May 21, 2021 Pottygate

 

May 21, 2021

 

I know how to charm the humans.  Sometimes when we are in the little house that moves, another human will come and talk to my humans.  They see me and start talking to me.  I give them a look, then I yawn, showing my awesome teeth.  Then I stretch out my leg and show them my massive paw.  They melt!  IT works every time!

 

This is a great campground.  It is so quiet except for the critters.  The spaces are large and wooded.  This morning, my walk took me on some of the trails the Civil war soldiers took on the attack on Fort Blakeley.  Although the trails are worn, they are still somewhat primitive.  It is really easy to let your imagination visualize what happened here.  The trails are heavily wooded and there are creeks.  Oh, and without the wind, there are bugs.  You can hear the wind in the treetops, but down below it is still.

When I got back to Hannah, Spouse was readying her for the next leg of our journey.  He was draining the tanks.  There is a certain sequence to follow when doing this.  First, the black tank (toilet), then the gray tank (galley) then the shower.  In theory, this allows you to dump your waste while subsequently cleaning the sewer lines with soapy water.  Spouse decided to also do a special cleaning of the black tank by hooking a hose to a nozzle that will spray inside the tank to super clean.  He has done this a gazillion times before, but now, he can’t hear the nozzle spraying.  He asked me to be his ears and I couldn’t hear it either.  One thing led to another and the next thing I see is an exasperated spouse telling me we are in trouble as he broke the lever that allows us to drain the black tank.  And because it hadn’t drained very much, we couldn’t use it until he fixed it.   Ok…  I think I have a urinary tract infection brewing and you are telling me I can’t use our toilet???  Oh no, this is NOT going to work. 

I check for the nearest Camping World.  It is 25 miles in the opposite direction that we wanted to go but too bad!  Normally, Camping Worlds are on the outskirts of a big city on a major highway.  Oh no…  we get to go 10 miles off I10 towards the gulf… where there are winds…  blowing sand…  They had the part but could not help us so we decided to head on our way and fix it when we stopped for the night… if it can be fixed…  Then Spouse had to stop at a Bass Pro Shop.  It is now 1 PM, and we are basically at the same place we were at this morning.  Not much progress.  Oh well…

So off we went, back towards Mobile and the glorious traffic.  After the tunnel which goes under the water, we exited on Water Street which brought us into the center of town.  Clean buildings light traffic, but there was something missing…  there were no homeless encampments!  How did they do that? We eventually got on to Hwy 45 going northwest.  We decided to double back a bit and pick up the Natchez Trace Trail.  This trail goes northeast across Mississippi, Alabama and into Tennessee.  It is historical and supposedly pretty, so we shall see.

We head through Citronelle and up to Waynesboro, Mississippi.  We have been on a two lane highway that slows through the few small towns but is otherwise fast moving.  Lots of green, trees, farms, ponds and generally, quite pretty.  Once we cross into Mississippi, the highway becomes divided by a huge grassy median.  We head west on Hwy 84 and decided to stop at Maynor Creek Water Park.  It is a Friday night, and it seems that this is quite the place to go so we are doubtful about getting a spot.  Then I saw a sign that this is a dry county and alcohol will not be tolerated….  I knew we were in!  We got a decent spot.  There is a huge lake where I was told the bass fishing is great.  Don’t know about waterskiing, guess I will see in the morning.

When we set up Hannah, Spouse started working on the black tank lever.  My hero… he fixed it!  I am sure that will result in my urinary tract infection clearing up all on its own!  We shall see…

Still no wi-fi.  This has been an incredible stretch of no wi-fi!

May 20, 2021 Golf on the Robert Trent Jones Trail

 

 

May 20, 2021

 

I got to go outside again and eat grass and throw up.  I really like it here.

Today we went to Magnolia Grove golf course.  It is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail which has a few hundred golf courses all around Alabama.  You can buy a trail card and get some great discounts if you were going to use the courses frequently.  It is a great deal for golfers.

