San Diego Cruisin!

     We've been in California for about a week now.  Sorry for being so far behind, but we've had a lot of visiting to do with dear old friends, and we haven't had much time to sit and enjoy the surroundings.  The weather has been iffy.  Cold, rainy and breezy in the mountains, but nice along the coast.  We've been told that the weather has been in the 80's & 90's recently, but now we've seen a pretty regular pattern of mid 60's.  Shouldn't be too concerned since MAE seems to be battling repeated snowstorms up home.  Debbie and I took a ride a few days ago up to Julian which is in the mountains above our old house in Pine Valley.  The wind was blowing about 45 mph, down in the mid 40's, and rain.  We didn't spend a lot of time up there, as the purpose of this trip is to stay in a warmer climate.  Julian is a great little gold mining town and is famous for its apple pies, although I haven't seen any apple orchards anywhere.  They must just make pies up there.

 We traveled through parts of the Cuyamaca State park and also the Anza-Borrego State Park, and viewed the destruction still evident from wild fires that ravaged the area nearly 8 years ago.  The Cedar Fire burned nearly 3 weeks before they were able to get it under control.   Some of the views down into the Anza-Borrego Desert were quite spectacular, although we got excited a few times as we peaked over the edge during some pretty high wind gusts.  In a few days we'll be taking Weezie down these mountain passes into the desert as we head for a few days of camping in the Anza-Borrego Desert.  They haven't had a lot of rain this year, so we're told that there will probably minimal flowers in the desert.  But the weather will be well into the 80's and the desert hot springs, which we think are similar to the  Saratoga hot springs, should be quite refreshing.
      On Ben and Joanne's day off, we took them for a ride out toward the east county near Jacumba.  I had worked that area back in the day, and the ride down the grade into the desert can be pretty exciting.  We exited I-8 near Boulevard, and traveled east on Old Highway 80 into Jacumba.

 As we approached Jacumba, we got our first glimpse of the border fence which stretches out through town and up the mountainside.

 Probably a great tool to prevent illegal entries from Mexico, but for the hundreds of BP Agents patrolling the border, it makes for a long and boring shift.  It's too bad they won't have the war stories to tell when they get together in the coming years.  Nothing beats a war story from Walter after a few cocktails!
      We also took a ride down to Chula Vista and Ben gave us a quick tour of the border at TJ.

 It was amazing to see the traffic backed up, which Ben said was quite common.  I couldn't imagine waiting in line for 4-5 hours to go "shopping" in the U.S. but that what they say when they get to him in the booth.  He's trying to arrange for a tour of the POE for us, but his bosses say we have to pass a background check first!  I'm pretty comfortable, but I'm a little worried about Debbie!!!  The traffic, both vehicle and pedestrian, was unbelievable coming into the U.S.

 Ben advised there were plans to expand the number of lanes coming into the U.S. so the local economy should flourish with the construction and new hires that will be required to man all the booths.  One would think that Ben would move up quite rapidly in seniority at the port, but they've experienced a net growth of 6 agents in the past year even though they've hired more than 400!  Sounds like a little attrition problem on the border.  Take away the fence, and it hasn't changed in 30 years.
     Debbie and I traveled up to Del Mar and had dinner with one of my Campo trainees, "High Speed" Chase.  He only stayed with the BP a few years before moving on to an illustrious career with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.  Dick and i have spoken a few times over the years, and his wife Lori always sent a Christmas card from wherever they were living.  It was nice watching their kids grow into the fine adults they are today.  After retiring, Dick became head of security at an aerospace company here in San Diego.  Dick and Lori did a great job keeping the family together, and now they share time between Montana and San Diego.  Lori will be down in a few weeks and we've already made plans to get together in Old Town with them.  It will be great seeing Lori after all these years.
     We also got a chance to get together with Ben's babysitter from Pine Valley days, Tom and Mary.

 Tom stays busy raising chickens, after retiring from the U.S.  Forest Service, and his wonderful wife and saint, Mary, continues working for the Post Office.  .

