Why go on?

The trip can't get better than this so why not go back to NC? Wish Casey was here with the selfie stick!

Better than a mug shot from a speeding arrest!

Bruno and Tibby asked us to add that they have never been more welcomed anywhere. They are escorted inside all the time and know where all the treats are stored. Plus, that wonderful ham that Carolyn made keeps falling into there mouths. Dave and Carolyn are soft touches for snacks.

Ok, it's been 3 days and we're rotting fish. Guess we'll head on to Mexico.

Busted

This car will go (at least) 92 MPH. Just for a second. I know. I was there. In the right seat. The local police now know it will do 92 MPH on the highway (sparsely occupied). I think the officer was impressed or maybe just amused at 2 old grey haired geezers doing this in a Mercedes with the top down. Luckily the driver is well known in this town. "Have a good day."

Robin has a stack of papers on her long last ancestors that she knew nothing about. Carolyn is quite the genealogy sleuth. They had a ball researching this (while their husbands were out breaking the law).

Carolyn arranged a tour of the very interesting museum in Welsh LINK. Amazing amount of history in that building.

Rest of the day involved napping, eating, and, of course, talking.

What a great visit. Wonderful memories. Off to Texas tomorrow.

What did we learn today?  Good men must not obey the laws too well. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Welsh, LA and the Lejeune Plantation

This will be a report on today's activities. Check back for later info.

The stately Lejeune Plantation is near the town of Welsh, LA. LINK. Dave was born and raised right around the corner. He remembers when this house was built in 1949. It's on 5 acres and beautiful, quiet, surroundings. Well, there is a train line nearby but lightly used and not a nuisance. We like trains.

Report on today's activities: we all sat around the living room and dining room table talking from 1000-1500! What great fun catching up with old friends!

Off to dinner in Lafayette at Prejeans (LINK). We see there will be a problem: look at that menu and tell me how you can choose one thing? Update: another fantastic restaurant and yummy cajun cuisine and music. We talked so much that we didn't take any pictures but rest assured it was a another great experience.

Tomorrow promises to continue the catching up. Carolyn is a huge genealogy fan so she and Robin plan to do some exploring of Robin's lineage. Dave and I will run errands in his awesome Mercedes SLK 350 convertible! Hope its sunny so we can let the sun shine on our 2 old fart grey heads!

Old friends and crawfish

Pulled chocks in New Orleans at about 0930 and headed west to Welsh LA to see old Army friends from Korea circa 1972. As usual, we went back roads. Here's one of the larger back roads were were on. About 1/2 the trip was on a US highway, the rest on State or County.

On US 90 we passed ship and oil rig builders, the Mississippi River, sugar cane fields, rice fields, and crawfish farms. Plus we got to see how the people in southern LA live. Very nice trip. So glad we didn't go I-10.

Arrived at the Lejeune's at 1515 and had a great reunion. When I was assigned to the military advisory group in Pusan, Korea in '72, Dave was assigned to be our sponsor. The Army does this for overseas assignments so as to have a point of contact for all kind of info re the move. I drew an Ace with Dave and Carolyn. That official assignment turned into a great friendship. After Korea, we each went our way and, since this was before Al Gore invented the internet, we lost contact except for a few times when they visited our restaurant. They went to Czechoslovakia for work and we lost contact. They found me a few months ago via a fellow Citadel graduate. That is friendship.  Pictures in the next post.

In the evening we went to D.I.'s Cajun Restaurant.  LINK  What a great place!!! Food, Cajun music and dancing, family crowd. Can't say too much about here. Dave and I tore up 3# of Crawfish each and the ladies had great shrimp and catfish.

3# of goodness

Dave is a champion crawfish picker

But I wasn't far behind him

Here's some Cajun music from the band

What a great day. I haven't spent much time with Dave and Carolyn since Korea but we picked up right where we left off. Feeling very lucky and blessed.

What did we learn today?

• So much. Inter alia: how sugar cane, rice, and crawfish are grown; life in southern LA; Cajun food...
• Real friends are always there.

Check that off the Bucket List: NOLA Day 2

Toured the French Quarter some more and saw the sights AND SOUNDS! These guys were tearing it up for hours on end. Really good and I bet none of them can read a note of music. It sounds better in person since the phone doesn't capture all the tones. There are musicians of all types on many corners all over the Quarter and everyone we heard was great.