We played the Falls course, and I was allowed to walk.  They do not provide push/pull carts, but I had my own so I was good.  Spouse rode.  We got there early and they let us off early as a twosome.  We were all alone the entire day!  It was awesome!  The weather is good, some clouds and a good breeze.  Actually, at times it was a strong wind, but it kept it comfortable given that it is a bit humid.  It is such a lush green.  And it is hilly… big hills, little hills, undulations… quite the cardio workout!  Spouse had a problem right off as his ‘Greg Norman Secret’ had a bad piece of Velcro.  This device straps on your hand and wrist and keeps you from breaking your wrist in your swing.  However, he was hitting the ball darned good without it!  I hope he never uses it again!  Did I mention there were hills?

Knowledge of the course is so beneficial.  There were so many blind shots, that when you got to the top of the hill, you see you may have wanted to be more left, or more right.  There were several holes where we had to lay up before the green as we would never have enough oomph on our ball to carry the distance over the hazard.  Those shots are for the big kids.  We lost a few balls, all part of the fun. Fortunately for us, we are not long hitters off the tee.  We both played from the forward tee.  Spouse is not that good, so this made it much easier for him to enjoy.  And the wind presented lots of challenges.  At times for me, it was a 3 club difference in my club selection.  You just hope the wind doesn’t die in your backswing otherwise you are over the green… way over the green.  And Spouse is forever a scrounge… hits one ball into the woods, and comes out with 5 balls plus his own…  He can’t help himself

At one point, we helped a cute box turtle get out of the trail.  Pretty thing it is!

 

We enjoyed the 19^th hole and split a lunch.  Spouse was sure our lunch would be expensive and he was not happy about eating at the course.  It was a $13 burger with really good stuff on it…  A far cry from the blustery $70 he was sure we would spend on an elaborate meal…  Ok… when you add the drinks…  it was a bit of a tab…  As for my score?  Front nine was kind of sucky.  The back nine was kind of sucky +1.  Spouse actually did pretty well given the difficulty of the course at 118.

We made the long drive back to Hannah.  We have not had to use air conditioning.  She is shaded in the woods and there has been a decent breeze.  At night though it gets a little still.  Spouse put out the shade awning and sat with Rudy while he toured the area.  He loves to eat grass and puke…  Aren’t cats fun?

Then it happened.  He tried to close the shade awning and got the cord tangled… big time.  He whined and sniveled.  He went on top of Hannah and tried to get it from there.  I told him to move the truck over and he could stand on that.  He refused, and refused and refused… until he thought it was a good idea.  He ultimately got it untangled while standing on the truck.

Oh, had another fight with the GPS.  The sign said go left, she said go straight 2 miles so you can make a turn and come back 2 miles on another road.  Ummm….  Then she sent us home even a different way.  I think the GPS gods watch down and have good chuckles at our expense!

 

We haven’t had Wi-Fi for ages.  I used my phone as a hot spot to post a few blogs, but that is not ideal.

May 19, 2021 When life deals a lemon, make lemonade

 

May 19, 2021

 

I really like this place and my humans let me sniff all around.  But something came inside and chased me, and I couldn’t see what it was.

Woke up to winds, what a surprise.  We are somewhat sheltered behind the Elks Lodge, but you can still feel it and definitely hear it.  At one point, my door slammed shut even though it was secured in the open position.  Then Rudy started running all over.  I think those folks in the cemetery were having fun with us.

The skies were threatening so I brought my rain poncho with me on my walk, but never really needed it.  I weaved through the neighborhoods in the opposite direction from yesterday, keeping away from the beach because of the winds.

We readied Hannah for the short drive to Mobile, Alabama.  Some friends told us about a great WW!! Museum there so we figured we would check it out.  It is roughly 60 miles from Biloxi.  I notice a state park right outside of Mobile so we headed to Meaher State Park… Only the inn was full.  WHAT?   All of these large RV spaces with killer bay views are taken? This is a first!  I think this is the beginning… 

We see another state park about 7 miles away so we headed there.  Actually, the GPS said it was 5 miles and deposited us at an overgrow dirt road with a gate that hadn’t been opened this century, but we kept going because I SAW A SIGN and knew it was here.   Blakely State Park had an opening for 2 nights so we took it even though we wanted 3 nights.  Oh well…  Casey, the attendant that helped us get the spot was so totally enthralled with Rudy.  Oh, he can charm the ladies!

