Jace's Summer Vacation 2025 - Part 4 - A Rocky Mountain High

So Oklahoma was very good, Amarillo, TX was a bit disappointing, and now it's time to move to a state neither Barbara and I nor Jace has ever visited – Colorado.

The trip to Colorado Springs, CO was a pretty scenic one out the front windshield, especially as we approached our first views of the Rocky Mountains. We started getting into some real elevations once we began cutting the corner of New Mexico on our way to get to I-25 – the main road northward in that part of the country. The motor home was handling the changes pretty well, and outside of some construction areas, we maintained good speed heading higher and higher.

Our KOA (Falcon) in Peyton, CO northeast of Colorado Springs was an easy 25 minute ride to the city and about an hour to Pike's Peak, our primary sightseeing destination of many in the area. The park is new, pretty nice, with very level lots. A little weird in their setup for water and sewer, because the utilities were situated in a 4'x4' raised boxed-in bed of rocks. Not small rocks, either, but at least fist-sized. It made for difficult balancing when working my way under the slide to handle wet bay work. A bit pricey for a “resort” that didn't have a pool and only had a playground designed for smaller kids younger than Jace, but it was the only place available for the July 4^th holiday.

I'm spending some time writing about elevation in this blog post, because I began to feel pretty bad just hours after arriving at our campground. Started doing some research, and found out I was likely suffering some of the classic symptoms of High Altitude Sickness. Fatigue, elevated heart rate (over 140 bpm vs. my usual 85 bpm), and a bit of dizziness. Couldn't sleep more than an hour or two without waking up from the reduced levels of oxygen. Had to sleep sitting up most of the time. I looked at some of the do's and don't's when suffering from H-A-S, and one of the things was to avoid even higher elevations, as in some cases an aneurysm could possibly occur in the brain. Minor problem – I had already purchased 3 tickets on the cog railway going up to the summit of Pike's Peak for the very next day! Plus, the park we were staying in sat at 6,600 ft above sea level, and that elevation was going to stay the same or go even higher for extended periods for the NEXT 3 WEEKS!

Needless to say, my trip to Pike's Peak at 14,200 feet above sea level was no longer in the cards. As the doctor I saw later at the VA in Denver told me, I might have gone up on the train, but I might have come back down in an ambulance or a life flight. However, nothing was keeping Barbara and Jace from enjoying that part of the trip. Jace made friends with kids and adults on the train ride up and down, and they both got to enjoy Pike's Peak weather at it's finest; upon arrival at the summit it was snowing – in early July – then changed to sleet for a few minutes and then changed over to a light rain. By the time they were ready to head back down, it was bright and sunny!

 

While I was feeling miserable from High Altitude Sickness back at the RV, Jace and Barbara were "enjoying" near freezing temperatures and sleet at over 14,00 feet at the summit of Pike's Peak!

Snow still at the top of Pike's Peak in early July.

Jace holding court on the train ride back down the mountain. No one remains a stranger whenever Jace is nearby.

The next day we determined that I had to see a physician about the High Altitude Sickness, so we drove about an hour and a half to Denver, which had the nearest VA Emergency Room. When traveling under VA care, you have to present yourself at one of their Emergency Rooms in order to get transferred from one state's VA system into another state's VA system, or if there isn't a Veterans Administration ER nearby, you can just go to a local civilian ER under their Community Care program. I usually opt for the VA facility just to keep the records of my visits in-house.

The doctor was very nice and extremely thorough, especially given the symptoms I was experiencing. He insisted on a CT scan of my head to make sure an aneurysm wasn't in my future, and gave me a prescription that would reduce the volume of fluid in my brain which might alleviate some of my symptoms. Veterans in Denver are very lucky to have such a campus to handle their healthcare.

So with the prescription helping a bit – fatigue was still an ongoing issue as the prescription wasn't designed to lower the heart rate – we managed a drive through Garden of the Gods. It was nice, but it would have been better had I been able to do some hiking instead of staying on the road which circles the formations.

