Not One of the Best Mornings

First, I'll respond to last night's comment - I didn't say in the blog that all those toothless people were Trump voters - just the one from last night!!  I must say, though, I have seen more toothless persons in the last week than I have in several years combined.  It's really blowing my mind.  

We both woke up this morning not feeling 100% and a little out of sorts.  Don't know why - maybe that lunch yesterday??? 

Our neighbor from last night started our day off right this morning.  He unhooked his sewer hose before closing the trap and then didn't cap it until just before he left.   Yep, more stuff on the ground.  After he left, Roger went over and hosed it down for a long time.  It was pretty disgusting.  I reported it to the office but there's not a lot can be done except somehow flag his name if he ever wants to stay there again.  In fact, he apparently, after hours and after dark, went banging on the receptionist's RV door complaining he couldn't get his cable to work.  She was not happy and, in fact, said he really spooked her he was so weird.  Rog thinks he couldn't get reception because he forgot to turn off his amplifier that boosts the signal from the antena and switch from air mode to cable mode.  Wouldn't surprise me.

I talked to a couple who where hooking up this morning as I was walking Maggie.  They are from Panama City, FL which is close to where we will be and they are headed west to visit grandkids.  I don't envy them the drive on I-10.  She was dreading the thought of going through Houston today.

As we pulled onto the entrance ramp leading to I-10, someone tried to pull in front of us and cut us off.  That started the driving day as Roger felt the need to utter some words that he rarely uses!! 

Radio fell out again.  Guess we better bolt that baby down.

Roads in Louisiana are in dire need of some infrastructure dollars.  If they were dirt, I'd describe them as washboardy.  (Is that a word?) Anyway, they are miserable.  








Not much to see between Lafayette and Baton Rouge except miles and miles of the Atchafalaya Basin (aka a one million acre swamp).

We spent an extra hour and ten minutes going slow enough over 5.5 miles we could have seen something interesting if it had been there.  

Most of the time we were sandwiched in between two big rigs. Two lanes on I-10 were closed due to an earlier accident and with multiple merges from other routes kept us going at a snail's pace  - if we moved at all.  



 Then, just as we were to get on the bridge crossing the Mississippi, there was another two lane merge into our road.  It gets better - at the bottom of the bridge the left two lanes were shut down so all of this traffic had to merge to one lane.  It was unreal.  The truck was getting hot. We had to turn off the AC and then we were getting hot. Maggie had to sit on my lap with her head out the window.  We saw no evidence of workers, an accident, nothing.  The lanes were just blocked off.  Bridgegate?

The Mississippi River from the top of the bridge

We finally got going and onto I-12 which goes around the top of Lake Ponchartrain north of New Orleans.  (I-10 continues on through the city.)  By then we were an hour past lunch time and feeling it.  I spotted a very large parking area next to a cinema complex that was empty, had shade, and room to park the RV. We pulled in there, got out our chairs and lunch and rested for a while. Maggie chased squirrels.  We didn't have her on the leash because no one was around and she had a great time.  Food, water, a pit stop, and rest made us all feel better.



The drive from Baton Rouge to Slidell was uneventful and we could see nothing from the road due to thick forest.  There are several nice towns along the top of the lake and that area of Louisiana could be considered pretty but you can't see them from the interstate.  

Our parking spot for tonight is in an old RV park, about 5 minutes from where we used to live, set back in the woods and is shaded and quiet.  Sites are adequate but the roads are a bit narrow.  We got a site with a big oak tree and so have had shade on the RV.  Nice.  It's about 82 right now with humidity of about 45% - a beautiful day for here.  Maggie has dragonflies to chase and we understand there's gators in the pond behind the RV park.  I'm seeing a red-headed woodpecker on the top of the light pole as I write, and there are lots of magpies flying around.  Other birds, too, but not sure what they are - they don't hold still long enough.  

Our skin, hair, and nails are loving the humidity but my ankles are swollen and my toes look like little pork sausages!  I'm going to be in this for a month, so hope my body adjusts soon.


Roger made an observation today on something I hadn't picked up on.  In Nevada and California and in most states we've been in there are billboards for lawyers that say "In an accident?  Call XXX"  Well, in Louisiana it's, "In a wreck? Call XXX"  So, they don't have accidents here, just wrecks?? 


When we went out for fuel we cruised around a little bit to see if we recognized anything.  We left Slidell in 1984, so it's been a while to say the least.  We had heard that the house we lived in had been taken away by Katrina, but after wandering around some neighborhoods close to where we thought it was we found it!  It looks great!  Well kept up and landscaped and even has same paint scheme.  We tried to find the dentist's office where I worked but never did come across it.  This place has exploded in population and housing and stores.   We just stopped for fuel and came home.  It is weird being back, though.  Rog said he felt some de ja vu sitting in front of the old place - I didn't. 

Tomorrow Pensacola!  Yay!