Sights included the audience watching the musicians.

Many street acts included dogs in costumes etc. Before you condemn, the dogs looked very healthy...in fact, much more healthy (and clean) than the human. The humans were petting and holding their dogs all the time.

We toured The Presbytere - Louisiana Museum that features one floor on Katrina and another on mardi Gras. LINK HERE.

Had a FANTASTIC meal at Deanie's LINK. The restaurant is beautiful, lots of tile and an open kitchen. Can't tell you how many on staff but it was a bunch and were they good. The kitchen was full of laughter and smiles and everyone back and front of house seemed to enjoy their work and have a great time. Calamari was probable the best we have ever had and our dinners were amazing. We didn't want to be tacky and take pictures.

What did we learn today?

• Lot of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, races, can have a great time and laugh a lot with each other. Never had a hinky feel about anyone or anything in New Orleans.  
• The musicians, tarot readers, etc., are at least working to earn money. We should applaud and reward that. 

NOLA Day 1

We had a pleasant evening here at the Jude Travel Park.

There are bunch of cats here. The park owners rescued a bunch after Katrina and neutered them. The survivors hang out around the office and are cute. Our cats are checking them out.

Delayed getting to town waiting on a RV tech to fix our slide topper. Had trouble getting it in at Ft Benning and don't want to go through that again down the road. No big deal.

Did a walking tour of the French Quarter. Very interesting both in terms of the buildings AND the people on the streets - you see everything.

Don't know why we thought of it, maybe because of news reports, but we did not see a single policeman, all day. Maybe it is different at night?

We had a late lunch of shrimp creole. Not that impressed perhaps because it was wayyy salty. Can't win them all. 

What did we learn today?

• NOLA is a very interesting city but wouldn't want to live here. 

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Great but long day

Hope we have done our last long day. Pulled chocks at 0830 and back in them at 1630 in New Orleans. Heavy wind on the nose ALL the way! How can wind always be on the nose no matter what direction you are going in?

Great back roads some of the way but way too much time on I-10 since there isn't a viable back roads option. Boring...could be anywhere. Late start because the big slide topper wouldn't retract. Got on a ladder and finally got it. Will get a mobile RV tech to look at it here.

The park is minutes from the French Quarter by car. It is very tiny and rigs are close, but at $35/night it is a bargain. The other close in park is over $100 and isn't exactly a resort. This one is very clean, organized, and just nice. Even a heated pool and spa. Owners are delightful. Will post pix tomorrow. Their website: LINK

What did we learn today?

• Wind is always on the nose no matter your direction
• 8 hours is too much.

Airborne!!!

A C130 flew over the campground at around 0900 so we hustled to the car and took off for Fryar Drop Zone, Description at LINK. This is where the Airborne School does the training drops.

I clobbered in here in 1963 when my main chute had a partial failure and my reserve failed.  I was terrified at being recycled and have to repeat Tower Week. They hauled me to the hospital and said take 2 salt tablets and drive on (that's what we did in '63). I jumped the next day and they hauled my butt back to Lawson to get another drop in. Later I found that I had several fractured vertebrata...but I didn't get recycled! Airborne!

The 130's take off from very nearby Lawson Army Airfield and climb to altitude in minutes...the flight time is minuets. They drop, land, and reload. Usually there are 2 130's doing this over and over again because 300 students need to get 5 drops.Weather was iffy. As we pulled in a 130 was on final. We rushed out and got some pictures.



Afterwards talked with the "Black Hat" NCO in charge, SSG Williams from Richmond VA. Black Hats are instructors and are to be feared (but very respected). What a Soldier he is. He said this was a winds aloft test by cadre...i..e., jokingly, wind dummies. Winds were too high for novices so no more jumps today. He will text us in the AM if they're dropping then.

BTW, I had a generational incident with SSG Williams (a Black Hat and Senior Jumper). I said I had a "Mae West" on my 2nd jump here on this very field (and 2 guys were dragged to death in high winds). He had no clue as to what I was talking about. I'll confess that Mae West was before my time but I understood the reference to the chute being diminished by suspension lines dividing it in half...where it looks like a bra...something Mae West was famous for it seems. Here is a site that explains it: LINK

Murica!!!!