 

Not the views I was hoping for at Garden of the Gods, but it was still pretty cool to see these weird rock formations.

Our final destination in Colorado was a couple of hours drive away to visit the Royal Gorge, just west of Canon City. It was formed by the Arkansas River, and is a very deep (1,250 feet) and very narrow (just 50 feet in some places) cut through the area. It also features a suspension bridge which was the world's highest bridge until 2001. The walk across the bridge can be a bit daunting with some not-insignificant spacing between some of the wooden planks, especially if you're not fond of heights (as one of our party was, but they made it). If you do venture to the railing and look down, squinting will get you a view of rafters navigating the Arkansas River approximately 900 feet below. Yeah, it's quite the drop.

 

The Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge sitting over 900 feet above the Arkansas River.

The view looking over the railing and down towards the Arkansas River. I would have gotten a more downward view, but I didn't want to risk losing my phone!

 

Jace enjoyed a fantastic playground on-site and saw some Bighorn sheep up close and running wild. The park also had a nice activity book for the kids to puzzle out a word after finding clues around the various attractions. We ended up taking a gondola ride back across the gorge (instead of braving the bridge again) to their visitor center and exit. All-in-all, a fitting end to our Colorado adventure.

 

If you zoom in on this photo, you'll see that it's not just a bunch of rocks in the background. Those are Bighorn Sheep nestled in the rocks. They just walk casually across the pathways to get to "their" spot whenever they want; you just need to keep a respectful distance from them.

Next stop – Wyoming. But how much of THAT planned trip was I going to be able to enjoy? Find out next in Parental Parolees!

Jace's Summer vacation 2025 Part 3 - OK and TX

Heading further west, we find ourselves in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Our research indicated that they had a great interactive Science Museum in town, and a Cowboy Museum that shouldn't be missed.

It also had a Safelite shop that could replace our shattered rear window.

So first things first, get that window replaced. Had an early appointment I had made a few days earlier so that the window could be ordered in advance, and the technician got right to it. He wasn't hopeful that he could get all the glass removed from between the outer and inner layers of the rear hatch, but he said he'd try his best. Apparently some Jeep models have a very limited access to that area. Got it back about 40 minutes later, and he told me that I had one of the Jeep models where the access was better than most, and the annoying rattle of glass moving from the bottom of the hatch to the top when opened was virtually gone!

Job 1 is done, so now it's time for Jace.

The Science Museum was everything as advertised, and more. Completely built from the ground up to appeal to kids, and everything is interactive, so it's hands on all day long. Jace enjoyed climbing, making air flow, making electricity and lighting up a series of bulbs that went from floor to 60-foot ceiling. Water experiments, tornado creation, riding out an earthquake, plus a planetarium to view the stars. He didn't want to leave, and neither did we, but there were still things to enjoy – like the pool back at the RV resort.

 

Six degrees of Jace. Different time lapse views all at once.

 

Oklahoma and North Texas share a bit of Americana; that being the old Rt 66 of fame and fortune. Much of it has been paved over by new Interstate highways, but some of it still exists. One place near our campground wasn't part of the original Rt 66, but it was created in it's image. Pop's Soda Shop hearkens back to the days of Rt 66, with plenty of neon lights, typical grill food and shakes so thick you think the sides of your head are going to collapse in on each other when you use a straw. It also has more than 100 different flavors of soda pop made by dozens of vendors you never heard about before in their expansive refrigerator.

 

It doesn't look like we were all having fun, but we were!

Just a fraction of the soda selection at Pops. All very unique flavors, too!

Wasn't quite dark enough to get the full lighted effect, but you get the idea.