They have 2 kids, Erica and Little Tommy, although we shouldn't call him Little anymore.  He works with Ben down at the border and Erica works, like her dad, with the U.S. Forest Service.  We haven't seen them yet, but I'm sure we'll be getting together again.
      We met some wonderful people here at Los Coches RV Park who invited Debbie and I down to San Diego for a look at their boat.  Debbie and I would never pass up an opportunity to look at a boat, especially a 50' Californian.  What a beautiful vessel.  They've spend about 3 1/2 years restoring the boat, and now they have it for sale.  As soon as it goes, they're headed for Wisconsin.  Personally, I think they are nuts, but that is home for Mike.  Dawn is a Michigan girl, who retired from the Sheriff's Dept over in Maricopa County, Az.  She says Sheriff Joe Arpaio was great to work for, and I bet he was.  Gotta love a Sheriff who puts all the inmates in pink!
      We're spending our free time up visiting the kids and bugging the hell out of Jamo.  He gets awfully excited when Granny comes for a visit.  Joanne keeps talking sleep over, but I don't think so.  Wednesday we're heading down to Anza Borrego for a few days in the desert.  That should be a great time to get the final memories of cold out of our bones.  MAE is coming in a few weeks and I think Ben is getting kinda excited.  Debbie is for sure!  Hope all is well with everyone.

Final Push to San Diego !

      New Mexico in springtime!  If you look back at the beginning of my ramblings, we explained that the purpose of this trip was two-fold.  We wanted to get out and see America, and we wanted to get to San Diego to visit with Ben, Joanne, and Jamo.  But deep down we wanted to get out of the cold weather which takes over the north-country from October through May.  This is what we found as we toured a little north from Santa Fe into Taos, New Mexico.   We were probably asking for it since this area peaks out at about 7-8000 feet, and is about 14 miles south of the border with Colorado.  Nice thing though...Debbie was driving and I enjoyed some beautiful mountain peaks and snow covered valleys.

 But they called this road the Enchanted Circle, and it was unfortunate that the weather was not a little better.
     We did take a day and visit the Bandelier National Monument where human activity dates back over 10,000 years.  The journey there was quite interesting as we made a slight course error and ended up at Los Alamos Nuclear Testing site.  After clearing their security checkpoint, we made our was into Bandelier.

 Today was a gorgeous day, and we decided to take a guided tour with one of the volunteers tour guides. Our guide was a retired biology teacher from Chicago who had been at Bandelier for 15 years.  His program lasted about 11/2 hours, but he was truly fascinating.  The canyon is located quite close to the Rio Grande River flowing south from Colorado, down to Mexico.  The Ancestral Pueblo people who inhabited the caves along the canyon walls were present in the canyon starting around the mid 1200's.  In the mid 1300's large scale construction of villages took place as the Pueblo Indians moved from the mesa tops into the canyon bottoms.  Homes included caves dug into the canyon walls, evolving into brick sided dwellings, some several stories tall.

Visible today are straight rows of holes over the cave openings signifying the presence of roofs stretching out from the canyon walls.  These rooms were several stories tall also.  Above the rolls of holes we could see many petroglyphs of turkeys, dogs and lightning.  It is believed that the area remained viable for approximately 400 years before something forced the population to leave the canyon. It is believed that perhaps multi-year droughts or the depletion of game animals caused the migration south, still staying near the Rio Grande River.

  All visitors to the canyon are given the opportunity climb ladders and actually enter into the caves, although this is something that people who are afraid of heights may think twice about.  But it is definitely worth a visit if you're anywhere near Santa Fe.
      Now it was time to take a second look at our calender and our planned route of travel.  We had hoped to continue west from Santa Fe over toward Flagstaff and do a day trip up to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon.  But nighttime temperatures continued into the 20's and we knew just a short drive south would put us into nicer weather.  So a course change was made and we headed south out of Santa Fe toward Yuma, Az.  We had always planned on stopping at Yuma to visit my old boss from Campo BP, Gary and Beverly.  I had spoken to them last year and they had told me that they winter over in Yuma.  So my co-pilot got out the American Passport directory and plotted our journey south through Arizona.

