The Sandcastle – Page 154 – Blowing in the wind

20 mile day

Yesterday we drove from Summerdale, Alabama, to Gulf Shares, Alabama. Short but good day.

We started the day at Rainbow Plantation, an Escapees park where we had been sitting for several days. It was a leisurely start allowing time to sleep late, do our normal morning computer stuff, and take advantage of the park’s book exchange to get five new-to-me books. Check out time was noon and we managed to make that by doing the garbage run and the book exchange after checking out.

While we were parked in front of the office with Dave inside checking out I suddenly realized what was parked in front of us.

Look closer and you see this.

That won’t mean anything to most of you but those of you who participate in the hobby of geocaching will recognize that as a travel bug. A travel bug is usually something you find inside a cache that wants to go to a different cache so you help it move. This one moves without my help but I can go online to geocaching.com and log this find.

While I was taking that picture the owners came out, pleased to find me finding their travel bug. Then they asked if I had looked at their motorhome yet. Sure enough…

Easiest finds I’ve ever made. But harder for others to find because they move a lot. If you happened to be parked at Rainbow Plantation last night, go quick and see if they are still there.

Since we had been parked there for so long, our grocery supplies were seriously depleted. Instead of our usual stop at WalMart, though, we went to Winn Dixie hoping to get Mocha Mix or Coffee Rich. We got lots of food but neither of those.

So we drove across the street to Piggly Wiggly. They had Coffee Rich! In pints. Dave bought TEN of them. We are thawing two and the other eight are in our freezer. I will be able to eat cereal for a long time now.

All that grocery shopping helped us decide it was time for lunch. So we went to Lambert’s Cafe in Foley, Alabama.

This is another Guy’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives place. At 2 p.m. parking was challenging. They have several extra long spaces marked bus parking but they were full of cars. So we found a space next to a car using one and a half spaces and backed in next to it leaving our tail end hanging over a curb.

They have activities to help you wait your turn to be seated.

And activites to help you wait your turn once you are seated. This guy is entertaining everyone by throwing hot dinner rolls to anyone who holds up their hands to catch one.

Then they start bringing you food. And more food. And more food.

Here’s the “glass” of Diet Coke they brought Dave.

I ordered chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, cottage cheese, and fried apples. When it came the pieces of meat was so large, about 5″ diameter” it hung off the plate where I couldn’t cut it. So I set aside the bowls of cottage cheese and apples to make room for the meat. That didn’t work because of the Pass Arounds. Servers wander the aisles offering more sides. Besides the throwed rolls there are fried okra, black-eyed peas, macaroni with tomatoes, fried potatoes with onions, apple butter and sorghum for your rolls. Before I could get my meat moved further onto my plate it looked like this:

It took me two large take-out containers and a go-cup to get out of that place. Dave had a hamburger and potato salad and ate all his. Sometimes, I don’t understand that man; how could anyone pass up all those goodies?

Then we went to Gulf Shores, Alabama, to the Gulf Shores museum. A small but powerful place.

I learned a lot about bar pilots but the best stuff was about hurricanes. We watched video taken by professional storm trackers of hurricane Ivan hitting Gulf Shores. I got so emotionally overloaded I had to leave without seeing all the exhibits. Powerful, powerful stuff.

Then we drove to Gulf State Park wondering if we would get a site since it is Spring Break here for a lot of families. While Dave was in the office trying to register us I took this picture.

No they don’t really pack in the people like that. Those units are in the storage space across from the office. It gives you an idea of how popular this park must be, though, doesn’t it? There’s another row just behind those, too.

To give you an idea of the actual spacing withing the park, here’s the units parked on each side of as as seen through our windows.

Look at all that sunshine! Makes you warm just looking, doesn’t it? In reality the high in Mobile was 61 degrees so people were wearing sweatshirts and jackets but that’s a LOT better than what they are having in Minnesota now.

It did get a little warm in here, though, when Dave plugged in the electricity. Somehow the toaster oven got turned on after we unplugged from the previous park. So it started heating when we plugged into this park. While it was still packed for travel! We shove a flexible silicone bowl sideways into it to keep it from rattling while traveling. The white line on the red bowl is where it was pressed against the heating element.

Fortunately, I heard odd crackling sounds coming from the galley and checked that out before this turned into an actual fire. That white line is ash, though. They say most RVs have a kitchen “event” at some time. I hope this was ours so we never have another one. The toaster oven is now unplugged.

TTYL,

Linda

Research is Fun

Did you know pirates kept their loot in caves along the banks of rivers? Do you suppose that has anything to do with the fact that most of us today keep our money in banks?

You were the Boatswain on a pirate ship. Following is your Article of Agreement and the prize captured. How rich are you?

Article of Agreement

Captain and Quartermaster received two shares in a prize. Sailing Master, Boatswain, and Gunner receive one-and-one-half shares. Other officers one-and-one-quarter shares. Sailors, one share. If one lost a limb or became a cripple in the common service, one received more of a share.

The Crew

Captain, Quartermaster, Sailing Master, Boatswain, Gunner, seventeen sailors, and two additional officers. – No one was maimed during the capture.