 

I have to admit that I wasn't sure how Jace would take to the Cowboy Museum; frankly, I wasn't sure how I would take to it. But it turned out to be a great afternoon for everybody. Real-life cowboys and their lifestyle were featured, but also TV and movie western cowboys had their own display room. There were quizzes on various western themes such as famous western sidekicks (both real and on-screen). We did pretty poorly on that quiz, but we just about aced the quiz on western TV theme songs. In the gift shop, we bought Jace on of those kids cowboy hats we used to wear long ago for just $10, and it turned out to be the best $10 we spent on the entire trip! Hardly as day has gone by on the vacation where he wasn't wearing that hat.

 

Restored Wells Fargo stagecoach

Jace in Cowboy Jail.

Out front wearing his new cowboy hat.

Oklahoma gave way to Amarillo, Texas, again with some Rt 66 stops in mind, but frankly, it was a disappointing side of the trip except for one stop. We stayed at the Big Texan RV Resort, and it was nice enough (especially the large bounce pad they had), but the Big Texan Steakhouse it was associated with did not meet expectations. After all, when in Texas you expect to get premium quality beef, but their filets were substandard; we get better at every Texas Roadhouse we eat at. The only real plus was our waiter, Caleb, who absolutely adored Jace and treated him like a king.

The Cadillac Ranch nearby – a waste if time. Frankly, our resort had a better display of painted, half-buried cars up front. The old Rt 66 shopping “district” was one street taken over largely by biker bars (fully occupied in the morning) and tattoo shops. Pretty scary, so we passed right by it.

 

Our RV resort had a much better painted car display out front!

Cadillac Ranch was pretty lame.

The only good stop in the Amarillo area was Palo Duro Canyon, America's second largest canyon. It doesn't have the colors and depth of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but it still has some breathtaking views. What's really nice about Palo Duro is that you can drive down into it, dropping 800ft to the canyon floor. There are a few campgrounds in the canyon as well, but I can tell you from driving the descent down to the canyon in a car, I wouldn't want to take our motorhome down that road!

Beautiful vista at the top of Palo Duro Canyon

Jace and I ventured onto the Big Cave Trail for a relatively short (and mercifully easy) climb into a very large cave, where of course Jace encountered the only dog in the cave who had also made the hike with his owners.

Dog in the cave? Of course Jace is going to find one!

The view before Jace and I hiked up to the cave.

Our next destination in Jace's summer vacation was going to prove to be a problem – a big problem. But that's for my next post.

Jace's Annual Vacation 2025 Part 2

Our next destination for Jace's Summer vacation takes us to the eastern border or Arkansas. This was to be a one-night stay in a great RV park right on the Mighty Mississippi. Jace had crossed over the Mississippi a bit more north of this destination, so he had some idea of the size of the river, but nothing brings you up close and personal to the Mississippi like Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, Arkansas. Our site was literally a stone's throw away from the riverbank, and the river is visible out both our front and side windows.

The reason for stopping here is not just to see the river up close, but to see the dozens of barges being “towed” down river to ports south of New Orleans. This is river commerce much as it has been for a couple of centuries, just on a larger scale. We knew Jace would love to see these 6 or 10 barges being guided by a single river tug, and he wasn't disappointed.

 

We had quite a thunderstorm in the early morning hours which knocked down a few branches, but outside of a few tense moments for some RV-ers who had to disconnect their electrical in a puddle, no one sustained any damage.

Our next stop was a couple of hours further west in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, home to Crater of Diamonds State Park. This is one of those bucket-list destinations, just so you can say you mined for diamonds once in your lifetime. Murfreesboro RV Park is run by two of the nicest people you'll ever meet, Sarah and Lynn. Lynn is the quiet enforcer of the rules in the park, and he keeps everyone on the straight and narrow. Sarah handles most everything else, including free lessons on how to mine for diamonds (not that it helped us in any way). They also provide the buckets, screens and carts you'll need for free instead of renting them at the State Park.

