I HAVEN'T HAD THIS MUCH FUN SINCE MY MOTORCYCLING DAYS!

I must say that the decision to bring the car along was most likely one of my best travel decisions to date! When we had only the truck there was always the concern that if something happened to the truck we would be stranded until Brutus was back in commission. I had no problems driving anywhere but there are many that have a problem driving properly and the likelihood of having an accident was a very real threat. That, coupled with the fact that on it's best day Brutus got 15 miles per gallon at approximately $3 per gallon whereas the Mustang consistently gets 28 plus at $2.50 allowed us to have far more fun sightseeing.

Brutus does his job very well, just not very efficiently. 
Really can't complain, overall mpg for the trip was 9.5

But that just can't compare to the 30 mpg and the 
wind in your hair effect that this has!

We got to Abita Springs and even though there were no Mardi Gras parades the city still had Mardi Gras celebrations. Since the floats utilized in the parades stay in tact year round the city arranged for the floats to be staged in the city park and we did not one but two " drive-through" parades.

Just a few of the Mardi Gras sights

   In my previous blog I mentioned that we escaped the snow-mageddon of Texas, well we just missed the onslaught of snow in Louisiana. The park we were at never saw snow and the coldest temp we saw was 25 degrees but just 25 miles west the interstate was closed due to snow and the temps were in the teens. I was raised mostly in this part of the country and have many relatives that live just an hour north of the New Orleans area so we made a couple visits up that way to see them. Cindy loves to play Dominoes with my aunts so we made sure we got up there for one of their weekly Domino dates. While she played I got to visit with my uncle Bobby and catch up on old times. My two uncles, Billy and Bobby, played a very important role in making me the person I am today. From them I learned a very strong work ethic and also learned that I can do anything and solve most any mechanical situation if I just apply common sense and knowledge along with determination and the belief that I can do whatever lies before me, for that I will be forever thankful. I would like to mention another high point of our time in Abita, my best friend, Tom and his wife Leigh Ann came to the campground for a few nights and the four of us were unleashed on the community of Covington and Abita Springs. we mostly just terrorized the great food establishments in the area but we are planning a full scale attack next year so look out! Just imagine the four of us being unleashed during Mardi Gras. ( I can just see those that know us shaking their heads in complete dis-belief, knowing that the only terror we caused was killing bugs with our motorcycles)

The next phase of our outing would take us to Robertsdale, Alabama for 3 weeks and the gulf shores area of Alabama.  The weather was very agreeable so we got in a lot of beach time in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores as well as Pensacola and the surrounding area.  We toured Ft. Morgan and several other places, again thanks to having the Mustang.  It was really fun to cruise the beaches with the top down and the air conditioner going, yes, it was that warm.  We only went to Pensacola once because the short way across the bay bridge was  out  of commission due to some damages caused during the September hurricane and the only other way to the beach area was a very long and time consuming detour.

We finished up our time in the Gulf Shores area and began our trek back to our home base of   Hollister by going back to Abita Springs for a couple weeks.

Hello from Abita Springs, Louisiana    

About 13 feet long, right alongside our air boat tour

Cindy holding our guides pet gator

Cypress roots, this is how the cypress gets oxygen

We 100% recommend this tour!

What more can I say?????

Some shots from Fort Morgan, Alabama

Never piss off a little lady with a big gun......

  While we were here this time we decided to drive to Gibson, Louisiana  to check out the newest addition to the OCP properties .  It was quite an interesting park and the area caused  me to justify adding it to our planned travels next year.  While in the area we went to Big Al's Seafood in Houma where we had a fantastic local meal that included fried alligator.  I have to admit that I love fried alligator now, it has a fantastic taste and texture so you can bet it will be on my food radar next trip.  Our time back at Abita also allowed us the opportunity to go on an air boat adventure in the nearby town of Lafitte, Louisiana. We had done a swap tour 4 years ago on the Pearl River swamp area that was a lot of fun and this air boat swamp tour was  certainly no disappointment!  We had a great guide and got to see some rather large gators up close.  I would definitely urge you to go on and air boat tour if you ever get the chance

We left Abita and continued on our homeward journey.  Our next stop was a couple nights in historic Vicksburg, Mississippi.  While we didn't do a lot of touring we couldn't help but see a lot of civil war history while driving around this great town on the mighty Mississippi river.  Next stop would be Maumelle, Arkansas, just west of Little Rock, Arkansas.  

We stayed at the state park campground here and I have  to admit that I was  quite  impressed by this state park.  It was very clean, very nice sites and just very impressive.  One of the biggest highlights of getting into this parks was some of the houses we went past to get there.  There are some HUGE houses and ranches along the route to this  park with fantastic architecture and beautiful pastures.  Just plain beautiful!

We got back to the Branson/Hollister area and proceeded to get back to our summer "stationary" life back at our lakeside sight.  Cindy was  excited to get busy on her craft room and I was eager to get the deal finalized on the bass boat I had made arrangements to buy.  

I know you won't believe this but I have already sat down and mapped out our journey for next year, a journey I'm sure will be edited numerous times before its final layout but still a new  plan for a new year.  

I'll try to do a few updates  during our summer here at Hollister but with a bass boat and my duties of making snow cones, time will be limited, after all, just because we are stationary doesn't mean we can't still have some fun.

Until next time.....remember Adventure Awaits!

Our stationary lakeside front yard

A view from the boat, just cruising and chillin.

Innovations, Excitement and Some Fantastic Changes!