     We did a quick over-night near Wilcox, Az before arriving in Yuma on Monday.  We settled into a nice RV park called Fortuna de Oro RV Park, which is also a Passport America park.  For $20/day we had all the amenities of an RV park which included a pool, golf course, tennis courts, and a restaurant.  The desert weather is wonderful.  Cools off nice at night for sleeping, and a nice dry heat / low 80's / during the day.  We actually liked the weather in Yuma better than Florida as we didn't have to deal with the humidity during the day.  I think Debbie is thinking of spending a little more time in this climate on our next trip.  We had a nice 2 day visit with Gary and Bev, and caught up on about 30 years of memories.  They also live in Montana which has about 20 feet of snow, so they're not really in any hurry to start heading back north.
     Wednesday morning we made an early departure from Yuma, filled the fuel tanks, and headed for our most important stop, San Diego.  We settled in at the Rancho Los Coches RV Resort in Lakeside, Ca, which puts us about 25 minutes from our grand-dog.  Rancho Los Coches is a very nice RV park with lots of shade trees on each site.  The park seems to be used mostly by area workers, but we've found that seems to be the pattern in most RV parks.  This one is very clean and quiet, and is located close to numerous stores.  We're set back a short distance from I-8 and there is absolutely no highway noise bothering us at night.  Just the occasional siren from the  fire station down the road.  If anyone needs a place to stay while visiting San Diego, so far we would highly recommend this park.  It's  very comfortable park, but don't tell too many people!
     Wednesday night we headed north to have a visit with Joanne and Jamo.  It took Jamo about 2 minutes to figure out that Granny was here from NY.  Of course Granny brought him a present, a plastic coffee can, which he loved to play with back in NY.  Ben was working, but we made arrangements to visit with him the following day.  He's working a 12N to 8P shift which usually ends up with 4 hours of overtime.  Joanne is working a 4A-12N shift with lots of overtime also.  Jamo seems to have settled into that crazy schedule and keeps a good eye on the house.  Thursday morning, Granny knocked on the door, and Ben had quite a time keeping him calmed down so we could get in the house.  He knows who Granny is now!  It was great seeing Ben and we'll be seeing a lot of them over the next 4-5 weeks.
      I have a few repairs to make on the jeep and Weezy.  The A/C compressor quit working on the jeep the other day.  I think it's a little over warranty as it just turned 94000 miles + the miles it's been towed.  We have lots of friends to reconnect with out here so it's going to be a busy time.    And of course, I have some more BP friends to visit.  Can you believe it?
   

Texas to Arizona...what a week!!!

     Well hello everyone.  I can't believe it's been 7 days since I've update my ramblings, but after Texas we started pushing westerly for several reasons.  But that will be explained later in this story.  After leaving San Antonio, we headed northwest to San Angelo where we met up with a BP classmate of mine who we haven't seen since 1983.  BP classmates are kinda like guys you served with in the military.  It's just a bonding thing, and unless you've been there, you wouldn't understand.  I had contacted Randy and his wonderful wife Retha last year just to give him a heads up that we might have been passing through Texas on our way to San Diego.  There was no way I was going to go by San Angelo without getting together with Randy.  After a little confusion by Satellite Sue, we pulled right up to the front door of Randy & Retha's house, blew the horn, and we were welcomed into their home like long lost friends.

Within minutes Retha made us feel completely comfortable and the visiting began!  And it continued for 2 days, till the wee hours of the morning.  Randy kept talking about a nap in the afternoon, but it never happened!  The photo to the left is a perfect example of the the drought that Texas and most of the southwest are experiencing.  We were actually standing at the boat launch at the State Park outside of San Angelo, and there used to be a lake there!  A nice deep lake also!  As you can see, they're a little dry out there.  So if anyone tries to sell you waterfront property online, you had better check it out first.  Randy told us that San Angelo has about 13 months of water left.  Need to get some prayers for rain started.  Reluctantly after 2 days we headed west but not until we got a promise from Randy and Retha to a visit in NY.  Looks like we'll be seeing them in Florida next year, and we know that will be a great time.  Thanks for everything guys!
     From Texas we headed for New Mexico.  By the way, if you've never driven across Texas, you have to do it sometime.  We spent about a week of driving time getting across Texas, and when Satellite Sue told me that I could be in New Mexico in 2 hours, I pulled up my boots and kept on going.