I looked online for the WW!! Museum, but nothing jumped out at me.  We had asked Casey and she did not know of it.  So we called Jim and Terri…  Oh, it is the best… but maybe it wasn’t in Mobile.  Oh, that’s right, it is in New Orleans…  Never mind…

When life deals you a lemon, make lemonade.  Much to our surprise, we are camped in a place where the last battle of the Civil War took place.  We have a huge woodsy campsite with a fire ring and full hookups (no WI-FI).  It is kind of weird reveling in our good fortune on land that had so much bloodshed.  I envision one of the soldiers looking down and thinking that we are camping in the same spot where he ‘got his leg all blowed off’!  We toured the battlefield and the exhibits.  Seeing the entrenchments (redoubts) and bunkers allows you to visualize how it all came down.  No modern technology… no satellites, cell phones, etc.  Just one on one decimation.  The Confederates got real good at making landmines (they called them torpedos).  The north felt that was so uncivilized… as if war is civilized in any fashion! 

It is lush and green with long leaf pines, magnolias and sassafras trees.  Did you know that dried sassafras leaves are what is used for file in gumbo? 

Back at camp, Spouse started a fire in the fire ring.  When we got here, he scoured the vacant campsites and collected all the firewood that had been left behind.  He is such a scrounge!  He just can’t help himself! The wood is kind of green and isn’t burning the best.  But dried magnolia leaves really help!

 

Thwack thwack pffft!  Thwack!  THWACK!  PFFFFFT!

Spouse, can you hear that?  Ha, he can’t hear a siren when it is right near his ear, he isn’t going to hear the assault on Hannah.

Spouse, it is big!  Can you feel Hannah rock?  I think it is a vampire!  Don’t open that screen door!  It will come in and eat us.

Spouse scoffed… it’s a June bug and a moth… 

May 18, 2021 A visit to Jeffy's

 

May 18, 2021

 

 

I really like exploring around here.  My humans let me roam free for a while!  What a treat!

At 5am, I heard the rain pelting down.  I am warm and dry but what does this day hold for us?  After my coffee, the rain had stopped.  It was quite breezy and the skies were still threatening so I put on my poncho and headed out for my walk.

I toured the neighboring cemetary.cemetery.  Some headstones went back to the late 1800’s.  The most recent I noticed was the 1970’s but I am sure there are later ‘guests’.  Onto the street, I turned west along the beachfront.  I stayed on the side of the street with all the houses and such as the beach side seemed more exposed to the wind.  Such a variety of buildings line the beachfront.  Some small houses, some larger houses, a hotel, vacant lots.  One block away from the beach are lots of smaller houses.

 

The sand has blown across the road onto this side of the street.  This sand is not native to here.  The sandy beaches were created with sand imported from Australia.  Before, it was just rock and tree stumps and native shrubs.  When I turned around to come back, the wind pushed hard.  I went up a block away from the beach so I could actually make forward progress.  The seas are choppy and there will be more rain.

Back at Hannah, we decided to go see Jefferson Davis’s home and presidential museum.  I do NOT intend to get political here.  He was the only president of the Confederacy.  Before that, he was a congressman, a senator, secretary of war, etc.  He was a respected patriot among many northerners and southerners.  While most people see the civil war as all about slavery, Jeffy boy saw it as an assault on states rights.  He had to go up against all the improvements he had made as secretary of war when he flipped sides .

The house itself still has much of its original floors, windows and furniture pieces.  The ceiling was handpainted and is still intact, even after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc.  His daughter Winnie’s piano alone hashad more than $1M damage to it.  It took 3 years to repair the damage Katrina did, but they were able to save so much of the house.

The museum has many civil war artifacts and is quite informative.  .  Bottom line, this was such a significant part of our history, it was well worth the visit. 