Mining for diamonds in 90 degree heat is hard work, even for someone as young as Jace. We tried a couple of buckets or raw materials, then simply gave up because our bucket list was checked off. Fortunately, the State Park had a water park on site, so we could all cool down from the morning's exertions.

 

Barbara and Jace sluicing sand and gravel to find "treasure".

Jace giving it the old college try by himself

The "World's Largest Diamond" . . .

Not wanting to leave Murfreesboro without a diamond, we headed over to the Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village where we not only saw the world's largest “diamond”, we learned about the early native settlers to the area and bought a bucket of slag which guaranteed a diamond and other very beautiful gemstones to find in the sluice. Jace was happy, we were happy.

I was able to get a more permanent cover installed on the back of the Jeep that would hold until we got to our next stop in Oklahoma City (where the window would be replaced). And I removed most of the glass that was in the back using a whisk broom and very thick work gloves. No room for a shop vac in the RV.

Oh, and right next to Murfreesboro was the small town of Delight, Arkansas, home of Glen Campbell. We drove through it on our way to Murfreesboro.

Our next destination was Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but getting there was a bit of a chore. Eventually, we were to drive on I-40 heading west, but you really can't get there from here, as they say, without some serious back road driving. And let me tell you, Arkansas and Oklahoma back roads leave a LOT to be desired. The pavement can be pretty cracked in many places, there are more than a couple of 90 degree, 10 MPH turns involved, and many of the roads are barely wide enough for two cars – let alone a 9 ft wide RV. Thank goodness we left early enough that oncoming traffic was light, because there was literally 3 inches on either side of the motor home trying to keep us between the lines.

Add to that, at the end of the day once we finally found I-40, we began to experience the near constant winds the Midwest is known for, At various times I was battling 15 mph constant and 20+mph gusts, and depending on the direction I was driving they were either headwinds or direct crosswinds pushing against the side of our billboard-sized RV.

Next up – we get to our first true “RV resort” that Jace can enjoy in between visits to local attractions.

Jace's 2025 Annual Summer Vacation - Part 1

After a one-year hiatus to be around for the birth of our second grandson, William, last year, it's back on the road for a 5-week all expenses paid (by us) vacation for Jace during his summer break from school.

This one is a doozy.

As in past vacations with Jace, we're using this trip to add a few states that we haven't stayed in before to our map of places visited. Unlike many couples who decide to full-time in an RV, we haven't rushed to visit every state in a year or two of travel. Many people run all around the map for a couple of years, then find themselves exhausted and less interested in traveling after putting those last state stickers in place. We decided from the beginning to take our time, and it's helped to make Jace's vacation planning a bit easier for us – just find places neither of us have been to.

We started our planning with 27 states visited thus far for us, while Jace had 17 under his belt.

And then it hit us. As Horace Greeley once said, “Go West, young man”.

Heading West was not without some challenges; we'd be driving through America's “Tornado Alley” in the middle of summer, maybe putting a load on our gas motor home when it came to some elevation changes and possible hairpin turns depending on our decided-upon destinations, the ubiquitous crowds that find their way to famous destinations, and finally, finding places to gas up the motor home in between stops when not every gas station can take in a 38' motor home with a 14' tow vehicle attached to it.

This isn't just hopping into a car and staying at local Motel 6's.

Our first stop after picking Jace up was just a short 2-hour drive to Ringgold, GA. Nothing particular there, but it's close to Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, TN. Jace loves waterfalls, and even after more than 32 years of living in Georgia, Barbara and I had never been to Ruby Falls. It's an easy ½ mile guided trek underground inside and under Lookout Mountain with a fascinating story about it's discovery. The falls are approximately 85' high, dropping into a small pool. The short light show that colors the falls right before you head on the ½ mile reverse trek back to daylight is pretty impressive.

 

Our short stay in Ringgold was not without challenges, however. We stayed at Scenic City RV Campground, a new park just getting started in the area. They even have a group of greeters for new arrivals!