Still it took 2 days to get to Santa Fe which was our next planned stop.  Santa Fe is a nice little artsy fartsy town, full of galleries and museums.  Seems like every other building is an art gallery.  We stopped in at the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi which was an extremely beautiful church. The church was originally built in 1610, and was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times until finally the current cathedral was finished in 1887.  The Cathedral was elevated to a Basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

      Also, one of the most fascinating churches we've visited is located in Santa Fe.  The Loretto Chapel is something one has to visit to completely understand.  When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, a staircase was needed for access by the nuns to the choir loft 22 feet above.  Local carpenters were contacted, but none were able to design a staircase that would not interfere with the small chapel.  The Sisters of the Chapel conducted a novena to St Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters for nine days .  On the ninth day a man appeared at the chapel with just a few tools. Months later a magnificent staircase was completed, and the man disappeared.

 The staircase has two complete 360 degree turns and no visible means of support.  There are reports that the type of wood used to build the staircase has never been identified.  Many believe that St Joseph appeared and completed the work.  The photo to the right shows the original stairway, while the one above is a what is currently there.  The handrails were added at a later time.  There are no nails in this staircase.
      We're presently in Yuma, AZ, so you can see I'm a few days behind.  We toured some wonderful National Monuments while in Santa Fe, and I will continue with that story on the next blog.  After 2 days of cold weather and a snowstorm, we headed south, and ended up in Yuma.  And of course I have another BP friend to visit.  Can you believe it?

San Antonio Texas and The Alamo

I think everyone who comes to San Antonio has to do 2 things:  1) Walk along the Riverwalk   2) Visit The Alamo.  Both sites are located in downtown San Antonio, and it's a very pleasant atmosphere in which to get a feeling about San Antonio.  It seems like there are about a hundred freeways zipping in and out of San Antonio, but traffic really isn't that bad.  They seem to be quite used to us tourists, and driving around with NY plates, I noticed that people expected me to get in the wrong lane most of the time.  Satellite Sue did a pretty good job getting us into the downtown area, and Debbie and I soon found a parking spot for the jeep. We had come down Sunday evening after arriving from Houston, and we spent a few hours walking along the river, looking at the tourists and checking out the menu's in front of the numerous restaurants bordering the canal.  We even found an Irish pub, and had to stop in for a quick beer and an Irish coffee for Deb.

 There were pontoon boats moving tourists around and the operators told the stories of old San Antonio.  Again, the weather was quite cool, and the area would probably been a little more inviting if the flowers and trees were in bloom. All the shops and restaurants were busy, and we settled down at a little Mexican place and gorged ourselves on some pretty good carne asada. We wandered over to the San Fernando Cathedral and discovered that in the front entryway, the burnt remains of the heroes of the battle of The Alamo are kept.  Everyone seemed to be very respectful of the remains, some pausing to say a little prayer before proceeding into the Cathedral.
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The inside of the Cathedral was very modest, except for the wall behind the altar where the Tabernacle and Cross were displayed, which was a complete wall of gold.  Extraordinary!  Pope John Paul must have been pleased.  We attended Daily Mass today since we had missed the Sunday Mass.  I'm probably going to hell....but this is what I witnessed.  The introduction to the Mass was given by a nun speaking in Spanish.  The priest was either from Pakistan or India, and said the Mass in English.  Except for the sermon, which he gave in Spanish.  I have never heard someone from Pakistan speaking Spanish!

          Today, Debbie and I went over to the imax theater near the Alamo, and saw a 45 minute movie on the battle.  It seemed to make the events that occurred a little clearer in our minds, and looking at the ruins made a little more sense.  The area around The Alamo is quite touristy, and the kids seemed more interested in the "Tomb Raiders" across the street, but all in all, the State of Texas does a pretty nice job.