Now, a little lesson on how to use a GPS…  When we are on the road, I always have a map on my lap so I can either approve the GPS route, or shape it to my liking.  But when we are in a city, we have to depend on ‘her’.  So when we first were going to Beauvoir (Jeffy’s house), she gave us the freeway exit.  We saw a sign to go left, but the GPS said to go right.   While I have eyes in my head, Spouse follows ‘her’ blindly and turns right.  SHE IS WRONG!  Sure, maybe we would get there eventually, but THERE ARE SHORTER ROUTES!  I have seen this more than once (not just with this GPS but with others too).  YOU MUST USE YOUR EYES!  Spouse and I are having battles here.  He says to ask her for a restaurant…  I say let’s use our eyes and when we see one that looks interesting, let’s go.  So far, I have been right.  After all, it’s not like she has every restaurant on the planet inside her.  And a few she has steered us to have been non-existant.  EYES… 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…  We went into the Elks for a drink and our bartender Linda gave us a book on the before and after of Katrina along the shores here.  All I can say is … WOW!

 

May 17, 2021 Biloxi not so blues

 

 

 

 

 

May 17, 2021

 

 

Sometimes, my humans don’t go to be when they should.  I wonder why that is.

Woke up to a cloudy morning.  It is raining a bit, so I put on my poncho and started my walk.  Spouse’s hip is bothering him so he stayed behind.  I walked through Grand Isle State Park.  I checked out the observation tower and saw fishing boats heading out into the gulf.  It is a bit choppy out there, but not too bad.  There is a rock jetty that protects the beach.  This is a barrier island and weather reshapes barrier islands over and over again.  The jetty is there to slow the progress.  Weather will ultimately win…

The rain has stopped so I continued walking on a nature trail.  The trail is a loop that goes along an inlet.  People are fishing, but they only caught 2 salt water trout.  They said they should have caught a lot more.  We heard the same complaint from others in the RV park.  I cross a bridge then trek through a trail with lots of beach scrub.  Many flowers are still in bloom, but eventually the trail gets too overgrown, so I cut out and hit the pavement.  Just as I was getting back to Hannah, the rain started.  I WIN!

We decided to head for Biloxi today, this time for sure!  It is raining as we leave.  Since most of Louisiana is at sea level, and the roads are sea level + one inch, how will the rain affect us?  Will we be swimming?  It wasn’t raining too hard until we got to the bridge, you know, that hunk of concrete that elevates you way above the water.  Rain… we scoff at you!  We retrace our steps past the marshes and sandy shoals, then turn on Hwy 1, then Hwy 90. 

Hwy 90 is a four lane highway, but there are cross streets and commerce.  Commerce as in a small market kiosk with Cajun treats, such as pork and alligator sausage…  and spicy crackers (too salty for me but Spouse loves them), and fresh peaches.  Then on to 310, then I10 east.  We bypass New Orleans on 610 and as we get back on 10, the rain intensifies.  As we cross the bridge over Lake Ponchartrain, the incoming gulf waters are angry with whitecaps.  It is raining hard.  I heard that I10 west of us near Baton Rouge had to close.

We cross into Mississippi.  Now, here is where the GPS and I do NOT see eye to eye…  We decided to stay at the elks lodge in Biloxi.  When I tried to key in the address, the only option she gave me was in the town of Waveland, which is close to Biloxi, so I am thinking we will try it.  Did I mention it is raining?  Hard?  Anyhow, we follow the GPS to the beach as we expected.  The beach front road is small, and we are big (but we fit).  BUT…  Mississippi is just as flat as Louisiana, and they are way close to the water.  There is a laughable tiny seawall of maybe a foot or two.  The gulf chop is breaking over the sea wall and onto the street.  The GPS takes us to a field – obviously not the right place.  While we could continue to take this ‘scenic’ route along the beach front, we both thought that was a big NEGATORY!  Now the GPS gave me all sorts of options, and I see the correct one.  Back to I10.  This time when we ended up on the beach, it is in the right spot.  This Elks lodge is right across the street from the beach in a fabulous location right in Biloxi.  There is a cemetery on two sides of the property (I think Spouse is prepared for any zombie apocalypse that might happen).  And we are near train tracks.  I know that because when the trains come through, it is like a happy hour for them and they are tooting their horns BIG TIME!

There are only a few spots here in a back lot with large trees.  Although we see quite a few electric boxes and water, we also see broken lines.  The spots are not formal spaces, but we found a box that works, and we have water so we are good.  The rain has stopped, but it is cool.  No need for air conditioning.  Rudy loves it here!  He is sniffing and snorting and pulling at his leash.