It's going to be a very nice park in a year or two – with great owners, btw - but due to the excessive rains the area had been having, some of their sites were not properly graded and graveled to handle the underlying mud and the weight of a 28,000 lb motor home. Our rear jacks sank into the ground, requiring me to use boards to get us properly leveled. Unfortunately, the boards couldn't cover the holes my jacks previously made, and cracked in two. Ended up using 3 boards on each rear jack, and barely made it out of our site on travel day with the front tires pushing away mud and gravel. Thought we were going to get stuck for sure! To add insult to injury, when dumping trash, I didn't notice that Jace's bike handlebars had shifted backwards at our stop at the dumpster, and when I closed the back hatch the handlebar shattered our rear window into a million pieces! That little mistake would cost me $500 down the road in Oklahoma.

Good thing we didn't have any bad weather forecast on the trip to our next destination in West Memphis, AR.

Needless to say, an inauspicious start to Jace's summer vacation.

Next up – an Arkansas many people haven't experienced.

Things Seen and Things That Cannot Be Unseen

Almost six years of full-time traveling on the road has given us many opportunities to see parts of America that most people will never see in their lifetimes and meet people such as fellow RV-ers and local establishment owners we never would have encountered.

It also makes for interesting memories, and in some cases causes us to wonder about the future of humanity.

That's what this particular blog post is all about; interesting things we've seen beyond the usual destinations, and the things we'd frankly love to un-see, but can't.

Roadkill

Sure, everyone's seen the occasional dog, cat, squirrel, deer etc. on the side of the road, and we are no different in that regard. However, there's a matter of degree sometimes in addition to the variety we've encountered. One back road in Tennessee we were driving in the motor home was a winding 2-mile stretch of squirrel carnage, where we encountered dozens of carcasses in a mass squirrel killing field. Never saw anything like it before or since.

In trucking and driving parlance, tires which have shredded off of an 18-wheeler are referred to as “asphalt alligators”. In Louisiana, we recently encountered the carcass of a REAL 5-foot alligator feet-up in the breakdown lane. That was a new one for us.

While traveling on I-20 in Texas – where they do EVERYTHING bigger – we passed the remains of a fairly large COW which had been hit by some vehicle. I can't imagine the condition of the car/truck/semi/RV that had the unfortunate encounter with the recently-deceased bovine, but it couldn't have been a good outcome for the vehicle, either.

People who should never RV

I'm sure this will come off as a bit conceited, but even as novices during our first year of living in a 38' Class A motor home, we were experts compared to some of the people we've encountered on the road.

The dreaded “Tandem Tow” is something often spoken about around campfires, yet rarely seen. The violators are usually (but not exclusively) confined to 5^th wheel and travel trailer owners who think it's both rational and safe to tow their RV behind a pickup truck while attaching a boat or storage trailer to the back of their RV in tandem. Most violators confine themselves to local roads, limiting the danger to others, but we have seen a couple of tandem tows on interstates going in excess of 65 MPH!

We are currently sitting across the campground road from a very elderly couple who full-time in a 40' diesel Ellipse motor home which has seen better days. Probably an early 2000 model. Has dings, dents, repaired cracks in the rear cap, etc. When asked about some significant damage to their front cap and along the side of the RV basement bays, he told me how they had hit a deer on the way to the campground and were waiting to see if parts were available and when they would be available. Fine. Felt bad for them. The next day, they pulled out of their spot early and we thought they were headed elsewhere, or to a repair shop. Nope. They came back in after 10 PM that night, revving their engine, and even leaning on their air horn at one point! Woke up to find that the wife had apparently been driving the RV back to the campground, didn't feel comfortable backing into the site, so they decided to pull in facing forward. Not a big deal on the surface, but while pulling straight in they had to go the wrong way on a one-way street, and then they ran into and over a 20-foot TREE on their site, causing even MORE damage to their RV! At this point, the cumulative damage to the RV likely exceeds the current value of the RV, so you wonder if insurance is just going to total it out. Oh, and their method of communication is to yell either at (or to) each other, and they let their dachshund run around loose to terrorize other dogs and kids riding by on bikes in violation of campground rules. Don't be these guys.

