We sampled some of the local cuisine yesterday. Nobody was too excited about the boiled peanuts, which take on the consistency of pinto beans. You eat them right out of the shell, which is rather messy with all the liquid inside. Teressa wanted to throw the rest of them away, but I made a last minute plea bargain. The Florida grapefruit and navel oranges weren’t anything to write home about either – you can find the same quality in your local grocery store!

The gulf got pounded with heavy rains last night, and we definitely have a leak somewhere in the front of the trailer. I bought patch material at Camping World in Tampa, and will give that a try when we get to New Orleans tonight. The weather is supposed to get colder with high winds today and tomorrow, but no rain.

Thanksgiving Day, Madeira Beach, Florida

We spent a quiet Thanksgiving day near our campground in St. Petersburg. The kids slept in before we headed for Madeira Beach, only a couple of miles from the KOA. With temperatures hovering around 70 and a cool breeze coming off the gulf, it was an ideal way to spend the afternoon. The kids dug a giant hole in the sand, fed the seagulls again, and collected shells. As you can see in the picture on the right, Laura also invented a new Yoga texting plan! ;-)

A quick stop back at the trailer to change clothes and walk Rocky, and we were off to Perkins for Thanksgiving dinner. For $11 a person we had Butterball turkey with all the trimmings including dessert (pumpkin or apple pie). We felt a little guilty not doing dishes afterwards, but got over it quickly and decided might never cook Thanksgiving dinner again! ;-)

We finished the evening back at the trailer with a rousing game of Scrabble – Laura’s first ever win in a highly contested battle where everyone finishing within 15 points of the lead! Another episode of North and South, and we were off to bed.

Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida

We spent Monday and Tuesday this week at Busch Gardens in Tampa. The combination ticket package (with SeaWorld in Orlando) the kids researched brought our daily cost below $20 per person, significantly cheaper than any of the Disney options. In the spirit of true roller coaster enthusiasts, we made the hour drive from our KOA campground in St. Petersburg to arrive just as the park opened each day. The weather was great except for one downpour early in the morning on the second day.

The park has a good combination of shows and rides, so there was something for each member of the family. Here is a quick summary of everyone’s favorite activities, in their own words:

Teressa – “For all those non-coaster people who fear amusement parks due to the shear fact that you will be the holder of backpacks, hats, coats, souveniers, sunglasses, cell phones, and loose change PLUS will be the designated picture-taker, there is hope. Busch Gardens has some wonderful animal exhibits and professional entertainment. One of the most enjoyable was the Christmas ice skating show which featured a US gold medalist and several pros from Russia and the Ukraine. It was an exhilarating half hour of dazzling costumes, exceptional skating and amazing acrobatics on ice. Oh, to be young again!”

Brian – “I find it rather amusing that one of my favorite coasters at Busch Gardens was everyone else's least favorite! Named "Gwazi" after a 2-headed African lion spirit, this roller coaster was composed of two separate tracks that ran at the same time; the construction was entirely wood. Wooden roller coasters have a reputation for being rickety, rough, and out of control (in contrast to the new steel ones today), so my sister and dad got jerked around quite a bit, but being the coaster enthusiast that I am, I've learned how to sit back and enjoy it without getting too shook-up. The seats were soft leather cushioned, probably some of the comfiest seats I've ever seen on a Roller Coaster! Had a good steep drop and wild twists and turns. Unfortunately my sister scratched herself on a seam in the leather as the coaster was storming through a part of the track, but I'm proud to say I got off happy and unharmed. The smoother and faster steel coasters are fun, but I love the rough and wild nature of a good wooden coaster.”

Laura – “The Roller Coaster rose up towards the sky until we were 200 feet in the air. We slowly turned right and started to go down. Once we were staring at the ground, the coaster stopped. We were looking down 200 feet below us at the tracks that dropped at a 90 degree slant. Then, suddenly, the ride shoots downwards leaving us breathless. At Busch Gardens, my favorite roller coaster in the park was SheiKra. The thrill that it gives you is unbelievable, and you feel as if you are free falling (well, with a little bit of a pull to get you started!) It shoots you down, loops you around and drops you again until you come to a stop. It had to be my 2nd favorite roller coaster ever (Millenium Force at Cedar Point being the first)! Busch Gardens had so many rides, like a wooden roller coaster, a smooth one, and a regular thrilling coaster, however SheiKra was the best in the park.”

I enjoyed SeaWorld in Orlando more than Busch Gardens – the marine animal shows and exhibits were outstanding there, although the African animals at Busch Gardens were impressive as well. Busch Gardens was more crowded, due to Thanksgiving week vacationers, but the lines were still manageable. Like Laura, my favorite ride was SheiKra – nothing like a 200 foot free fall to get your heart pounding! I feel extremely fortunate to have this quality family time, and that our children are developing such adventuresome spirits!

