More Relaxing, Fishing and Enjoying The Sun

Monday the 26th

Today is a quiet day. We do a little housekeeping, a little shopping and in the afternoon we try a little fishing from the pier at the mouth of the Anclote river. Most of the locals are using fresh shrimp, cuts of squid or small bait fish. Fortunately we had purchased bait yesterday. Unfortunately, when we stopped at the bait shop there were no more fresh shrimp so we had to buy a small bag of frozen shrimp.

We arrive at the park, gather up our chairs, cooler, fishing poles, tackle box, cameras, towel and bait and head down the long walk and out onto the pier. Since it's Monday, most people are at work so we have no trouble finding a nice spot with lots of room to cat our lines. The river is shallow, no more than 8 feet deep on the furthest cast and there is a lot of grass and other marine growth on the bottom.


We hook up and put some shrimp on. Tina is out first with a nice cast. I'm next. I send my bait out over the water where it immediately falls off the hook. Hmmm. So I reel it back in and bait it up again. This time I manage to get a good cast with the shrimp still on the hook. The method we're using is a slip weight on the line above the swivel, with a buckshot clamped to the line, also before the swivel but below the sinker. Attached to the swivel is a 15 inch leader with a single hook. The idea is to set the sinker with baited hook out into about 6 to 10 feet of water and let it settle to the bottom where a red or small sea bass will take the bait, pulling the line through the sinker.

Good theory, easy to implement but the fish don't seem to be cooperating. Periodically we reel in our lines to check our bait, usually loosing the soft shrimp in the process. So we don't really know if the fish are nibbling at the bait or if we really are just loosing it in the weeds. After several re-bated hooks and nice casts, I get hooked on a rock. Fearing the worst I wrap the towel around my hand and grasp the line to pull it tight hoping to break the hook free. I don't want to leave 50 feet of mono filament line out there. Finally with a last tug it breaks loose and I manage to reel is in without further entanglement.

Baiting up and casting again I notice Tina is now snagged. Putting my rod in a hole drilled in the pier railing I go help Tina. Using the same process, I manage to break her free. After getting her set up and back in the water, I take my pole and get a strike. Trying not to be too anxious I lightly set the hook and start reeling in my line. Suddenly the line goes slack the tightens again. I finish reeling in only to find someone elses 50 feet of line, a steel leader and hook, two weights and two other leaders all snagged on my line. After about ten minutes cleaning up the mess I'd brought in, I finally got back in the water for another try. Meanwhile, Tina is engaged with a heron who has flown in and perched on the railing next to her. Getting out her camera she quickly snapped some photos. It almost looked like the bird had come in for a photo shoot.

Eventually with no further action and seeing no one else catching anything we decided to quit and try fishing from the bank back at camp later in the day. We packed everything up, trekked back to the car and made the short five minute drive home, defeated but unbowed. It such a nice day, sunny, about 74 with a light breeze that even though we didn't have any luck we still had fun trying out our new gear. Driving back we decided to go into town so I could visit one of the bike shops to check on some road rides. Then we walked across the street for lunch at a place called Danny K's Alley Cafe, a cute spot with tables along the covered alley between buildings. We both had really nice lunches and read about fishing in the area.

The rest of the afternoon we sat outside and read, eventually having dinner and calling it a day.


Tuesday the 27th

Today we were scheduled for a fishing trip out into the gulf on a charter boat. We had asked in Tarpon Springs about half day trips and found out we'd have to go to Clearwater to book a four hour run. All the charters in Tarpon Springs were for a full eight hour trip and we couldn't leave the dogs for that long. So after doing a web search I called Queens Charters on Clearwater Beach and made a reservation for a 1:00 PM trip.

We left home around 11:45 AM for the 15 mile trip to Clearwater and made it to the boat by 12:40 PM. We signed in and paid for our trip then boarded the boat, an 85 foot twin hulled catamaran. We had brought our small cooler with some pop and water and so we could bring home our catch. Getting a pair of fishing poles set up with the sliding sinker we tie them to the gunnel for the trip out. At 1:00 PM sharp, the captain leaves the dock and we start out of the harbor towards the gulf. Since we didn't stop for lunch we ordered a couple of cheeseburgers from the galley and opened a pop. While we ate, we watched the shoreline on both sides of the boat, passing a bunch of private homes with very private docks, lots of boats, hotels, condos and resorts. They all sit a few feet above the water and look very, very expensive.

Soon we pass under the causeway and head out to sea followed by egrets, seagulls and pelicans. We pass through miles of shrimp pots and finally arrive at our first fishing spot. The crew has delivered a small pail of cut bait, large chunks of squid about an inch square. We put a single chunk on each hook and drop them down to the bottom.

We're in about 40 feet of water and before I get down Tina is pulling in her first catch! I help her unhook the fish and we throw it into the catch bucket. Getting her set up with new bait, she drops her line in and heads for the bottom. Meanwhile, I have had a couple of small strikes which I manage to miss. Before I could get my line up to check my bait, Tina hooks another one and brings it in. That's two for her to zip for me. Heheheh.


So I bait her up again, get my line in, re-bait and drop back to the bottom. Finally I get something on my hook, so I reel it in. Unfortunately it's too small so I throw it back. Just then Tina hooks another fish. Since I haven't got back in the water, I help remove her third fish and throw it in the bucket. One of the crew has retrieved Tina's fish and put them on a stringer in a holding tank until we get back to port. As we catch fish, they periodically come by and take them to our stringer line.