Another story is a Tiffin nightmare. While waiting for service at the Tiffin Red Bay repair center (which can take a while given that Tiffin didn't take appointments for service at the time), a couple was engaging in both legal and illegal mood-altering substances, and the wife was getting frustrated at the long wait to be called for service - which had been dragging on for more than a week.

Personal note: Barbara and I have waited almost an entire month to finish up service one time at Tiffin Service, but then, we're retired and have a boatload of patience)

A vocal argument between the well-lubricated couple ensued, and the missus decided that she wanted to get into a service bay right that very minute! Even though Tiffin Service was closed for the day, she got behind the wheel of their Allegro RED diesel, cranked that baby up, and without disconnecting from power, water or sewer, without raising jacks or bringing in slides, floored that baby and headed towards the service bays. Ultimately, she crashed into a bay which (unfortunately) had an existing, nearly new 42-foot Phaeton motor home inside. As with us, it was that guys full-time home! Little Miss Drunk, High and Impatient totaled HER motor home, HIS motor home and destroyed a 15' high set of garage doors, as well as earning herself some much deserved time behind bars in an Alabama jail.

The good news side of this story, Bob Tiffin found an replacement model for the guy's Phaeton that had been totaled which was already in the manufacturing stage, and moved it through to completion in about a week. We met the Phaeton owner during a tour of the Tiffin factory, and he confirmed this story.

The Weird and Wacky

World's largest popcorn ball (Iowa)

World's largest pistachio (New Mexico)

The FUTURE birthplace of Capt. James T. Kirk (Iowa)

World's largest peach (water tower on Exit 92, I-85 in South Carolina)

World's largest road runner – made entirely out of recycled metal (New Mexico)

The Thing – a stop that defies description (on I-10 in Arizona)

The Mayor of Lajitas, Texas (He's a goat – really!)

Carhenge – an exact replica of Stonehenge made entirely out of US cars (Nebraska)

The Best people EVER!

We've also been blessed to meet some really wonderful people on the road. Usually fellow RVers like ourselves, but because we frequent local establishments in the small towns we visit we get to meet the “salt of the earth” and those who have never met a stranger.

• Fellow Class A motor home RVers Dan and Jodi, who we met by simply letting them borrow our Jeep when their motorcycle wouldn't start due to a bad battery.

• Fellow Tiffin owners Byron and Lynn, who liked our paint scheme so much they asked if they could use it for their new build.

• Fellow former Massachusetts resident Mike and his wife Jessica who also bought their Tiffin motor home around the same time we did. One of these days we're going to RV somewhere besides Red Bay!

• Tiffin owner Scott who has a love for good bourbon and all things Grover.

• Campers Ronald and Debra and their circle of extended family who treat you like family the minute they meet you.

• Bill and Karen who share our love of New England-style seafood, and who really like Grover. They even dog-sat Grover when we had to go down to Orlando to avoid us having to board him.

• Dave and Dave at Tiffin Service who always go the extra mile to make sure the work is done right.

• Also Jeff and Jeff at Red Bay Body Shop.

• The GOAT of motor homes, Bob Tiffin, a true Southern gentlemen who defines the meaning of customer service.

And countless others too numerous to mention on here.

Places to Stay and Places to Avoid

Best park we've stayed at: Tiger's Trail RV Resort in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Worst park we've stayed at: Cedar Trail RV Park in Ft. Mitchell, Georgia – but it's got a nice sign . . .

Best Corps of Engineers campground we've stayed at: Catoma at Gunter Hill in Montgomery, Alabama

Worst COE campground: Is there really a bad COE when you're paying less than $15 per night?

Life on the road – it's never boring!

So This Is A First . . .

