Mar 30 - Meridian, MS and Lake Okatibee.

   We heard today that Orion passed away, from the Corona virus.  And, we found out that Anica is the executor of his estate, so she needs to figure how to deal with everything relating to his death and subsequent estate issues.  I have offered to help, but we both need to do everything from a distance and all online.  It's hard to deal with a burial (no funeral due to Covid-19), closing up and selling a house etc all from afar, and in the middle of this social isolation.
   After lunch, we went for a ride over to the nearby Lake Okatibee.  This large lake has a very long dam, with a delightful walking/bike trail along the top, with parks at each end.  We walked the dam trail.  It was nice to get out walking.  The park is very neatly landscaped and GREEN!
   Peter has been very busy writing about the new tax laws and the small business loans that are available, due to the government's response to the Corona virus.  He has been blogging and talking with all sorts of people, who are trying to figure out what the law allows for, how to get the funds and how much you need to pay back, if you even need to.  Interesting times for him. 

Lake Okatibee Dam and park photos:

 

Mar 29 - On to Meridian, MS

  We left the delightful RV campgrounds at Hidden Springs and headed on to Meridian, MS, also known as Marion, MS.  The trip over was  3 hours, but a very nice ride.  The highways in Mississippi are really nice.  Two lanes each direction, with a wide grassy, median in between.  Tall green trees lining each side, many deciduous and many conifers.  This is a very rural area, but there are houses and farms spaced out all along the route.  Not like in Texas where you could go for 100 miles and not see a house or a barn anywhere. Also, I saw more cows/cattle grazing today than I did in all of our travels through the wild west, with all their big ranches.  The route went through several small/medium sized towns.  And I see the houses are landscaped with flowering shrubs, all in bloom.  Nice to see. 
  At one town, we stopped at a Walmart to pick up a few things.  They were limiting the number of people in the store to 175.  Each person got a wiped-down cart to use.  We also used our disposable gloves.
  The current campground is another parking lot.  Due to Covid-19 their facilities are all closed--the laundromat, the community center, the bathrooms.  So, we have full hook-up and are very self-contained.  We see our neighbors, but wave from a distance.
   We had a Hangouts call with the kids/grandkids and then a sibling/cousin Zoom call after that.  It is really nice to be in touch with folk you love in this time of isolation.
  Also found out today that Orion worsened with the Corona Virus.  Probably won't make it.  So sad.  And Anica is dealing with the hospital, as it turns out she is his Health Care Proxy.

No photos today.
 
 

Mar 28 - Hidden Springs RV Resort, Tylertown, MS

  This is such a delightful spot, that we are quite happy just hanging out here.  The river, the green, green trees, the green grass, the walking trails around the large campgrounds, the gentle breeze -- all give us perfect social distance, and nature to enjoy. 
  Blogging, Peter writing his tax blogs (big stories about the new Payroll Protection bill), sitting by the river reading.  I even listened to another Podcast about Artificial Intelligence and how it is helping/supporting the many varied Covid-19 concerns.  Very interesting.
  We took three walks to break up the day, and get outside (Peter, that is.  I spent most of the day sitting outside, since it was so beautiful here.)

Hidden Springs RV campground photos:

Mar 27 - Leaving Louisiana, and heading to Tylertown, Mississippi

  We got a call from Anica this morning, letting us know that Orion was in the hospital with the Corona virus, and not doing well.  Anica was also dealing with trying to get Orion's dog taken care of.  Since the dog doesn't carry the virus, but is like a surface that can store the virus on it, you can't just have anyone go into his contaminated house and retrieve the dog.  The Shutesbury fire dept is helping out.  My heart goes out to Orion, who has just been moved into critical care.
  Much to our surprise, this RPI campground, Hidden Springs RV park, out in the middle of nowhere,  in Tylertown, Mississippi, is delightful.  Especially after the mobile home RV park we just left.  It is big, spread out, lots of trees and grass, and it follows along side of the Bogue Chitto River.  There are not a lot of people here, so we are all spread out, for social distancing.  We are in a nice shady spot.  So, we are going to just hang out here for the next two days.
  I was really surprised at how green everything is around here.  Driving here, there is grass and tall trees everywhere.  Oh, and when we left Louisiana, we did get to drive right through the Atchafalaya National Refuge.  This road was amazing.  It was 18 miles of bridge, going over the swamp/rivers/lakes of the Atchafalaya area.  I would have loved to take the swamp tours around this place, but at least we got to see a bit of it from the road.

