Gulf Coast

(1) It takes courage to eat gumbo! The shrimp looks like a slug floating in brown liquid with big chunks of scary sausage. Odinarily I would not eat such interesting food, but the flavor is delicious and I am down south. (When in Rome...) Last year, I had some gumbo made by a fellow in a store front restaurant in the puckerbrush areas of LA. It had sausage, shrimp, chicken with the skin and bones floating around. Really - it looked like something cannibals had cooked up. Bob does not even want to be in the camper, just keeps wrinkling his nose and saying, "Eeyewww." (2) We saw a gift/used stuff/antique store named Artsy Fartsy in Mississippi. (3) We are at Gulf State Park, AL. Huge campground, more than 400 sites. It has many clean b'rooms, activity building, nature building, pool for summer. Good job, Alabama. Deep freeze and maybe snow predicted. Schools already closed for today (Tues.) and Wed. Folks don't have winter clothes and can't drive when it's icy. We'll be OK in our snug as a bug camper. We both have electric throws which are a good size for a camper bed. As long as the campground has electricity, we are happy. We can do more primitive camping, but we like the easy comfort of being able to plug in! (4) Next Saturday, we will be at a Mardi Gras Parade on Dauphin Island. Such fun and silliness.

More Cold But Warm Memories

Good thing we are tough New Englanders as it's still PDC, as in Pretty Darn Cold. A couple of folks in tents last night. While I have been in a tent in the 20's and 30's while hiking, I will say, it is not fun shivering all night. No matter how many layers you have on, when it's cold, it's cold. We will probably be off line for a while as the library is closed on Sunday. We plan to go to the local Episcopal Church tomorrow morning, then drive to Alabama Monday morning. We had a gala night last night at the local Ocean Springs Elementary School. Bob proposed to me at a spaghetti supper in Holliston at the high school more than 24 years ago. What a romantic guy! So he asked me last night if I'd like to spend 20 or so years more with him - a sort of second proposal given the atmosphere (paper plates, bright lights, kids, cafeteria stools). I agreed to do so. :) XOXO. While I am sorry not to be biking my big goal of the USA, we are really enjoying some extra time to poke along the Gulf Coast and spend more than one night at a campground. It's all good!

Cold in Mississippi

Travel day yesterday from LA to MS. Last night and for a few days we will be at Gulf Shores National Park Campground in Ocean Springs, MS. Ocean Springs is a lovely southern town feeling a bit like New Orleans with lovely old trees downtown with branches hanging over the streets, flowers abundant, balconies with little cafes, a vegan restaurant, and a wonderful Mardi Gras Parade which, sadly, we will miss this year as we are too early. After a couple more days, we will head for Gulf State Park, AL. This is a beautiful campground and we are keeping our fingers crossed for an open space. We will also go to Lambert's Café, "Home of Throwed Rolls." It was featured on Diners, rive-ins and Dives on TV. We were there last year and can't wait to get back. Bob and I are at the O.S. Library as the campground does not have WIFI. I will report on the Throwed Rolls - The servers actually toss the rolls to you. They toss them far if you look like a good catcher but(how insulting) they practically dropped one in my lap. These are big, warm home made rolls. They bring around apple butter if you want some or some molasses. Check out Lambert's on line. By the way, folks are really freaking out about the 30 degree temps at night. OMG, protect your animals, wrap your pipes, cover your plants. Of course, they do not have cellars and pipes buried deep.

Birds, Armadillos and Farl Cats

Farl is LA speak for feral. We are at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park in the bayou area of the Atchafalaya Delta. We drove along the levees for many miles to get here. We had a couple of armadillos in our campsite last night which were absolutely unconcerned about our lights shining on them. Snuffle, dig, rustle, shuffle. What wonderful works of nature they are. Also loud hoots from a barred owl. We have camper neighbors from LA who invited us to share their campfire last night, friendly and chatty. While still in TX, we drove through Aransas Wildlife Refuge and saw two Whooping Cranes in a low tidal flat. We have seen several birds for the first time on this trip. Padre Island NP, we saw white tailed hawks, snow geese, and snipes. An amazing birding location helped along by two knowledgeable volunteers on a bird sighting drive and walk. Other sightings include: kestrel, falcon, myriad ducks, geese, herons, pelicans - both brown and white, northern harriers, many caracara. Although I gave up biking across the USA due to unsafe road conditions, I still try to include lots of activity time. This trip into the delta area is a bonus that we would not have been able to take the time for, as I would still be biking in TX. I am going to re entertain the goal of doing the east Coast, Canada to Key West. The Eastcoast Greenway is an organization and a route. Approximately 30% of the bike right of way is on green space dedicated to bike and pedestrian use. Several years ago, I completed from Bar Harbor to Portsmouth, NH about 350 miles. A couple of advantages: Much of the route is close to home and can be accessed in a day or two. We head south in the winter and I will be able to bike from NC to Key West in January and February depending on current conditions. And, a biggie, the speed limit will not be 75 MPH. in West Texas, some of the cars were going a tad faster, I suspect.