The carriage rides in San Antonio are quite a bit fancier than in Natchez, and i just couldn't see myself taking a ride in a Princess Carriage.  i know Debbie would have taken my picture and within minutes, the whole world would see.
     Tomorrow we're heading for San Angelo, just up the street a bit.  My BP classmate Randy and his wife have invited us over for a visit.  I haven't seen Randy since 1983.  I wonder if we've changed???

Natchez, Ms to San Antonio, Tx

     Debbie and I spent Friday, 3/7/2014, working all the tourist haunts in Natchez.  The Natchez Pilgrimage, which is the yearly festival where all the locals dress in period costumes, and the tours of all the antebellum homes takes place, is scheduled to take place tomorrow, but the weather certainly is not cooperating. Natchez itself looks a little barren with very little color in the trees or flowers.  They really need a week of nice warm weather, and I bet the area would be beautiful.  We crossed the Mississippi from our camping site, the River View RV Park and Resort in Vidalia, Ms, and started our tour at the Natchez Information Center just over the bridge.  We enjoyed a short film on the history of Natchez and formulated a plan to tour Stanton Hall, lunch at the Pig Out Inn Barbecue Restaurant, and cocktails at the Under the Hill Saloon to finish out the day.  We were even able to pick up some cancellation stamps from the National Park Service for our passport tracking our visits to NPS locations. If anyone is going on a trip like this, I would urge them to stop by a National Park Service location and purchase on of their passports.  Each place you visit has a cancellation stamp to help you keep track of where you've been and when you were there.  
     Our first stop was the antebellum home, Stanton Hall.  Stanton Hall was built in 1858 by Frederick Stanton, an Irish immigrant from Belfast, who made his money in the cotton industry.  It was built for the price of $84,000 +/-, but unfortunately Stanton died 1 month after the house was completed.

    The house and property encompass an entire city block in Natchez.  The house is owned today by the Pilgrimage Garden Club, who purchased the home in 1938.  The Natchez Historical Society appear to rule the roost in town.  Homeowners wishing to paint their homes, must first receive approval from them, so they are sometimes referred to as the Natchez Hysterical Society or the Hoop Skirt Mafia.

     Photographing the interior of these homes is also forbidden by the Garden Club, and I was reminded several times prior to the start of the tour.  The home is really quite magnificent with lots of period furniture along with some original furnishings of the Stanton's which have been returned to the house by family members.
     After the tour, we walked around the neighborhoods and were warmly greeted by several homeowners who were more than willing to assist us any way they could.  We walked over to a dining establishment called the Pig Out Inn.  It is a nice little barbecue joint with pink pigs out front welcoming you in.  The pulled pork sandwich was pretty good and Debbie's brisket was pretty tasty.

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     After lunch we walked along the waterfront cliffs overlooking the Mississippi.  They views were amazing and as expected, the Mississippi looked quite powerful even from a ways away.  We wandered into an antique shop, and I struck up a conversation with the proprietor.  Lo and behold, he was a retired LE Officer with the State of Louisiana Attorney General's Office.  To Debbie's frustration, we stood there telling war stories a bit longer than we should have, and soon she was encouraging me to move on.  Down the street, we climbed aboard a horse drawn carriage, and had a lovely tour around town, catching up on all the local gossip with the driver. He pointed out the "old court house" built circa 1840, which is still in use today as the court house.  The top floor of the jail was used as the hangin' room, and people would come and fill the whole town to view the hanging.  If you really want to find out about a town, jump aboard the horse drawn carriage.  The drivers know everything about everything!!
     Of course we had to visit St Mary's Basilica whose construction began in 1842.  The interior was quite stunning and the stained glass windows were magnificent.

     As the day wore down, I started hinting to Debbie that I was getting a little thirsty, and she heartily agreed that maybe it was time to head down to the Under the Hill Saloon.  Now, the Under the Hill Saloon is located down on the waterfront of Natchez, and in its day, was no place for a nice couple like us to be venturing.  Rumor has it that the area of Natchez known as "under the hill" was known to have gambling establishments, saloons, and brothels!  Didn't sound like a bad place to me.  So down we headed toward the waterfront, and we soon located the Under the Hill Saloon.

