Thursday, February 26th

First off, I have to stand corrected - I made a major mistake when I referred to Brenham, TX as the home of Blue Bunny Ice Cream. Blue Bunny doesn’t even begin to measure up to the real leader in ice cream products, Blue Bell Ice Cream. Blue Bell has its creamery in Brenham, TX and is one of the top creameries in the country. Several folks (from Texas) corrected me on my “fo-paw” and enlightened me on the quality of ice cream. So there it is - a real correction to my Travelogue.

Meantime, “Laissez les bon temps roulet!“ from the Five Star Family Resort in Pass Christian, Mississippi! We started Wednesday morning very slowly since Jim & Peggy had some internet work to finish. Dottie and I slept in - until 7AM - and I put waxed the coach while Dottie did some house cleaning. Shortly after noon we headed down to Avery Island and the Tabasco factory. Since this was the middle of the week we were able to see the bottling plant and watch the process of packing the little bottles for distribution in South Africa. We walked over to the store and saw everything and anything you could possibly imagine with the Tabasco name on it. Dottie and I purchased some Tabasco barbeque sauce, Tabasco mayonaisse, and garlic Tabasco sauce. We drove back to the coach to dump our purchases and prepare for dinner.

Two years ago when we made this trip, we had a great dinner at Thibodeau’s, a Cajun food restaurant in Duson. The ladies at the desk of the RV park recommended we go to the town of Rayne, LA and visit the Crawfish Hut for dinner. It was an excellent recommendation as we found out that evening. We drove the five miles in to Rayne and found the Crawfish Hut, a restaurant specializing in Cajun seafood. I ordered the four-pound crawfish platter and several Abita Amber beers. The food was wonderful with just enough spice to make it tasty. Jim & Peggy ordered the crawfish e’toufee and had enough left over for two meals. Dottie’s seafood platter was as variety of Cajun sea foods that she devoured. We left there full and delighted with the opportunity to have a Cajun meal.

Thursday morning we were packed and ready to pull out of the campground by 10AM. We watched the other RVs slowly depart and head in various directions. We entered the ramp for eastbound I-10 and some of the roughest interstate roads in the country. The freeway from Lafayette to Baton Rouge is like a washboard with the cracks creating a bouncing motion in the motor home. There were times that we felt like the coach was going to vibrate to pieces. Fortunately it didn’t last too long. We pulled off the interstate at Abita Springs and found a State building with a large parking lot that could accommodate our two coaches. We used the lot for a lunch break before we parted company with Jim & Peggy.

We have traveled with them for over a week now and enjoyed every minute of the trip. We had traveling partners, but weren’t joined at the hip. We could do our own thing each night or join up for dinner and games. They are an enjoyable couple to be with and we already miss them. We hope to do this again some day and share the experiences of traveling with them another time.

We drove on for another 50 miles and stopped in Pass Christian at the Five Star Family Resorts. It’s a membership park that costs us $8/night for full hookups. There’s nothing fancy about this park, but it’s a good stopover point for one night. We’ll be here for one night and drive on to Robertsdale, AL. The driving along I-10 is much more enjoyable on this side of the country with the lush green shoulders and thick trees. We can see the damage that comes from hurricanes when the tops of the trees get snapped off and the roofs on the homes are blown away. A lot of the hurricane damage still hasn’t been repaired and it’s visible from the roadways. The interstate is raised about 4’ above the low-lying land. We’re seeing signs for diesel fuel ranging in price from $1.95/gallon to $2.05/gallon.

We went to bad pretty early after watching “Survivor”. It was warmer than most other nights up to now. We tossed and turned and finally gave up around 0630. Both of us got up, had a bite of breakfast, and prepared for a short move to Robertsdale, AL, our next stop. We pulled out of the park by 0900 and drove up to the interstate. Just south of the freeway were two gas stations with diesel pricing at $1.89/gallon. I didn’t stop; I don’t really trust that their volume is great enough to ensure water-free fuel. So we entered the freeway and headed east to Gulfport and a Sam’s Club that had diesel. It was a challenge getting in and out of the fueling island, but we made and drove about a mile down the road to a Super Wal-Mart to stock up on supplies. We were back on the road by 1000 and headed east. We got to Mobile and drove under the bay in a tunnel. I couldn’t remember if there was a bridge there or if I was remembering the high bridge in Beaumont.