The Prize

Three chests of jewels (each chest contains 17 jewels; each jewel is worth $250.00)
Nine silver bars (each bar weighs three pounds and silver is worth $80.00 per ounce.)
Thirteen bags of gold dust (each bag weighs two pounds; gold dust is worth $190.00 per ounce)
A variety of gold and silver coins worth $5,730.00

Want some more fun activities like that one? Check out: http://www.piratemuseum.com/ec.html

TTYL,

Linda

Going out

We didn’t have to use the storm shelter at the funny money park but it was nice having it so close by just in case. Here you see it through our living room window.

Thinking about storms made the think about our ability to drive away from them. I guess you could call our RV our “get-away” vehicle. It contains most of our valuables but we came by all of them honestly. Honestly.

Watching children swing made me think of abdominal exercise. See, it can be fun.

We finally found a WalMart that carries a wide selection of Diet Rite so Dave brought me two cartons of Red Raspberry. It’s been so long since I had that flavor I’d forgotten it is strong enough to make me feel like I should be picking seeds out of my teeth. I really like Red Raspberry. In the meantime it was nice to learn, though, that Tangerine makes a good substitute for me. Now if we could just get some Mocha Mix or Coffee Rich for my morning cereal I would truly be a happy camper.

In Biloxi, Mississippi, we stopped to see The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum but it was gone with the wind. There was a small pile of rubble left and a trailer with a sign saying it was the museum’s office. We didn’t go in.

Some things are rebuilding, though. Check out this Hard Rock Casino.

We resisted the urge to go eat at the Hard Rock because we wanted to to eat nearby at The Shed in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. One of our RVing friends gave us the URL for the Food Network’s program “Guy’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” and we’ve been vising random ones. In case, I haven’t given it to you yet, or in case you already lost it, here it is: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/guys-idiners-drive-ins-and-divesi/index.html

Check out this one.

Dave’s favorite sign on their wall was “I think, therefore I am overqualified.” I rate their barbeque 4 napkin good. We shared the jumbo sampler platter and brought back leftovers. We were there midafternoon of a weekday so it was fairly quiet but I can imagine this place jumping on weekends. You go to the bar to order your food and they take your name. When the food is ready they wrap it in insulated packaging and carry it around yelling your name until they find you. I wonder if they have to wait until between sets of music on Fiday nights in order for the customers to hear the servers?

We spent that night parked near a similar storm shelter except this one was in Gulf Islands National Seashore’s Davis Bayou campground where we met a volunteer named Dexter. I wish Dexter didn’t have to keep making his rounds. His stories were as good as IYQ’s stories. Did you know if you set an electrical outlet into a 4×4 and plant it in the ground, some camper will plug into it? Even when they know the park they are in doesn’t offer electricity? Even out in the desert by Quartzsite, Arizona?

We’ve spent hours watching the weather trying to decide what to do. Some joker told us the reason for living in an RV is that you can always move to better weather. I want to know where? Terry & Jeri got snowed on in Washington this week. Lee & MaryJane got 60 mph winds in the desert SW. Steve and Carol got snow in Oklahoma. Mike & Julie got rainstorms in Texas. And we are getting Tornado watches in Mississippi! The National Weather service called for the storm watchers to be out here tomorrow morning from 9 to 11 a.m.

So we decided we’d get up early and depart ahead of the storm. Right. It started raining about 4:30. The wind picked up about 5:00. I got up early but decided not to risk trying to stand on one foot in the shower in this wind. Then it all ended about 9:00. I should have slept in as usual. We waited until 11:00 to depart, though. No sense catching up to the storm that just left here traveling our direction. That should put us a couple hours ahead of the next one, too. So we might get some rain but we shouldn’t get storms, right?

Right. Dave got slightly damp getting an Alabama highway map from their welcome center. And we got slightly damp stopping for lunch. But, lunch was so good our spirits are still up.

Lunch was another “Guy’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives place”. This one called Big Daddy’s Grill near Fairhope, Alabama.

I included that last photo to remind me to tell you to read the front of the menu before you order. It says things like, “No alcohol may leave the premises except inside your stomach.” And “This is a family restaurant; please don’t teach the children any new words.” There was another one I laughed about but have already forgotten–I’m getting old, you know.

Now, we are tucked up for the night at Rainbow Plantation, the Escapee’s RV park in Summerdale, Alabama. And it’s supposed to rain tonight. Surprise, surprise. We asked for and got the first available site closest to the storm shelter. This one is an actual clubhouse, though so, if we have to take shelter tonight, at least no one has to sit on the toilet. I hope you are having good weather wherever you are. If you are, would you, please, let us know where it is?

TTYL,

Linda

Chalk and Funny Money

Like most full time RVers we know we write our plans in chalk so we can change them at the drop of a hat. I think the weatherman writes his plans in chalk, too. Is it going to rain today? If so, how much? The weatherman said severe storms all day today. Today’s real answers turned out to be, “yes,” and, “very hard for a short time”. The rest of the day has been mostly sunny and warm enough to need to open the windows and turn on the fan. We could have gone sightseeing just fine. I wonder how much of our plans revolving around the weather are just excuses to not go anywhere?