Hidden Springs RV Resort photos:

 

Mar 26 - Broussard, LA

  Since all the good things to see and do around here are closed, and since we want to social distance, we decided to do a home day.  Even though this park is not the nicest place to hang out in.  I did the laundry, we went for a walk around the campground, and we spent time on our computers.  I finished filing Shanti's tax return and worked a bit on Peter's.  I read a bit, cooked dinner (with some to freeze for another day), and listened to a Podcast interviewing Elon Musk talking about AI.  Very interesting.  Ended up with an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.
  We have been spending our time in the RV with the air conditioner on.  It has been in the mid 80's, with relative humidity above 50% (yesterday it was 86%).  And, this is March.  What is it like here in the summer?  This is NOT my weather preference.

No photos today.

Mar 25 - Lafayette, LA

  We spent the morning "working" in our air conditioned RV.  We really feel the heat and the humidity.  It feels like a hot summer day in New England.  After lunch, we drove the 15 minutes into Lafayette, LA.  It must be a significantly up-scale town, as there is a Whole Foods there.  Originally, we chose to come here to hear the Cajun music and eat some of the Cajan and Acadian food.  It is also near the Atchafalaya Swamp/Wildlife Refuge, that has great swamp tours.  However, since that is now all closed, due to Corona, it is a good thing we like to explore Nature.
  We went to the Acadiana Park Nature Center.  This has some nice trails, some along the bayou, some through the green, green woods.  We walked for a bit, enjoying it all.
  Then, we went over to Whole Foods to do our grocery shopping.  I have never seen a Whole Foods parking lot SO EMPTY.    This is the last one until we get to Chattanooga, TN, so we stocked up, or at least as much as my small refrigerator can handle.
  When we returned to our RV site, there were four police cruisers in front of the RV next to ours.  It became apparent that domestic violence was the issue.  It took awhile for the cops to leave, and as soon as they did, the couple started screaming at each other again.  The cops were called to return, and this time, they took both the man and the woman away, after quite a long time, with both parties standing there in handcuffs.  The man returned to pack up his stuff.  The owner of the RV camp came by to apologize about the situation and offered to refund our fees.  He said he had even done a background check on the man.  The owner is  having the RV towed away tomorrow.  It was a WEIRD situation.  Another indication that we are not pleased with the quality of the RV campgrounds recommended by the group called "RPI".  The other RV memberships have a higher level of quality.  Unfortunately, RPI has a lot of parks along our route, and give a good discount to members of Thousand Trails, which doesn't have a lot of campgrounds in the middle of the country.

Acadiana Park photos:

Police cruisers next door Photo:

Mar 24 - Lake Martin and Cypress Wildlife Preserve, Broussard, LA

   We spent the morning revising our remaining itinerary.  Partly to accommodate the rescheduled Tiffin RV repairs at the Tiffin manufacturer's in Alabama.  They hope they will be open the second week of April.   So, we will stay for a longer time at the State Park in Tuscaloosa, and maybe see Peter's grandchild  more.  We also cancelled 4 RV parks near Nashville, TN and near the Mammoth Caves in KY.   As a result, we are getting earlier to the RV park that is next along the journey.  And, since we are not going to visit Peter's brother in NJ and we want to stay far away from NYC, we are going to head home through the Delaware Water Gap recreation area, to go on a more northerly route.  So, we need to find a park along that route.
  You can only do so much of that kind of planning in one day, so we decided to find some nature to visit around here.  We went to Lake Martin, and the Cypress Wildlife Preserve.  We are DEFINITELY back in the south!  We walked 1-1/2 miles on a trail along a bayou, ending at the Lake.  Cypress trees and lots of green foliage everywhere.  We had "environmental shock" after all of the time we spent in the southwestern desert areas.  Peter Loved the Green.  As we walked, we saw a snake, a few giant white egrets, and a few orange-billed ducks.  It's really neat how the cypress trees grow right in the water, with all of the cypress knees growing up around them.  At the lake, the drippy moss that hung from the trees created a nice view. 
  After walking back to the car, we decided to follow the gravel road around the lake.  We came to a wetland boardwalk that the Preserve had created.  Wasn't too long, but was a nice way to get into the swampy area.  Nice many colored daffodils were blooming up from the water.  As we finished the route around the lake, we saw an really unusual house, stuck back in the woods.  It was a four room house with each room stacked on top of each other.  Very strange.

