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.
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Brutus does his job very well, just not very efficiently.
Really can't complain, overall mpg for the trip was 9.5 |
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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.
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Just a few of the Mardi Gras sights
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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 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!
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| Our stationary lakeside front yard |
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| A view from the boat, just cruising and chillin. |