Once again I get a fish on and bring it in. Baiting up I go to the bottom and immediately hook another one. Now it;s Tina tree and me two. After we've been in this location for about an hour, the captain moves us to another spot. We bait up and get the lines in the water. Eventually we both bring in a couple more before we have to return to shore. Tina is happy with her success at fishing.

Returning to the docks we retrieve our catch and wait in line for someone to fillet them for us. Eventually we realize it may be another 45 minutes before our turn, so I put the stringer with our fish in a plastic bag and put the bag in our cooler for the ride home. We arrive after dark and while Tina takes the dogs for a walk I get set up to fillet our catch. Using our most flexible kitchen knife I manage to fillet the nine fish in about twenty minutes. The fillets were going into a small bowl while the remains went into a bucket. When I was done I brought the fillets to Tina and the bucket of fish remains down to the river. By the time I finished cleaning up outside, Tina had a mess of fillets in the cast iron skillet getting dinner ready. It was a very satisfying and enjoyable dinner - fresh fried fish, potato salad and french bread. And there weren't as many bones as I expected. After dinner we cleaned up and watched a little TV before going to bed.


Wednesday the 28th

After our normal get up routine we headed into town. We had scheduled pedicures for both of us at the place where Tina had her hair done. Two hours later we came out with brand new feet! One of the stylists had recommended the library as a place to check for books so we went across the street and picked out a dozen used books for $10 - quite a bargain! Then it was off to the Dollar Store where we bought a small $3 lamp to use as a circuit tester. Since it was getting close to 1:00 PM we walked to a local diner and had lunch. Tina had liver and onions, while I had meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. Very inexpensive, with drinks and tip we paid $12 - but, neither meal was anything to write home about. However, it got the job done and it was only one meal.

Next up, we went across the street and did some grocery shopping then headed for home. When we got there I plugged the new lamp into the dedicated TV outlet. We weren't sure about the outlet dedicated to the TV, so rather than plug the TV into it we checked it first with the lamp. We knew that at worst we'd blow out a bulb if the outlet was bad. It turned out to be good. Then we plugged the TV into the dedicated outlet hoping it would help with the digital reception. It didn't help. But we now have a nice small table lamp.

Later in the day we walked down to the river to try our luck fishing. I used a small bait fish and cut it into chunks. The wind was up making casting difficult but we persevered, each of us moving to the end of one of the docking piers along the bulkhead. Nothing except a beautiful evening as the sun set. Packing up our gear we headed back to the rig for dinner.


Thursday the 29th

We got up late and Tina took the dogs out for their walk. Nothing planned for today as it is supposed to rain. By 10:30 we start to experience some showers and the temperature drops. We had already moved everything under the awning so it was mostly a morning for lazing about, watching TV, reading and playing cards. After lunch, Tina went for a drive while I worked to bring the blog up to date. After dinner, I went out to Hammerhead Billiards and play pool for three hours. Very nice place, over twenty tables all in very good condition. I shot well and was able to hold my own against a couple of very good players. The rain had stopped by the time I got home and it looks like tomorrow will be chilly and damp. No plans yet, but we're here for another two weeks and we have a list of activities to do and places to go.

To see all our photos click on the following link:

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Two Days Relaxing

Saturday the 24th

It has finally started to be the kind of weather we've been looking for. High 40's to low 50's overnight warming up to the mid 70's during the afternoon.

Yesterday was a day of not doing much. Tina went into town around 11:00 AM to get her hair done while I got the road bike ready for a ride. I had my gear on and was ready to head out when I thought to look at my chain. It had rusted almost solid from being out in the rain and not being ridden since we left. Oooopps. Silly me. So I got the WD-40 out and some rags along with an awl and started breaking it loose and getting it back in shape. Forty minutes later I had a bike I could ride again.

After testing the gears I headed out of camp for the three mile ride into town. Seeing the car on the main drag I stopped in to tell Tina I was on the road, made an appointment for a pedicure and got back on the bike to continue my ride. There is a nicely paved trail that runs from north of the Anclote River, through Tarpon Springs, down through Palm Harbor, Clearwater and on into St Petersburg about 25 miles away. I went south through Palm Harbor for about seven miles and turned around. Reversing my route, I went through Tarpon Springs and out north of town to cross the Anclote River and into the Pinellas Nature Preserve. Lots of trails for mountain bikes. After exploring the area I returned to town and rode back home for lunch - figure I rode about 20 miles. Nice for a summer ride in January - heheheh.

Tina got home a little later and looked very nice with her tinted highlights and a hair cut. After lunch we got the shells out of the trunk and laid them out on the picnic table so we could sort them and discard the ones not worth keeping. I cleaned up several small Florida Fighting Conches. Later in the afternoon we got our fishing gear and the dogs and went down to the beach to try a little fishing. We weren't very successful because the tide was out, we couldn't get out into deeper water and all the eel grass and seaweed on the bottom. But Tina got to practice casting and I spent some time relearning fishing knots.

Later after a nice salad and steaks we walked back down to the beach to watch the sun set over the Anclote River. Beautiful colors swirled amidst the clouds. Really spectacular.

Sunday the 25th

We dedicated our morning to some household chores. Tina took all the laundry to the local laundromat while I emptied the holding tanks and flushed the system. My last task was to boil some eggs for potato salad. I went online hoping to get a fool proof method for boiling the eggs. After Tina returned with the laundry we had lunch and put things away while the eggs cooled. After lunch we peeled the eggs and Tina made potato salad and put it in the fridge.