Cypress Wildlife Preserve and Lake Martin photos:

Mar 23 - Leaving Texas, hello Louisiana!

  We had a 4 hour drive to our next campground, and we stopped along the way to have lunch in the RV, on this cute little side road loop park-like area, that we just happened upon.  Louisiana sure looks different than Texas.  Not so different from New England, with all of the tall trees growing wherever it is not cultivated or populated.  And speaking of farmland.  The parcels of land being farmed are all underwater-shallow, square ponds.  They are growing crayfish and rice.
  We don't care for the heat and the humidity.  And I'm not a real fan of this campground, either.  We are near Lafayette, Louisiana.  We originally wanted to stay here because it is in the heart of Cajun country, and we had hoped to visit local music venues and bars to hear some good Cajun music.  Lois and Ken had even given us some places to visit.  Also, it is near the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, where you can take swamp tours to see the wildlife.  Of course, now, both of those things are cancelled. 
  This campground is not like a beautiful state park, that we can just hangout pleasantly for a few days.  The highway is on one side of the park, which consists of a long single road, with campsites on either side of the road.  And a ditch with a small stream, lined with trees, on the other side (our side, fortunately). 
  We just got a call from Tiffin saying our scheduled RV appointment to have the RV worked on needs to be rescheduled to the next week, as they have cancelled all appointments for 2 weeks.  So, in the morning, we get to refigure out our remaining itinerary.  Oh well.  Us and the rest of the world.

No photos today.

Mar 22 - Galveston Island & Jamaica Beach, Texas

  We took care of "business" this morning, while it rained.  But after lunch it cleared up a bit.  We drove 1/2 hour over to Galveston Island.  This is a barrier island with Galveston Bay at the end of the island in the town of Galveston, and then a long, narrow barrier island with West Bay on one side and the Gulf on the other.  We drove down the island a bit, to Jamaica Beach.  The beaches are public, and often lined with homes on the island side.  However, there are beach access roads every mile or so.  You can drive on the beach, and park, but then there are areas where no cars are allowed.  The State Park was closed, but the rest of the beaches were open.  There were folks parked along the beach, but maintaining social distancing.  There were also long stretches of beach with no one on them.  The beaches are sandy, but has a lot of seaweed laying at the edges of the water. 
   The sun came out, and there was a nice breeze, and the waves were constant and beautiful.  We took a mile long walk down the beach and then the mile back again.  We turned the car around, so Peter could sit in the back and look out over the water.  I sat in the chair.  We just enjoyed the area and read for an hour or so.
  We are starting to consider if we need to reassess our route home, in light of the Corona Virus.  We have already decided not to go through New York or New Jersey.  And, since the reason to go to Nashville is the music and Mammoth Caves is the tour of the caves, and since those will probably be cancelled and closed, we may not deem it worth the additional mileage to go north to get there.  Also, we are considering finding a Thousand Trails along the way, and just hanging out there for 2-3 weeks, delaying our return to MA.  We'll see.

Galveston Island and Jamaica Beach, Texas, photos:

Mar 21 - Texas City Dike, Texas

  Due to the Corona Virus responses, we drove into Whole Foods in Houston (about 30 minutes away) at 7 am this morning, so we could shop before the store officially opened, with the other "Seniors".  Finally got some paper towels, and 2 tiny packets of hand sanitizers.  Then we went the few blocks over to Trader Joe's to get the things I usually get from there, only to find a block-long line of people waiting for their turn to enter the store.  This was NUTS.  The people were standing 3 inches apart from each other, for probably 1/2 an hour, so they wouldn't be too close in that big store?  So we stopped at the grocery store local to the RV park, and found an even longer, closer line of people, at an even larger store.  We didn't want to deal with that at all.
  After lunch, we drove the short distance over to the coast, to the Texas City Dike.  This is a 5 mile long, wide breakwater that is a fishing pier on one side and sandy beaches that you can drive on, overlooking Galveston Bay, on the other side.  Unfortunately, it was sprinkling and windy, so we really weren't in the mood to walk along the pier or the beach.  But, it was a nice way to see the water. 
  On the way back to the RV park, we stopped at the nearby Walmart (Ugh) who did not restrict the number of people entering, and bought the few items we still needed.  Even with a lot of people shopping, we were able to stay at least 6 feet away from everyone else.  We have also started wearing our disposable gloves that we use for handling our sewer stuff for the RV when we go into a store.  Then, just toss them afterwards. 
  I do have to say, that the Texas Gulf shore bays, barrier islands, and waterways are nice, but they don't have the same attractive draw or power for me that the Pacific coast has. 