The tunnel was about two miles long and passes under the Mobile Bay. We came out on the other side and traveled another 25 miles to the turn-off for the Styx River RV Resort. We arrived just after noon so we had plenty of time to get settled and do some organizing. Dottie even got in a short nap! Around 4:30 we grabbed Nancy and headed to Foley and Lambert’s Café, home of the throwed rolls. It is a family restaurant where your order is taken by one of the friendly staff. While you wait for your order to arrive, there are other staff members walking around with fried okra, fried potatoes, home-baked dinner rolls hot out of the oven, apple butter or molasses, deep-fried muskrat (a cute prank-like trick), and iced tea that appears to be spilling all over your lap. Dottie had a huge chicken-fried steak and I had fried frog legs. There was so much food that we both had to bring some home for another meal. It was absolutely delicious!!!!

We drove back to Styx River and are taking it easy for the rest of the evening. We both miss the company of Jim & Peggy, but we’ll see them again in Moultrie. Tomorrow is a short day of only 97 miles to Sunset King Lake Resort and another day where we can rest a bit and get the coach ready for the Rally. The weather has been threatening to rain with possibility of thunderstorms and hail. We’re hoping to avoid that!!

Tuesday, February 24th

We spent the night in Vado, NM at an overpriced discount park. The facilities were only so-so, but it was located at a convenient point on our route. When we awoke on Wednesday morning, we prepared the coaches for travel and pulled out around 9AM headed for the Flying J truck stop only 10 miles down the road. We got there, found the RV islands, and topped off the tank. It was a well-arranged truck stop with the RV island located for an easy departure.

We drove over the Woodrow Bean Transmountain Rd. north of El Paso and avoided the road construction through the downtown area. The Transmountain Rd. had a fairly steep climb over the top followed by an 8% downhill to the east side of the mountain. The road then goes through the Ft. Bliss Army base where the construction is massive. There area lot of barracks-looking buildings being erected and roads developed everywhere. Adjacent to the base are many developing subdivisions to support the military families. In this time of economic difficulty, it was interesting to see all the work that was going in.

We finally got back to I-10 and headed east. The interstates of west Texas don’t have a lot to look at. Except for the occasional road kill, the scenery is pretty sparse. I don’t particularly care for freeway driving since it’s mostly a gray band of concrete that can get extremely boring. However, when you want to travel from Point A to Point B quickly, it serves its purpose. We were attempting to get miles behind us and reach the San Antonio area as quickly as possible. The most interesting attraction was watching the semi trucks and comparing the sleeper cabs, paint jobs, and listening to the discussions on the CB radio. We also discovered that there aren’t many radio stations out in west Texas, so a satellite radio would be a treasure to have.

We made several stops for stretching the legs, swapping drivers, and grabbing a bite of lunch. Finally we arrived in Ft. Stockton after 335 miles and headed for another discount park. We found the park south of town and it resembled more of a parking lot than an RV park. Jim checked the outlet at his assigned site and discovered an open ground. The maintenance guys came over and sprayed some WD-40 on the receptacle. It seemed to resolve the problem - probably a dusty or corroded receptacle. We all sat down to a steak dinner and retired to our separate coaches for the evening. We decided to try for an 8AM departure.

It was fortunate for us that we tried for an early morning. Jim had a leaky tire valve and I had an almost flat tire on the front of the coach. We needed the extra hour to get aired up and ready to go. By 9AM we were pulling out of our sites. Our drive to Canyon Lake had us continuing east on I-10 to the town of Boerne (pronounced bir-ney) and off the interstate. We took several smaller state highways and wandered north of San Antonio. Before we arrived at Bob Clerc’s house, I gave him a phone call and he drove down to meet us and lead us in. He has a house on almost three lots and a comfortable place to park the coaches.

We drove around the back of the house where Bob had two electric boxes and got set up. It was really good to see Bob and Maribel at their house. In addition, it has been a fantastic two days of sight-seeing led by Bob. I was able to lighten the load on the coach by dropping off a case of Two Buck Chuck wine purchased in California.

On Friday we all loaded in to Bob’s Honda Pilot and headed for the LBJ Ranch and Fredericksburg. The Ranch was an interesting tour and quite a sight to see. The 6000’ runway amazed me and the house was beautiful. We drove on to Fredericksburg, a town that shows a German influence, and has a lot of touristy shops on the main street. We had an early supper, did some window-shopping, and started back to Canyon Lake.

