The "last" Dairy Queen

Good morning one & all, especially the McLoud G.T. Classes who have been following our trip! The BIG road trip...3600 miles of driving...ended on February 19th, about 7:00 pm, after a stop in H'ville to visit mom at Heritage Village, and of course, a final DQ stop in Durant for those dip cones. We were up pretty early in friday & on the road toward Dallas, right by Canton, TX and the "First Monday" sights. The Nav system takes us around Dallas, but traffic is pretty bad, even at noon. We stop for lunch in Sherman, at the Olive Garden and some salad, soup & meat balls. Then a TJ's, Texas beer store & on to Oklahoma..the Choctaw Casino is hoppin'! Up hiway 48 to Allen, Atwood & H'ville, with a car wreck thrown in there..not us. Mom was happy to see us and we had a good visit and then on to the cul-de-sac. It was a great trip, despite the weather, with the main reason for the trip..the Shuttle launch,,the BIG highlight, but the entire Kennedy Space Center, the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge,the Ringling Museum of Art, a visit with Joan and camping at new places all highlights too. See ya next trip! mike/kk

Cajun lunch on the bayou

Well, I could be like Lewis & Clark & say that "nothing much happened today", but I suppose it did. We were up at 8:00, had a light breakie of cookies, a "moon-pie" & some fruit. Started packing up our stuff, stowing it away and bringing down the camper for our departure from the KOA. We both slept better last night..must be getting used to the noisy traffic. Down to I-12 & west bound toward Baton Rouge & pick up I-10 for Lafayette. About lunch-time, we arrive at the Breaux Bridge exit & off we go for Mulate's Cajun Restaurant! I had the grilled catfish with shrimp etouffee sauce..WOW! KK had the grilled shrimp & the potatoes were the best! Did I mention the gumbo? Out of sight! We won't have to eat for days, or until a DQ comes along. And some real good Zydeco (swamp rock) & Cajun music playing too. (Dancing every night.) Back on the road & catch I-49 north toward Shreveport. The LA roads are really bad, and toss you up & down, so you can't even sleep or read. A quick stop at the LA Visitors center, in the Alexandria area & some good coffee & maps. On to Shreves & a bypass around the area to pick up I-20 west-bound for Texas. We are looking for RV camps, but decide to press on to a motel for the night & watch the Olympics instead. But first a stop in Longview--HI Dick Simon--for gas, Wally & a DQ! On to the west a little while longer & a stop East Lindale, TX at a Days Inn. Not too far from Canton, but "First Monday" is next week, so we'll head on to Oklahoma tomorrow. A very late supper at Burger King..a short walk from our motel room, but I'm still full from lunch. See ya back on the cul-de-sac on Friday.

LaFonda lunch

Man, at least we stayed warm last night..in our bags & under mountains of covers, but it was noisy. You would think we were camped over I-12 & not 1/2 mile away. I woke up a few times & so did KK & we were up about 8:15 & of course it was chilly..28. A light breakie of coffee, cookies and toast. Then off to the post office to buy stamps & westerly to shop. First there's a super Target, then Marshall's, Steinie, Burlington & since we're hungry by now, we ask our navigation system where the closest Mexican place is, and guess what? It's The LaFonda Mexican Restaurant! How could we pass that one up? It's so-so, but the beer is cold. On to a little more shopping & back to camp by 4:30 & traffic is really bad. I go on a little ride,,8 miles & have to ride in plans just to stay out of traffic. It's too cold anyway, even bundled up. Get dressed and off we go to bass Pro Shops, which is right by us & we get a few items on sale. Just across the lot is a new place, VooDoo BB Que..looks like a good spot & we see TV's in there, so we sit at the bar, eat, drink & watch some of the Olympics..women's downhill & a gold & silver by the USA gals! Back to camp by 9:00 and some texting from Frances that the OSU boys won, but girls lost. Get the coffee ready for tomorrow, as we''ll be pulling out of here & heading west & north..maybe some good Cajun food for lunch!

FAT TUESDAY!

Happy Mardi Gras everyone..where's the party? Actually, it's just south of here in the French Quarter, but it's noisy enough here at the KOA..maybe some ear-plugs tonight. But back to the morning & our get away from the KOA in Chattahoochee. I get up about 8, fix coffee & check e-mails before KK gets up..and her coke is in the freezer..outside, where it's 28 degrees! I go up to the KOA office & have their breakie,waffles & sausage & get a egg-biscuit for KK. Break down the camper & exit by 11:00, EST, but only 10 minutes down the road & it's CST! We get an hour back! A stop for gas & some shopping in the Pensacola area, where the Navagition System leads us to a mall & KK's Clinique,a TJ Maxx & lunch at WhatAburger! This puts us behind schedule & maybe not Lafayette tonight, but hey, who cares? Plus , a very large fire on I-10, as truck is engulfed in flames on our side of the road! So KK looks in the KOA book & calls the one near Baton Rouge and they have a spot, so away we go to Denham Springs, LA, only 30 minutes from where we are. We pull in about 6:30, setup, start the heater, check e-mails & go to eat at a local restaurant, La Grange. It's so-so..a chicken fry, and mashed potatoes for me & broiled shrimp for KK. Lots of LSU & Saints stuff in this place. We cruise around for a little while & then head back to shower, blog & pay some bills. No Olympics tonight, but we heard that some of the skiing was postponed anyway. Goodnight.

