02-06-2019 San Antonio and then Finally out of Texas

Current Location: Shields RV Park, Gulfport Mississippi

Cloudy, windy and cool 56 Degrees F at 6PM

Our days in San Antonio went by in a blur.  Two nights is a luxury on this fast trip east,  but that still only gave us one full day for all the little myriad chores of living that don’t work well in a rolling vehicle, while still trying to see something of the place we are visiting.

As I mentioned in the previous post, we wanted to make our way downtown to the Historic Market Square, the Mercado, touted as the largest if not the oldest Mexican market outside of Mexico. There are dozens of shops and stalls and a lot of “stuff”. 

The camp host, Baker, was extremely helpful with maps of how to exit the base and get to the proper freeways to get downtown with as little trouble as possible.  It still was a bit crazy making, because her maps had names that weren’t showing up on google, and the street signs were all but invisible.  It didn’t help that when we managed to get going in the wrong direction, when we turned around to find our way, we ran into a ton of construction and the main one way roads closed and detoured.  Eventually we made our way to the parking structure just west of the Mercado, paid our ten bucks parking and easily found our restaurant.

I am sure there is better Mexican food in a lot of restaurants around the Southwest, but you cant beat the ambiance and the decor.  The food was pretty darn good, too.  We sat with my marguerita and Mos wine and opened up the blog to try to remember the last time we were here in 2007, the year we bought the MoHo in New Braunfels, Texas.

Our reading led us to the hysterical description of our first night in the MoHo, and we were laughing so hard I am sure people thought we were crazy.  If you want a good laugh, read this account of two newbies with their first fancy motorhome.  It really IS funny.

In the midst of the laughter, our meal was delightful, with lovely flavors and the sound of strolling mariachi musicians wandering around the restaurant.  Yes, campy and touristy, but still fun. 

After our mid afternoon dinner we wandered the market where we found the our little goodies.  We weren’t shopping for anything in particular, but we still got caught by some very nice number tiles and a wrought iron holder for Sunset House, and we both fell in love with some half price Christmas bells made from dyed cornhusks.  A fun addition with a nice memory to go with it for the holidays. Nice and small so they don’t take up much space in the Tracker as we make our way across the country and back.

With Baker’s directions, 2 paper maps, and google maps, we managed to get back on base through the maze of freeways without too much difficulty.  We made sure tanks were dumped again, the car was hooked up and ready to go, and we were completely ready for our next travel day toward the east.

Leaving San Antonio wasn’t too horrible except for the truly horrendous construction zones, horribly bumpy pavement, and narrow uneven lanes.  Stressful to say the least!  Even when the traffic lessened, the rough roads and side winds made the drive less than fun. 

We were glad that we had a destination with a place to be when we rolled into the Sam Houston Jones State Park in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  The park is a few miles from the Interstate, but there are very good signs pointing the way, even though it feels as though you are wandering off to nowhere.  Also, on a side note, fuel is still incredibly cheap.  In Louisiana, the cheapest fuel is again 87 octane and we have been filling the MoHo at $1.86 per gallon in most places.

When we stayed at this park on our eastward route in 2014 (blog link here) the skies were blue and we had a wonderful time hiking the trails along the river, enjoying our campfire and letting the dog and cat run around our campsite.

This trip we only planned a single night, and the weather was rather iffy, with dark clouds and threatening rain.  We settled in to the same site we had five years ago, and right away before it got too late, took the dog for a walk along the river.

The park is quite lovely, a hidden surprise a few miles north of the interstate, in the forest.  The state park is working diligently to restore the native long leaf pine forest that was almost completely decimated in Louisiana in the past century.  It was a quiet and lovely evening with the temperatures in the low 70’s , and we were serenaded by the lovely music of frogs and crickets.

Yesterday, on Thursday the 7th, we were on the road by 8:30.  It was to be a reasonable day of driving, with just 340 miles or so along I-10 to Gulfport, Mississippi.  I had originally reserved space for us at Keesler AFB Family Camp, but the more I read the more I began to worry about that choice.  I re-read Erin’s blog about their stay at Shields, where she also mentioned the difference between the two campgrounds, re-read the reviews of Keesler, and when I woke up Thursday morning, I made a call to Shields at exactly 8am.  Somehow we got lucky, and there was one space available for two nights.  I made the reservation, canceled our reservation at Keesler, and we continued on our eastward route much relieved that we avoided shooting ourselves in the foot.