 

We did a little exploring.  Biloxi is kind of like Vegas on the Gulf.  Harrahs, Golden Nugget and more casinos dot the area.  They are not all close together like the Vegas Strip.  There are marinas and beaches.  We were going to go to a casino for their buffet, but we really don’t like casinos and their food is always mediocre so why were we thinking that?

We stopped at Saltgrass Steakhouse instead and oinked it up.  I must say I do miss salads…

May 16, 2021 This is why we don’t make reservations…

 

May 16, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

There are these cute little flying critters.  I have been trying to catch one but they are fast.  I also so a human on top of a really big dog!  The dog kind of whinnied!  What a weird dog!

 

The skies are slightly threatening.  I know if I bring an umbrella on my walk, it will not rain.  Spouse starts out with me and we head over to a trail that takes us down the road past the equestrian center.  The water level is so high here, it is wet nearly to the sidewalk and there are lakes of water that are actually navigable through the woods.  The trail leads us to a beautiful park.  Spouse heads back, and I continue on.  Eventually, I end up roaming a residential neighborhood with the Louisiana style tract homes.  They do not look the same in many ways, but then they do.  They have brick facades and high pitched roofs, but then there are many variations.  The lots are decent sized and the landscaping is nicely manicured throughout.  It made for a pleasant walk.

Meanwhile, back at Hannah… Spouse is in an industrious mood, cleaning and fixing things.  I LOVE IT! We readied Hannah for departure. Baton Rouge has been a fabulous stop, but it is time to move on.  I have to say, I am surprised that we did not encounter any bugs.  I hear they spray for bugs.  Maybe that is why we saw a huge cancer institute…

Today we are heading to Biloxi… or are we…  Now… this is why we don’t make reservations.  In looking at the map, wouldn’t it be fun to go south and take one of those tiny roads all the way to the gulf?  I mean, who comes to Louisiana and does that?

We started east on I10, then switched to Hwy 61, then this then that.  It is rural and green.  Some big houses here, some tiny houses there.  A farm, a ranch, a tiny town.  Even an old plantation.  What trees!  Roadkill included opossum, armadillo and a fair sized gator.  We get to Thibidaux, which is a fairly large town and make a decision.  We were going to stay in Houma another 20 miles down the road, unhook Hannah and go exploring.  But now, let’s just stay hooked and see what we find. 

We stopped at the Walk Ons Sports Bar for lunch.  A gator wrap (sure hope it wasn’t from the roadkill we saw earlier) and crawfish etouffee.  I love fooooood.  But on we go.

We take a series of roads south and souther and more south.  We are on backroads, and even our backroads have more backroads! The road is only a few inches above the water level.  It seems as we cross over a bridge, the weight of our rig will sink the road and we will all be swimming!  As we pass the town of Golden Meadow, we see boat yards and fleets of fishing boats.  We notice there is a lock for passing upstream.  In the town of Leeville, we stop at a toll booth to cross a bridge.  The lady was so cute and gave Rudy some treats that he wolfed down right then.  Oh he does know how to charm the ladies…

And then the bridge… miles of bridge over the gulf.  We get a great view of all the grassy shoals, marshes and little islands.  Mariners sure need a good set of charts for this area as there looks like lots of shallow spots.  Back on terra firma, we are on a narrow spit of land heading northeast.  There is a small community of houses on stilts.  It seems the higher the stilts, the larger the boat is that is stored under the house.  The houses all have names that, I am sure, divulge some of the personality of the owner.  For example, ‘Julias Bright Idea’ is a bright yellow house.  ‘The Recovery Room’ must belong to a surgeon.  The ‘Eye Land Retreat’ must be an opthamologist.  Definitely creates topics of conversation.  Like what does ‘The Six Pack’ mean to you?  A fitness trainer?  A party animal?

A few small hotels, restaurants and lots of fishing.  There seems to be no division in class in the houses.  Along the waterfront, we see no huge mansions.  All the homes seem to somewhat similar in size.  We see poles and crab traps.  At the very tip of the spit is Grand Isle State Park.  And they had a space waiting just for us.  And it is only a short walk to the beach… with warm water… and really soft sand.  And the weakest Wi-Fi on the planet!  The spaces are a decent size with a few palms in case you need to hang a hammock, and nice grass.  There is even a laundry room!  State parks are some nice places.