Five and 3/4 years.

One campground.

The ONLY campground we've left early due to abysmal conditions.

 About a week ago, we arrived at Cedar Trail RV Park in Fort Mitchell, GA. The purpose was to visit with our oldest daughter, Kristen and her boyfriend, plus see a long-time friend of mine I hadn't seen in 4 years. It was also to fill up the space between Memorial Day and our arrival in North Georgia before picking up our grandson, Jace for his summer vacation with us.

It was basically the only park outside of our usual stop in Red Bay, AL where we could find a spot over Memorial Day. And it was inexpensive, averaging $21 per night for a 9-night stay.

It's an older park with largely full-time residents, and the condition of the other RV's while older, seemed to be a bit better than the usual lots filled with junk that hadn't been moved in decades, so that wasn't too bad. But once on site, it was apparent that not a lot of effort was given towards keeping the campground and sites in good condition.

The grass was more like weeds, which was good for the bees and other flying critters, but more like ankle-high. Clearly hadn't been cut in over a month. Ants all around, both fire ants and the usual kind. Utilities were to the rear of each site, which is always a pain. The sewer connection was an extra-large pipe you basically just dropped your sewer hose into without making a secure connection. And the only amenity was a laundry room. It's really a let-down, especially given our stay two weeks ago at the resort in Baton Rouge.

They don't even have an office. You check in online, and if you have an issue, you call the number on the website.

All this to say, it is BY FAR the worst campground we've ever stayed in after five and 3/4 years of RV-ing. So even though we still have 2 nights prepaid for this stay, we're leaving tomorrow for a couple of nights in Gainesville, GA at Duckett Mill before our reservations take effect at Bolding Mill next week.

 And we don't even care to try to get a refund. We just want OUT.

Laissez les bons moments rouler!

Translation: Let The Good Times Roll!

Five and a half years into traveling the roads and bridges of America, and one notable state has managed to elude us. Despite staying in every other state surrounding the Gulf of Mexi – er, America – we've always managed to skip or just plain pass-through Louisiana. COVID kept us from visiting in 2020 on our way back from Arizona. Other scheduled travel ran us through the state without any spare time to hit the obvious spots like New Orleans and Baton Rouge. We had managed to stay overnight in the Shreveport area, but it was just a one-night stop on our way to Texas, and one night stops don't count as an official Parental Parolees “visit”.

So following our 1 year-old grandson William's birthday early in May, we found ourselves with about a month in which to kill some time. Strangely enough, we hadn't planned for any travel at all. Unusual enough in previous years, but given the past year of non-travel I had gotten out of the habit of making reservations and planning for stops and stays. More on that little problem coming later in the blog.

We had looked at Maryland as a possible check-off on our travel map, as it is the only Mid-Atlantic state left to visit, but except for Assateague National Seashore to visit with the wild horses there, nothing really was motivating us there, and a dearth of campgrounds with either decent reviews or reasonable rates didn't make Maryland a particular draw.

Ohio was another possibility, as it would plug a hole in the map in our Rust Belt travels, but more research was needed on good places to stay there that couldn't be done in a week or two of prep. Rhode Island and Connecticut were simply put in the “let's hit them on our way to and from New England next time” category.

So given it was May, and the hot and sticky weather the Gulf coast is known for had not yet arrived, Louisiana beckoned. Barbara had never visited there, while my earlier travels to that city were back when I worked for Xerox 30 years in the past. It wasn't going to be a long stay, as at our age there's only so much drinking and eating you can do and still function enough to sight see the next day!

We're pretty frugal when it comes to campground fees. If we can get by on $50-$60 a night, we're very happy. Not gonna happen in the New Orleans area. Could have stayed outside the city and shuttled in, but for just a couple of days it would have wasted a lot of travel time, so we opted to spend some serious fees at French Quarter RV Resort, a 52-site oasis just a short walking distance to the fabled French Quarter. This was all about location – location – location, as the term “resort” is a bit overblown. Nice, but small pool and hot tub, streets and sites made of pavers with good modern hookups. Gated, so safe from the seedier side of New Orleans. But that's the entirety of the “resort”.