I drove first, and before long, after a LOT of bumpy pavement again, we entered Lafayette.  We had decided that we needed to purchase a surge protector for the rig, and decided to stop at the Camping World in that area.  I cannot begin to describe the kerfuffle of trying to find that dang place, and I even called the store and spoke to someone who couldn’t figure out where I was and couldn’t seem to tell me how to get there. 

If you want a real laugh, look at this image from my google timeline that shows the circles we drove trying to find Camping World.  After a few short words between us, which doesn’t happen often, we gave up the search, got back on the freeway, and continued east. 

I was looking forward to visiting the Atchafalaya Visitor Center near the long bridge that traverses the Atchafalaya Basin, another repeat of a previous visit, but this time all the updates and construction should be well completed and the place is so pretty I didn’t want to miss it.  Well, then it happened.  The Blowout.

But as they say, that is the “rest of the story”…

1-22-2014 Sam Houston Jones State Park, LA taking a slow day

Current Location: Belle Chasse NAS LA  Current Temperature: 32 and “ice pellets”

After our busy short week at the NAS near Corpus Christi, wonderful visits with friends, and trying to see as much as possible, Mo and I both were ready for a bit of down time. When planning this trip, I had the sense that might be the case and I wanted a park that could be a resting place about half way between Corpus Christi and New Orleans that wasn’t far off our route.

Sight unseen, and with no friends leaving campground reviews, Sam Houston Jones State Park turned out to be a perfect choice. The distance from Anahuac NWR wasn’t long, just a short leg on our journey east toward New Orleans.  We are getting close to the day when we will board a cruise ship heading for the Caribbean….hopefully the current cold snap won’t extend all the way south to Belize and Honduras!

We arrived early afternoon and with reservations arranged for a site with electric and water there was no concern about space.  Once there, however, we decided that the space on the end row, number 33 was much more to our liking than site 27 I had chosen online right in the middle.  There are sites big enough for large rigs in the central area of camping loop B that have full hookups with sewer, but we didn’t need sewer for just two nights.  There is also a dump station nearby.  There are two very large, “premium” sites that have long, level concrete pads close the the rest room building. 

Seems as though there is some kind of dutch oven cook-off coming up, but we didn’t know that, and the minute we arrived a very loud, very verbal, very intrusive gentleman in an electric scooter came over to tell us how to hook up, where to put the motorhome, how to put down the jacks and how to hook up the water.  He just kept talking.  Mo said to me, “I do NOT want to stay here”, so I went back to the office and arranged a move.

Within minutes, we again had our privacy and silence.  Whew!  The site was perfect for us, even though the water faucet sprayed all over the place.  Mo simply put a rag over it to contain the spray, and we unhooked it at night.  Needed to do that anyway since temperatures were dropping below freezing due to the Arctic Polar Chill Thingy coming south to Louisiana. 

I reserved two nights so that we could have a nice afternoon and then one entire full day doing absolutely nothing.  What a perfect place to do that.  The daytime temperatures weren’t too bad even with the cold nights.  I spent most of our day off writing and processing photos while Mo sat outside in the sunshine enjoying her book. 

In spite of our commitment to do nothing, we couldn’t resist going for a walk around the expansive park.  Although the sounds of Moss Bluff, the small town nearby, are evident, the park itself is beautifully quiet.  There is something quite haunting about Louisiana bayou country.  The water is everywhere, the cypress, even without their leaves, are fascinating with their little knees all around.  The thought that there are poisonous snakes in the underbrush and alligators hiding on the muddy banks of the waterways makes it a tiny bit threatening, but not too much.

The park is encircled by the meandering Calcasieu River. There is a boat launch to the river, and nearby there was a large swamp/pond that was completely dry, and with all the wetness in other parts of the park, we never quite figured that out.  No alligators here, that is for sure!

On our way back to our campsite, we took the leaf covered Orange Trail around the perimeter of the park for an easy  1.6 mile walk.  The trail winds through the forest  and emerges  at times for views of the huge Louisiana homes that line the banks of the river across from the park.  Late afternoon sunlight filtering through the dripping Spanish moss on the barren cypress trees was reflected in the water of the swamps.

One of the greatest things about the park, that would make us return, were the roads and paths that were perfect for biking.  Of course, on this, our do-nothing day, we didn’t even take the bikes off the rack. The campground bathrooms were pretty darn sweet as well, with plenty of room and privacy, and lots of hot water.  For some reason on this trip, I seem to be using campground showers more than in the past.  It just seems easier sometimes and letting that hot water run forever when I am tired is a huge luxury.