Having no further chores we decided to try fishing from one of the nearby park docks. We drove into town to get bait, preferably fresh shrimp. Unfortunately, everyone is out of fresh so we picked up some frozen shrimp and headed for the mouth of the Anclote River and the county park. Before getting to the park Tina spotted a pair of nesting Osprey so we stopped and took pictures.

Arriving at the park we found a parking space and walked to the beach looking for the fishing piers. No luck, wrong park. Lots of people though. Back on the road we drove another half mile past the power plant and found the correct park. We got out and walked out on the pier. It was crowded with people fishing and people watching people fish. Although there were lots of lines in the water, there weren't any fish being caught. We decided to wait until tomorrow when the tide would be in and there wouldn't be so many people on the dock. Walking back towards the car we stopped to visit with a couple bird watching. There were four or five egrets just off the beach along with one lone "Lesser Blue Heron".

Returning to camp we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing with our books and cool drinks then had a leisurely dinner of fresh potato salad, sliced ham and chocolate chip cookies for desert. Tomorrow we'll try fishing again.

To see all our photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Our Time In Tarpon Springs

The weather here has been cold in the morning warming up to less cold in the afternoon but with beautiful blue skies all day. The first day here it was nearly 1:00 PM before we went into town to do a little exploring and find the Post Office. Now that we're stationary for a while we managed to get the new TV installed and working. Glad that's done!

Tarpon Springs is a beautiful town with the Anclote River on the north, Tarpon Lake to the east and Spring Bayou and the Gulf to the west. Highway 19A runs north and south directly through the heart of the old city with Tarpon Avenue going east and west. Originally named for the large Tarpon fish caught off shore in the gulf. Historically the city was founded on the sponge trade by and still has a thriving sponge industry today along with shrimpers, commercial fishing, sport fishing and tourism. In the early 1900's there was a large influx of immigrants from Greece and they had a large impact on the culture of the town. To this day there is a tremendous Greek influence felt throughout the entire city with restaurants, businesses, churches and community centers bearing Greek names owned and operated by descendants of the original Greek immigrants.

Yesterday we went into town and walked around Craig Park at Spring Bayou and watched about 20 Manatees resting in the warm water from the springs. Across the way a school of skates or small rays (members of the shark family) cruised around the bottom of the lagoon. There were lots of others out watching with us. There is plenty to do in the area with miles of bicycle trails, museums, arts, fishing, beach walking, hiking and a couple of pool halls nearby.

Today we drove down to Denedin and across the causeway to Honeymoon Island State Park http://www.floridastateparks.org/honeymoonisland/ where we walked the beach looking for shells. We found a lot of Florida Fighting conch shells along with some Tellins and Giant Atlantic Cockles. We have been on many beaches along the gulf coast and they were all different. some had gray sand with gently sloping beaches (Port Aransas and Matagorda), others had white sand beaches. Several had sharply sloping sand beaches with heavy surf while a few, like today, had limited sandy areas, lots of rocks and more seaweed than you could ever imagine. Along one of the beaches on Honeymoon Island the seaweed was piled up three feet deep in places and stretched out as far as you could see in either direction. It looked like someone had dumped loads of a very fine mesh net made of dark reddish brown threads in long skeins.

We ended the day by coming home and having dinner, putting in a movie (Tina) and curling up with a book (me).

To see all of our photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Carrabelle To Tarpon Springs

Up early, frost on the ground. 9:00 AM start. Left Carrabelle and the Ho Hum RV Park headed for Tarpon Springs. Had a nice lunch at a small Chinese Restaurant called Mya's Noodles. Very good.

Somewhere along the way Tina saw a sign that said "Archaeological Site and Museum" and said she wondered what that was. So we turned round and went back to see what it was. We pulled into the Crystal River Archaeological State Park, a National Historic Landmark. The site is a 61-acre, pre-Columbian, Native American site with burial mounds, temple/platform mounds, a plaza area, and a substantial midden. The first artifact we encountered was a three foot tall stele. the stele was placed in a direct line with the temple platform and is thought to have had a spiritual intent.

The six-mound complex is one of the longest continuously occupied sites in Florida. For 1,600 years the site served as an imposing ceremonial center for Native Americans. People traveled to the complex from great distances to bury their dead and conduct trade. It is estimated that as many as 7,500 Native Americans may have visited the complex every year. The largest mound is estimated to date back to 8,000 BC. As cold as it was with a strong wind blowing we managed to walk around the major portion of the park and hike to the top of the temple mound. Very interesting.

Getting back in the rig we got back on the highway and continued south. Eventually we found Tarpon springs and pulled into Hickory Point RV Park. Got set up. Still cold. Beautiful day. Long drive.

To see all of todays photos click on the following link:

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This leg, 250 miles. Total for trip, 4,974 miles.

Navarre To Carabelle

Sunshine but cool. Up again at 6:30 AM to walk the dogs. I had hoped that keeping them awake the night before until 11:00 PM would help them stay asleep until after 7:00 AM, but noooo... Punky just has to wake up with the sun and slobber kisses all over my face. Even if I pull the covers up over my head and roll over, she still manages to burrow her way under and find me. Oh well, might as well get up. At least I got the coffee ready to go the night before.

After breakfast and a few household chores we got the rig ready and the car hooked up. Today our drive will follow SR 98 all along the coast past Apalachicola to Carrabelle and the Ho Hum RV Resort. That's really their name. The road was good through Fort Walton Beach and across the Miracle Strip Parkway into the city of Destin.