The story goes that Mark Twain used to frequent this fine establishment. And the carriage driver told us that it was customary for bar patrons to get checked for weapons before they entered the building.  If they didn't have one, they were given one...cause no one should go in empty handed!! The inside didn't look much nicer than the outside, but the beer was cold, and we soon struck up a conversation with a gentleman at the bar.  Debbie got his attention after she ordered a Southern Pecan Ale.  He explained to us that Southern Pecan Ale is brewed by the Lazy Magnolia Brewery in Kiln, Ms, the hometown of Brett Favre. Kiln, Ms is probably better known as the location for the movie Steel Magnolia.   Now that's something everyone needs to know.
     On Saturday we headed out of Vidalia, destined for Houston, Tx, about 300 miles away. I was not impressed with the highways of Texas.  They really need to invest a little of their oil money into the roads.  With just a little screw up on my part at the very end of the day, the trip was uneventful, and we arrived at our campsite at the Northlake RV Resort in Houston.  Debbie worked hard on the way over checking the reviews of several camping locations.  Northlake RV Resort is part of the Passport America group and sounded like a nice place, so we took a chance.  What a wonderful park!  The roads were all paved, along with the RV sites.  Full hookups.  Nice clubhouse overlooking a pond with a fountain in the middle.  Pool and hot tub.  A nice clean park.  Since we are members, we received 50% off the normal price, and had a very nice spot for around $22.00!  Gotta love it!
     This morning we headed out for San Antonio, another 200 + mile day.  Texas interstates are nasty.  I can't wait to slow this trip down and get off these interstates.  But we have to make 1 more stop in San Angelo on Tuesday, so we have to keep moving west.  We arrived in San Antonio without any problems, and made a quick trip over to the area known as the Riverwalk.  Tomorrow we're destined to tour The Alamo, and most likely some of the Missions around town.  I'll write about that adventure next time.  The weather is still nasty down here.  About 37 degrees today in San Antonio.  Gotta start warming up sometime!!!

Vidalia, Louisiana & the Riverview RV Park and Resort

     Today we moved just a little south, utilizing the "Blue Line" on the Mississippi State map.  This is how we had hoped to travel.  We had a destination, but no specific route, and it worked out marvelously!  Debbie found the best fried chicken in America and the best blackberry cobbler she had ever had in her whole life. But I'm getting ahead of myself.....
     We left Vicksburg after filling up with propane.  We've been burning a little bit of it the last several days. Weezy is equipped with heat pumps, but they don't work well below 30 degrees.  There's been a few nights where I've had to switch over to the propane furnace.  I know you people up north don't really care, but this polar vortex crap has to stop.  I want to get my shorts back out and worry about my sunburn! Anyway....we left the Riverfront RV Park and headed south on Hwy 61 toward Natchez.  Before leaving, we had a nice visit with Annette, the manager of the Riverfront RV Park.  She's only been on the job 4 days! Seems like her and her husband just took over the park, and she's been spending a considerable amount of time cleaning up the office.  She said when she arrived there was a lot of the office covered in crap and junk.  It looks quite a bit nicer now.  It's a nice park, close to Vicksburg, and I would have no trouble recommending it to anyone.  Annette gave us a nice lead on an RV Park near San Antonio.  Her ex operates the Coushatte Recreational Ranch in Bellville, Tx.  Maybe we'll check it out on our way by??
     Driving south on Hwy 61, we soon saw signs directing us to visit the Grand Gulf Military Monument in Grand Gulf, Ms.  We traveled down a 2 lane county road a few miles, and soon came upon the gates of the Military Monument.  But I wasn't sure where I would be able to park Weezy.  She's pretty maneuverable, but I have to be a little careful.  We soon met the caretaker of the museum who directed me across the street to park in front of the stop sign.  "Don't worry about a lot of traffic."  he said.  So we parked and headed over to the museum.  The grounds are run by the State of Mississippi, and the employees could not have been nicer.  Debbie and I asked a few questions, and soon they were describing the entire history of the 2 forts associated with the museum, Fort Wade and Fort Cobun.