Saturday morning found us headed for San Antonio and the Alamo. My memories of the Alamo are over 40 years old when you could actually see the old fort building from the street. Now the park is surrounded by a rock wall and very commercialized. We wandered through the buildings and watched all the tourists spending money on assorted trinkets and clothing.

When we left the Alamo, we walked to the River Walk. This is an amazing development along the San Antonio River that has become quite an impressive sight. There are restaurants, bars, bistros, and big hotels all built around the 4’-deep canal with pontoon boats giving tours and dinners. It was a bit overwhelming to see all the development that has taken place since my days in San Antonio back in the mid 60’s and USAF basic training. On the way home we stopped at Sam’s Club to get some grocery items, gas, and found a Dairy Queen for a blizzard. Maribel put together a comfortable evening meal for us and we were headed for bed by 9PM.

On Sunday Bob and Maribel went to mass and we prepared for our departure. By the time that they returned, we were hooked up and ready to pull out. It was with a great deal of sorrow that we left their house and headed east on Texas state highways. We drove over to New Braunfels, then north on I-35 to San Marcos, and east on TX-21 through Bastrop to Giddings and Brenham, home of Blue Bunny ice cream. From there we took TX-105 to Lake Conroe and the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails Park. Jim & Peggy split off to the Castaways Western Horizon Park. We checked in to the TTN park and were pleasantly surprised to find a great end site with a little front yard for Nancy.

On Monday morning Dottie immediately got started on laundry and I worked on cleaning and waxing the coach. We were finished by noon and drove over to The Castaways to pick up the Griches. We drove down to Oak Ridge North, where we lived 35 years ago, to see our former neighbor, Doris Sterling. She had made arrangements with the current owner of our old house to let us see the inside and the many improvements they have made. It was quite a tour and a great chance to see the house that we had lived in and the changes that have been made in 35 years! After visiting with Doris, we headed back to the campgrounds and stopped at a Super Wal-Mart and a Ryan’s buffet. We stuffed ourselves and returned to the coaches.

Tuesday morning Jim & Peggy drove over near the Thousand Trails park and we met them on the road. We drove down to Conroe and took TX-105 all the way over to Beaumont. The road goes through some interesting small towns that reflect the unbelievable poverty of East Texas. The roads were good, but the scenery was lush, tree-filled acreage. The homes are mostly ground level and look like they’d be very susceptible to the heavy rains that come through this area of the state. A lot of mobile homes and older vehicles are parked on the lots. It’s saddening, but beautiful at the same time.

We drove until we joined up with I-10 and proceeded east to Orange, TX and the Flying J truck stop for refueling. After fueling the coaches, we drove to the back of the parking lot and took a lunch break before continuing our drive for another 100 miles to Frog City RV Park in Duson, LA. Today is Fat Tuesday and the park is full with Mardi Gras attendees. Dottie fixed a spaghetti dinner and we all settled in for a quiet night.

TUESDAY, FEB.17TH

After arriving at Valley Vista RV resort in Benson, we had dinner followed by Jim & I showing the girls how to play Pegs’n’Jokers. We had a very enjoyable evening and made plans for the next day.

On Monday we were up and headed out in the “Grichmobile” to show Jim & Peggy the area of Tombstone, Bisbee, and Sierra Vista. The winds were blowing pretty heavily and we drove down to Tombstone to walk the streets and check out all the tourist attractions. Tombstone is a town designed for all the folks who would like to think of the Old West as a wild place to live with a bunch of hairy characters that walk around dressed in period clothing and carrying handguns strapped to their legs. Every hour there is a gunfight in the streets where the good guys always win. The actors who portray the characters are all ages and backgrounds and double as sales folks who hawk the gunfights in the enclosed area of Helldorado. Helldorado is a section of town that has been turned into a true “tourist trap”. It has the fake building facades with all the typical Old West decorations. There are several restaurants in town with tourist prices on the menu. Places like Big Nose Kate’s have a bar, restaurant, and curio shop in the same building enclosure. Of course all the cowboy clothing is available for a price, including leather chaps, gun belts, western shirts, hats, and boots. We walked the length of Main St. and decided to move on down to Bisbee for lunch.