This is a really beautiful city catering to wealthy vacationers, where everything is new and clean and the landscaping is impressive and expensive and it stretches for miles. Past Destin, the large hotels and vacation condos continue through Miramar Beach and into Santa Rosa before you get to undeveloped landscape. Even here though, the highways are four lanes divided with huge medians and flanked by well maintained grassy verges thirty to forty feet wide. There is no trash on the sides of the road. Really an impressive area.

Continuing south we came to Panama City Beach which has two main highways through it. One is called Front Street and runs along the gulf coast. The other is called Back Street and is about five blocks away from the water, parallel to Front Street. Back Street is the main highway though town with few stops. Front Street provides access to all the beaches and hotels. We stayed on Back Street and crossed Upper Grand Lagoon into Panama City where we stayed on SR 98 and wound through town eventually crossing the Tyndall Parkway and driving through Tyndall AFB.

Leaving Tyndall AFB we stopped at a small roadside pullout in the town of Mexico Beach. Tina made us ham and cheese sandwiches with sliced tomatoes, cottage cheese and fresh strawberries. While I cleaned up, Tina went for a walk on the beach. After lunch we got back on the road and continued south. Before long we pulled into Port St Joe and were stopped by a police roadblock. It was a parade in honor of Martin Luther King with lots of kids, fire trucks and townsfolk in their cars. As the last car turned the corner to pull onto SR 98 in front of us, the police car pulled in behind it and we fell in behind the police car as we paraded through town.

As we came to the end of town and turned the corner we saw where a recent fire had caused the walls and roof of two buildings to collapse. Leaving Port St Joe we continued to Apalachicola and crossed the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge. From here on all the way to Carrabelle Beach there were road crews out working to put rick rack down along the beachside bank of the road. We probably had five occasions where the road went to one lane, and in between the road edge was torn up and cones were placed on the road making a very narrow lane. We stayed right at 35 mph for safety due to the edge drop off and oncoming traffic. But it wasn't any real problem just slowed things down.

We passed through Carrabelle Beach and three miles further on pulled into the Ho Hum RV Park. Since we are scheduled for a three week stay in Tarpon Springs, a 177 mile drive, we'll get an early star and continue on our way.

To see all our pictures from today, click on:

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Todays leg, 147 miles. Total for the trip so far, 4,724 miles.

Our Stay In Navarre

It was a beautiful morning and Punky made sure I got up and got a picture of the sunrise. It was chilly but the day warmed up.

I spent most of the morning and afternoon working on getting the TV replaced. It died, we think, due to all the bouncing and jouncing of all the bad roads we've been on, mostly in Texas and Louisiana. The old one was a CRT type so we replaced it with an LCD flat screen DTV. Since they're not the same size I've had to design a different mounting system. Should take me another day to complete the installation but we'll get it done.

Tina did a little shopping while I was working but when she got back we grabbed the cameras and headed over the Causeway to Navarre Beach, which is kind of like a barrier island. There are lots of condos and homes, some for sale most for second homes. We parked towards the western end and walked to the beach where we looked for shells. Lots of very pretty shells and a nice white sand beach.

Later we walked to our beach and took pictures of the sunset. Tomorrow we head towards a one night stop on the way to Tarpon Springs.

To see all of todays photos click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

New Orleans to Navarre

It seems every morning is colder than the last and the weatherman says tomorrow will be worse yet with below freezing temperatures. Ugghhhh, wahhh, urrmmm, yes, well it is cold. I disconnected from city water last night and brought in the hose figuring if it froze we'd have our own water supply.

At 6:30 this morning I was lovingly woken by Punky with a series of wet kisses. Getting up, it was very cold. So cold, the dew had dried up in the wind and the grass was frozen from within.

Since we had a long drive today, we had a quick breakfast, walked the dogs, hooked up the car and headed for I-1o. Crossing the SW corner of Lake Pontchartrain we experienced the first of many causeways across the wetlands of southern US. Leaving Louisiana we entered Mississippi and crossed more coastal wetlands. It's interesting after watching a National Geographic Program on rising seas from glacial meltdowns to drive across the southern parts of the gulf states and realize that most of the areas we've been through will all be under water in 50 years unless we have a major change in how we deal with our global warming.

Passing through Mississippi and into Alabama we experience the first hills we've seen since Western Texas. Soon we are entering Mobile then passing through the George C Wallace Tunnel under the Mobile river. Leaving Mobile we pass the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial and forty miles later we cross into Florida having been in four states within a period of four hours. Exiting I-10 we head for Pensacola. Passing through Pensacola we cross Pensacola Bay and arrive at Gulf Breeze on Santa Rosa Sound.

Forty-five minutes later we turned in to the Emerald Beach RV Park and got our space for the next three nights. We were backed up to the Gulf once again with a beautiful white sand beach just feet from the rear of the rig. Once we had the rig set up Tina went for a long walk with the dogs and took some pictures of the beach and sunset.

Later we drove into Navarre for dinner at a new restaurant opened by the owner of the Emerald Beach RV Resort called the Johnny Houston Grill and Bar. Tina had a rack of pork ribs and I had the seafood platter. We both had a side of baked beans with cole slaw and fries. Everything was scrumptuous!! Hopefully the weather is supposed to warm up as we head further south. Yippeeee!!

To see all of today's photos click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Today's drive, 190 miles. Total for the trip so far including side trips, 4,577 miles.

