Thanks for the Great Time!

Lori and John in Alabama! Wow, it was great to see these guys. It's been almost 2 years since they left Duck country. Here's their house in Auburn, it's off the chain (right Lu?). Anyway we had a blast just hangin out and visiting. Lori is planning her next big adventure. John is about halfway through classes for Dr school. Syd the dog is almost 15 and stiff hip aside, acting like a big puppy.




Southern BBQ . . . it is somethin special. We went to a place in Warm Springs, Georgia (where FDR built his southern whitehouse) and sat on the back porch, drank sweet tea, and ate BBQ. yum

BTW, apparently they DO fry everything!

We went the gardens and butterfly conservatory at Callaway Gardens in Georgia. I got really excited about the butterflies . . .

New Orleans

Quick trip to NO.

Got to see the French Quarter, Bourbon Street and stay in a funky (not in a good way) hotel a couple blocks off the main street.

Although we didnt go to areas where the effects of Katrina are still visible, we heard stories about FEMA waste and injustice, many people remain homeless and have not gotten their allocation to even start the rebuilding process.


And there is water everywhere. Much of the freeway is built as causeways just several feet above the swamps.












The streets in the French Quarter were charming and quiet.






What a blend of old and new.










And then there was Bourbon Street. We spent the evening checking out the tourist traps, junk shops and of course drinking Hurricane Rum


and listening to some great music. There's so much to see and do, we're going to go back real soon.


Next stop . . . Salt Lake City, whew - there's a contrast!

Medians to left of me, Guardrails to the right . . .

here I am - stuck in Peculiar, MO with you! Yes we are camping (almost) literally on the I-71, give or take 50 feet. The truck has been in and out of the shop three times this weeks, and this last time we were all hooked up, ready to leave town when it started acting up again. So, like the persistant consumers that we are, we pulled into the Ford service center (they were really happy to see us for the FOURTH time) and asked if we could sleep over.

Ahh, it takes me back to those wild days when we protested with the Sanderson's at the Volkswagon dealership for a grueling 2-3 hours one morning. (My arm hurt a little from holding the sign, and it was kinda chilly, but right is right.)

Anyway, we missed 2 clinics and a show in Houston this week. argh! Next stop is Baton Rouge for a flight out to visit Lori & John in 'bama . . . still hoping to make it Lu.

Drove around KC today on the scooter. Downtown is a nice mix of old/new architecture and some rolling green views from a bridge or two. Welp, time to head back to home-sweet-Ford. Be well and be in touch.

Islands, Faries and Sand Castles

We were driving to our next destination, Mustang Island on the Gulf of Mexico, near Corpus Christi. The map showed lots of bays with bridges, but it looked like hwy all the way to the island. About 10 miles from the island, we started seeing signs along the hwy explaining the rules on the ferry. FERRY-- WE"RE not getting on a ferry with a 40' trailer!!! We decided the ferry must be a tourist attraction. The signs kept passing by . . . no smoking on the ferry . . . turn off your engine on the ferry . . . etc. And yep, you guessed it, the ferry was part of the hwy system (darn map). We got in line expecting to be turned away, but they waived us on to a ferry through a tight S curve.

You sure we're gonna fit?
Please pull forward sir. The deck hand ran to the back of the trailer and then ran up to the bow of the boat where he instructed each of the cars in front of us to pull forward.
Is there a problem?
Please pull forward sir. Steve pulled forward again. More running.
Um, sir we're gonna have to ask you to back off of the ship.
We're sorry sir.
So off the boat we backed, through the S curve in reverse . . . good thing Steve was driving!
We're very sorry sir.





We made it on to the next ferry without any backing up, and looked up our reservation on Mustang Island. The RV manager said hey you guys are late . . . late for what we asked? The Sand Sculpture Contest! High tide is due in about 2 hours and they'll be gone, so we hopped on the scootercycle and headed down to the beach. Gosh are we glad we did. Here are some pix from the contest on the Gulf of Mexico. Really impressive, I hope the photos give you an idea of the details. More photos available upon request.

FLAG!

Texans are especially friendly, helpful and patriotic folk. There must be more American flags flying in east Texas than the whole rest of the States added together. And much of the time, right next to the 'ol stars and stripes will be a Texas State flag.

We've made a game out of it, kinda like Slug Bug (0nly no hitting). You get double points for objects that are not flags, but they have been painted in the likeness of the flag; coffee mugs, door mats, mail boxes, and our personal favorite a huge plastic horse greeting all who dared enter the feed & tack shoppe.

We Love Our People!

The hardest part about leaving Eugene was saying "see ya later" to all our family and friends. We had so many people help us in wonderful ways and we will always be grateful to each of you.

What the Heck is a Blog???

OK, don't be afraid, this is a blog, and it's cool because our friends and fam can talk to us, and we can share our pix and stuff. So please leave us some comments, we'd love to hear from everyone. We're new at this too, so we'll all hold hands and figure it out together. :-)


So the journey begins. . .