Fort DeSoto Park, St. Petersburg, Florida

The kids worked on homework most of the day yesterday, with Laura finishing up her Earth Science course and Brian completing Literature. Brian also completed his first chapter in pre calculus. The promise of visiting Busch Gardens Amusement Park later this week was a powerful motivator!

The man who owns the trailer parked next to us arrived via cab yesterday just after lunch. I could hear him talking to himself as he realized he didn’t have his keys to the trailer. A couple minutes later he had cornered Brian out by our truck and was enlisting his help to try to get into the trailer. I went outside to see what was going on, and was able to reach through one of the windows and unlock the deadbolt. But the main lock was set also, so the man ended up climbing through the window far enough to get his keys off the bed and open the trailer. He thanked us explained that the trailer was making him ill, so he was picking up his stuff and moving somewhere else! The ironic thing was he spent the next 30 minutes searching for the key to his bike lock so he could take his bike back with him in the taxi. He must have tried a dozen keys at least five times each. Finally the taxi driver determined that the chain wasn’t even around the bike frame, it had just been draped over the seat! The man said “Don’t you ever tell anyone!” Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed!

Around 2:30 we headed for DeSoto County Park, at the tip of the peninsula on the north side of Tampa Bay. Our main objective was to visit North Beach, ranked the #1 Beach in the US back in 2005. After a 35 minute drive along the condos and hotels that line the Gulf of Mexico, we arrived at the park. A campground sits at the north end of the park, which was recommended by a couple we met in Vermont, but was completely booked for the week. The sites back right up to the beach, and would be great fun on a future visit. We drove a little further to North Beach, a beautiful white sand beach that stretches for miles in both directions. The kids dug in the fine white sand while Teressa and I strolled along the beach looking for shells. We also had fun bird watching – brown pelicans, sea gulls, white herons and sand pipers accompanied us. Teressa made the mistake of throwing a piece of popcorn to a seagull, and instantly we had clouds of gulls following our every move. The kids thought it was great fun, as you can see by the pictures.

Fort DeSoto has a rich and varied history. Named for the Spanish explorer that visited the area in the 1530s, the fort was used by the Union Army in the Civil war in the blockade of Tampa Bay. It was also used in the Spanish American War, and still has several vintage cannons from that era. More recently, the pilot that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima used the island for target practice before his mission, which explains some of the large “holes” in the sand flats around the island, which ironically now provide great fishing!

SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida

Yesterday we visited SeaWorld. The kids did a price performance analysis of the Disney parks versus SeaWorld (Orlando) and Busch Gardens (Tampa). They decided it was a better bargain to do the 14 day pass at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, as it cost less than half a similar Disney ticket. As you can see from Laura's write-up below, I think they made the right choice!

The large machine slowly made its way up the tracks. I looked down to see tiny little ants crawling down below us. One of the ants looks a lot like my mom… With Brian and Dad by my side, we start to descend down the tracks, and then… WHOOSH! We’re flying as we loop up into the sky and back down again. We soar past little people watching us as we sail past them. I can feel the water in my eyes leaving streaks against my skin from the amazing speed that we have reached. Then we make our way up a hill and start to slow down when suddenly we shoot downwards like a rocket. Again, we loop and drop and twirl through the crisp autumn air. Finally, our cart comes to a sudden stop, and the ride is over. We had just faced one of the top ten rollercoaster’s in the world: Kraken.

Yesterday at SeaWorld was one of the best days of the year. We started out by going directly to the Kraken without a second thought. As soon as we got there, we made our way through the empty waiting halls, until we came to the ride. There wasn’t a single person waiting in line, so we hopped onto the ride at least 3 times before we decided to go see the dolphin show. At the show, we made sure NOT to be in the splash zone (which was good thinking on our part) and watched as the lights flashed and the dolphins flipped as the music surrounded us with a beautiful melody. Then, we wanted to go try out a water ride near Kraken which looked pretty dry, for the most part. We wound our way through a dark and spooky tunnel until we saw some light from ahead. Then, without any notice, our boat soared downward, making a large tidal wave. Luckily, and amazingly, we didn’t get too wet, until someone decided to squirt us with a water gun. We thought the ride was over, but we were in for a surprise. Our boat went up another hill, and then we started to sail through another tunnel, going on rollercoaster tracks! It dropped us again into some water, but dad and I managed to stay dry. Brian on the other hand got his shoes soaking wet!

