I'm Wilting and It's Only April!

Louisiana is Humid.  Even though it’s only 80, the air is thick and I’m definitely wilting.  New Mexico was 95 one day and bearable because it was DRY. 

I am a humidity wimp. 

The park we are staying at, however, is very nice and picturesque.

Take for instance their  *pond*.  Now *pond* is asterisked because, well, this isn’t a pond.  It’s a swamp.

 
We decided to go out to eat our first night here.  I was all for finding a restaurant to try out the local fare, but I knew when I didn’t recognize ¾ of what was on the menu, that the kids would be miserable.  We settled for Shoney’s, a Denny’s type restaurant chain.  The food was blah, but each table had a shaker of Cajun seasoning (available at WalMart for $1.98—I bought three). 

The restaurant was empty and a single gentleman was seated next to us.  He asks us if the little white car with Oregon plates is ours and, lo and beheld, he is a native Oregonian.  Not only is he a native Oregonian, but he is familiar with the very small county and town that we live in.  He moved to LA fifteen years ago.  We spent an enjoyable meal with him.  It was interesting listening to him talk about his experiences as an educated black man moving to the south (as an aside, he was in the Navy involved in nuclear power, as was Keith).  He spoke about changing the way he talked and how difficult he found it to fit in here.  He also gave us some pointers about where to shop and eat and so, today, that is what we did.

We first went to a local flea market.  What an experience.  As we were walking to the booth, a young Mom pushing a toddler in a stroller got stuck on the rocks.  As we walked by she exclaimed, with a very heavy southern accent, “I’m BOGGED, I’m BOGGED!”  So, that’s what we’ve been saying all evening.  I’m bogged.  I love it.

One thing really stood out while we were at the flea market-----Everyone smokes, everywhere.  There were no smoking signs posted, but they were ignored by patrons and vendors alike. 

Then it was off to Super Walmart (our 4^th WalMart of the trip) to buy some supplies and see if I could get my glasses fixed (I stepped on them last night and nope, not fixable, sigh).  I did pick up some awesome Cajun BBQ sauce.

Our last stop was a local grocery store that served plate lunches.  I had a spicy pork chop with some dressing (some sort of cooked rice) with potato salad and corn and it was delicious.  We also tried cracklin (Cajun fried pork skin and fat-yum) and bought ourselves a sausage boudin.   We saw some rabbit kabobs and stuffed quail in the butcher section, along with stuffed Cajun pork chops and other different, interesting items.  We didn’t buy any, due to our limited refrigerator and freezer space.  Well, not totally due to our limited space.  I’m ok not trying rabbit.  

Some time in the pool rounded out our stay in LA.  The plan for Sunday is to head for Gulfport, MS and, hopefully, my first meet up of the trip! 

The View From Spot Number Nine

Yup, we are in spot number 9, but just for the night.

Back when the owner was attempting to convince Keith and I that spot number 12 would work, both of us told the owner that we didn't think we would be able to get out of spot number 12 very easily.   Well, tonight as we were trailering the car as we prepped to leave in the morning, it became apparent that we were not going to be able to pull out of number 12 without taking the trailer off the RV.  The whole point of a pull through spot is to NOT have to disconnect the trailer (it's a royal pain).  Anyway, after engaging in forceful conversation (arguing), the owner was *finally* able to understand why we wouldn't be able to pull out without disconnecting everything.  Up until he realized that yes, Keith did know what he was talking about, the owner was being quite the donkey's behind. During this whole conversation, I stayed in the RV.  ;)

The owner did end up apologizing and Keith and I began the process of taking the trailer off, disconnecting everything, and moving to----spot number 9, making it much easier to leave in the morning.

The owner told Keith he would reimburse us part of our stay.  The owner's son (the original person I talked to who said he would ask the folks in number nine to move) came over to me and had me sign a refund slip-----for the whole three days.

Unexpected and not asked for, but wouldn't it have been easier (and cheaper) to have just asked the folks in number 9 to move in the beginning?

Where's Slippery Soap?

At the Gulf Coast of Texas

The Beach

Beautiful beach day in pictures.

Hmm, Irrational Anger and Disappointment.

After our harrowing day driving through some rough wind yesterday, today's drive seemed a piece of cake --low winds, fairly decent roads and a nice, sunny drive through San Antonio and the west side of Houston.