Day Three In New Orleans

Day Two In New Orleans

Up early, colder than Monday morning - where is the heat - the sun is out and it is beautiful, but really cold. I'm wearing ski gloves to walk the dogs. We had planned to go into New Orleans and do the Garden District, Magazine Street and check out some other areas but we needed to nail down some places to stay in Florida. So Tina worked the laptop and phone most of the morning while I spent some time reading. Eventually it was late enough we decided to save our exploring for the next day, so we spent the day relaxing inside the rig where it was warm.

Day Three In New Orleans

Up at 6:15 AM to get the rig ready for a trip to the other side of the river. We had an 8:30 AM appointment to get the oil changed, filters, lube, etc. It is even colder than the day before with the temperature hovering close to 36 degrees. With the wind blowing it felt more like 26 degrees. After pulling out of the park we headed west on I-10 and took the Hwy 90 West exit. Ooopps. Should have taken the Business 90 exit. Heh, heh - no problem, we'll just do what we did the day we came in and loop back around. By golly, it worked. Soon we were up and flying across the Greater New Orleans Bridge. Three miles later we exited from Hwy 90 and drove to the RV Fixit place. We got everything set and took the car down to the ferry across the Mississippi that would take us to the Garden District. Unfortunately our directions were a little incomplete and we drove all through Gretna City for twenty minutes before locating the terminal. Wheww! Dang! Bad luck, the car ferry wasn't running, just the passenger only. Well, since we hadn't had breakfast yet (we planned to eat over on the other side) we drove to Shoney's and had a buffet breakfast with grits, ham, sausage, eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy. Yum!!

Then we got back on the freeway, headed back across the bridge and ran into a toll booth lineup to get back across the bridge. Slowly we inched our way forward, got back on the bridge, crossed the Mississippi and got on I-10 to the Garden District. Exiting the freeway we slowly wandered all through this lovely historic area of stately old homes, some of which would qualify as mansions. It was really amazing, street after street of side-by-side homes, separated by wrought iron fences or brick walls or hedges. Most lots were barely bigger than the house unless there was a carriage house or separate servants quarters. These are all private residences and very well maintained. Around the fringes of the district are smaller homes, also very nice but many of these are still being repaired or renovated after Katrina. One of the homes we viewed was the childhood home of Anne Rice, noted author and one of Tina's favorites. We spent some time doing a walking tour as it had finally warmed up.

After touring the Garden District, we drove to Magazine Street, a six mile stretch of small shops and business that lined both sides of the road as it wound through numerous small communities. This led us to riverside drive and we drove along the river for a while. Eventually we drove down St Charles to Carollton where we stopped for a bit of shopping. This was the area we originally planned to go to for breakfast as there were about eight different restaurants clustered in a two square block area. Parking in front of the Chinese Restaurant we waked over to the bank and got some cash then crossed the street to the Pet Supply Store where we got the dogs a new Squeeky toy and some treats. We walked around some more than decided to check out another part of New Orleans. Driving out Carollton towards the heart of downtown New Orleans, we managed to get distracted and went off route (no, we weren't lost again) and had to do some exploring to find our way back to Business 90 so we could go back across the river and pick up the RV. We got there and after spending time visiting with the owner and his staff we got the bill and it was only $65 for everything - amazing!! Thanking everyone for their great service and friendliness, w hooked up the car and headed back home, through the toll booth, across the bridge, onto I-10 and back to the RV Resort.

By this time it's almost 5:00 PM so we decide to have an early dinner and spend the evening relaxing after our very eventful day!!

To see all of todays photos, click on he following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Distance this side trip, 50 miles.

Day One In New Orleans

Blue sky, no clouds and 40 degrees. By 9:30 AM we had our plans, maps and the dogs and left for the French Quarter. We're about 9 miles by freeway and make the trip in twenty minutes. We found a parking spot on Decatur Street and walked to the Visitor Information Center for some info, of course! The young lady gave us a small map of the district and we spent two hours just walking around. We walked to the Mississippi River and walked along the Riverwalk atop the levee stopping at Jackson Square.

Continuing along Decatur we cut into town to Bourbon Street and browsed all the little shops. Returning to the car we put more money in the meter and headed of for a little bistro with outside dining. We found the Market Cafe and sitting in the sun ordered lunch for us and water for the dogs. Tina had Shrimp Creole and I had Jambalaya. Very good. After lunch we walked down to the riverboat depot and picked up a brochure for a Steam Paddlewheel Riverboat Ride for tomorrow or Wednesday.

Returning to the car we drove to the end of Canal Street and did a tour of two cemeteries in the Cemetery District.

The first one was overgrown and had suffered a lot of damage from Katrina. Not a lot of repairs had been made. The second one was more kept up and almost all the crypts were in good repair. Some dated back to the 1700's and some were so ornate it was incredible. There were two other cemeteries in the same area, both much larger than the two we visited and obviously in even better shape - the truly well of had been interred in these two but there was no where to park and no visible entry gates so we gave up and headed home.

Later, after naps, dinner for us, dinner for the dogs and a dog walk, we left Wicket and Punky to guard the rig while we headed back downtown for some blues. After all, we're in New Orleans! Tina had found a place not far from where we'd been earlier in the day called "The Apple Barrel" on Frenchmen Street. We navigated our way back to town in the dark and found a parking spot almost right away. A short walk and we found the club and grabbed a table.

This was a small club with three tables, a short bar with the stage just in front of the door. The room must have been about twelve feet wide from the back of the bar to the sidewalk and 15 feet long which included the performers area and the stairs leading up to the second floor restaurant. We got one of the tables and for an hour we were the only audience for a very talented musician named Michael. He played numerous older cover tunes along with some of his own material. Being in such an intimate setting we were able to banter with him between songs.