After that, we all were very hungry, so we went to a restaurant near the water. We were too late for the next show, so we decided to wait a while and go to the Pet show. The Pet show was very cute because ordinary animals like dogs, cats, and even rats were all in a cute little show. Plus, skunks, ducks, pigs, and much more were there too! Everything was like a domino effect, because as soon as one cat climbed up a ladder and into a window, a dog would come out and run to the other side of the stage, and so on.

When the Pet show was over, we had about 30 minutes to go look at the shark exhibit. They had a ton of sharks, and in one area, they had a moving sidewalk that had you in a hall surrounded by sharks. Some had large, sharp teeth, while some had noses like saws! There was so much to see, and tons of different kinds of sharks swimming around us! As we walked outside, we were looking into a little pool full of smaller sharks, when my dad pretended to grab me and push me in! Lucky for him, I let him off with a warning, but he’ll regret ever messing with Laura!

After the sharks, we went over to the show “Believe”, staring Shamu the whale. We were in the splash zone this time, but lucky for us we didn’t get wet! We had great seats though, so we got to see all of the people up close as they swam with the giant killer whales! It is truly amazing that people can swim with the greatest predators of the sea!

Once “Believe” was over, we quickly headed over to a Pirate show staring two Sea Lions! Before the show started, a mime came out to entertain the people who were there early. He was so disrespectful sometimes, you just had to laugh! The show was very entertaining, and the Sea Lions were simply brilliant! You could tell that the people just loved to do what they did. Once, the girl stuck her hand in a hole, and below her, someone else was supposed to stick their hand out of another hole. When that person did, they had a blue sleeve while the girl had a red sleeve. She looked down and started laughing. Finally she said, “You forgot to roll up your sleeve!” while holding back laughter! It was a great show, and very funny!

At the end, I made the family make a run for the Kraken before it closed. It still wasn’t very busy, so we went on at least three more times! We finally found where they took a picture of you on the ride, so we got some great pictures! Overall, it was a great day, and I’m hoping we can go to SeaWorld again!

Wet 'n Wild, Orlando, Florida

This definitely isn’t the mid Atlantic anymore. The fall colors in North and South Carolina have been replaced by palm trees, live oaks, and green grass. While Florida is currently experiencing a cold snap, with temperatures in the mid 60s during the day dipping into the mid 40s at night, there is abundant sunshine. The promise of amusement parks has provided the kids with ample incentive to get ahead in their homework. Brian is a week ahead on his plan, and Laura is even further ahead than that. Today we visited one of the famous water parks in Orlando, Wet 'n Wild. When we arrived at park at 10 AM it was 58 degrees. It reminded me of an early May trip to Canyon Ferry Reservoir in Montana – the initial exhilaration of practically having the entire place to yourself on a beautiful sunny, and then reality setting in as you smear sunscreen over goose bumps! Here is Brian’s account of the day:

I'm standing in an enclosed capsule on the top of a six story structure. I feel like a cartoon character from a futuristic society, standing in a tube waiting for it to blast him off to some strange location. I'm smiling, half in adrenaline, yet half in terror. A man outside the capsule calls: 'sir, I need you to stand behind the red line.' I look down; there is no red at all on the surface beneath my feet. I look up and begin to say, 'what red li--' *SHOOOOOM* A trap door falls beneath me. I attempt to let out a muffled scream as I plunge almost vertically downward, without enough time to even take a mental photograph of what was happening.

This was the scene today as I took on theme park Wet and Wild's tallest slide, a nearly 80-degree waterslide called the "Bomb Bay." Topped with a structure resembling the latter end of a missile or atomic bomb, you stand in the middle with your arms and legs crossed as the operator presses a button that lets you freefall down the slide into a watery explosion below.

We had a fantastic day at the water park here in Orlando. I commented a few times on how we seemed to rent the entire park for 40 bucks! There were literally only 100 other people there for the entire day. We never once had to wait in line for any of the slides, and we were some of the first people to enter the park. It's an odd scene, seeing an entire amusement park completely empty yet open at the same time. As one can imagine, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

I'm trying to pick up some accents around here. I can almost use a southern accent, but usually only in a joke; in standard conversation I stick out as a Northerner as easily as you could distinguish fire from water. But I've been really happy with how friendly the folk are around here. Guess I'm being exposed to that good ol' southern hospitality.

Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine, Florida

After leaving the campground in Brunswick, Georgia at 9:30, we stopped at a Flying J to fuel up. The cost of diesel is down to $2.89, almost half what we paid at the beginning of the trip. I have to take my hat off to the oil companies and OPEC for finding a way to cut their oil production costs in half in six months – they must be getting much more efficient getting the oil out of the ground these days! You don’t think there might have been a monopoly and they were just keeping all that profit for themselves before, do you? ;-)

We made one stop on the way down the Florida coast at St. Augustine. The city is the home of Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort and best preserved example of a Spanish colonial fortification in the continental United States. Shaped as a hollow square with diamond-shaped bastions, it stands as a memorial to the glory days of the Spanish empire. Completed in 1695, the fort is made from coquina, a limestone found on a nearby island. As you tour the fort you see all the tiny sea shells still intact in the original limestone. It proved to be an excellent material, as the cannon balls were absorbed without doing much damage. In fact it was such an outstanding design that the fort was never breeched in battle, including a 50 day siege by the British in 1702, even though the town of St. Augustine was burned to the ground.

The historic downtown area has a number of cute shops and small cobblestone streets that reminded us of a European city. We did a little window shopping, and then hoofed it back to the trailer and continued our journey to Orlando. Arriving at 4:30, we set up camp and got started on five loads of laundry. The office had just closed and we didn’t have enough quarters, so I went in search of a car wash with a change machine. Unfortunately all the car washes in Orlando use tokens instead of quarters, so after checking my fourth one, I bought groceries at a Target Superstore and got quarters there.

Brian barbecued chicken burgers while we finished the laundry. After dinner the girls watched Desperate Housewives, while Brian and I caught up on email.

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

This morning we took a quick trip out to see some of the plantations near our campground. Having watched the beginning of the miniseries “North and South” the night before, we were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Boone Hall Plantation, where many of the outdoor scenes were filmed. As we pulled up to the stand that guards the entry road to the plantation, we found that it would be almost $20 per person to tour the plantation, and since we didn’t have much time, I told them we just wanted to drive in and look at the outside of the building. In a very polite southern accent the gate attendant said, “Sir, if you drive past this gate, it costs $20!”. We promptly turned the car around and drove back down the road to find the free National Park Service site honoring Charles Pinckney.

Charles Pinckney was a southern gentleman from Charleston, the youngest member of the South Carolina delegation that attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787. One of the first to speak out against the ineffective Articles of Confederation by which our country had been governed since 1781, he is credited with significantly shaping over 30 of the articles in our current constitution. Snee Farm, his country estate north of Charleston, has been preserved by the National Park Service. While none of the original buildings remain, archeological digs of the area have uncovered more than 150,000 artifacts dating back to the late 1700s. The existing house was built in 1820, after the farm had changed hands, and provides an example of early plantation life. Live oaks (the leaves never turn brown) covered with resurrection ferns and Spanish moss, surround the home. We watched the movie about Charles Pinckney in the visitor center in the house, the kids obtained stamps in their passport books, and then we returned to the campground to prepare for the drive south.

Charleston, South Carolina

We had a great day in Charleston today, in spite of locking my keys in the truck. Here is Teressa’s detailed account of the day from her journal:

Kids were up by 8 and studying by 8:30. Gary and I walked Rocky and prepared to go into town. It was short sleeve weather from the get-go and very humid. Around 10, we drove the 10 miles or so into Charleston. Along the way we passed many little, shabby stands where ladies were selling their West African baskets.

Our first stop was the visitor’s center in the historic district. We signed up for a 90 minute greyhound minibus tour of Charleston. Our guide was a native Charleston man with a very thick southern drawl and some strange and quirky mannerisms. Boy, did he know his history. He took us through the college of Charlestown which was a beautiful old campus. Their common area, where graduations take place, is a large grassy park with a pavilion at one end. At graduation, only the professors wear caps and gowns. The graduating girls wear white dresses and carry half a dozen roses and the men wear white tuxedos. The tradition began when the first girl to attend the school graduated and received roses from her father.

We cruised down King Street, past shops and churches. Charleston is known as the “holy city” because pre-revolutionary war they would allow anyone with 7 members to start their own church. Many people moved to Charleston to escape religious persecution by the Puritans and Evangelicals of the Northeast and elsewhere. We saw all of the main tourist attractions in historic Charleston. Cabbage Row, later named “Catfish Row” was the location of the Dubose Heyward story “Porgy”. This story later became the basis for George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess”, a fictionalized glimpse of black life in Charleston during the 1920’s. The Battery is the area where many shipping businessmen lived and where Charlestonians watched the attack on Fort Sumter. Rainbow Row is a block of historical houses that were preserved but painted with bright colors. One thing we found interesting was that many of the homes had two front staircases—one going up from the right and one from the left, meeting at the top center. The ladies in their hoop skirts would walk up the right and the men went to the left so that they would not see the ladies’ ankles when they lifted their hoop skirts. These same women wore very low cut dresses with lots of bosom showing, but the ankles remained covered!