They need to jump about 300 students 5 times in one week. Weather is hurting that. 

After this we explored main Post. Took some pix of the Airborne School. Don't know where the students were.

The 250" Towers. They pull you up by your chute and hold you there for a few minutes. Then, a few feet more and you are popped loose and it becomes a normal parachute drop without the need for an airplane. Alas, SSG Williams told me they don't use them much anymore because they were made to use with a circular T-10 type parachutes. The new T-11's are more square (LINK) plus they drop further before catching air which makes it sketchy when you only have 250' to work with. Airplane drops in training are from 1250". 

The 34" towers. You climb up and hook up on to a zip line. On command, you exit as if in a plane. A Black Hat sitting in a chair grades your exit. If he doesn't like it, you climb the tower again. And again. And again. I liked the 34's...they were fun.

C-119. What a beast. Jumped it several times and worst plane ever. The ones we jumped in '63 looked just as bad.

Later we visited the Infantry Museum  LINK. What a fantastic facility. They must have had Hollywood audio visual help. Very moving.

but she wanted to see it, 

What a great day. About 6 hours tomorrow to New Orleans. Robin is all excited about getting lots of beads in the French Quarter!

What did we learn today?

• Soldiers like SSG Williams make us very proud and enable us to sleep well at night. Love being in contact with today's military. They give me comfort. We're in good hands with them.
• I'm so happy that I stumbled into being a soldier as a career. Who knows where I would have ended up in anything else. I wish I could say that it was all the result of careful planning but it wasn't. Pure dumb luck. Like meeting Robin. 
• Happy to see Robin sucking in the Hooah Army stuff. I was ready to blow off the museum. So glad we didn't. 

Charlotte to Ft Benning

Pulled chocks at 0915 and back in them at about 1730. Great trip. Normally don't go that long but we like back roads. The only time we were on an Interstate was leaving Charlotte. Mostly State and a few US highways. Almost no traffic and did the speed limit the entire way. Really interesting small towns, many with a town square and a courthouse. We were particularly impressed with Greensboro GA and their revitalization efforts. Highly recommend back road travel...interesting sights, great, roads, no traffic.

What a fantastic RV Park...probably the best we've ever stayed in. LINK   Bruno going nuts because deer walk right down the road. Pictures tomorrow.

Hooah! Airborne! Ft Benning Here We Come

Got campground reservations at Ft Benning, GA, home of the Army's Airborne School for Mon and Tue nights. Steve was last here in Nov, 1963. Wonder if it has changed? These towers were here then. Hated them!

250' Towers

Will be an 8 hour drive back roads but worth it.

Glad I like trains!

RV'ers joke that there must be a law that RV parks have to be near a rail line because we hear trains so many times. That's sure the case here and they were active last night. Plus there is a grade crossing very near and they have to blow 2 longs, a short, and a long every time (nuggets from my youth with a Dad that worked for the Seaboard railroad for 50+ years). Well looky at the map. That star is the RV park and the main rail yard is southwest with the main line behind the park.


We still slept well but were off to David's Bridals to join the ladies in a search for the perfect wedding dress. Gents, listen to ole Steve: never go into a Bridal Store. But, you say, it must be full of hot chicks? Well, yes, but those women are in a hormonal marriage planning frenzy and it is not a place a guy wants to be.

To get over that experience, Steve headed to Best Buy and ended up with an awesome Samsung Galaxy Tab E. Here's a description, Link if you care (not safe for Apple cultists). The old tablet was on its last days and we absolutely had to have one for GPS routing for the trip, don't you know. Plus, I bought it for Robin! Amazing device. Fast. HD display.

To continue the purging memory of the bridal store, Steve went to a real, old fashion barber shop. No foo foo "stylist" stuff there. Barber was Vietnamese. Last time I had a Vietnamese barber it was a Chiêu Hồi VC on a firebase in 1968. (See Wicki HERE for explanation.) He used a tool that looked like an Exacto knife as he trimmed all around my neck. Thus the SOP that the next trooper in line to have his weapon at the ready, locked and loaded.

