A Weird and Wacky Day!

Knowing we had to get through Houston this morning we waited until 10am to leave figuring we would miss the morning commute traffic.  It worked!  The traffic was light and we got through the city in record time.  But, then we hit Baton Rouge at 4pm and got stuck in traffic jams trying to cross the bridge over the Mississippi and then get through the city to our exit to get on I-12.   Hmmm... win some, lose some.

Our trip mileage today was longer than we normally do so we could have a decent length drive tomorrow as we pull into Pensacola.  We drove from west of Houston near Katy, TX to Denham Springs, LA which is east of Baton Rouge.  

Traffic on I-10 across the rest of Texas was steady but busy with the majority of vehicles being big trucks.  Lots of them!! Nothing out of the ordinary to report on that stretch of the road except we were, again, fighting  a heavy wind.  The fuel was disappearing at a rapid pace so we had to stop to replenish - something Roger is loathe to do as it means maneuvering the truck and rig through a fueling station.    We stopped at a road side rest for lunch and had to eat inside again.  When we opened the doors to the RV we were astonished to see that the place was in shambles.  Things on the stove counter area had flown across the room and were under the dining table.  The desk chair was on its back.  Cushions were on the floor.  Neither of us remembered making any sharp turns or hitting rough areas of the road so it seemed sorta weird.  We picked stuff up, had lunch and got back on the road.

Then we crossed into Louisiana after passing through some of the refinery areas around Beaumont, TX.  We saw lots of rice paddies - miles and miles of rice farms - in that part of the state. Then the road started feeling rough - bumpty, bumpty, bump - for miles on end.  Add the wind whipping us all over the road and it was a really fun ride.  

So, what's the problem with
the road???

Even Maggie was giving me the evil eye.  It seemed to last forever but finally we hit some decent pavement about the time we hit the Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp (the largest wetland and swamp in the United States) when we got on a 20 mile long bridge to cross the rivers, swamps, and bayous of the wetlands and national wildlife preserve.   The area is beautiful in its own weird way. Lots of water, birds, trees, shrubs.  If one wanted to hide someplace where you never wanted to be found, I think that this place may be it!

Miles and miles of bayous

Flocks of egrets everywhere.

One thing that struck me was that out west where we come from, lakes are blue and rivers are fairly clear.  It was a bit disconcerting to see brown rivers.  Even the Mighty Mississippi is a dull brown. 

It seemed to take forever today to reach our destination especially when we got into traffic just before crossing the Mississippi River and lasting 15 miles or so to our exit.  We were most happy to finally get off the road!

Notice the upside down pot.

Rog almost lost his receiver.  That
wouldn't have been good.

Again, the place was a shambles.  Things that never move, did.  One of the plants ended totally upside down! The chair was knocked over again, and the cupboards were all discombobulated.  We've been on roads like that before and things didn't move that much.  We still can't figure out what happened.  It took a long time to clean up the mess.

All the cupboards needed
some readjusting.

Rog made this little table for me
before we left home.  Just big
enough to hold a lamp and 2 mugs
of tea without the chairs knocking it
over.  It's now in the dumpster!

Heavy winds from the south ALL day.

The wind was still blowing when we pulled in.   Of course, we were a bit up-tight (and hungry) after the traffic when we pulled in and anxious to get to our site and out of the truck.  There was a line of RVs at the office and, of course, the guy in front of us had to stop and unhook his towed car from his big fancy motor home. He was in no hurry and just messed around.  Rog had to get out and walk around to contain himself!  Finally, though, our escort led us to our spot which was easy to get in and fairly level so it didn't take long to get set up. 

Roger took the truck to refuel for tomorrow.  Between the two fill ups we spent $120 and filled a 36 gallon tank with 33 gallons!!  The extra mileage and the wind sure did take its toll.

On a different note - we have been hauling our recycle stuff around since we left Santee the first of the month and it was taking over the living space.  No where in Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas were we able to get rid of it.  We had hoped that in Houston they would have a bin.  Nope.  Our friends say there is no residential pick up in Houston.  If you want to recycle you have to take it to the plants they have around the city.  We finally just dumped everything in a dumpster yesterday, cringing as we did it.  Today, here at the KOA there is a recycle bin.  Go figure.  

Yesterday, knowing we had two days of driving and then four days of company we spent the day not doing a whole lot.  Roger did wash all the windows, but I did a whole lot of nothing.  The highlight of the day was a flock of flamingos that circled the lake where we were.  They were probably migrating and looking for a place to rest, but never stopped.  The were the brightest pink and so beautiful in the air.  

Tomorrow - Pensacola and family!!!  We will be there a month and we're ready for the rest so we are really forward to the visit.  Will point the truck west on the first of May and have a different route for our return home!  We would really like to see some new territory so that will be the main objective. We shall see.