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.
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A quaint little drinking couple with a camping problem!
