Friday, March 30, 2018

Easter Weekend. Today is Good Friday. Six years ago when we began our journey, we were in rush hour traffic in Dallas. We were headed back to Michigan to pack up our house and hit the road. Today, we are leaving our winter "home" at Johnson Creek RV and heading to North Carolina.

It is always hard to say goodbye to good friends, some of whom we consider family. The five months we've spent here have flown by. Lots and lots of laughter, numerous visits to the Rock Box (someone say "holla"), the Cailloux Theater and of course the Tinsmiths Wife. We had some great day trips, Dripping Springs (the Salt Lick BBQ), Alamo Springs (the Alamo Cafe ~ best burgers ever!!), Gruen (the Gristmill) and others.

Today was a beautiful day to travel. Cool this morning ~ 58 when we left at 9:00 am. Sunny skies. We stopped at A&A Tire for the inspection on our rig. Now, I just have to remember to order the tags when we arrive in NC!! Today we're headed to Brookshire, just west of Houston. The drive wasn't too bad, a slow down on 1604 (outer loop of San Antonio), but otherwise not too bad. We saw bluebonnets growing along I-10.

blue bonnets, the state flower of Texas

Lots of RVs are on the road today. We arrived at Houston West RV around 2:30 today. We've stayed here several times, most recently last year...

yep, the tiny house is still here

Saturday, March 31

Another beautiful day for traveling. Warm, in the mid-60's, and sunny when we left this morning. We've a short day, 242 miles to Frog City RV Park in Duson, Louisiana.

Driving while pulling our RV through Houston is not on our top ten list of fun things to do! We drive right down the gut; it's easier than taking one of the bypasses. Today, being Saturday, was fairly easy. Even though we didn't have to deal with rush hour traffic, we still had medium-heavy traffic.

I-10 right down the gut

Once we were through Houston, our drive was fairly easy. We drove past
craw fish farms...

the black things in the water are craw fish pots

At the Texas/Louisiana border, I-10 badly needed repair. We took I-210 around Lake Charles. The road was much better. I'd hoped to avoid one of my favorite bridges, but it was not to be. Lo and Behold, we came upon its twin!!

yikes

the bridge crosses Lake Charles

We'd hoped to travel another 30 miles east, to  Breaux Bridges. However, when we called last night to confirm that there was availability for us (we were assured twice last week that there was plenty of room, no need to make a reservation - we tried, they wouldn't make one) they did not have a spot for us. So, Plan B. We'll tack the 30 miles on to our day tomorrow. We've stayed at Frog City several times as well, most recently last year on our way to N.C.

frogs are a big part of Duson, I'm not sure why

It's a beautiful evening. Spring has sprung. The trees are leafed out, spring flowers are abundant and the grass is green.

Coop enjoying the grass. it's been awhile 
since he's had nice grass to lay on

a beautiful evening; trees are leafed out

We've been following the "green line" east. The further east we go, the greener it is. We'll see what happens tomorrow when we head north.

Easter Sunday, April 1

I love Louisiana. What's not to love about Louisiana? The people, culture, food, music, and of course, the swamps. They are all fabulous! I love everything about Louisiana except the heat!

We drove through southern Louisiana along I-10...

Henderson Swamp

to I-12 west of Baton Rouge...

Baton Rouge. bridge crosses the Mississippi River

ship docked

Mississippi River

wishing we had time to stop in New
Orleans

It remained overcast until we reached...

we stopped at a rest area, the sun came out,
not a cloud in the sky

Still following the "green line"...we picked up I-12 to head north into Meridian. 

roses blooming at a rest area

We're staying at Bonita Lakes RV Park...

there's not much here...perfect for an
overnight stay

office

gravel, gravel everywhere and nary a tree on a lot. the trees
surrounding the park are fully leafed out

We had a longer than usual travel day today, 331 miles. It was warm and a touch foggy when we left Frog City. The sky was overcast until we crossed the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge. After two days of head winds, today we had very little wind. Tomorrow will be a shorter day ~ 243 miles. We'll spend the night in Bremen, Georgia.

Monday, April 2

Back to eastern time we go! We had another good day for traveling, the weather was great and the drive was easy. 

dogwood in bloom. rest area in Alabama

Immediately upon crossing the state line into Georgia, we entered into the eastern daylight savings time zone. It always take us a bit to get used to it. We're staying at Jellystone Park in Bremen, Georgia. We're about 40 miles due east of Atlanta. It's Spring Break here in Georgia; the park is full. Lots of kids playing and having a good time. We're enjoying the spring blooms here...

forsythia. saw a lot of it growing along
the road sides

azalea 

Tuesday, April 3

Today is the last leg of our journey to Brevard, NC. We will be volunteering again this season at the Ranger Station/Visitors Center in the Pisgah National Forest.

We left Jellystone Park at 8:30 this morning, hoping to avoid rush hour traffic in Atlanta.

we took the 285 by-pass north around the city

No matter what time you go through/around Atlanta, there is always traffic. We had heavy traffic, slow-downs caused by construction. Once around Atlanta, the rest of the drive was fairly easy.

It is good to be back in the mountains...

Spring is just beginning here in the mountains. Some wildflowers are popping out; the trees have yet to leaf out...

Spring is a glorious time in the mountains. We are looking forward to watching the trees leaf out and the wildflowers bloom.

Stay tuned for more of Cooper's Great Adventure in the Pisgah!!

Til next time,

Ron, Dawn and Cooper