We pull into the RV park at about 4:00. As we get ready to pull into the spot I'd reserved (and paid for) a month ago--number 9--we notice that someone is already in spot number 9.

My paperwork was found and I was assured that yes, they would tell spot number 9 to move.  All seemed well.

It was not to be.  As I came back from checking out the beach, I was asked if I was ready to park in spot number 12.  Yes, number 12 is shorter, but you can still see the water.  No, I say, I'm ready to park in number 9, only to be told that management was NOT going to ask number 9 to move--after all, number 12 is comparable and offers the same view.

I became completely and totally irrationally angry and upset.  To the point of almost crying, upset.  Why?  I'm normally pretty easy going, go with the flow kind of gal, but I just could not shake my intense anger and disappointment.  I knew I was being irrational, so I asked Keith to handle things.  

I've had all evening to contemplate (and a late night walk on the beach) and I think I might have it figured out.

As I was planning our adventure, I knew I wanted to stay on the Gulf as close to the water as possible.   I was so excited to spend a couple of days right on the water, viewing the ocean as I stepped out the RV door.   As we drove through snow and construction in Utah, I thought about--spot number 9.  As we froze changing the air filter, I thought about-- spot number 9. When the trailer came off the hitch, I thought about-- spot number 9.  When the winds were blowing us off the road, I thought about-- spot number 9.  When the kids were whiney, I thought about-- spot number 9.  I thought about spot number 9 a lot.  I was really excited about spot number 9.

It would appear that I had an unhealthy attachment to spot number 9. 

Silly, really,  because spot number 12 has a better view.

The view from the door of the RV

The sunset (and the RV that is in spot number 9)

Ack! Wind, AGAIN.

We stayed an extra day in New Mexico to avoid a windstorm.  And avoid a windstorm in New Mexico we did, only to run into a windstorm in Texas.  We have had really high winds almost this entire trip.  Driving an RV in high winds is not fun, it is not relaxing and, frankly, it really sucks.   The wind is suppose to die down tomorrow.  We have 280 miles to go, Keith is exhausted and we are all a little bit tired of the small space right about now.

Here's hoping the beach helps!

In Carlsbad, New Mexico an Extra Day

Strong, gusty winds were predicted for today, Sunday, our original driving day, so we will be here an extra day.  That leaves us 2 days to drive 700 miles through Texas to make it to the beach by our Tuesday reservation. The forecast calls for some wind and maybe an isolated thunderstorm.  I'm a little nervous.  It should be an interesting two days.  I sure hope this spot is worth it!

During our stay in Carlsbad, we've visited the Carlsbad Caverns and the Living Desert Zoo.  Both were great sites.   The caverns were amazing.  I forgot to bring Slippery Slope though.  Oops. 

The view from the visitor's center at the Caverns

The Living Desert.

Musings. Nothing Deep, Just Quick Thoughts....

*You don’t have any personal space in an RV.  This is why I’m camped out in the laundry room.

*Character flaws are magnified when sharing a small, living space, but so are character strengths. 

*I do not have the temperament to camp (even in an RV) with small children. 

*I love that my children are not (in general, anyway) whiners.

*I do not have the patience I thought I did.

*I love that my husband can fix anything. 

*I’m grateful that both Keith and I are planners.

And last, for now.

*If you want a relaxing vacation, do not RV across the country—go to Hawaii.  :)

Aliens?

Sort of.

There is a whole lot of nothing in Eastern New Mexico.  Miles and miles of scrub and straight road.  We passed through a couple of very small, dying towns where the only buildings that looked inhabitable were the Post Office and the Fire Station. 

As we made our way south toward Carlsbad, New Mexico, state road 285 passes through Roswell, NM.  There is a truck bypass, but Keith wanted to drive through town.  We only had a few alien sightings.

 

We pulled into the campsite around 3:00 and the easy driving day seemed too good to be true.  It was.   One of our hydraulic leveling jacks does not want to retract.  Keith’s working on it with a fairly decent attitude.   The sunny, hot (it’s 85) weather agrees with him. 

I’m going to do some laundry while Keith takes the kids to the indoor pool.  Nine days of together time is enough for this introvert.  Tomorrow we head out to see Carlsbad Caverns.  The weatherman is predicting a nasty windstorm, so we might have to camp out here an extra day.  If so, we’ll only have two days to get through Texas to make it to our reservation on the Gulf.