Eventually more people showed up and livened up the place. We enjoyed ourselves and his performance but left at his first break. Sad but true, we no longer had our youthful tolerance for cigarette smoke. We made it home safely with Tina driving, I'm not as good behind the wheel at night.

Turning on the TV, the weather report said to expect temperatures in the low 30's tonight but sunny tomorrow. With good weather we plan to do some more exploring.

This side trip, 35 miles.

To see all of today's photos click on the following link:

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Morgan City to New Orleans

A nice morning, chilly with the sun was out. We had planned to make a stop in Houma but Hwy 182 but the road is so bad in the RV (lots of broken pavement from the storms and too much water on soggy soils) that we opted to get on Hwy 90 directly and head into New Orleans. It was a nice drive on good pavement all the way into the outskirt of New Orleans. We had two places where the adrenaline went way up. The first occurred when we were going over a bayou where the road was being worked on and it narrowed to one lane.


The next was when we crossed the Mississippi on the "Greater New Orleans Bridge". This bridge is still under repair and was down to one lane. Soaring over 60 feet in the air, this old iron trestle bridge was scary enough, but with the lane cut down to 10 feet between the cones and the low railing there wasn't much room for error. The RV is 8 foot 6 inches from mirror to mirror. Tina said she was closing her eyes and to let her know when we were across. Even when the we passed the work zone and it opened up to two lanes, I rode the center line all the way down to the street level. Wufff!!


We made it across with no incident and continued into town, onto I-10, off I-10 and just as we were going to complete our last series of turns we were stopped by a guy in a pickup truck going the opposite direction. He asked if we were headed for Pontchartrain Landing RV Park? I said yes and he suggested we follow him for a couple of blocks and he'd make sure we made the correct turns. Turns out he works for the RV Park. So he turned around and we followed him through a couple of turns and onto our final street. A mile down the road we pulled into the RV Park, registered and pulled into our spot for the next four nights.



Distance this leg, 90 miles. Total so far including side trips, 4,302 miles.



To see all of today's photos click on the following link:



http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Lafayette to Morgan City

Yesterday, though we originally planned to go to Baton Rouge, it rained so hard we decided to just have a layabout day. So we watched a little TV, read, snoozed and took it easy. Eventually the rain let up but it was too late in the afternoon to start a 100 mile round trip plus it would leave little time to spend in town. Ahhhh well, tomorrow's another day.





Today dawned early with Punky getting us up at 7:00 AM with a face full of kisses. It was time to get up. As usual, I got up, got dressed, did my morning stuff, put my coat and hat on, put their leashes on and took the dogs for their morning walk, all be it an hour early. The sun was trying to peek through the clouds and the temperature was trying to rise - neither was having much success. It was about 38 degrees out but if you kept to high ground (6 to 12 inches above the surrounding ground) it was pretty dry. Anywhere else and it was pretty soggy, but that's typical of an area where the average elevation is about 10 to 12 feet above sea level.

After breakfast and cleanup I drained the holding tanks, hooked up the car and we started out on a day of exploration. Our first stop was the town of New Iberia where we stopped to tour a home built in the early 1830's called "Shadows on-the-Teche" built by one of the early sugarcane barons, David Weeks. The three story home sits on the edge of Teche Bayou. We parked in front of the home and since the first tour wasn't until noon, we took the dogs for a walk into downtown looking at the many historical buildings that have been maintained or restored. New Iberia is a very pretty small town with a large park on the shores of the Teche Bayou.

After our walkabout we met out tour guide and after a short historical video were shown about the house and grounds. As frequently happens, we were the only people on the tour. The house was very unusual in that the ground floor rooms were not connected with interior hallways. Several rooms were only accessed from outside. The main dining area was connected to a pantry and food preparation room where food was brought from an outside kitchen before serving. The upstairs living area had a main receiving room for parties that was accessed from an outside covered balcony at the front of the house. You got there by going up stairs at either end of the front porch. The main room was surrounded by bedrooms, day rooms and several small areas dedicated to storage. The third floor was primarily taken up by several trunk rooms. The grounds outside along the bayou had several oak trees over 150 years old and were lovingly landscaped with gardens and walkways.

After leaving New Iberia we drove out to Avery Island to see the Tabasco Pepper Sauce Factory http://www.tabasco.com/tabasco_history/visit_avery_island.cfm#targ . Avery Island isn't actually an island, rather it is a high spot that sits atop a salt dome and probably rises an additional 20 feet above the surrounding lands seeming to form an island.


We parked just outside the actual factory building and walked over to find out when the next tour would begin. Finding out we had about 40 minutes we walked over to the Tabasco Country Store for a spot of lunch. Tina had a crawfish gumbo while I had a Boudin, a type of sausage typical to the cajun area. We ate lunch sitting in a small area and visited with several other people down for the tour. After lunch we spent some time browsing the country store section where we sampled some special ice cream. Tina had a taste of "Hot N Spicy" ice cream while I tried the "Jalapeno" ice cream. Both were very good, not too hot and cooling to the lips after our spicy lunch. Tina also tried the "Spice Soda", a cola with a kick!!