Jeremy loved this spot, and spent a lot of time exploring close to the campsite, enjoying scratching on various trees and balancing on the cement culvert barriers.  Abby could hang around off leash and was completely protected from view by the angle of the parked motorhome and car.  We had a nice solid picnic table, and wonder of wonders a campfire ring!  Even more wonder, we could actually have a fire.

I don’t think I mentioned that Mo found some really good firewood in the middle of nowhere when we were boondocked at Joshua Tree.  Yup, that was a month ago.  We have carried that firewood in the Tracker the entire time, dribbling dust and bark on all our stuff, but it was worth it when Mo started up our evening campfire and we ate dinner once again outside by the warm flames.

Two nights and a day of nothing were just what we needed before continuing east.  Thursday morning dawned gray, with some predicted rain, but the hard freeze didn’t materialize and the coldest temperatures were in the low 30’s.  I think we left the Lake Charles area just in time because today there has been freezing rain and sleet and even snow right behind us.

The trip to New Orleans was a simple one.  I had no desire to repeat the route along US 90, that goes through Avery Island and into New Orleans along a southern path.  In 2007 we followed that route, and I used the blog to remind us that it was long and bumpy and that we never wanted to repeat it.  Instead we traveled the also bumpy I-10, but at least the speeds were more acceptable.

Both Judy and daughter Deanna had mentioned the Atchafalaya Bridge that crosses the Atchafalaya Basin, and the Atchafalaya Visitor Center as something not to be missed.  They were so right!!  In fact, we were so aghast at the wonder of that bridge that we actually missed the quick turn into the visitor center and had to continue several miles before we could exit and turn around.  This gave us the chance to cross part of that engineering challenge three times!

The Visitor Center was in a bit of turmoil, with new septic systems being installed and new kiosks.  When I walked in the big doors on the wide southern porch, my mouth dropped open in amazement.  I don’t think I ever heard the word “Atchafalaya” before, and knew absolutely nothing about the Atchafalaya Basin.

The Atchafalaya Basin is the nation's largest river swamp, containing almost one million acres of America's most significant bottomland hardwoods, swamps, bayous, and backwater lakes.  This is the heart of Cajun Country, and I learned the difference between Cajun and Creole, and watched the movie in the round theater about the ecologically rich swamp that surrounded me. The place caught my heart deeply, and yes, I do want to return. 

No matter what, if you are on I-10, crossing this amazing bridge, stop at the visitor center.  Surprisingly, the center had extensive information about the Atchafalaya Basin, but nothing on the construction of the bridge.  Searching the internet, I found that to build the bridge, they first had to build a canal that could open the swamp to transport of vehicles and materials.  The bridge is 18.2 miles long.  The view is of vast wet swamplands, breathtaking in their beauty and wildness.

Within a few more hours, we arrived easily at Naval Air Station at Belle Chasse, on the Westbank side of the Mississippi River just a few miles south of New Orleans.  I had read about this campground when Erin and Mui stayed here when it was brand new and it is a perfect location to stay while we take a vacation from our vacation.  The campground is clean and simple, with once again, huge private bathroom showers, a great laundry, and quick access to base amenities.  The very best part of this campground, however, is the “away” policy.

The collage below is of some of the vignettes at the Atchafalaya Visitor Center

When we leave for our cruise on Saturday, we have only to pull in the slide and disconnect the hookups.  We can then leave the rig parked here for the entire length of the cruise for just $1.00 per day.  Yup.  You read that right.  A buck a day to store the motorhome.  The fur kids will be staying at a nice doggie and kitty condo back in New Orleans while we take an animal break.  And yes, I am looking forward to that, sorry to say.  Every parent needs a break from the kids now and then.

We spent this very cold, rainy day organizing for our cruise and readying the MoHo for a break from us. I probably will be offline until we return the first week of February. 

Later:  We just dropped Abby and Jeremy off at the Canine Connection in Uptown New Orleans.  Seems like a great facility, and they were all so good at meeting the animals and helping us to feel safe about leaving them there.  I am really delighted with or choice for a boarding facility. 

With a suggestion from Elijah, Kenny’s assistant here at the park, I found and downloaded a Mardi Gras Parade app to the iPhone and it seems there is a parade today on the Westbank…right on our way to the hotel where we will overnight before boarding our ship tomorrow.  So, again, see you later.