The park we are in accepts the National Parks passes which are supposed to be good for free admission and a 50% discount on camping. Camping here is normally $20. S0, you’d expect us to pay $10, right? Nope, our fee is $13. How can $13 be half of $20, you ask? By separating the charge for electricity at the campsite from the charge for the campsite itself. We only get half price on the site, not the electricity. Of course, we aren’t using nearly as much electricity as we are being charged for but that’s beside the point, right?

Cue the music here: “Oh, the games people play now. Every night and every day now. Never meaning what they say now. Never saying what they mean.” Followed by, “Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.” Tomorrow will be better. We “plan” to go out.

TTYL,

Linda

Water, Water Everywhere

While Night RV Park provided the required “any port in a storm” we did not want to fill our fresh water tank from their hookup so we were glad to be able to move on.

Our first stop was Walmart to replenish our supplies. We’re having trouble getting some of our basics so are shopping more often than we’d like. When we pulled into this one in Denham Springs, Louisiana, the very full parking lot reminded us it is Saturday. It is easy to loose track of the days when one looks much like another.

That afternoon we pulled into Fontainbleau State Park looking for a spot for the night. This park is on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, the lake just north of New Orleans. We were somewhat concerned that it might be full on the weekend. That turned out to be the wrong concern. What we should have been concerned about was all the rain they’ve had lately. They assigned us a spot with two alternates to choose from should the first one be too wet. It was very unlevel with a tree branch that kept us from getting to the most level spot in it. The one across the road looked better so we tried it then called the office to see if we could have it instead. Nope, the people who reserved it prepaid in full so they couldn’t release it to us in case the people came tonight even though they didn’t last night. So, we checked out a third spot, this being one of the alternates they gave us. It was level and the electrical post was not sitting in a puddle so we started unpacking. But the EMS didn’t like the electricity–102 volts is below it’s minimum. Since there was a 50 amp outlet as well as the 30 amp we needed, Dave plugged our adapter into that–104 volts–the minimum required to keep our EMS from cutting us off but not enough to run some of our gear. We discussed the implications of that: no A/C–not a problem; it’s too cold to need A/C. No microwave–OK I can skip bacon for breakfast or we can cook it in a skillet on the gas stove. Everything else we were like to use should be OK on low voltage or use the 12 volt battery system. So we decided to stay. Then a neighbor came over and told us low voltage had caused $300 worth of damage to his TV/VCR system. So, we unplugged and stayed anyway. We boondocked with paid hookups at our door. We did fill our water tank the next morning before departure, though. And we’d used a discount card to pay half-price for the camping. It was expensive water but we slept long and well and that counts for a lot.

Today we crossed the Pearl River which is the border into the state of Mississippi. We had left US 190 to take I-10 across so we could get a state highway map. They are harder to come by on the US highways than they are on the Interstates. That turned out to have a bonus. The turn to the Welcome Center was also the turn we needed to make to get back on our preferred route. So now, map in hand, we headed south to US 90 and took it into Bay St Louis where we turned again to go to the Alice Mosely Folk Art and Antique Museum. The street we turned onto was a major through street with a stop light on US 90 but it was just barely two lanes wide. In Minneapolis, it would be an alley not a street. We also had to dodge low hanging tree branches so we were all over that road. I sure am glad Sunday is a quiet traffic day. I was not so glad to learn the museum is no longer open on Sundays. If you want to be entertained by Alice Mosely’s art and the captions chosen for them, please, go here:

http://www.alicemoseley.com/page/page/1632926.htm

Then we took the bridge across the bay itself which looked to me a lot like crossing the Mississippi.

We stopped at KFC for lunch. Their buffet had corn bread as well as chicken & noodles which reminded me of my Grandma. She made really great corn bread and ever greater noodles. Down home food down south. Could life be any better?

The we continued east on US 90. When Dave checked this morning they said they were still clearing sand from the highway from the recent storm but it was only causing minor traffic slow downs. Those slow downs were done by the time we got there but there was plenty of sand in the gutters. It wasn’t surprising considering how close the road is to the beach. Here’s the view from my passenger side window as Dave drove through Pass Christian.

I wish I could have taken pictures out Dave’s side as well. The view there was mixed. Some old houses that survived the hurricanes. Some new ones just being built. Some that may have been new but built of materials to make them look old. Some empty foundations. Some empty lots for sale. One house where all the walls are there but the doors and windows were missing. One with an RV parked next to the owner’s swimming pool indicating where the house used to be. It was a sobering sight.

Then we turned north on US 49 in Gulfport, Mississippi, headed for the Desoto National Forest where we are now camped in their Big Biloxi campground. We plan to stay here long enough to order our mail to be ready for us further down the road in Summerdale, Alabama. There’s an Escapees’s park there called Rainbow Plantation we have been hearing good things about so we want to check it out. After seeing some sights between here and there, of course.

TTYL,

Linda