April 23 to April 30

Tuesday, April 23:  Last Friday was supposed to be my last day at work but as always, it didn’t work out like it was supposed to.  I kept remembering things I needed to finish before we left for two months, so I worked Monday and a little bit this morning.  I got back to the RV about 10 and Mike had just about everything ready for us to hit the road.  I loaded the bikes on the back of the Honda and we were ready to go!  We pulled out of our sight and backed up along the street to connect the Honda to the RV.  As I stepped out of the RV I noticed our steps were already out.  They should have retracted when I started the RV and automatically came out when I opened the door.  Crap!!  I did what I do best; I called Colin the RV repair guy immediately.  We have given him a lot of work during the 5 years we have been staying in Tucson and he has been very good to us.  He said he could be there in about 30 minutes.  It was already 11:00 so Mike made sandwiches and put them in the refrigerator to eat later.  We knew that once Colin fixed the steps we would have to hit the road and keep going in order to make it to Las Cruces, NM by “wine time.” 

Colin got there by 11:20 and with two taps of his hammer on the step motor we were back in business!  We had tried that on his suggestion but evidently we weren’t hitting the motor in the “right” spot!  Anyway, we were on the road again.  Goodbye, Tucson!

           

A beautiful Tucson sunset...

The drive to Las Cruces was fairly uneventful which we were grateful for.  My strength and stamina are slowly returning to normal after the treatments.  I still tire easily and run out of steam by late afternoon.  So this drive was a test to see how well I would do on the whole trip.  Since it was interstate highway all the way to Las Cruces I let Mikey drive for about an hour while I took a nap.  Wow, did I nap!  Out like a light and didn’t wake up for 40 minutes!  After the nap I was quite refreshed and drove on to Las Cruces to the Siesta RV Park.  Nice little park, only about 40 usable sites and a real dust bowl.  And the wind was horrendous!  We had to have “wine time” inside because the sand from the wind made everything gritty. 

Wednesday, April 24:  Our first full day in Las Cruces we walked into the old town of Mesilla which was only about a half mile away.  150 years ago Mesilla was a booming town on the Butterfield Stage Coach line.  It was also where Billy the Kid stood trial for murder.  There are several shops and restaurants around the central plaza.  We walked quite a bit then had to go back to the coach for a nap!  All this “not working” is wearing me out!!  After our nap we went for a drive to explore the town of Las Cruces.  I noticed the Rio Grande River went through Las Cruces so we drove over to a park on the river.  As you can see in the pictures, the river is kind of dry.  I loved the sign that said, “No Swimming!”  

Later that evening we walked back into Mesilla and had a beer at El Patio and then went over to La Posta for dinner.  The food was excellent and the building is an historical landmark.  After dinner we headed back to the coach for a relaxing evening and to catch up on our TV programs.  And for those of you wondering about our satellite dish, yes, we had to change sites at this RV Park in order for the satellite dish to work.  The manager put us in a site next to a tree and wouldn’t you know it, the tree blocked the dish!  We moved over two spots to a site where the tree was smaller.  It was a windy night so it was “awnings in” and hang on!

 A variety of pictures from Las Cruces…

Thursday, April 25:  We were on the road by 9:30 today, our usual start time, and had lunch at the Subway inside the gas station in Sierra Blanca, TX.  After lunch we noticed a lot of RV’s on the road heading east like us.  As 3:00 neared we realized that many of these RV’s were probably going to stop for the night in Fort Stockton, like us.  Hmm.  I had set the cruise control to 2,000 RPM’s which is between 66 and 68 mph.  I bumped it up a bit and cruised along between 68 and 70 mph, passing a few more RV’s along the way.  Fort Stockton is in the middle of nowhere right off the interstate.  We got there about 3:30 in the afternoon and checked in.  We no sooner got to our site then the barrage of RV’s we passed on the highway started showing up!  Mike said the woman behind the counter at the RV Park mentioned she had 12 more checking in today.  Whew, we made it just in time! 

      No rain yet…

This RV Park has a restaurant on site with country fried steak on the menu.  I’m a sucker for country fried steak so we had dinner at the Roadrunner Café.  When we walked in the place was almost full but we found a table and sat down.  As we were sitting down I noticed a familiar face smiling and walking towards us!  It was Dawn Stephenson from Tucson!  She and her husband Duane were among the RV’s we passed on the highway.  They were on their way to Duane’s high school reunion in Indiana I believe.  We had a nice visit with them and a pretty good meal, too!  We also endured another windy night in Texas.  “Awnings in!”

            Duane and Dawn and me….

