Day trip to Fort Walton Florida

Since we have been in Florida the weather has been cloudy and light rain almost every day. But the other day it was nice and we took a drive to the coast. We are about 30 miles inland. What I noticed first about the beach is that the sand is white. Bright white. We made a bit of a loop thru Destin and Fort Walton. They are loaded with condos and hotels and places to eat. Very tourist type place. Beautiful but not the type of towns we enjoy hanging out in. Stopped by the local Moose Lodge to take a look and see what type of Rv parking they had. Some of the lodges have an area to park. They have a grass area out back with water and electricity which looked ok for a few day stay. While there they gave us a free cocktail and lunch. Can't beat that!! We are going to Panama City next for a get together with Jackie's brother's family. There is a Moose Lodge there that we can stay at. $10 donation per night is all they ask. We are going to Pensacola today to tour the Naval Aviation Museum. The weather is cloudy but warm so it won't be to bad.

Holt Florida

We are up in the panhandle of Florida. About 40 miles east of Pensacola. We have been here about a week now. There are two reasons for us to be here. The town of Crestview is about 10 mile east of us and that is where we have our mailing address and it is where Jackie's half-brother lives. Bobby Sullivan is her brother and she and he had never met. Jackie was excited to finally met him. We met at a local restaurant and had a real good visit. His daughter is planning a family get together for all us the next week or so. The second part of us being here is we are changing our licences and registrations to Florida. We got the licence done last week. Since we arrived the weather has been bad. Rainy cool and cloudy, it seems to be following us. Also Pepper got sick and we had to take her to the vet. She is doing better. Then I got sick and ended up in the urgent care. After an IV and an assortment of drugs I am feeling better. We have hit a bump in the road but at lease when the weather get better we will be healthy. We are in a Rv park next to the Yellow River. The spots are large and right now not many people are here, so we have now one next to us. The river has rose since we have had so much rain the past few days. But before the rains lots of people were fishing here because of the boat ramp. One of the locals said they caught a 12 foot alligator up the river a while back. No fishing for me. Hope to get out to the beaches next week and look around.

Waynesboro Mississippi

We spent a week here at Maynor Creek Campground just outside of Waynesboro. The main reason we stayed here is it is the only rv park within 30 miles. But we were real happy with it. We were given a double size spot and backed up to the lake. Full hookups and only $96 for the week. We were here to visit Jackie's family. She has an Aunt and 4 cousins living there. So this week was mostly family stuff and bad weather. On the nice days we could watch bass boats fishing outside our window. The only down side was there was no phone or internet service at the campground. But we put this up as one of the best places we have stayed. We are now sitting in Holt Fl. in the panhandle. Got here a couple days ago and just catching up on chores. Weather is cold. Might freeze tonight. Sunny Beach, thought I could break out the shorts but not until mid week. We took some time today and looked at how many miles I have pulled the 5th wheel since we left Nevada. It doesn't seem like it but we have pulled 6775 miles. We have been in 10 states so far. Alabama was just a 60 mile drive through it but will be returning. We are averaging 13.1 miles per gallon pulling. 2 blow outs on the trailer tires and no trouble with the truck. Drank 32 1.75 liter bottles of scotch, a bowl of the best clam chowder (the Splash in Pismo Beach) and to die for bbq brisket (Blacks in Lockhart Texas). Now I am wanting some dinner and a scotch. Dinner is not ready but...........

The Shed....(don't read this on an empty stomach)

A little catching up to do. We moved from Ocean Springs Ms to Waynesboro Ms and spent a week there visiting Jackie's family and now are in Holt Florida. It is near Pensacola Fl. During the week we were in Waynesboro we didn't have phone or internet. But back to the Shed. One of the places we had on our list of things to see and do was the Shed. It was on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It is located in Ocean Springs Ms which is next to Biloxi. I ordered the combination plate which has 7 meats and 3 sides. We ate on that thing for a couple days. It is a fun place to just walk around. They have blues singers on the weekends. As for the food it was ok, nothing great. Had better BBQ in Lockhart Tx at Black's. The chicken and sausage were good but I (not bragging) make better ribs than they do at the Shed. Some of you who have ate my ribs are nodding your head yes right now. Something else about the south, every fast food and restaurant has sweet tea. Out west if you can get iced tea you have to add sugar. Also in the stores you can buy sweet tea by the gallon for a few dollars. Sweet tea and something deep fried.