• Here's a trick Steve came up with. We move around so I rarely have the same barber. Usually I use the barber shop at the Marine base where they ask you how you want it, but only out of curiosity since you're going to get it how they do it, period. When I get a good cut, I take a picture and file it on my Samsung S5 (don't know if you can do it on an Apple :-)). Next barber, show the picture. Example: 
  
   

We all met up again for dinner at a restaurant that David and Andi enjoy: "300-East" Link. We see why they like it! Fantastic meal. Fantastic company.

The whole gang

 

 


And then it was time to return home and listen to the train lullaby.

So what have we learned today:

• Why engineers blow their horns the way they do
• Gents should never go near a bridal store
• Samsung & Android rule
• What a Chiêu Hồi was
• How to get a good haircut
• Dinner at a great restaurant with family is an awesome thing

1st Travel Day!!!!

Got up early to put the finishing touches on the house for presentation to buyers.

Pulled chocks at 0940 and headed to Charlotte. We're back roads people preferring to sacrifice speed for scenery. So many neat old towns on these back roads. Arrived at the campground at 1700 including a gas and propane stop. Really enjoyed paying only $70 for 42 gallons when last year it was double and 2 years ago triple at Key West.

Essentially we went to Jacksonville, Lumberton, Rockingham to Charlotte. We're staying in an RV park in the heart of Charlotte: Elmore RV Park (Link). It's not a resort but it is clean and very convenient with great owners. Most of the park is house trailers but they are well kept and nice folks. Excellent wifi. $32/night with full hookups.

A GREAT thing about it is a fantastic Mexican restaurant right across the street. Tacqueria Touluca. Link. We loaded up on authentic goodies that will last for several days. This is the real deal and our second visit.

Crash night. Weeks of remoding have caught up with us.

Whew! Glad that is over.

Today marks the official end of the long Cedar Island house remodel. We've been going at this for so long that its hard to say when we started. New paint. Replaced all carpet with tile. Numerous small repairs. Fortune smiled on us when Robin's old friend Barry, offered to help. Could not have done it without him.

We leave it now to our fantastic Realtor Carla to get us a buyer.

After seeing what Robin created, I think she should get a program on HGTV.  The kitchen is one example.

She even painted the counter tops! 

About this journey

We've been looking forward to this trip for a long time. We enjoyed the 2014 New England trip so much that we knew we wanted to keep exploring. Steve has done two long Mexico trips and thoroughly enjoyed both. After hearing about them, Robin was ready too. Since we're there, we might as well explore the western US too.

This blog is for family and friends. It won't be fancy. We'll include pictures as much as possible. If you want to be notified of new posts, put your email in the block to the right. Then you can read the narrative (no pictures).

• A request: if you read it, comment now and then so we know it is being read. If you don't we'll lose interest.

The recurring question: "Aren't you afraid?"  Well, yes. We have to go through Houston going in and Tuscon leaving. We are very active in RV websites that have forums on Mexico. Been doing this for many years. There are a lot of folks snowbirding in RV's all over Mexico. There have been ZERO RV'er deaths. There have been one or two truck hijacking's of trucks in about 10 years.  

Trip Overview

• Start from Charlotte where we're doing wedding prep for Andi and David's wedding.
• Head towards New Orleans; maybe stop at Ft Benning and show Robin Airborne school.
• 3 nights in New Orleans.
• Head west for a fewhours to Welsh, LA for a 3 night reunion with old Army Korea friends, Dave and Carolyn Lejeune. Plan includes a Sat night in a cajun honky-tonk complete with crawfish, beer, and dancing.
• Head down the east coast of Texas towards Mexico. Probably stay a few hours from the border at Naval Air Station Kingsville.
• Cross the border at Reynosa - Hildago and spend a few days with RV.Net friends Chris and Juan in Monterrey.
• From here on, who knows? In general terms we'll go down the center in the Colonial highlands. Somewhere we'll head west to the coast. Then we'll work north towards a border crossing at Nogales, AZ. 
• Back in the US, we'll hit: Grand Canyon, Vegas, Denver (son Luke and family), Salt Lake, Yellowstone and then ???. Probably return to NC in June.

The elephant in the room? What happens if the house sells while we are way down south in Mexico?