A "Joan" McMuffin

Up at 8:00 and prepare to leave southern Florida, where it won't be 70 until Saturday. A sunny 45 this am , as we load up the auto, have some coffee & go over to get the camper at the storage spot. Joan & I preform this duty. Then back for a nice breakfast of a Joan McMuffin..uuummm, good! Joan has a tennis party & we're heading out, so we say goodbye & off we go on the 41 bypass & then I-75 north to Tampa, Ocala & I-10 west. It was a good time at Joan's place & we saw a lot of her friends & had a great time, despite the weather. Joan has even fixed us sandwiches, but we still manage to stop for a DQ! We roll into our KOA in west Tallahassee, actually Chattahoochee, Fl by 5:00 & set up & get our heater goin'..it's supposed to be 26 here overnight! (In sunny Florida.) I go ride 1 mile & then we go into town..25 miles away to Marianna, FL & have supper at Ruby Tuesday's, as the bar has some TV's so we can watch the Olympics,,at least the Downhill. Food is ok,,a "premium" burger & talapia for KK. We did check on the KOA in Lafayette, La & they have room for us, and a Mardi Gras parade at 6:00, if we can make it. When we get back, I shower and write in my journal, before e-mails & such. Now I need to go to bed to warm it up a little, although our heater is working ok. See ya on Fat Tuesday!

It's much later & I've been frozen waiting for the pics to upload. We really didn't have anything from today so these are the last day before we left Venice (not Italy!) Hope we make it thru without frostbite, lol.

Sunshine! but cool

Happy Valentine's Day! We stayed up late last night, so we all slept in, but Joan was first up & made the coffee. I got up & got KK's card & gift ready..a bird ornament! We all have breakfast by Joan & as the girls get ready to watch Syracuse play Louisville, I suit up & go for a spin into Venice & find the Legacy Trail along the Intercoastal Waterway..all paved & very nice. Despite the 57 degrees I stay warm & even visit the beach. There were more people there than you might guess, but the sun was out. Back to the condo & a sandwich & see the last of the BB game (The 'cuse lost.) I check out Joan's bike & it needs a new tube, but ok other than that. The girls go for a walk & I shower and watch the Olympics. Then, as the girls return, I am summoned to fix another gal's bike.(It's good to be needed.) Off to the beach with Joan & then the Audubon Rookery for a nightcap & lots of waterfowl, and even a gator or two. (Great Blue Herons, Anhingas,Great Egrets & White Ibis). Now Joan is preparing supper-fish, potatoes & salad. We'll be hitting the road tomorrow, heading for Tallahassee and the west KOA. Hope it's quieter than the east KOA. see ya in the "panhandle"!

It's a Circus out there!

Joan is up early to play tennis & it's 51 out there-too cold to ride, at least for me, but the coffee's ready. A cookie & I'm good. Scan the lappy for e-mails, before KK gets up. Joan gets back and we have breakie before getting ready to go up to Sarasota to the Ringling Museum of Art. It's not just a circus place but some fabulous works of art. It's pretty crowded, but we get in and head for the BIG works of art.. Renaissance & Baroque works by Rubens, Titian & many more, and a special showing of Norman Rockwell prints. On to the Circus area, with actual wagons, railcars & history of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. But in the next building was the BEST exhibit..for me anyway..a 3800 sq ft display of a circus, in miniature (3/4" =1 foot) and believe me, it is unreal! One man, Howard Tibbals has been working on this for 50 years & it is done in the most intricate detail-like 7,000 folding chairs that actually work. I bought the book if ya want to know more. He did meet an Okie, Harold Dunn, from Jet, that influenced him early on. Then a short walk up to the ocean and the Ringlings home,-Ca'd'Zan- and a tour at 3:00. A very lavish home for 1926 and a nice docent tour of this Venetian Gothic palace. Back to the condo to get ready for dinner at the Saltwater Cafe. Believe me, this is no cafe. It's a nice restaurant & great seafood..caught fresh daily. I get the fillet, with shrimp & scallops scampi & KK gets the crusted sea bass..GREAT! A family next to us gets the "all you can eat" crab legs & I think they're still eating them. The cafe even had a band (one-man) playing and we danced a little as we left. Back to watch some of the Olympics & book a KOA for Monday night in Tallahassee. A good day & our COWBOYS beat the boofers today! No biking today but a great day!