Friday, April 26:  This morning as we were preparing to leave I couldn't get the “jacks down” light to go out on the dash.  The jacks came up but the light wouldn't go out.  When it doesn't go out and you put the RV in gear you hear a warning beep, beep, beep.  It was very annoying.  We put the jacks back down and brought them up again but that didn't help.  Since the jacks were up we decided to go ahead and leave.  We made it out to the main road heading into the park and stopped.  I put the jacks down, Mike cleaned and lubed them then I brought them back up.  The light stayed on.  AAARRGGHHHH!!   Duane and Dawn pulled up beside us and offered assistance but I told them we were ok, just going to travel down the road with the beeping sound.  Sigh.  We prepared the RV for travel and took off.  Wouldn't you know it, the dang light went out and the beeping stopped.  We haven’t a problem with the jacks since!  Sheesh!  As we passed Dawn and Duane on the highway we gave the OK sign and thumbs up. 

We parked for the night at the Roadrunner RV Park in Johnson City, TX, home of Lyndon B. Johnson.  The park is right off the highway but is next door to a supermarket and a Dollar General and we visited both!  It has been raining on us constantly through Texas so we have to put the awning out to have our wine outside in the evenings.  The temperature has been OK, warm and humid but the constant rain has been a pain. 

Saturday, April 27:  We awoke to more rain drizzle and after our normal morning routine we were on the road by 9ish.  The last two stops have been for one night each and we were both growing weary of the “one night stands.”  Mike changed the next two reservations to two nights each which gives us a little bit of a break and a chance to explore the town and surrounding community. 

The stop for the night was in Beaumont, Texas at the Gulf Shores RV Resort.  This is a nice place with paved interior streets, concrete sites and lots of green grass!  They also have a free breakfast every morning featuring waffles, biscuits and gravy, bagels, donuts, fresh fruit and a variety of cereals.  It is not a 55+ park so there were a lot of kids when we arrived but by Sunday afternoon it was quiet.  I also think because we used the Passport America discount card they put us next to a transformer on purpose.  There were many empty sites away from the transformer and I started to go ask but decided it wasn't worth it, we’re only going to be here for two nights and the humming was kind of soothing. 

    The dish is up!

Sunday, April 28:  After a leisurely morning we took a ride to explore the town.  Of course we found a Wal-Mart and just had to go in for few things.  Then it was back to the coach for lunch and a nap.  Dinner that evening was at Floyd’s Restaurant where the specialty was seafood!!  I had been craving fried catfish and Mike wanted hush puppies, both were on the menu and we pigged out!  We also had oysters on the half shell and they were delicious!  Since the cancer diagnosis I had not been “allowed” to eat sushi or anything rare so the oysters were a real treat!  

Monday, April 29:  Today we leave Texas after five days and four nights of slugging through rain and wind!  Our first stop outside of Texas was to get fuel and to meet up with our friend Darrell.  Darrell was on his way back to Houston after attending a memorial service for his father in Florida.  We got fuel at a Truck Stop at exit 4, Mike coordinated with Darrell to meet us at there and lo and behold when we pulled in there was Darrell putting fuel in his car! 

Our destination today is an RV park in in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi along the Gulf Coast.  This was part of the area hit by Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans.  Katrina wiped out the beach communities of Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Ocean Springs, Gulfport and Biloxi.  The park we are staying in is called Bay Hide Away and is inland about a mile from the Gulf.  Nice little park but water everywhere!  We set up in the rain, again, and put the awning out to have our evening wine.  The elevation here is about 17 feet above sea level so the rain has nowhere to go so it just pools in low areas.  There is not even enough sunshine for evaporation to take place!  We are so thankful we had the carpet pulled from the coach and vinyl flooring put in this past winter.  What a difference it makes in a damp and humid climate. 

 Dish is up, wine is in hand, all is well... except for all the water!!

Tuesday, April 30:  We drove from Bay St. Louis up the coast to just before Pascagoula and were awed by the vacant land.  You could see where the homes used to sit on these beautiful pieces of gulf front property.  Sometimes you would see red brick steps leading up to nothing or a slab or poles where a house used to sit.  Strangely enough, most of the vacant sites were still being taken care of and looked very nice.  Many of the buildings along the coast had been rebuilt and looked quite sturdy.  There was even a new Catholic Church up on brick stilts! 

I had been using a “thing” the eye doctor gives you to put inside your glasses after you’ve had your eyes dilated to help with the glare while driving the coach.  It had become scratched and I wanted to find a new one so we stopped at Wal-Mart to see if I could purchase one from the vision counter.  Instead, the clerk talked me into purchasing a pair of clip-on’s for my glasses that are polarized to really reduce the glare.  My glasses have transition lenses and darken nicely outside but are useless in a vehicle.  The clip-on shades are very helpful.  I also asked where we could get a good grouper sandwich and the clerk suggested “Steve’s Marina Restaurant” in Ocean Springs.  We decided to give it a try and we’re glad we did, the food was delicious and the view was amazing!  We shared a Mahi-mahi sandwich (no grouper, dang it) and stuffed fried green tomato.  Needless to say, dinner that night was wine and snacks cuz we were still full from lunch. 

Check out the Stuffed Fried Green Tomato, it was yummy!

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