Well it's a little past January 2 and we have been on the road having a good time! I want to begin this blog with a huge congratulations to my wife for a great accomplishment, an accomplishment that will now forbid me from accusing her of getting lost going around the block, an accomplishment that has enabled us to have more fun when we travel, She has successfully navigated this trip with her GPS and without assistance from me (as in she has always followed). She has learned to use the GPS and now just takes off ahead of me on her own. The day she drove right through the heart of Houston without any issues and without my help was the day that she convinced me that she can do anything she sets her mind to.  With that being said....on to the travels!

Cindy with Krystal Blue in Ashdown, Arkansas

We departed Hollister on the 9th of January and having already decided that there was no need to drive excessive amounts in a day (unlike my motorcycling days) had ours days journey set on Alma, Arkansas for a night then on to Ashdown, Arkansas, where we would stay for a week.  On this first leg of the trip Cindy followed me and since her Mustang was far quicker and more maneuverable than my truck with 42 feet of home behind it, that night we decided that she should just drive to the next destination and we would meet up there.  I have to say that doing this even made the driving easier for me because with her following me I would try to time the stop lights so that we would both make it and so on. Our home is 13 feet, 6 inches tall and this made it difficult for anyone following to see the lights or traffic that lie ahead. I am proud to say that upon my arrival at Millwood Landing RV Resort in Ashdown, there she was.  We both celebrated this achievement and agreed that she should just go at her own pace from now own. 

I got to do a little fishing while we were at Millwood and managed to land one decent sized sunfish. I also had a complete bonehead event that I am sure (at least I hope I'm not alone in this) has happened to others.  The first night at Millwood I decided to not hook up the sewer connection so therefore the tank valves were all closed.  Well, I rinsed a glass in the kitchen sink and got called away or distracted or just simply had an old man moment, either way I managed to awaken to a really strange chirping noise and step out of bed onto a wet floor! No damage done, just a kick myself moment for being such an airhead.

This one was about the size of my hand.

Well, other than my own stupidity, we had a good week at Millwood, mostly just chilled and relaxed then we headed out for our next destination, Huntsville State Park in Huntsville, Texas. This was very close to where my brother lived so it would be a great opportunity to spend some time with him and his wife.  Normally we would just set up in his yard for our visit but I decided this year to go to the state park.  The sites were ample in size but the amount of money it cost to stay there weighed against the amenities offered I can say that we will most likely not stay at this park again, we will instead spend the same amount or most likely less money and have more amenities to enjoy.  Huntsville was a good week, just not anything to write home about. The weather was rather dreary for the most part so we didn't even get to do any cruising in the convertible.

Our site at Huntsville State Park

We left Huntsville and headed on to our next destination, one that we were both looking forward to because it was on the Texas Coast and we were going to connect with some friends from our time at Basswood, Rod and Kay.  The drive south was un-eventful except for the hard headwind for most of the trip.  Brutus did a great job as far as power but that wind killed my fuel mileage.  I guess a second thing that would be noteworthy is that Cindy made it to the Copano Bay RV Resort with absolutely zero problems while I, the one that always was talking about her getting lost, made a wrong turn and had to backtrack in order to get to the campground. Now keep in mind the hard headwind and this wrong turn, they become a humorous punch to the face in a bit.

We got in a lot of convertible time on this leg of the trip, cruising from Rockport, Texas to Port Aransas, Mustang Island and Corpus Christi. We got together with Rod and Kay for a day out on the island.  They gave us the grand tour via golf cart with Rod revealing one of his favorite activities on the island, belt sander racing!  That looked to be a very fun and economical way to get your competitive rush!  The RV resort was extremely nice with concrete pads that were level, a nice heated pool (haven't figured out why they had a heated pool in south Texas but they did), We made several trips to Port Aransas and the island, got to play in the ocean and just have a whole lot of fun.  We headed out of there just in time, just a few days later that part of Texas, as well as the entire state of Texas saw record breaking low temps accompanied by SNOW.  Talk about good timing! 

Remember the hard wind and wrong turn I mentioned earlier?  Well it helped to create another stupid moment first for me.  When we get to our site, I unhook the truck and parked it for the duration.  On the next to the last day of our stay I drive into town and fuel up the truck so that I don't have to deal with it loaded.  I knew that I was very low on fuel from the aforementioned events but didn't realize just how low.  You guessed it, I got about a mile from the campsite and ran out of fuel.  I walked all the way back, got the car and proceeded to go buy a fuel can (that now resides in the back of the truck full of fuel) got fuel, took the car back to the site, walked back to the truck and then back to our site.

Our home for a week in Rockport, Texas, Copano Bay RV Resort

The "heated" pool

Krystal on the ferry to Port Aransas

Krystal on "Mustang" Island

A thousand year (plus) oak tree. Big tourist attraction here

Cindy holding Rosy Boa at botanical gardens

Some of the beauty at the gardens (the flowers aren't bad either)

Toes in the sand, Mustang Island

some beauty (and a statue) botanical gardens

A belt sander drag strip

Great friends, Rod and Kay

One night at Boomtown RV Resort, Vidor, Texas
This was a stop over and the campground was one 
of the nicest I have seen. Definitely on our radar
next year for a longer stay!

 

From Vidor we headed east, on to Abita Springs RV Resort in Abita Springs, Louisiana.  Normally we would go to all sorts of Mardi Gras activities while here but thanks to the covid 19 BS, those activities were greatly reduced.  I'll do another chapter about the good times we did have here including a visit from some more great friends soon in my next blog.  Thanks for reading and please follow me if you enjoyed this.