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Day 36 Sat. 1/1/05 0 miles 2555 Total
Carl got up early (7:30 is very early on New Year’s Day) to take bird photographs at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray, about 30 miles away. He got some good pictures of common moorhen, blue wing teal and a green heron. On the way out he spotted and photographed a new bird for us, a Black Bellied Whistling Duck (we kid you not!). After lunch Sandy’s Aunt Lily who is in FL visiting a friend, came by for a visit. We went to Lion Country Safari next door and had a great time. We especially loved the giraffes who wandered in amongst the cars and, at one point, were observed licking the roof of one of the cars. We spent the evening with Eileen and Al Kates, just catching up a and enjoying their company.
Day 37 Sun. 1/2/05 0 miles 2555 Total
We enjoyed wonderful another day visiting with friends in West Palm Beach, including a trip to the “Flea Market” on Sample Road in Pompano Beach and a stop at Costco to stock up on food for the next leg of our trip.
Day 38 Mon. 1/3/05 419 miles 2974 Total
We drove 419 miles today. We left the roaring lions at Lion Country Safari and headed north for an overnight stop in Tallahassee, FL. Tomorrow we will drive another 400+ miles to New Orleans and be able to spend an extra day there.
Day 39 Tue. 1/4/05 410 miles 3384 Total
We drove another 410 miles today and made it to New Orleans. It was an unusual day since we gassed up the motorhome this morning and again this evening when we got to New Orleans. We ended up buying 118.4 gallons of gasoline today! The good news is that gas is $1.64 here! We are now planning our two days in The Big Easy while the laundry finishes.
Day 40 Wed. 1/5/05 0 miles 3384 Total
A great time in New Orleans. We started with a guided walk through the streets of the French Quarter with a National Park Ranger (Yes, there is a New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park). We learned a lot about the French, British and Spanish history of the city from 1717 through 1803 when it became part of the US as part of the Louisiana Purchase. As it turns our, President Jefferson only wanted to buy New Orleans from the French. However, Napoleon was short of cash so he made us a deal on all the land from Louisiana to Montana. There is a 25 foot levy along the Mississippi to protect against river flooding. Unfortunately, when it rains hard the water is trapped behind the levy and cannot flow into the river. They have to pump the water over the levy. We ate lunch on a second floor veranda overlooking Decateur Street then took a trolley to the Garden District, where there are many preserved eighteenth and early nineteenth century homes built by wealthy merchants. We followed a walking tour brochure and saw many beautifully restored homes. Unfortunately, they are private residences and we couldn’t go inside. Another trolley ride brought us back to Bourbon Street where we stopped at several bars to listen to the music. We ordered a local favorite drink called a hurricane. I watched the barmaid pour in shots of Barcardi, Captain Morgan and Myers rums and some other stuff. At seven o’clock Bourbon Street was just winding up as we were winding down. Perhaps tomorrow we will stay out later.
Day 41 Thu. 1/6/05 0 miles 3384 Total
Today was a delightful mix of hiking, birding and New Orleans shopping and night life. We started at the Barataria Preserve section of Jean LaFitte National Park. We hiked about four miles along a boardwalk that went from natural levee through the cedar swamp to the freshwater marsh. We saw lots of birds including a Barred Owl, a pair of Carolina Wrens and a flock of Cedar Waxwings. After the hike we watched a movie about the birds in the park then ate our picnic lunches on the deck of the visitor center. After lunch we drove back to New Orleans. Sandy had a shopping route laid out on the map and we wandered along Chatre and Royal Streets. At dinnertime we checked out a few possible restaurants and ended up at the Gumbo Shop. WE wandered along Bourbon Street for a while and got another drink but we were getting weary so we called it a day and headed back to the coach.
Day 42 Fri. 1/7/05 325 miles 3709 Total
Well, there has to be some gravel among the diamonds! Today was mostly gravel. It started with tiny ANTS! Ants on the galley counter, Ants in the bathroom, Ants crawling across the cabinet faces, Ants walking across the dash board. Not large numbers but they seemed to be everywhere. Fortunately, the campground store sold cans of Raid. We cleared off the counters and sprayed it everywhere. Sandy coated the counter with so much Raid that Carl said, “You don’t have to drown them.” Sandy snapped back, “Yes I do!” (she hates insects in the house).We finally hit the road about 10:30. The highways in Louisiana are horrible. We don’t mean the side roads, We’re talking Interstate Highways! I-10 through Louisiana is perhaps the worst stretch of interstate we have ever driven. Rough pavement, expansion joints and uneven pavement so the coach pitched up and down so much the dishes occasionally rattled. Add to that fun was the crosswind; nearly as bad as in South Dakota but with a lot more trucks. After a while the wind died down and the heavens opened up. It poured for about an hour and we learned another problem with Louisiana highways; they don’t drain well! Lots of standing water on the road so every vehicle created a big rooster tail of water. It was not particularly dangerous since we were all going about 40 MPH by then but it was time consuming. Everyone knows that Texas is big but the new exit numbering where the number represents the miles from the beginning on the highway, really reinforce the size of Texas. The first exit on the Texas-Louisiana border is 880! It’s a looooong way to El Paso. Since we were getting close to rush hour time, we selected a campground east of Houston and stopped for the night. Tomorrow it’s on the Texas Gulf Coast and more birds.
