San Antonio

Moving from South Padre Island to Mustang Island, near Corpus Christi, did not improve the weather. We had three days of cold, wind and rain-showers . Morning temps were 4C with windchill feeling like -4C ....okay, we don't hear any sympathy; we must be getting soft. The arctic front covering most of North America was here too!  Tried walking the beaches, but the winds were excessive.  So next best thing was driving on the sand of Mustang Island.

It was good weather to go to a movie (highly recommend Interstellar at an IMAX) and we did see the USS Lexington (nicknamed the "Blue Ghost") by the beach of Corpus Christi. This decommissioned WW2 aircraft carrier was taken out of service in 1991.

On to San Antonio area, and much improved, beautiful weather!  Our RV park is near Castroville,Texas, about 15 minutes west of San Antonio. It is brand new and on a great golf course; after 4 rounds of golf in all our travels to date, we have now more than doubled that in our first week at this resort.

Enjoying some "Birdie Juice"

The owners here are extremely friendly and accommodating; they recommended a 2 hour drive along part of the Purple Heart Trail to the north, into what is known as the beautiful rolling "Hill Country". We stopped for lunch in Bandero at OST, the Old Spanish Trail restaurant. Famous for home-cooked Tex-Mex food in a western town setting, where you can eat at the bar seated in saddles, or sit on church pew benches. The walls are covered with photos and memorabilia of John Wayne and other cowboys from duster movies. Like they say, "Everything is bigger in Texas" including their meal portions.







Also had a day trip towards Austin with stops at the Premium and Tangers factory outlets, one of the largest combined outlet malls that we have ever found.

We have heard so much about San Antonio, but it really is far more beautiful than expected. The highlight has been the famous River Walk!  In September 1921, a disastrous flood along the San Antonio River claimed 50 lives. To avoid a recurrence, flood gates and dams were built along the river. The River Walk is located one storey below street level and winds and loops under the bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants, pubs and shops.  A guided riverboat ride gave us the history of this unique area. We have walked a few miles on a few days and evenings too!















We toured the other famous landmark in downtown San Antonio, the Alamo. You've probably heard the expression "Remember the Alamo". On February 23, 1836 General Santa Ana led his Mexican army of several thousand soldiers to take back The Alamo, a former Catholic mission, from the Texans.  The Alamo was defended by 200 soldiers of the Texian army.  These soldiers were mostly volunteer including Davy Crockett, the former congressman from Tennessee and famed frontiersman. After 13 days of fierce fighting, Santa Ana's army finally overpowered the Texian army killing all of the soldiers including its commander Jim Bowie (Bowie knife) and Davy Crockett.



General Santa Ana's cruelty during the Battle of Alamo inspired many Texans to join the Texian Army.  Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texian army defeated Santa Ana's army at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, ending the Texas Revolution.  During the attack, the Texian soldiers cried "Remember the Alamo" thus becoming a battle cry of such, a way to convey strength and honor in 3 succinct words.

The River Walk and The Alamo are the top 2 tourist attractions in Texas.

Our favorite fast food American chain, "In N Out" Burger, opened its first location in San Antonio, less than a week ago. So enroute into the city we decided to go for a late lunch....huge mistake!  We didn't need the GPS when we got close, as the lineups snaked around streets and parking lots. Police had set up barricades and when we asked the wait, we were informed it was much shorter now and only about 45 minutes for the drive thru!!!  Longer if you wanted to be seated inside! Needless to say we will wait until we get to Arizona.

Not sure how long we will stay here, as it is so lovely and difficult to leave; but we know we need to begin the final leg of this adventure soon. Next stops are probably Seminole Canyon and Fort Davis is West Texas, then up to the Carlsbad Caverns and Alamogordo white sands of New Mexico. Then park the motorhome in Phoenix and fly home on December 11th. Will hopefully post one more blog update.

Enjoying US Thanksgiving turkey dinner

Texas

November 1st and off early to Texas. Just over the state line and into Beaumont, the refinery / oil patch mecca begins. Our RV park is on Galveston Island. The island is approximately 32 miles long and no more than 3 miles at its widest point; it is situated approximately 45 miles south of Houston, the 4th largest city in the US.  Prior to the Civil War, Galveston was the largest cotton shipping point in the world and the second largest port for immigration in the US.  On September 8, 1900 the Galveston Hurricane came ashore destroying much of the city and the island, killing at least 6,000 people; the greatest natural disaster to ever strike the US.  On September 13, 2008 Hurricane Ike hit Galveston causing widespread damage. 

The highlight of the day was seeing Chris, Steve, and Jenna Folk; Chris was a soccer teammate and friend of Mellow Yellow and now lives in Houston. We had a nice dinner at Fish Tales and then Steve toured us around Galveston. It was just like old times Chris:) We were fortunate to have another evening with the Folk's and a visit at their beautiful home in Houston. Thanks for the goodies Chris.

We spent a day at Space Center Houston, NASA's Johnson Space Center for human spaceflight activities.  This is a must see for anyone visiting the Houston area. Attractions include a restored Saturn 5 rocket from the Apollo series, a tram tour of the Johnson Space Center and a visit to the original Mission Control Centre.  5 non-stop hours of tours, films, exhibits, etc. 

Strolling the waterfront and Strand street in Galveston: Started the morning at LA Confectionery and watched the making (and sampling) of Salt Water Taffy on a 100 year old machine. What a cute store; a throw back in time with its ice cream parlour tables and chairs, wall to wall candy bins, old fashion shakes, espresso bar, etc. 

Two cruise ships ( RCI and Carnival Magic) are in port today. Linda was wishing we could jump on one of the ships and go cruising (I did the next best thing and took her on the ferry at the north end of the island back to the mainland). 

Next stop was the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum, a decommissioned rig dedicated to further education of the offshore oil and gas industry. 

Next island: South Padre. The first rain we have seen since Tennessee started on this leg of the drive and half the week on SPI. As with everything in Texas, even the rain comes in a very big way:) But when it is nice, it is exceptional, in the 80's, humid, and very tropical. We have a great RV site at a KOA, with our own deck out front overlooking the bay of Laguna Madre. The seafood is once again amazing; the gulf shrimp are so fresh.  It was our intention after leaving New Orleans to eat in more often; however, the restaurants on the island are so good we can't resist. 

The beaches are beautiful and for the most part deserted at this time of year.

Pelican warning sign on causeway to South Padre Island

Managed to get in a round of golf with a couple from north of Toronto (seems like only Canadian's golf down here).  Again a great bargain at $14 including cart.

After a week on South Padre, we have moved back up to the Corpus Christi area and staying on Mustang Island....who knew Texas has so many islands!

Halloween - New Orleans

Halloween in New Orleans was quite an experience to say the least.  We found a streetside pub along Bourbon Street and parked ourselves for a couple of hours for "creature" watching.  Most popular this year are probably the orange jail jumpsuits of Litchfield Prison, from the hit TV show "Orange is the New Black".  When the restaurant suggested they close the shutters to the street to protect the restaurant from unruly party goers we decided it was in our best interests to leave.  We joined a couple of parades that meandered their way through the French Quarter streets.  As the night went on the atmosphere changed somewhat and we called it a night around 10:30 pm. A crazy fun evening. After spending almost two weeks in New Orleans, we really didn't want to leave.  There are not likely many other cities in the world with as great a reputation for decadence as New Orleans. 

There were many cemetery tours and ghost tours as well.  As much of the City is below sea level, bodies are not buried below ground given the high water table.  When early European settlers placed coffins under 6 feet of earth, the water level would often rise above them causing the caskets to sometimes rise to the surface and be founding floating in the streets during periods of floods.  The only solution was to bury the dead above ground.  The tombs or oven vaults in New Orleans cemeteries are used again and again.  Typically, after one year and one day the tomb will be re-used simply by breaking the brick and mortar seal, and pushing the remains to the rear of the tomb.

New Orleans

We departed Memphis on Saturday October 18 for Louisiana with the halfway stopping point in Jackson Mississippi, the capitol of the state, but with a somewhat small and declining population of under 173,000. From here we drove part of the Natchez Trace, a historic 440 mile path from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee.  It was created and used for centuries firstly by native Indians and later by early European and American explorers, traders and emigrants. 

   

After driving these last two days thru tree-lined highways from Memphis to an hour outside of New Orleans, the bayou started; such different terrain than we are used to seeing. The interstates became numerous bridges over the swamps.

In 1803 the US purchased 828,000 square miles (529,920,000 square acres) of land (highlighted in green) including, Louisiana, from France for $15 million or 4 cents an acre (in today’s dollars that would be roughly $236 million or 42 cents per acre).  Also included in this purchase were the southern portions of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Our home for the next five nights was at the French Quarter RV Resort on the north perimeter of the French Quarter and just a few blocks from the Superdome. Every day we were able to walk around, but were told to take cabs back at night even though it was just a few blocks....hence the ‘razor-wire’ atop the walls around the RV Park!  We must say that not once were we nervous during the day or night.  The next eight nights are at another nice RV park on a canal near Lake Pontchartrain, but still only 5-10 minute drive to the French Quarter. The reason we had to move was that the New Orleans Saints were at home against Green Bay Packers and due to  the close proximity our site went up to $190.USD per night....yikes!!

We visited the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. This is a must see when visiting New Orleans.  Many of the exhibits and videos are very moving and emotional.  

The sights, sounds, and flavors of New Orleans....where do we start.....

the food and drinks are amazing. A few times Linda would have the New Orleans samplers: crawfish etouffee, jambalayas, gumbos, and rice and beans. Ron, being less of a seafood lover enjoyed various po’boys. And desserts.....wow.... bread puddings and pecan pies.

Pat O’Brien’s, famous for their original Hurricane drinks, was a fun stop at the dueling piano bars. The Brennen’s Palace Cafe on Canal Street for their White Chocolate Bread pudding. Cafe au lait and Beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde.

Hop on- Hop-off open-air bus 3 day pass, gave us the overview of the city. A walking tour of the Garden District told us their architectural styles and pointed out a few of the celebs homes; probably one of the nicest ones was John Goodman’s.  The pass also included the St. Louis Cemetery #1 with the above ground crypts and tombs.  Many voo-doo priestesses and queen stories and the largest tomb shaped like a pyramid belongs to Nicholas Cage.

St. Charles streetcar

Crypt owned by actor Nicolas Cage

One of many homes decorated for Halloween

The experience of the Royal House Oyster Bar for lunch with its sloping balcony and having to hold onto our drinks(a French 75) and food so it didn’t slip off to the street below. (Later in the week a 200 year old building in the French Quarter collapsed....huh.....we can see whyJ)

The music is an experience too. We were able to get into Preservation Hall, albeit standing room only for the hour, and hear a terrific jazz band. Street musicians of varying talents are numerous in the daytime and early evening.

The River walk is very refreshing from the noise and smells of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter.

 Our neighbors in the RV Park for one night were Enriques Iglesias and Pit-bull.  Now they have some fancy rigs, not only for themselves, but for crew also. Apparently they are on tour together in the south right now.  Hmmm.....too bad Linda didn’t recognize Enriques when he came into the pool area;)  NCIS New Orleans was filming several days around the French Market and the waterfront area too.

Another highlight was attending the New Orleans School of Cooking for a demo class with Big Kevin; what a character and so much fun. And of course we got to eat a full lunch of everything made: gumbo, jambalaya, pralines, and bread pudding.  

After moving out to the Lake Pontchartrain RV Park we did some day trips from there. First was to see some plantations. Oak Alley with its’ beautiful oak tree lined drive way and majestic home and grounds with the slave quarters. Next stop was a Creole plantation called Laura’s; far less extravagant, but steeped in history and stories.  We then drove deeper into the south Bayou and the town of Houma. We have a better understanding of the differences in Creole and Cajun history.

Last weekend, there was an airshow at the Lakeshore Regional Airport, just across the canal from our park.  We enjoyed watching the vintage World War II aircraft flying in and out of the airport. The airshow is hosted by the Commemorative Air Force, a Texas based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and showing historical airshows in the US and Canada.  I went over Sunday morning to view the aircraft and see if I could purchase a ticket to ride on one of the aircraft. Flights were available on the B-29 Superfortress (Fifi), the last remaining flying B-29 in the world; however, at a cost of $600 to $1,600 (depending where you sat) I declined.  It was tempting however, as when will a person ever get another chance to fly in such an aircraft.  The most famous B-29, the Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan.  

We took a drive across Lake Pontchartrain on the Causeway, which are two parallel bridges measuring 24 miles long.  By comparison the Confederation Bridge is 7.8 miles long (albeit in much deeper water). The Causeway was listed by the Guinness World Records as the longest bridge over water until 2011 when the allegedly longer Jiaozhou Bridge in China (26 miles) opened. 

Next day trip was to Gulfport and Biloxi Mississippi thru the back highway along bayous. Almost all houses are on stilts, sometimes 20 or more feet high. As we neared Gulfport we drove past miles of white sandy beaches. It is 80 degrees and the beaches are vacant the entire way, expect for us! There are gorgeous mansions and newly renovated Casinos in Biloxi (the mini Las Vegas of the south?), but the area remains depressed from Katrina. A highlight of Biloxi was going out on a tour boat and trawling for shrimp and other fish. Ate at McElroy’s seafood house on the waterfront for lunch; the best fresh fish and shrimp and deep fried okra. The restaurant sits on stilts 29 feet above sea level. The friendly staff recounted tales of Katrina and their rebuilding process. A memorial, in the park across the street, is a collection of trinkets and treasures, found in the area.

A swamp tour is a must in the Bayou; Cajun Pride tours....... Alligators, Egrets, Racoons, and snakes!

We have had one round of golf here, booked on Golfnow for $15 pp including a cart at a nice course; does not seem to be a big pastime here.

And now our most ‘interesting’ story from Linda about our last dining experience:
This is a long story but gotta tell ya!! No luck catching up with the Drago fire truck restaurant (famous for its attendance at the Saints tailgating parties) but thought we would go to their original restaurant in Metaire. (About a 15 minute drive from our site) I went in while Ron was parking. As I'm checking in a rat falls out of the ceiling and hits the floor in front of me!!!!!!  dead!!!!  The rat not me. No NOT a Halloween prank, a real freakin rat!  I didn't scream but felt a few palpitations.  Ron comes in and we decide to still go in for dinner (would you have?!?!?). The hostess / managers brought us their house specialty, a dozen charbroiled oysters on the shell and wine and beer right away. Yummy by the way!!! Dinner and bread pudding was great and the whole meal and drinks were comped!!  Then the owner Drago's wife, Klara came over and visited for half an hour..... What a memorable experience... When they came over from Croatia they lived in Vancouver and Lillooet, BC before moving here to NO. Drago is 92 years old and was there tonight. She was a remarkable lady and told her life story to us.  She is planning to write their memoires and took our email address to send to us. And I believe her....an amazing, sweet, lady.  So glad we stayed and I almost forgot about the RAT!! ALMOST!!!  But then on our way back to the RV park we just about hit a very large rat as we passed under a bridge.  I thought Linda was going to pass out.

One more night here.....for Halloween (should be interesting!!).....then off to the Texas gulf coast for the month of November!