.   Both forts were vital Confederate strongholds defending Vicksburg to the north.  In April 1863, Grant arrived at Grand Gulf with 7 iron clad gunboats and laid siege to the fort.  After 5 hours and 3000 artillery rounds, the fort was silenced.  After successfully taking Grand Gulf, Grant was able to land 24,000 troops and move on Vicksburg.  It remained the largest amphibious assault ever carried out until Normandy in WW II.

The museum boasts an actual ambulance used during the Civil War, along with multiple cannons and rifles. One rife in particular was recently given to the museum by a local family.  It had been in the family since the war.  It originally belonged to a wounded Union soldier who showed up at the family's doorstep.  He later died, and the family just put it away, forgetting about it until recently.  The curator said he worked the action of the rifle and it still works perfectly.  I think the rifle on the top row was used to shoot around corners???  It's a great museum and the grounds looked wonderful.  We'll definitely take a closer look the next time through.

      Next we headed across the street after learning that the mighty Mississippi was rolling by about 100 yards away.  We drove down and parked next to the river, and was amazed by the power of the current we were witnessing.  The museum curator spoke of the floods that have wrecked this area, but we couldn't imagine the height of the water until we went down and checked out the high water mark from 2011.  The first picture is a close up showing the depth of the water as it passed over the land.  Picture #2 shows Debbie standing next to the pole.

      After viewing the river for a while, we continued south on Hwy 61 till we came upon a restaurant called The Old Country Store, in Lorman, Ms.  We walked in the front door of a building that looked like an old store, and were greeted by Mr D, the owner of the restaurant.  He made us feel completely at ease and welcome.  He directed us to the buffet line and told us if we leave hungry, it's our own fault.  We sat down enjoying what Mr. D described as the best fried chicken in the world.  We think he was right.  Soon Mr D was back over to our table serenading Debbie with his version of Sugar Pie/Honey Bunch.  It was amazing.  We were soon encouraged to save room for dessert, and we're glad we did.  Debbie ordered some blackberry cobbler, and she described it as the best she had ever had in her life.  

Ends up, Mr. D's  been showcased by the Food Network, and Southern Cooking Magazine.  If you check the restaurant on google, you'll find pages of reviews there.  He is quite a character, and before we left we got 1 more song out of Mr. D.  If anyone comes south through Mississippi, you have to stop by.  Be careful, it's easy to miss it.  

      A short time later we passed through Natchez, Ms across the mighty Mississippi, and are settled down for a few days on the bank of the river at the River View RV Park and Resort.  It's a Passport America park which cut our expenses in half for 1 night.  Can't understand why more people don't belong to Passport America. We enjoy a 50% discount at their associated parks.  We've stayed at a couple already and our savings have more than payed for the yearly subscription.  Tonight we're watching tugs pushing barges up the river.  They are quite impressive. Tomorrow we'll be visiting Natchez and visiting a few antebellum homes.  We've been looking forward to this for a while now.  Next stop will be San Antonio.  

Pensacola, Fl to Vicksburg, Ms

   

Where in the world is Waldo???  Actually we've been so busy smiling and visiting, that I've just not had time to sit down and write about all our adventures.  Tonight we're sitting in Vicksburg, Ms. Debbie is preparing a delicious dinner, and I've got just a few minutes before I have to close this up.  Tomorrow we're heading for Natchez, Ms. the beginning or the end, depending on your direction of travel, of the Natchez Trace.  But I'm getting way ahead of myself, so let me backtrack a week or so.
     Last Saturday, March 1, 2014, we left Pensacola after having a delightful dinner with Annette at her condo overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.  Annette was able to score a huge Boston Butt (pulled pork) and we feasted on Bushwackers, wine, baked beans, and beer into the night, as we enjoyed a beautiful sunset from her front porch.  Earlier in the day we enjoyed a peaceful time on the beach at the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  There was a little breeze, but the sand was nice a warm as we enjoyed watching the shore birds running ahead of the surf.  