We wanted to tour the Jungle Gardens, 200 acres of landscaped grounds with gardens, ponds and hummocks but were running late. So we returned to the main highway south and continued in to Morgan City. We drove past the RV Park (no sign) and stopped for directions. Found out we were only a few blocks away. Following the helpful directions we located the Morgan City RV Park and headed in. There wasn't an office and it looked like most RV's were permanent. There wasn't a way to turn around so we got out and started to disconnect the car. A very nice older gentleman came up and told us where we could park for the night. So we disconnected the car and backed into our spot. Surprisingly we had 50 amp service and cable with a nice area to walk the dogs. All in all a very cozy spot for an urban industrial setting. After setting up and having dinner we experienced a couple of trains going by across the way and the ground literally vibrated under us. Not very surprising given how much the ground has been absorbing water down here the past few days.

Tomorrow we continue to wind our way though the bayou country on our way into New Orleans.
Distance this leg, about 85 miles. Total for trip 4,242 miles.

Swamp Tour

Since we couldn't make our tour yesterday and with the weather holding up we decided to do the Swamp Tour today. The weather promised to be in the 70's with blue skys before cooling off and turning to rain sometime this evening. Our appointment was for 11:00 AM with Champagne Swamp Tours http://www.champagnesswamptours.com/ .

Before leaving I made sure I really knew how to get from here to there. We had discovered yesterday that there are actually two roads that go past the RV Park - North Wilderness Trail (the road we came in on) and St Claire Rd with the entrance being at the juncture of the two roads. However, the exit from the park is actually onto St Claire Rd. So when I turned left onto St Claire Rd thinking it was Wilderness Trail I got completely turned around when I turned onto what I thought was Gloria Switch Rd but was really Sawmill Rd. Oooops! But armed with the correct information I felt confidant we could reach our destination. On time.

Following the correct instructions we found our way to Breaux Bridge and headed for the launch point. Only we missed our turn. When I knew we had gone too far, we pulled into a police station and found out where we should have turned, got back on the road and made the correct turn. Parking at the put-in, I walked over to the guide and introduced myself. After a few minutes for anyone else to show up, Captain Brian said it looked like we were the only two for this tour and so launched his 10 seat aluminum boat. After parking his truck Tina and I climbed in, got seated in the two front seats and we left the dock.

Before heading into the swamp areas along the edges of the lake Brian explained how swamps are formed and what constitutes a swamp. Here at Lake Martin there are no natural inflows of water other than rain and surface run-off. Swamps require periodic changes in water level which allows for a drying out period followed by a wet period. The dry periods allow new growth to form, plants, trees and bushes that become submerged during the wet period. Swamps provide large areas for waterfowl nests, including large Cyprus and gum trees for rookeries.

The swamps we were going through were home to vast number of ducks, turtles, fish, herons, ibis, egrets, spoonbills and many alligators. There was a tremendous biodiversity of plant life as well. Brian pointed out that the normal depth for the lake is around 6 to 7 feet but due to drought and a recent lowering of the lake by the Louisiana Fish and Game Department we would be in some very shallow areas.

As we nosed our way between the trunks of huge bald Cyprus and large gum trees red eared slider turtles would take to the water. There were many egrets and herons in the process of building nests high in the trees. Cormorants were perched drying their wings after fishing. We saw several alligators sunning themselves on logs. Two things surprised us both, the absence of bugs and there was no smell like you'd expect from decaying vegetation. The tour lasted for two and a half hours and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

After returning to the dock we thanked Captain Brian, got in the car and headed into the town of Breau Bridge for lunch. We found a quaint little French Cafe where we had a couple of Po Boys - very filling - and, after lunch drove home with a stop at the book store where we spent enough time to pick up some books.

When we got home we took some time to relax before heading out to dinner at Prejeans Cajun Restaurant over on I-49 http://www.prejeans.com/ . Leaving the RV around 6:30 PM we got to the restaurant and found the parking lot full. Wait a minute, there was a spot directly across from the front door so I grabbed it quick. Entering Prejeans we were surprised to be seated almost immediately. It's a really big place with a separate bar and lounge. We were seated about twenty feet from a three piece cajun band playing live music for our entertainment.

Deciding to go all out we ordered the Seafood Skillet Fondeaux for Two which is shrimp, crab and crawfish with fresh sauteed spinach swimming in crab butter cream sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese and baked to a bubbly perfection. Served with garlic toast points. Along with it we ordered two cups of the duck and sausage gumbo with rice. For desert, Tina ordered Crème Brûlée à la Paris, a traditional French burnt crème custard topped with caramelized Louisiana cane sugar. While I had Cajun Bananas Foster’s Cheesecakewhich is traditional cheesecake rolled into a flour shell then deep fried, cinnamon dusted and then drizzled with a rum rich Bananas Foster’s sauce. Mmmmm, mmm!! The band was definately different being a fiddle, squeeze box and guitar. Here is a video sample of their music. Another very nice day!!

To see all the photos, click on the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Distance for todays side trip, 25 miles.

Lake Arthur to Lafayette

It was foggy when we woke up but promised to be a pleasant day for our drive. We were under weigh by 8:15 AM and got to our new home at Bayou Wilderness RV Resort just north of Lafayette. With the weather so nice we had an early lunch and decided to do a Swamp Tour. It's amazing how easy it is to get ahead of yourself.

I called up several providers on the computer and found a good one close by. He asked if we could make the 1:00 PM tour and we agreed, it being only 12:10 PM. He gave us directions and they sounded good so we gathered up all our stuff, cameras, binoculars, dogs, etc., and headed out.

A strange thing happened as we drove out the driveway from our RV, someone misplaced the road we should have been on and we got on a different road. Everything was fine until we realized that we must have missed our turn, so we turned around and back tracked. After another five miles going in the opposite direction on the same road, I realized we weren't where we were supposed to be. And I didn't bring the map.