All for $125 per night before taxes (and Louisiana and New Orleans have a LOT of taxes!).

But, you're a 10-15 minute walk to Bourbon Street.

We opted for a 3-night stay.

Barbara booked us for a 2-hour river cruise on the Natchez Queen, an old-style paddle-wheeler, for our last day there, so our first couple of days were spent sight seeing, eating and drinking. One morning we enjoyed beignets and cafe au lait and Cafe du Monde right on the river.

 

Nothing like a powdered sugar high on fried dough to start the day!

After beignets, we needed a walk on the river!

We used the sugar-induced high to walk around Jackson Square looking at street artists. Struck up a conversation with a couple of law enforcement folks who were covering a commercial being shot in the square. Hit the hot tub back at the resort to work out the kinks and muscles from the walk, then hit Pat O'Brien's for some bar food, music, and their famous Hurricane drink.

The Hurricane was tasty, but pretty strong for someone who doesn't drink much alcohol!

 

Always making sure we were back behind the walls and gate of the resort before dark, because New Orleans is a pretty dangerous city outside of the restaurants and shops of the French Quarter.

Our second day found us heading to the dock for our much-anticipated riverboat cruise, only to find out that it had been canceled due to a mechanical problem. Since we were nearby, we decided to walk through the French Market that Barbara had read about during her research. While it didn't turn out to be the variety of vendors she had hoped it was, we did meet a wonderful man named Charles Garrison, A P.O.E.T of New Orleans, who will recite his own original verses for you, speak to his ministry in the area and his life history (he's a fellow Air Force vet like me) and will sell you his poems with a personal greeting on them for a marginal price. He's a charming, likable fellow and we spent almost a half hour speaking with him. If you're visiting New Orleans, stop by his table at the French Market; it will be worth your time.

A P.O.E.T. and Pastor Charles Garrison

Leaving New Orleans in our rear view mirror, we headed a bit west and north to the capital city of Louisiana, Baton Rouge. We had reservations in a fairly new (2023) campground, Tiger's Run RV Resort, which appeared to be a combined venue with the Lauberge Hotel and Casino across the street. The RV resort encircles a good-sized pond on very level ground. Sites are cement with attached patios. Typical pool, hot tub and pickle ball courts, with a very nice addition of a lazy river and a pool bar guests can enjoy, and you can even bill your drinks to your site! Another mark of a true resort is trash pickup at your site.

Visited one of the local Southern plantations nearby. Houmas Plantation is still an active home where the owner spends each evening, but it's also a museum which highlights pre-Civil War Southern living. The gardens and trees on the grounds are absolutely spectacular, as is the home. The front grounds are somewhat truncated after the levee system was built following the Great Flood of 1927, but you can still imagine looking out on the front porch to the Mississippi River a few dozen yards away.

Besides a typical Southern look, the Houmas Plantation had a beautiful Oriental garden

Barbara standing where the barges and boats would have been picking up and delivering commerce to the Houmas Plantation back in the day.

The Mighty Mississippi. Too thin to walk on; too thick to drink!

To close out our Louisiana adventure, it was never, ever not windy during out stay in that state. Every day greeted us with 15 MPH winds and minimum 20 MPH gusts. Our drive day back up to Montgomery, Alabama had 15-25 MPH winds. Fortunately, for more than half our drive day it was a gas-saving tail wind, but hitting those long bridges and roadways over Lake Ponchartrain with that crosswind was a chore. I have no idea if windy is the norm for that area, or if we just caught some unusual weather, but dang, was it ever windy!

Anyway, state #28 is in the bag, and now it's time to get down to some serious travel planning for Jace's summer vacation. We are seriously behind the 8-ball on that.