The French Quarter

What a great day today.  We spent the day crawling all over the French Quarter and didn't see near all of it.  There is just so many cute little shops and interestig tours.  I could really blow the budget here. 

Last night I received a phone call from a friend who happens to live here in New Orleans and as today was his day off he met us downtown and played tour guide.  We walked on the ferry across the Mississippi and met Mike at the landing.  It was a beautiful day, warm with just enough breeze to keep it from getting uncomfortable.  There was live music everywhere. It made for such a party atmosphere.

This guy was sitting on a bench just playing his trumpet.  He graciously agreed to pose for a picture with Ira and Mike.

We wandered through shops and just took in sights. Almost all the buildings had upper levels with balconies overlooking the street.

We stopped for lunch at a little cafe and sat outside enjoying the atmosphere.    I had my first taste of alligator.  I liked it.  After lunch we strolled over to Bourbon  Street. 

A future musician.

This little guy was having a blast pretending he was playing. 

We walked for ever and had a great time.  We ended our tour by meeting Mike's wife Jessie.  It was great to finally get to meet her.  Thanks so much Mike for being our tour guide.  We enjoyed it so much.

New Orleans La

We are now sitting at the Naval Air Station in New Orleans.  It is a nice area here and except when the jets fly overhead it is very quiet.  There is a very nice fitness club here that we can access.  The only drawback I can see so far is that pool is not open yet for the summer.  I miss the pool. I am really liking it.

Our drive here from Pensacola was for the most part uneventful however we made a mistake that lots of others before us has made.  We blindly followed our GPS and realized the mistake when "Gabby" told us to go 1/2 mile further and board ferry.  Um.......NO!

We were on a narrow 2 lane driveway without any shoulder room.  We had no choice but to continue.  Turning around with a 37 foot 5th wheel was not in the cards.  We also had people behind us.  What if we didn't fit on the ferry?  How big was this ferry?  If we couldn't get on we would have to back out over half a mile to get to a place we could turn around.  Very nervously we continued.  When we got to the boat the attendant had us wait while she boarded the people behind us.  We were then able to stretch out across the bow.  We boarded on the starboard side of the bow and fortunately disembarked on the port side.  We were able to drive straight on the boat and right across the bow and off.  Seeing as the clearance under the deck was only 12'6" we would not have been able to fit if we would have needed to exit from the stern.  We really dodged a bullet there.  From now we preplan our route, especially in cities!!!!  Lesson learned.

We drove around New Orleans today some and explored.  Tomorrow we head to the French Quarter for exploration and maybe some shopping. 

Hi from Pensacola.  We are at Blue Angel Naval Rec area.  We were here last fall for about 3 weeks.  When we arrived here on Thursday there was only 1 site left and as luck would have it, it was the exact same site we were in before.  Nice view of the water out front.  The big problem is that we are a 5th wheel and don't have windows in the front cap.  It would be nice to just turn the rig around and have that view out our back window.

On Friday after a leisurely breakfast and a shower we headed out to the base for stickers for the truck and for groceries.  We went to the Naval Air Museum  and wandered through looking at all the exhibits.  We also paid the fee to go into the Imax theatre for a short movie on the Hubble space telescope. 

I found the models of the ships that carried the aircraft more interesting, as I like ships. Aircraft are not really my cup of tea.  That being said, it was very much worth the time and money spent to see it. 

Saturday it poured.  At times we couldn't see much more than 100 yards out front.  It was a nice day to just sit and do needlework.  Other than take the dogs out in the rain to do their business we never left Serenity.  At least we know she doesn't leak!!!!

That is about it from Pensacola Fl and I will talk to you soon.  Until then safe travels and maybe we will meet down the road somewhere.

The wheels finally rolled this morning.  It felt so good to be moving again.  I loved the winter in Florida but is was time to go on to some new adventures.  Unfortunately we have to be back in Florida by early Oct.  This past winter Ira had a small cancer spot removed from his head so now the doctor wants to see him every 6 months.  We need to be back for that appointment.  This is going to determine our travels for the next few years I am sure, but it could be so much worse.  I am not complaining.  The dogs seem to be happy to be moving again too.  They jumped right into the back seat and settled down immediately.  They know the routine.