Ocean Springs Mississippi

After spending a week in Jackson Mississippi with Jackie's Aunt Jackie we moved to Ocean Springs. It is about 6 miles east of Biloxi. We are staying in a Federal Park. Davis Bayou Campground. With my Golden Access Pass if only costs $8 per night and that includes water and electricity. We get asked by some of our friends what it costs to park. For the past 2 months we have averaged $12.39 per night. We parked for free for a week at Aunt Jackie's so it helped drop the cost some. I am still getting about 13 miles per gallon pulling the trailer. These pictures are were we are now parked. The picture with the rain was our 2nd day. It poured. There were tornado warnings, which means one has been sighted or radar shows one. Also there were flash flood warnings and we were parked next to a dry creek. We made it but there were a few hours of holding our breath. The campground ground we are in is surrounded by nice wildlife area and walking trails. A 1/4 mile from us is a fresh water alligator pond with this guy living in it. The campground is close to the ocean with a bayou that you can launch a boat and access the ocean. The beaches have beautiful white sand and calm ocean. No waves. Other than the 2nd morning with all of the rain the weather has been calm and warm. A little cool 1st thing but mid 60's to low 70's. The bad news is I have been sick. Had to go to an Urgent Care and after a shot, breathing treatment, ears flushed and a couple prescriptions I am on the mend. Bronchitis again. Third time in the past year. So we have been kinda stuck to the rig. We get out but don't do much more than a driving tour. BUT!! we did go to the Shed. It is a BBQ joint that has been on the tv show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Will post a blog on it next. Spoiler alert.......I make better ribs that they do. Some of you have had my ribs and know I make good ribs. I would put mine up against them any day. Not to brag but........

Odds and Ends in New Orleans

Jackie and I weather permitting try and walk 2-3 miles in the morning. After doing that spending 3-4 hrs walking around New Orleans we got a good workout. Here are a few pictures of the French Quarter that I liked. The guys playing music were fun to stand and listen to. I bought one of their CD's. There are so many old and interesting buildings in this town that it is hard to pick some to post. A lot of our friends and family have been here before so they understand how interesting the area is. We didn't go down town at night but it is a different town at night from what we were told. A few years ago I would have been there but now by dark I need my recliner. From what some of the locals told us be careful at night because of pick pockets and purse snatchers. Well thats of for New Orleans. Ocean Springs and Biloxi next.

New Orleans French Quarter

We got to the French Quarter and it was a little warm. So I asked a local, "Where can I get a huge ass beer?" And he said "Just around the corner from that cute ass woman". One of the reasons we go into a bar besides the obvious is you can walk into a cafe and spend $3-$4 dollars on a coffee or something and the waiter doesn't have time to talk. But in most bars you can get a lot of information and meet some of the locals. Heck even once in a while a hug from the bartender. We went to the French Quarter and French Market several times. It is a blast there! We think the best part of our visit there is just walking the streets and taking in all of the old buildings and history of the area. As with most of these type of places is they a lot of shops selling tourist things. Tee shirts, nick-nacks and junk that you can get at any k-mart. We took a trolley ride and got to see some of the town that you can't see just walking. I had bought 3 New Orleans Saints tee shirts in Baton Rouge for $15. I was wearing one and people were coming up and saying they are fans of the Saints and giving me thumbs up. I told them I wasn't a fan of the Saints, just a fan of cheap tee shirts. A few hours later we were walking down the riverwalk and someone yelled, "Hey cheap shirt". They had over heard me telling someone about the tee shirt. We cracked up that many blocks way from where I had said it there were someone who was there. We moved to Biloxi today. Have more New Orleans pics coming.