We called the tour and apologized, but we hadn't a clue as to where we were and didn't even know if we could find our way home. He tried to help, but since we were lost we didn't have anything to give him that would get us on track. We agreed to come the next day at 11:00 AM for the tour and rang off.

Turning around once again, we headed back in the other direction, on the same road, looking for the road we thought we had turned off of. No luck. Of course we were looking for the wrong road - well actually we were looking for the right road but we just didn't have the right street name. Finally, we stopped at a sand and gravel operation and asked for directions to I-10. After getting directions, we continued our search for a way to get somewhere we knew. Eventually we reached I-10, but about 10 miles from where I expected to come out. I thought we had been to the west of our RV Camp only to find out we were actually 5 miles east and only about 5 miles from the location for the swamp tour. Oh well, at this point we decided to go into Lafayette and look around.

Founded in 1821 as Vermilionville (revealing strong French roots), the city of Lafayette straddles the Vermilion River – but even with a name change, modernity sees here a rich cultural blend of Cajun and Creole. Lafayette, Louisiana’s fourth-largest city, may very well have the highest concentration of dining hot-spots in the state, dishing out local specialties with the lively beat of Zydeco (a mix of R&B, African blues and Cajun dance) or Cajun classics carried along with the wind.

Our first stop was at St Johns Church correctly known as The Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, one of the first built when early Lafayette was formed 185 years ago. Truly a beautiful brick structure with its flanking bell towers and stunning grace. The church is flanked by a large museum and a separate large house for the bishop. Behind the church is a large cemetery with many of Lafayette's early movers and shakers entombed here.

After leaving St Johns we went to the Alexandre Mouton Mansion and Museum. This was once the home of former governor and United States Senator Alexandre Mouton, who presided over the Secession Convention in Baton Rouge in 1861. Today it is home to the Lafayette Museum. The main house was built in the early 1800s, and the cupola, attic, and second floor were added in 1849. Inside, in addition to the antiques, paintings, Civil War relics and historical documents. The museum also houses a colorful collection of Mardi Gras costumes that were worn by Lafayette's krewe kings and queens. We were shown a brief historical video then allowed to tour the house at our leisure. Many of the furnishings are original and the home has been fully restored to its former glory.

Leaving the Mouton House we decided to stop at a small bookstore on our way home but mother nature had other ideas so we got home and took the rest of the day off.

To see all of today's photos click on this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

Total distance for today's side trip, 15 lost miles plus 20 deliberate miles - heh, heh!

Creole Nature Trail

Today we were up early, walked the dogs, ate breakfast, hooked up the car and headed out of camp by 8:15 AM. We drove to I-10 and headed west towards the town of Sulpher, LA at mile post 20. Leaving the freeway we started on the southward leg of the Creole Nature Trail. By 10:00 AM we had a beautiful day with the sun out and about 65 degrees.

One of the great things about the Gulf Coast of Louisiana is all the back roads through the bayou country. The Creole Nature Trail http://www.creolenaturetrail.org/ is a nationally recognized treasure that stretches from Sulpher, LA on I-10 down to the Gulf, through Cameron, back up to Creole and returning to Lake Charles, LA. Along the way we planned to stop at many of the nature preserves.

Our first stop was at the Sabine NWR where we were able to make a 1 1/2 mile walk along a paved trail and boardwalk through the preserve. Halfway through was an elevated viewing stand where we could look out over an expanse of wetlands and bayous. Lots of birds including herons, egrets, dippers, various sandpipers and ducks beyond measure. Everywhere we looked were waterways and wetlands. Nowhere were we more than four or five feet above the water. There are no hills other than bridges that cross a bayou.

As we moved along the route we had to pass up several opportunities to stop because the facilities and trails were still being repaired after hurricanes Gustav and Ivan in 2008. As we got closer to the coast it was amazing how much damage was still not cleaned up. Buildings partially destroyed, homes demolished and in some cases gone completely. Huge commercial buildings with their sides and roofs ripped off or left hanging in tatters.

During the drive south towards the gulf we were amazed at the number of huge gas, chemical factories and petroleum refineries. It is obvious that natural gas is a big industry as there are wells, piping, valve stations and storage tanks everywhere. Quite a contrast to the wetlands but seemingly well run and environmentally upgraded to protect their surroundings.

As we reached the Gulf and headed east the water was no more the 50 feet from the road with no beach at all having been scrubbed clean during the storms. We reached Cameron and realized that this was a huge port facility for shrimpers and work boats supporting the oil rigs. As we waited to board the ferry we watched 10 or 15 large work boats heading out to the Gulf. Finally it was our turn to board and we barely fit with just enough room for a pickup behind us. Tina was able to get out and take pictures while I stayed in the rig and talked to one of the crew. Then, just off the starboard bow, before we even left port, a small family of dolphins were cavorting in the channel about 75 feet away. Way cool!

We finally arrived at the other side of the channel and drove off continuing eastward along the shore until the road turned north again and we left the Gulf. Our next stop was in Creole for lunch at "Sha Sha's" Restaurant. The only place open for food along the drive. Tina had a great tasting pulled pork barbecue sandwich while I had a bowl of chicken gumbo - ummm, umm, delicious!!

Continuing north we stopped at the Cameron Prairie NWR to take some more photos. The it was on towards out final stop of the day at Myers Landing just this side of Lake Arthur, LA on the Mermentau River.

To see all our photos for today check out both albums - "Creole Nature Trail" and "Kinder To Lake Charles" at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mjdolanski

This leg, 180 miles. Total for the trip, 4,157 miles.