When we left Eustis the sun was shining and it was hot.  By the time we stopped for diesel ($100 for half a tank, ouch) it was raining so hard we couldn't see.  Of course after we ..........um....Ira got soaking wet pumping fuel the rain stopped.  Now that we are stopped it isn't raining any but the black clouds are threatening.  Tomorrow we roll on to Pensacola for a few nights.  We are planning to go to the base to get stickers for the truck so that we can access any of the bases on our travels.

Just under a month ago Ira and I changed our way of eating.  We cut out a lot of fat, sugars, salt and carbs from our diet.  This has resulted in about 15 pounds of weight shed from each of us.  Now that we are rolling again this is going to prove a bit of a challenge for us.  On moving days we are going to have to be totally prepared with meals we can eat on the run.  It was so tempting to just stop and grab a burger and fries to go but we didn't.  At supper we didn't want to cook as we are parked in a Walmart parking lot so we just had salad and cold chicken.  It tasted great and just hit the spot.

That is about it for today so until we meet again, safe travels and maybe can meet down the road one day.

Yesterday was another day of cleaning etc.  Having dogs really gets the carpets dirty so we rented a carpet shampooer and did the bedroom, stairs and slide carpets.  We replaced the carpet in the living room last year with laminate.  Once we finished that we started reorganizing everything in the kitchen and bedroom cupboards.  It will be like having a new 5er when we are done.

A month ago Ira and I changed our way of eating.  We have cut down on carbs, sugars, fat and salt.  This has resulted in a weight loss of about 15 pounds each and as a reward Ira decided to take me out for dinner.  We went to Olive Garden for soup salad and bread sticks.  We did NOT eat the bread sticks.  I am so proud of myself.  When we left the restaurant Ira headed north.  I didn't know where he was heading and he was being quite secretive.  About 10 minutes later he pulls into the local stock car track for the nights racing.  It was great.  I haven't been to the races for way too many years and I thought it was out of my blood.  When those cars came out of turn 4 for the green flag I found out it definitely wasn't.  That same ole thrill run right through me.  Of course now he has released a monster.  I can't wait to go again.  Hopefully we can take in some races across the country.  What a nice surprise. 

Well that is about it for the past few days here in sunny Florida.  Safe travels out there and maybe we will meet down the road one day.

We are getting closer to the departure date from Eustis and our trek west.  It is interesting to read other's blogs who are on the same path as the one we are about to take.  It is giving me ideas of places to stop and things to see.  Our planned day of departure is a week Saturday (unless I can talk Ira into leaving earlier).  I really like it here.  The park is nice and the people are friendly.  We are in central Florida with a short drive to things to do and see.  That being said I am excited to wander further.  We have had a beautiful winter with sun and warm weather most every day and  I look forward to returning in the fall but for now I want to explore and see other places.

Ira has spent the past few days resorting and packing Serenity's basement and the back of the truck.  We are always looking for a better and more efficient way to stow everything.  Anyway that is all getting settled.  The dogs are going in for a severe clipping tomorrow so hopefully they will stay short for a while.  It seems they shed less that way.  I would love to get the cat done too but I really don't think he would take kindly to that.

Well that is about it from our home in Eustis. 

I wish everyone safe travels and I hope we meet somewhere down the road.

Sunny and hot

Hello all

The weather has just about been perfect here in Florida.  I am just loving the sun and warm weather.  Even though I have a bad case of hitch itch the weather is making staying here these last few weeks easier.  We are not doing much, just hanging around the pool and soaking up the rays.  Of course the crowds at the pool are getting smaller and smaller and people leave to head back north to their summer homes.  There are more and more empty sites in the park everyday.

On the travel plans, we have made reservations at the famcamp at the Naval Air Station in New Orleans for the last week of April.  As much as I am loving the hot weather here and the pool I am getting excited to move on and see new sites.

Safe travels to everyone out there.