We will get to Biloxi… I know we will!

 

May 15, 2021 Cow Pie Slalom

 

 

May 15, 2021

 

 

There have been lots of winds so I feel I need to lay on my humans so they won’t fly away.

Yesterday, when we were on our bike ride, we met a gentleman that told us about a bike ride with the Boy Scouts.  So, this morning we thought we might hook up with them.  With less than a cup of coffee inside us, we headed to the levee going south, away from the city.  It is about 6:30 am.

There is a low mist hanging over the grounds on the left.  It is quite cool but sunny.  Green grass, grazing grounds, bee boxes, trees.  It is all bucolic southern America.  Somewhere in the distance, wood is burning but it is not offensive.  It actually smells good.  The trees in the river on our right go quite far out.  Occasionally, there is a road leading out to the real river, over the schmutz.  Egrets are feeding.  About 5 miles down, we cross a cattle guard.  Cows are on our trail wishing us good tidings… Or are they laughing at us as they deposit droppings on the trail…  Old cow patties, and fresh cow patties to be are all around.  We slalom around them as best we could till we crossed the exiting cattle guard.  It seems that each cow has its own personal egret.  I guess when the cow moves, the dragonflies come out and the egrets move in. 

After 8 miles, we see the Hotel L’Auberge.  The bike trail goes right into their valet parking.  The boy scouts are right across the street.  They offer a hearty breakfast…  donuts and banana.  There were two different rides offered.  One was 22 miles.  It went to the city, which we did yesterday.  The other is 43 miles.  It is on rural roads through farmlands and by bayous.  There is a shortcut that would cut about 10 miles off of that.

Since we had already ridden over 8 miles, and were going to have to add that same amount to go home, we figured we would do the southern route with the shortcut.  We were the only ones with electric bikes.  Everyone else had road bikes… nice road bikes… and they were talking about their century rides (100 miles).  Their bikes weigh 15 pounds and have tires the size of a monofilament.  We have tanks… that don’t maneuver well… mine weighs 65 pounds, Spouse’s is 80 pounds.  We have fat tires.  FAT tires… With our hearty breakfast behind us (two donut holes and a half of banana), we were ready.   When we started, Lance Armstrong and those skinny bikes left us eating their dust!  Actually, by the time we got to their wake, the dust was already settled!  Heck a 3 year old on a tricycle could probably leave us in the dust!  But we soldiered on.

We are on a rural road with beautiful pastures.  The few cars that pass are well aware that bikes are allowed to use the entire road and they are quite respectful.  We take the shortcut which takes us along a bayou and some more homes.  Hmm, someone dumped an easy chair.  Oh there is an armadillo carcass.  After about 6 miles, we realized that this was a lot more than we were going to enjoy on just two donut holes, so we turned around and headed home.  When we saw we could get up to the levee instead of the road, we went for it.  It wasn’t paved at this point.   HA HA HA you hot shot skinny tired road bikes!  Take that!  Bwaaaahaaaa!

AS it was, it was about a 30 mile ride.  We came back, cleaned up and drove back for our jambalaya lunch.

We then decided to drive the trail in our truck… Without the shortcut, it winds through countless farms.  We pass the Plaquemine Ferry, but not one car is around so it can’t be too busy.  We then follow the loop on Bayou Paul Rd.  This winds through neighborhoods where the dinky places might have slightly less than an acre of property.  Turning onto Manachac, there is a bayou on the left, and a mix of properties and more bayous on the right.  It is slow driving as we look for critters, and sure enough, we come upon a small gator resting on a log.  Next to it is a dead something.  We were trying to figure out what it was when a really big gator started munching on it. A turtle sat on a log watching the show.  All is fun in the bayou. 

Further down, we saw a house that is basically sitting in the bayou (a la Disneyland, Pirates of the Caribbean).  It is vacant now…  no kidding!  There were people kayaking through the bayou exploring.  Looked like fun.

Although it would have been fun to cruise this bayou on a bike, two donut holes would not have been enough fuel.  We would have petered out right where the gators could get us…  It was a good thing that we turned around when we did.  Our crotches thanked us for that decision too!

Back at Hannah, a little snooze and neighborhood visits topped off the day.