At the end of the tour, we walked to a Thai restaurant on King Street called Basil. It was just what we needed—healthy, great-tasting food. We then drove to a parking spot near the market area and Laura and I wandered through the multitude of vendor booths. A craft/art that comes from this area is coiled sweetgrass baskets. After talking with one of the black ladies who weaves the baskets, Laura and I learned what to look for in a quality basket. The skill has been passed down from Africa to the slaves and now to African American descendents of slaves. They are woven only in West Africa and South Carolina with most of the basket work being done in Mount Pleasant (which is where our KOA is). This is because the materials are only available in those locations. The baskets are made of sweetgrass, bulrush, pine needles and palmetto. After shopping around, we found a pretty basket that we liked and purchased it. Brian bought a crystal paperweight with the South Carolina palmetto tree etched inside of it.

Our last stop was the visitor center for Fort Sumter. We read the displays in the museum and Brian and Laura got their passports stamped. From the deck, we admired the bridge between Charleston and Mount Pleasant and looked out at Fort Sumter. When we arrived back at the truck, we discovered that the keys were inside. I had left my set of keys home to lighten the load of my purse. Fortunately AAA was able to send someone out in about 25 minutes. Laura and I took about a 12 block round trip walk and got a closeup look at some of the homes. The houses are built sideways. The side facing the street is very narrow and has just a few windows. The British used to tax people based on how many windows they had on the street side of their home. So, the southerners would build the house narrow but deep. Along the south side there was a porch the length of the house downstairs and a balcony the length of the house upstairs. Windows had shutters and could be opened up to allow the ocean breezes in during the summer time. Many of these homes fell into disrepair after an earthquake they had after the Civil War. To restore them so they could be used (since people didn’t have much money to rebuild) they inserted metal rods the length and width of the homes. At the end of the rod on the outsides of the home, they would place decorative end pieces. So we took some photos of those on our walk.

Back in the trailer we ate up our meatballs and potatoes and watched the first episode of the miniseries “North and South”. In the movie, the Mains’ home was actually the Boone Hall Plantation which is right down the road from the KOA. The Hazzard home was one of the mansions we saw today in Charleston.

Myrtle Beach, North Carolina

It was dark when we arrived at the KOA last night, so all we saw of Myrtle Beach were the golf courses and restaurants along the road on the drive in. Sometime in the middle of the night it started to rain, and when it rains in South Carolina, it pours! The main storm hit around 3AM. While lying in bed just before 6, I had the sensation that little drops of water were hitting the bottom of face. After convincing myself this was impossible, since gravity insures that water would fall down and strike the top of my face, I started wondering if Teressa was flicking something at me as a joke. I put my hand on the mattress between our pillows and found it was soaked. We sprang out of bed to find water dripping down the cabinet at the front of the bed. In looking at the roof of the RV as daybreak broke this morning, all I can figure is there must be a crack in the seal right along the top front. One more project for when we get to Orlando and it dries out.

After the rains stopped around 7:30, I took Rocky for his morning walk. There were puddles of water everywhere, and to Rocky’s delight, squirrels! We treed five of them before we were even 100 feet from the trailer (see the picture of our squirrel hunter on guard duty). The day was looking up! As we rounded the lake on the other side of the RV park, it sounded like a semi was approaching from the southwest. The semi turned out to be another tropical cloudburst. Initially we laughed as the warm rain drenched our bodies. Then Rocky started to whimper – either a flashback to when he was a stray, or stirrings of more recent memories at the groomer. Just as quickly as it started, it stopped, and we meandered back to the trailer. I’m sure the squirrels were laughing at him from the trees, as he now looked more like a drowned rat than a fierce Pomeranian.

When everyone was up and showered we jumped in the truck and went to a local pancake house for breakfast. I ordered grits so everyone could try them. Brian and Laura think it will also be the last time they ever try them. They don’t taste bad, in fact they don’t taste like much of anything, it’s more the consistency that is offensive. The rest of the food was excellent, and the waitress showered us with genuine southern hospitality which really impressed the kids. “She is like our new best friend”, Laura declared.

After filling the truck with diesel, we parked along the main drag in Myrtle Beach and walked down to the public beach access just as the clouds were breaking up. We understand that Myrtle Beach is a twenty mile long strip of sand, although we could only see a mile or so in either direction. Hotels, condos and restaurants line the entire length of the beach. The kids were thrilled to find a wide assortment of sea shells, some up to six inches across. A woman told us they were so plentiful because of the dredging and beach restoration project that is currently underway.