Texas City Dike photos:

Mar 20 - Travel to League City, Texas

  The trip over to League City, Texas reminded me that it is SPRING time around here.  Colorful flowers along the roadside, the huge planted fields had light green sprouts all in long rows out to the horizon, and it is hot and humid.  This is NOT the desert anymore.  It is also not Kansas.  In Kansas, the huge fields were on rolling hills.  In Texas, the fields were FLAT, flat, flat, out to the horizon.
 Our next campground is just outside of Houston, and around 1/2 hour north of Galvaston Island.  It is a somewhat "sketchy" mobile home and RV park, but it was located in a good place for us.  We had thought to be able to go into Houston, but due to the Corona Virus, most everything is closed, and they are telling us old folks to stay home.  There is both a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's nearby.  -Whole Foods has an hour before they open for seniors to be able to shop.  From 7-8 am.  We'll see if we can make it over there that early.
  There is a Chili's nearby, that is doing pick-up, so we plan on availing ourselves of that option tonight.


Safari Mobile Home & RV park photo:

Mar 19 - "At home" day in Rockport, Texas

  We decided we needed an "at home" day.  I did the laundry, worked on tax returns, and helped Peter with setting up his PayPal account for his Margaret Fuller documentary.  We went for a nice walk around the campground, and the little lake.  Relaxing day.

No photos today.

Mar 18 - Padre Island National Seashore, Mustang Island, & Port Aransas Island, Gulf Coast Barrier islands, Texas

  We got an early start and drove around Corpus Christi  and over the bridges to the barrier islands on the Gulf Coast.  We started at Padre Island National Seashore.  One side of the island has beaches on the Gulf, the other side has beaches on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.  We first stopped at the Malaquite visitor's center and beach.  The visitor center was closed, along with the cafe, due to the Corona virus, but the volunteers and ranger were sitting outside and chatting with folks, giving us the maps and brochures of the National Seashore. 
  We then continued on down the paved road for another mile, where it just ended on the beach.  After that, you can drive for 60 miles on the beach and the seashore.  The first 5 miles are for most cars, but after that, you need a good 4 wheel drive vehicle.  RV's and cars were parked all along the beach.  We drove for maybe a mile, and then pulled over to park next to the water.  We sat in the car, with the doors open, and ate lunch (I forgot to bring our camp chairs or towels).    Hung out there, enjoying the birds, the waves and the strong wind.  It's really interesting being able to drive on the beach.  We stopped for a short time on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway side.  The water was really green, and very still, especially compared to the waves from the Gulf side. 
  Next we drove on Mustang Island (not too interesting, as you couldn't get over to the beach readily).  There was a State Park, with beach access,  but the sand was really loose and hard to drive on, so we continued on to Port Aransas.  This is a tourist town with the Gulf on one side, and Redfish Bay on the other.  There is a waterway, that allows big ships to go between the island and the coast, to get to the huge oil factory.  In order to get over the waterway, to get to the long Redfish Bay Causeway back over to the mainland, you need to take a ferry.  The ferry is free, and runs 24 hrs a day, and lasts all of 5 minutes to get across.  But, you need to wait in line for about 20 minutes, even with 4 ferries being loaded at a time, holding around 30 cars each. 
  We first went over to the Port Aransas Port A Jetty.  This is an extremely long breakwater, that creates the waterway.  You can walk on it, and fish from it.  It's a nice way to get to see the Gulf and hangout by the water.  Then, we stopped at Roberts Point Park, and finally to the ferry. 
  A nice day.

Padre Island National Seashore photos:

Port Aransas Port A Jetty photos:

Roberts Point Park photos: