A quaint little drinking couple with a camping problem!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

The End Is Near!

Hi gang!

Hope everybody is healthy, wealthy, and wise.  We are still in LA (For those of you with short memories, or over the age of sixty, that stands for Lower Alabama.) but our time is getting short.  In fact, very short.  The Happy Couple have spent today getting the house and the truck ready to move.  Tomorrow is the dreaded thing we all knew was coming.  You see, tomorrow we start the trek north.  It's back to Iowa, and for my friend Dave, it's back to work for the summer.

I would say we have had, for the most part, a good winter.  If it had not been for the passing of Shari's dad, it would probably qualify as a great winter.  The weather has been decent with only a few days of cold weather.  The amount of rain has been exceptionally low and the temperatures here at Foley have been great.  In fact I just yelled at the Village Idiot to see what the temperature was now and he reported it was 78* as I am writing this.  With a nice NW breeze and low humidity, that ain't bad folks.  It's so nice that Shari and Moe are outside sunbathing in the queen's chair.  Dave says he's outside working but he seems to come inside quite often to get a cold beer.  He says the neighbors came over and are drinking all his beer but every time I look out the window he is sitting in a lawn chair and nobody else is around.  I think he is trying to get up his nerve to tell Shari that he doesn't want to leave.

What has the Happy Couple been doing the last month here in LA?  Well, enough to put 1800 miles on the truck.  It seems I have had to guide them all over and there is a lot to see in this area if you dig deep enough.  One day, the two of them had lunch at Lulu's in Gulf Shores.  Lulu's is a restaurant, lounge, marina, outdoor recreation place owned by Lulu Buffet, Jimmy Buffet's sister.  The food was a little expensive but great on the tasting side.  And no, Jimmy wasn't there, although he does show up unannounced occasionally.  Twice, the rather Unhappy Couple rolled out of bed early in the morning (before 8:00 AM) and went to Pensacola to see the Blue Angles practice only to not to see a performance.  The first time it was the Blue Angles' first day back from California and they had to do fly overs to learn their landmarks. Yesterday they did not practice because of low clouds in the area.  The pilots did do some flying both days but not their show routine.  All my buddy Dave could say is "Wait till next year."  Sounds like a Cub saying.  The Happy Couple made a couple trips to Pensacola to Joe Patti's Seafood.  If you have never heard of Joe Patti's don't feel bad.  The Happy Couple never had either.  But they say, they won't come back here again without going to Joe Patti's.  This seafood shop is the #2 tourist attraction in Pensacola and ranked #7 in Southern Living Magazine:  "10 Things We Love About Florida!"  It is a great seafood shop.  To learn more go to  www.joepattis.com  Another great find was The Roadkill Cafe in Eberta, AL.  When you have a cafe with the motto "You Kill It - We'll Grill It" you know it's got to be good.  They're open Monday through Saturday 11:00 AM until they run out of food.  This is authentic southern food served southern style.  The Happy Couple had lunch there yesterday and Dave came out with a bright orange t-shirt and his stomach stuck out in front of him about a foot more than normal.  He could hardly waddle across the street.  I wish I would have had the camera.  It would have been great on YouTube.  I could go on with this forever but I know you have other things to do so I'll probably bring up some of the other things at a later time.

The Happy Couple have met a lot of nice people during the month they have been here.  Actually, most of the people they met were through Moe.  The Couple would take Moe for a walk, they would see people out walking, the people always want to talk and pet Moe, Moe would do her normal thing of "Meet N Greet", and then they would say to Shari and Dave "Oh, by the way, who are you?"  One couple is Joe and Carolyn from northern Indiana.  Joe is a golfer and wants to go play a round with Shari next year.  (Golf that is.)  Another couple is Paul and Karen from Michigan.  Paul and Karen are bike riders and the Happy Couple hope to do some riding with them next year.  A third couple is Jerry and Mary from south central Illinois.  There is not a whole lot about cooking that Mary and Jerry don't know.  Mary is a professional cake baker and bakes for numerous weddings during the spring, summer, and fall.  Jerry is great guy but hard to describe.  To give you an idea of what he is about, he has a sandwich he makes that starts with rye bread. You put on a thick slice of garlic baloney, a slice of super sharp cheddar cheese, a thick slice of sweet onion, and crunchy peanut butter.  Try it!  You'll love it!  A fourth couple is Marilyn and Duane from the St. Louis area.  They were originally from the Wapello area and really know their way around SE Iowa.  My only concern about them is if Moe ever disappears, I think I would know were to go look for her.  M and D watch Moe when the Happy Couple are out touring and Moe has decided she would like to go live with them full time.  It has something about the animal crackers they feed to her all the time.  Last evening the Couple took Moe out for her evening walk and she walked right to M and D's motorhome and started right up the steps.  I heard she was looking for the doorbell when Dave pulled her away.  Now there are times when I would help pack her suitcase if she really wants to move.  But I don't think The Happy Couple would go for that.

Even though The Happy Couple are going to miss south Alabama and the new friends they have met, they are looking forward to getting reunited with their family and old friends back in Iowa.  The plan is to leave tomorrow and travel to Natchez, MS to meet friends Ed and Deb for the weekend.  On Monday the 4 of them are going to Tunica, MS for 3 nights and meet up with friends Al and Pam.  Ed and Deb have been in south Texas for a couple months and Al and Pam are coming over from the Atlanta area.  Next Thursday, the trek north will continue with another overnight stop and arriving at Crossroads RV Park in Mount Pleasant on Friday, April Fools Day.  From what I have heard about the long term weather forecast, I think the joke is going to be on the Happy Couple.  I haven't seen Dave in long pants for about 5 weeks.  It ain't going to be pretty folks!!!!  If there is anybody that would like to take Moe and me for a few weeks until it warms up, we sure would appreciate it.  Call me on Shari's phone.

I do have a little trivia question to ask before I sign off.  Without using Google or any other search engine, can anyone name Elizabeth Taylor's 7 husbands and which one she married twice?  The Village Idiot has trouble remembering all his wives and he has only been married once.  There may be a valuable prize for the first correct answer.

Well I guess I had better quit for now.  I think stupid is about out of beer so the fight over going back to Iowa or not should be starting shortly.  We may, or may not be back in Iowa.  Just depends on who wins.

Later,

Tag

Sunday, March 6, 2011

The Other LA!

And how is everyone this evening?  Considering who I'm with, I'm not doing too bad. Moe is doing okay, also. 

You are probably wondering were we are and how we arrived here.  So am I.  The last I wrote, we were in Kinder, LA and about to get kicked out of that campground.  (When you pay for 3 nights and stay for 5, the owners start to get a little irritated.)  Well, on the last morning we were in Kinder, and while our fearless leader was hooking the trailer to the truck, I made the stupid mistake of asking him where we were headed.  His response was, "We're going to LA".  I tried to explain to him that we were already in LA (short for Louisiana, which should be spelled Luzyanna as that's the way the locals pronounce it,) but he said we were going to the other LA.  Since his intellect must be rubbing off on me, I assumed we must be going to Los Angeles.  I had visions of Hollywood, Malibu, Marina Del Rey, and of course, the WORLD FAMOUS DODGERS.  Man, was I wrong.

When we left Kinder the Village Idiot would not let me navigate and left everything to Maxine (the Garmin hussy).  We proceeded east on US-190 until we got to Baton Rouge and then proceeded across I-12 into Mississippi.   Not having any idea where to go from there we stopped at the Mississippi Welcome Center where the Happy Couple found another casino to stay at.  This place was called the Silver Slipper and had a campground we could stay 1 night for free. Well, the 2 of them still know how to spell free, so away we went.  Actually it wasn't too bad of a place.  The campsite we ended up in was about 75 feet from the edge of the beach and about 100 yards from the Gulf of Mexico.  After seeing the RV park the Happy Couple decided to stay 3 nights.  The 1st night was an absolutely gorgeous night, with a full moon over the bay and a nice cool breeze blowing in from the Gulf.  The 4 of us took a nice long walk on the beach and had sand up to our elbows, well Moe and I did anyway.  On Saturday (the next day) we all jumped into the truck and took a ride to Gulfport and Biloxi to see how those 2 cities have recovered from Katrina.  Dave and Shari have both been to the gulf before Katrina but really didn't recognize the area.  Everything is new.  On Sunday the Happy Couple decided to venture over to New Orleans to take a look at their recovery project.  I wouldn't even think about telling you what the Village Idiot thought of it.  It wasn't pretty.  They did find a RV resort they would recommend to their high roller friends.  The place is call The French Quarter RV Resort in downtown N.O..  The rate is about $90.00 per night with a 30 night maximum stay.  Instead of concrete pads and streets, everything is brick.  I am assuming for that kind of rate, all utilities would be included.  We drove through the park and the most notable units in there were 3 Prevost conversion motorhomes ($1.5 million to 2.5 million per unit)  and 2 cheap American Eagles in the price range of $1+ million per unit.  That's where the poor people stay.  We did take a ride into the French Quarter area and everything is going just fine.  I would imagine with Mardi Gras this week, that place is pretty lively.

On Monday morning we continued east on I-10 across Mississippi toward Alabama.  Along the way we met truck after truck of NASCAR racing equipment.  The previous day was the Daytona 500 and the cars and the support equipment were all being moved to Phoenix for the next race. Some race teams had 6 to 8 trucks in their caravan with all the tractors and trailers painted in their colors.  If you are a NASCAR fan, it was a sight to behold.  Since the Frantz Clan is into RVing, we were most impressed with the motorhomes that were in the group.  They would have fit right in at French Quarter RV Resort.

Well, we ended up in Alabama, or "Bama" if you're a local.  We are at Johnny's Lakeside RV Resort near Foley, AL.  This is where LA comes into play.  Anything south of I-10 in Alabama is known as Lower Alabama or LA.  That's where the Idiot got me again.  No Dodger Stadium here.  Anyway, we are at a very nice RV park and are enjoying ourselves.  The weather has been great.  Most days are in the low to mid 70's with a couple days in the low 80's and today in the low 60's.  Yesterday was the 1st day with any rain.  But when it rains here, it rains.  Had a couple of inches.  The Happy Couple have met a lot of nice Snow Birds (and locals) and Moe has met a few nice dogs, two ducks, and a bunch of squirrels to bark at.  Everybody is happy. 

The Happy Couple have been taking road trips to get to know the area and find all the things to do.  They spent an afternoon at Fairhope and Blakeley State Park.  Fairhope is the oldest, and largest, utopia (single tax) community in the world, founded in 1894.  Blakeley State Park is the site of the last significant battle of the Civil War.  The battle was fought after Lee had surrendered but before the word had spread this far south.  They spent another day in the Pensacola area, going to Pensacola Beach and Fort Pickens.  Fort Pickens was a fort on a barrier island used to protect Pensacola Bay, and Pensacola Naval Air Station, up until Wold War II. 

The Happy Couple have seen friends since they have been here.  Ken and Sarah Hoenig stopped for a night at the RV park.  They had been in Florida for couple of months and were on their way to Texas via Luzzyanna.  The Couple also had lunch with Tom and Helen Seacrist.  Tom and Helen are a couple that spent some time a Crossroads RV Park last summer and winter at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores.  It was great to see both couples.

What are the future plans?  Tomorrow I'm guiding the Couple on a road trip to Destin, FL to see Jack and Carnie Burke.  The Burkes have wintered in Destin for a few years and, for some reason, want us to come visit.  On Thursday Shari is going on a dolphin watch cruise with a group from the park.  Stupid is not going because he doesn't want to turn green.  Some day Stupid is going to venture off by himself on a trip to the Naval Air Museum at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.  This is the home base and training facility for the Blue Angels. Shari would go but thinks she would get bored looking at airplanes all day.  If the schedule is right, and they can get there, the Happy Couple want to go to one of the Blue Angel practices.  The rest of the schedule?  Who knows.  The plan now is to leave here on the 26th of March and be back to Crossroads RV Park in Mount Pleasant on the afternoon of March 31.  The Village Idiot has to go back to work on April 1st.  If fuel prices keep climbing the way they have the last week, Dave says he may have to stop and rob a couple banks on the way back to Iowa.  The world will be going from the adventures of Bonnie and Clyde to the adventures of Shari and Dave.  I can just see the movie now.  They'll probably get Charlie Sheen to play the part of Dave.

I guess that's about all I can think of for tonight.  I have to get up early tomorrow (before 9:00 AM) to take these two on the road trip.  I tell you, keeping up with these two is not as easy as you might think.

Until next time,  have a good one.

TAG