New Orleans, LA

Here we are in the French Quarter of New Orleans. I had been here in the 90's to attend a software developer's conference but this was Susan's first time. Our first stop was at Cafe du Monde (where else?) where we inhaled some delicious beignets and got powdered sugar all over everything. Isn't that what you're supposed to do? If so, we did a good job of it. From there, we dusted ourselves off and crossed the street to Jackson Square where we boarded a mule-drawn carriage for a relaxing guided tour of the French Quarter. After the tour, we wandered around visiting antique shops and other establishments including a "beverage break" at Pat O's - a quiet hidden courtyard with a fountain and outside bar. Ahhh...that felt good! After a walk down Bourbon Street (where we saw such famous places as Preservation Hall where Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Ensemble will be playing tonight) and a short browse of the French Market (just a lot of imported junk for sale), we opted to return to the RV for some well-deserved rest.

Livingston, LA

Today's destination is about midway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. We're staying at Lakeside RV Park which is a very nice park with concrete streets and sites surrounding a small lake. We'll be staying here for several days so we can explore the area.

After settling in, we drove out to Houmas House Plantation and Gardens which is located along one of the many rivers in the Louisiana bayous. What a fabulous place! We toured the various gardens replete with a lot of interesting statues and even found a tiny little pub called The Turtle on the grounds where I sampled a local brew while waiting for our house tour to begin. The tour was totally awesome thanks to our guide, Judy, who was not only jovial and informative but she could play the piano and sing like a pro. This was, without a doubt, the best tour we've ever had. She even let us touch the antiques, sit on the furniture and take pictures. Thanks Judy!

Mobile, AL

This morning, we journeyed down to Shady Acres Campground in Mobile, AL. Once we were settled in, we drove the car out to Bellingrath Home and Gardens in Theodore, AL (see www.bellingrath.org). This beautiful home and garden was built by an executive of Coca-Cola. They lived quite well indeed. We took a guided tour of the house which was loaded with some awesome antiques and more porcelain figurines than we ever imagined could exist. The gardens were stunning even if we missed the peak of the Spring blooms by about a week.

FMCA Rally in Perry, GA

After meeting up with some friends from the Sams-O-Wake RV Club, we spent Friday night in Lexington, SC. On Saturday morning, we headed on down to the fairgrounds in Perry, GA to attend the FMCA International RV Rally. It rained all the way from Raleigh to Perry so the RV and car were (and still are) covered with road dirt when we got there. On Sunday, the sun came out and the weather was so nice. There were over 3,000 RVs camped there. We spent five days socializing, attending RV-related seminars and visiting vendor booths. We were in Perry last year for another RV event and this one was just as much fun. This morning (Friday, 3/20), we started heading west with an overnight stop in Auburn, Alabama. It was our first night in a week at a campground with electricity and water so we spent the time doing laundry and relaxing. Into each life some work must fall...

Another Adventure in our new Adventurer

Tomorrow, we head South to begin another trip. This time, we'll be doing it in our new 2008 Winnebago Adventurer 38T. We've been looking at this rig for over a year and finally decided to get it. It is five feet longer than our old RV, has two 18-foot long slideouts which, as you can see from the pictures, gives loads of room and enough conveniences to spoil us completely. We are really looking forward to actually using it instead of looking at it parked in our driveway. ;-)

This trip begins with a week-long RV rally in Perry, GA. From there we plan to head out to San Antonio (where Susan was born) and explore the Gulf Coast area. Then we'll head to Louisiana and drive North along the River Road that runs along the Mississippi River until we get to Memphis, TN. Then we'll head to the mountains of good ol' NC for another RV rally. Then home for a few days before heading out to the Outer Banks of NC. From there, who knows...

Myrtle Beach, Wilmington and Knightdale

We're back home in Knightdale now after spending a night in Myrtle Beach, SC (just for the fun of it) and another night in Wilmington, NC where we toured around the downtown waterfront area shops and basically goofed off. It was a short three-week trip but we had a lot of fun and met some nice folks. We'll probably be at home until early March when our next big trip will begin. Stay tuned...

Charleston, SC

Our next stop on our leisurely trek home is Charleston, SC. In the morning, we visited Boone Hall Plantation and, since our time there was limited, we enjoyed a talk and tour of the Slave Street area of the plantation. We plan to return there on our next trip to Charleston so we can see the house. It was a beautiful place...even in the Winter.

After lunch, we took the ferry from Patriot's Point out to Fort Sumter where the Civil War began. Fort Sumter is located on an island in the mouth of the Charleston Harbor and has been nicely restored. The National Park Rangers gave an informative talk on the construction and history of the fort.

BTW, the nice RV park we stayed at near Charleston had a lake with some of the most unusual (e.g. ugly) ducks in it that we've ever seen. I just had to include a picture of one.