We drove south of Tombstone about 35 miles to the mining town of Bisbee. Bisbee was built into the side of a hill and is still occupied by a lot of the “throw-back hippie” residents. The town was in its peak during the heyday of the Copper Queen Mine which is still pulling copper and other minerals out of the ground. Our first stop was the Mine Tour. We walked into the building and looked at the collection of mining equipment that was used back in the 20’s and 30’s. It’s truly amazing to see the engineering that went into the design and manufacture of that old equipment. The mine tours run about $14/person and the Griches opted to pass this time. Dottie & I have been on the tour in the past and enjoyed the education we received from the guides (who worked in the mine during its days of operation). After taking in all the sights in the Mine Tour, we drove about a half mile into Bisbee and searched for a lunch spot. We checked the up-scale restaurant that had a 40 minute wait and decided to seek out another small café. I found a garden café that also offered local microbrews, so we stopped for lunch. We had a meatloaf sundae - a slab of meatloaf topped by a scoop of mashed potatoes and smothered in brown gravy. It was a tasty delight. I opted for the “Buster” - meatloaf smothered in chili and covered with chopped onions and cheese. It’s a favorite of the bicyclists who ride to Bisbee and seek out a carb-filled lunch. We looked at several of the stores and then walked over to the Stock Exchange Bar. Two years ago Don Leith found this bar which was the original link to the New York Stock exchange. It has a full wall that is a tote board with all the major stocks and was updated with a ticker tape link direct to New York. Don, I wished you were with us to savor a cold beer like we did last time!

We then drove along the border to Sierra Vista. This town has grown and is still expanding in population. It is one of my favorite places to visit, as it is comparable to Rapid City in population, available services and big-box stores, and the feeling of a reasonably sized town. We used to go over there annually to spend time at The Caverns RV Resort in Huachuca City. However, the owner of the park decided to sell the park and the new owners didn’t want the membership. Many members were left out in the cold after spending money and over-priced memberships. We drove to Huachuca City and through the park to see the changes. The staff has all changed and the warm feeling that used to be there was gone. We returned to Benson and relaxed before we ate some crock-pot pork chop dinner and a game of P&J.

Tuesday we up early and prepared for a 9AM departure. We decided to drive all the way to Vado, NM, just south of Las Cruces for the night. We got to Deming and stopped at the Super Wally to pick up some needed items. Inside the Wal-Mart is a Subway so we bought some sandwiches for lunch and ate in the coaches. After lunch we drove to the east side of Deming and pulled in to the St. Claire Winery. The parking lot was big enough to facilitate our two coaches and we walked in for the wine tasting. I recall a visit several years ago where we bought a champagne with black currant. It was a delicious, so I was on a mission to find it again. We succeeded and bought two bottles. We also found a tasty peach-flavored wine and a couple of red wines. These will be used for VERY special occasions since I’m already carrying four cases of our favorite Two Buck Chuck red wine from San Diego.

We got back on the road after a short break at St. Claire. By now both Jim and I were feeling the strain of a long day on the road. We continued east to Las Cruces and turned south to Vado. Our destination was Western Sky’s RV Park. Yep, that’s the way it’s spelled. It was recently purchased, but it’s the same park where we stayed two years ago with Leiths and Bahnsons. We arrived about 4PM, got our site assignments, and settled in. It was a long day of driving but was made bearable by the several stops and great company of Jim & Peg. This park has a terrific wi-fi, so I’m able to get some things updated on my computer. Peggy offered chili for supper; Dottie prepared some salad and cornbread. The meal was excellent and we all are ready to spend a quiet evening alone in preparation for an early morning and a long driving day tomorrow. We’ll drive a few miles down the road to the Anthony, TX Flying J for refueling and end up in Ft. Stockton tomorrow afternoon after a 275-mile day. The following day will be 325 miles to Canyon Lake and the Clerc residence.

SUNDAY, FEB. 15TH

We were in Yuma only 8 days, but it seemed like three weeks! It definitely was NOT the hospitality that we received from the Clarksons. Instead, it was the ritual of looking at properties! As each day passed and we looked at several new lots, they all began to look the same. The first one we saw would have been perfect: the next one that really grabbed us was sold before I touched base with the seller. It was another small, 372 sq. ft. casita with a full bath, a kitchenette, washer & dryer, and a comfortable living area and outside patio. I was disappointed when he told me he put up flyers and sold the lot in two weeks. We continued to shop and visited another realtor that deals exclusively with properties in the Foothills. Our Wells Fargo banker, Bill Craft, recommended the agent highly and we found a terrific realtor that is really working for us now.