Another Texas Day

The Pennsylvania post is in the wrong time sequence but Bob found it in a draft. I biked yesterday on a Farm Ranch Road for 22 miles. 22 miles with scrub vegetation, a few grazing farm animals, some birds. I have never seen a longspur before which is a chunky robin sized brownish bird that shows white tail feathers when it flies. I was on a very hilly road in a very brisk wind and felt good about the 22 miles even though I fantasize about doing prodigious miles in one outing. Today, we parked along a highway overlooking Laughlin, AFB to watch the jets with student pilots doing "touch and go." We attracted the attention of the base security, sheriff's department and the Border Patrol. Holy cow! After some posturing and checking ID's we were allowed to move along. After our adventures with the Texas assorted police, we went to the San Filipe Bike Trail and biked some lovely and tame miles along the San Filipe Creek. This park is near the center of Del Rio and offers a greenway and safe biking and strolling. We are spending our third night at the Broke Mill RV Park in Del Rio, TX. It's a wonderful campground with many amenities such as a fitness room, laundry, free morning coffee, large sites and not too many people right now (hurray!). We were visited early yesterday morning by two vary large jackrabbits with quite amazing ears.

Holliston to PA Welcome Center

Holliston to Pennsylvania in the bitter cold.  We stopped at the Rt. 84 PA Welcome Center to pay homage to the bear-in-the-box.  I will keep trying to upload the photo but so far no luck.  This 701 pound bear was illegally shot so is now in a Plexiglas box.  Kind of a sad ending for a magnificent fellow.

Inspirational Reading

My friend Barbara gave us two inspirational things to bring, one a gift and one a loaner.  The gift is a small medallion to put on the visor. It says:  "Life is a journey, God is my guide; we travel safely together side by side."  We know that God, and the good wishes of friends and family go with us just as our prayers for our loved ones travel also.  The loaner is a book of sermons by The Rev. Chandler McCarthy.  I am reading one a day orally to Bob and for myself as we travel.  He must have been wonderful to hear in person. For more Episcopal inspiration, I also read the daily offering from Forward Day by Day. 


I do several oral readings each day.  I gave Bob a small pamphlet, "Walking with Pope Francis: 30 Days with the Encyclical The Light of Faith."  I bought it for Bob's Christmas stocking as he likes reading about popes and their histories.  I was surprised at the sweet spirituality in each day's selection:  A brief scripture passage, a prayer and a thought for the day. Another book that I am reading bit by bit is the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.  How many times have I read it and how new does it sound?  Amazing how timeless the message is. 


Finally, to prevent our getting too other worldly, I am reading "Captivated" by Nora Roberts.  Kate and I both really have enjoyed the Family Donovan series. The main characters are all witches with different gifts:  magic, or seeing as in being psychic, or empathy.  In "Captivated" Morgana is a witch whose special gift is magic and who falls in love with a normal man.  Yes, I am reading all, even the more romantic parts. (Her skin was like milk in the moonlight. Her hair smelled like forest and secrets.  She trembled and sighed in his arms completely humbling him.) He annoys her also and he narrowly escapes being changed into a braying donkey! 



 

Some Texas Impressions and Sights

Texas has some amazing rest stops. One today is a combo of rest stop, playground, picnic area and safety center for severe weather.  Texas public campgrounds have very large sites and are well maintained. Last night we were at Lake Whitney State Park and no one else was camping in the loop we chose. Just the way we two Old Fuddy Duddies like it!  There were many mule deer, several flocks of meadowlarks wintering here, and coyotes yowling in the moonlit night.  And black vultures are so numerous perched on utility poles and trees that we call them pigeon vultures.  This section of Texas has long stretches of semi arid land with some cattle, a few horses and a couple of very fat goats. We blasted through San Antonio, Dallas, Austin on major roads.  The secondary roads have some sad little communities with run down homes, empty store buildings and not much happening, but if you need Walmart or a dollar store, they abound.  We are in Del Rio right on the USA/Mexico border. I start biking tomorrow and I have observed that there are some major hills - not all of TX is flat!

Weiners and Treadmills

http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20140110/NEWS/301100020/Wienermobile-stops-Jackson-more-visits-West-Tenn-today-weekend


And we saw it rolling down the highway. 


Happy Nan.  There is a Golds Gym that is free to Econolodge guests with room key.  :)

Snow and Bathing Suit

Photo taken Friday morning, January 3 after big Nor'easter complete with about 10 inches of fluffy snow, blowing gusts of wind, and temps in the single digits.  Actually, we will be heading for Texas before Florida so that I can continue biking the USA, but Florida sounded better with the bathing suit and hat.  I have completed from St Augustine, FL to the TX/LA line (all the really flat sections).  The goal is San Diego before I am 80 years old.  One reason to post a pretrip blog is that I sort of forgot "how to."  Happy New Year!