     During Friday afternoon we toured the remains of Fort Pickens which saw action in the Civil War and was utilized in WW II as a shore defense.  Across the harbor we watched aircraft from the Pensacola NAS, and reminisced about my Navy time at NAS Oceana and NAS Key West.  

     Saturday we enjoyed some nice weather, and worked our way north up to Smiths Station, Al for a visit with Ted and Maryanne from our BP time in California.  It has been quite a few years since we've last visited, but it was like we had only been apart a few months.  Teddy and I sat around telling war stories, and catching up on what's occurred since we both left Campo.  Debbie and Maryanne exchanged stories about kids and grand-kids, quilting, and mutual friends from Campo.  Even their dog, Sparkles, seemed to enjoy the attention he was getting from Debbie.  On Sunday, Carrie and her family, Teddy Doug, Jay, and Maryanne's father joined us for a wonderful dinner.  Teddy has a grill out back that could handle half a cow, and he's very comfortable throwing a few steaks on it.   

       Monday we said our goodbye's, packed up, and continued our journey west.  Next stop was going to be Vicksburg, Ms, located on the bank of the mighty Mississippi.  Debbie and I have decided that our journey really began today, as we have no destination, just a direction to guide us.  Monday evening we settled into a very comfortable RV park just outside of Meridian, MS called Bonita Lakes RV Park.  We had traveled northwest from Smiths Station before making a course correction after looking at the weather ahead of us.  Because of the weather, RV parks were filling up, so we grabbed a site at Bonita Lakes, plugged in the power cord and enjoyed the evening.  It dropped down to around 29 that night, but the heaters worked fine.  If you're traveling through Meridian, Ms and need a place to plug in for the evening, Bonita Lakes is just fine.
     Tuesday morning we worked our way south after making a reservation for 2 days in Vicksburg, Ms.  We pulled into Rivertown RV Park, located off of Hwy 61 south of Vicksburg and the owners made us immediately feel quite comfortable and even provided us with a CD for touring the battlefield located just a few minutes down the road.  The weather is quite cool for Mississippi standards, but us New Yorkers think its a nice fall day.  I hope it makes our MaryAnne feel better knowing she's just a few degrees cooler than we are!

     We layered up and headed over to the Vicksburg Military Park, and cruised past the front gate, after starting up the CD.  The CD provided us with lots of information about the siege of Vicksburg by General Ulysses S Grant and the Union Armies.  After suffering heavy losses in two attempts to capture Vicksburg, Grant decided to lay siege to the city, and for 47 days, conducted a heavy artillery assault on the city, forcing the Confederate Army to surrender.  Facing 30,000 POW's, Grant allowed the Confederates to leave the city and go home, after receiving a promise that they would not fight again.  The next major conflict would be Gettysburg, and the war would soon be over.

  There were only 2 other vehicles touring the park, so we took our time and frequently had to stop the CD to catch up.  There were a few moments where the narrator wanted us to drive 20 mph, which was a tad too fast for the park.
     Today, Debbie and I went for a very comfortable drive north on the Natchez Trace.  The Trace used to be the main route used by early travelers between Natchez, Ms and Nashville, Tn.  It was taken over by the National Park Service in 1938, and there are no commercial holdings anywhere along the trace.  It's a nice 2 lane parkway with lots of historic stops along the way.

      We traveled about 50 miles north on the Parkway, before returning for a driving tour around Vicksburg.  Down at the waterfront in Vicksburg, we located multiple hand-painted murals on the levee wall, and watched a Mississippi Riverboat depart the dock and head downstream. 

This is actually painted on a cement levee, and shows a bear hunting trip by Teddy Roosevelt.

      We paused and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Lillians Restaurant in downtown Vicksburg.  Their pasta dishes were wonderful, and their bartender made a nice Manhattan.  It's definitely a stop again when we return.  

        Tomorrow we are heading for Natchez, Ms. to tour the Antebellum Homes and plantations around Natchez.  Looks like we'll be heading for San Antonio on Sunday.