During our stay with the Clarksons we ate some absolutely fantastic meals that Dottie and Linda collaborated together. And we ended most of the evenings with some serious games of Pegs’n’Jokers. Of course, the men succeeded in humbling the women with our victories, but they finally recovered. Yeah, right! The last day of our stay we were joined by Clarksons friends, Ron & Flor, from San Diego. That was another fine meal followed by a major sweep at the game table.

As we left Yuma on Friday morning, we stopped by the realtor and signed the papers on an offer for a lot that is in the Foothills, but also within the Yuma city limits. It belongs to an old friend of ours from Hart Ranch who now lives in Tucson. The advantage of being in the city limits is trash collection, water, sewer, and emergency services are all provided by the City. In the Foothills the water and sewer is a private company that is about to attempt to triple the sewer rates much to the chagrin of the residents. Also there is a registration fee with the Rural Metro Fire District for their services. With the City services we’ll pay city taxes, but they are very reasonable. We’re not getting our hopes too high on the offer because it was a lot lower than what he was asking. However, we found out on Saturday that the lot was taken off the market - it had been on since July 2008 - so the realtor is attempting to contact the owner by phone and serve as our representative in the negotiation. We’ll control our patience and wait and see.

On Friday night we joined Jim & Peggy Grich and visited Bob & Marlene Rae at their new house in Casa Grande. It is a beautiful home in a 55+ community. The home is open, airy, and just what the Raes wanted - or at least what Marlene wanted. She has done an impressive job of decorating and furnishing the home. She prepared a wonderful dinner followed by a cut-throat game of P&J. We really enjoyed the opportunity to see their new digs!

On Saturday night I wanted to go the Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa and get my pipe organ fix. We were joined by the love of my high school years, Nancy Horlbeck Cummins and her husband, Craig. It has been over 40 years since I had seen Nancy and I think she was a bit shocked when she finally realized she was looking straight at me. We had dinner, enjoyed the organ music, and then went to their house for some coffee and conversation. It was a memory-filled evening and quite astonishing to hear how we’ve fared for the last 40 years. I’m sure Dottie and Craig were completely bored by the laughing and recalling of interesting times. We were back at the coach at a reasonable hour to start getting it ready for the trip to Benson on Sunday.

On Sunday morning we were met at the coach by one of my favorite motorcycling buddies, Tony D’Arcy. Tony & I used to do some Rotary motorcycle trips and have kept in touch with each other through the years. Tony is trying to find that perfect house in the Phoenix area where the market is ripe for folks who have the funding to buy homes. Tony and his new flame, Sandy, drove down to the Western Horizons RV Park in Casa Grande, picked us up, and took us to breakfast at Mimi’s. It was a short visit, but absolutely wonderful to see Tony again and share some great memories. He looks great, has the same outgoing personality that he has always had, and has a charming girlfriend in Sandy. I only regret that I don’t have a motorcycle to go riding with Tony again.

We were back at the coach in time to get unplugged, hooked up, and leave Casa Grande with the Griches headed for Benson, AZ and the Valley Vista RV Resort. Shortly after hitting the interstate, we stopped in Eloy at the Flying J to refuel and top off the propane tank. Flying J is usually a pleasant experience, but this particular location is a real pain in the patoot to maneuver through. In spite of the designated RV lanes, there is always some moron that takes his sweet time and throws courtesy out the window. Well, we found him there this time, too.

We continued south on I-10 with Jim Grich leading the way and driving through Tucson, the land of never-ending road construction. We made it without incident and arrived at Valley Vista about 3PM. The park has some of the most pleasant and courteous workers and we were assigned adjoining sites since we’ll be here for two nights. During that time I hope to show Jim & Peggy Tombstone, Bisbee, and some of Sierra Vista. We’ve always loved this area, but our favorite RV park was sold and the new owners didn’t buy the memberships. There are lots of disappointed folks who lost substantial amounts of money in the sale of the park. We have always enjoyed this area, but it will now be only memories since the sale has limited our ability to stay here for any long periods of time. Since we are here it will be fun to share some of the interesting areas with the Griches.

Our next stop is Deming, NM, then on to Texas. We may stop in Van Horn and Ozona, or we may continue straight to Ft. Stockton and on to Canyon Lake - giving us an extra day in Canyon Lake with Bob & Maribel Clerc, two of my most treasured RVing friends.