4.27.14 – 4.29.14 -
Blackwater River State Park: This
State Park is in the Florida Panhandle, 30 miles Northeast of Pensacola. We pulled in Sunday afternoon after a few
hours driving under clouds and just a small amount of rain. Monday was a “work”
day, as we did a WalMart run 15 miles away to Crestview, FL which is also our
legal address and where all our mail is sent.
The mail service then forwards to whatever address we request. Since we
were close, we picked up our mail and were able to see for the first
time the physical address which is on our drivers license and voter
registration card.. Today was also
Laundry Day, so we found a Laundromat using the GPS and did the deed in about 2
hours. While the laundry was drying, I
spotted the courthouse down the street and walked over and arranged for
absentee ballots to be sent so we could vote next November via mail from
Arizona.
4.30.14 – 5.2.14
Tuesday morning we left Blackwater and drove to Fontainebleau State
Park, 24 miles across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. After we got set up, we turned on the TV and
heard that the heavy rains which we seemed to escape, had inundated Pensacola
to Crestview, caused flooding and forced the closing of Blackwater State Park,
where we were just a few hours earlier, as well as several roads we used to
access the park. I-10 was also closed down in
both directions due to a fiery truck crash on a bridge.
I guess it was my great planning that got us out in the nick of time.
On Wednesday we crossed Lake Pontchartrain via the 24 miles
causeway that passes the middle of the lake into New Orleans for a toll of
$3.00. The causeway is a four lane (2
lanes each direction) concrete highway that isn’t very smooth. Where the concrete slabs join there is a
little hump that in our heavy duty truck we’re getting a little bounce every
second for 24 miles. It got a little annoying, but the alternative is to drive
around the lake which would add 45 minutes to the trip.
We’ve been to New Orleans a number of times, so our routine
is to first find a place to park, which we do on a side street a few miles away
from town just off Canal Street. We then take the Canal Street trolley into
town and spend the afternoon walking around the French Quarter, Jefferson
Square and enjoying the local food.
This trip, we were verbally accosted twice by local drunks.
The first was a young man on the sidewalk who out of the blue extended his
middle finger stating F*** You, over and over as we walked by. Just an hour later in Jefferson Square we were
sitting on a bench and the young man on the bench jumped up and did a very
similar thing and then rode away on his bicycle. Weird people here.
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| New Orleans Selfie - Do these people appear threatening? |
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| Lake Pontchartrain on the beach at Fontainebleau State Park |
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| Jackson Square - New Orleans. Ask her about your future |
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| Jackson Square Sites |
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Trolley on Canal Street
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| Bourbon Street - Wall to wall people at night |
5.2.14 – 5.4.14 – Chicot State Park near Ville Platte,
LA. -
The weather has been great since we left Florida. We left New Orleans very
satisfied (Great food & good time) and travelled Northwest to another
Louisiana State Park; Chicot State Park. After arriving and setting up, we discovered that
in our campground loop this weekend was an annual Dutch Oven Gathering (DOG) of
the Louisiana Dutch Oven Society. They
were serving jambalaya to anyone who wanted it (we had just finished our
dinner) prepared in their Dutch Ovens.
We were not hungry and were a bit late to partake, but it was a nice
gesture of them to invite all campers.
5.4.14 – 5.6.14 – Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack, TX: As I write this update, we are just a few
miles from the Louisiana/Texas State line.
This area is still a lot like Louisiana with the swamps, alligators, and
here, more poison ivy than I have ever seen. We don’t dare get off the pavement
as the poison ivy is everywhere – on trees, tree stumps, growing in the weeds
all over the place. Otherwise, this is a
really nice park.
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| Our Home at Caddo Lake |
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This is Texas - Feels like Florida
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