Sun, 4/5/09

KOA, Hayti, MO, to St. Louis, MO: Left this morning at 9:30. With severe weather just north of us we thought about holding off for a day, but it’s supposed to SNOW tomorrow in St. Louis, so we decided to go ahead. I started driving. The wind was very strong, but coming from the south so it just kind of pushed us along. Stopped in Sikeston for breakfast and refueling and then I continued driving. The sky started looking really ugly around St. Genevieve and it started raining some. Fortunately, it was Mike’s turn to drive. We managed to get back home without encountering any severe weather. Arrived at the storage area by 2:00, but there was another RV in our storage spot. So we parked it where we could find a safe spot and left a couple of messages for them. Got home and put everything away and relaxed. Good to be home in one piece. We go out again on May 28.

Our last day at Lazy Lakes

(picture by Charlie)

This is us leaving Lazy Lakes RV Park on Sugarloaf Key

(picture by Charlie)

Moviepark RV Park, Canton, MS, to KOA, Hayti, MO: We left Canton, MS, this morning at 9:30 with me behind the wheel. Stopped at a little town an hour or so up I55 and had breakfast. After breakfast I continued driving for another couple of hours. Stopped and switched about 20 miles south of Memphis, TN. Going through Memphis they had I55 shut down to one lane for a few miles, so that slowed us down some. Then we stopped in W. Memphis for fuel and continued on. The area between W. Memphis (across the river from Memphis) to Hayti, MO, is flat, flat, flat. They grow cotton and rice in this area—but mostly cotton. Hayti is in the “bootheel” of Missouri. Isn’t that a great name—Hayti? Shades of something—not sure what. Probably the Old South. Staying at a KOA in Hayti. Arrived and got set up by about 4:15 or so. Took longer than we expected. Hate these long drives. 73 here though. Tomorrow we leave for St. Louis. Should be a much shorter drive. We’ll get home Sunday afternoon sometime. Monday the weather is supposed to be rain/snow mix (sigh). 39 for the high (sob).

Spanish moss--they used to stuff mattresses with this stuff.

That's where "don't let the bed bugs bite" came from

Cyprus Tree in the Marsh

Fairview-Riverside SP, Mandeville, LA, to Moviepark RV Park, Canton, MS: Before we left Fairview we walked the boardwalk through the marsh area around the river. It was really marshy now because of all the rain and flooding. But it was really pretty with lots of these pretty wildflowers blooming. They looked like iris, but I’m not sure what they were. We left at 10:15. I started out driving. Went west on Rt. 12 and then hit Rt 55 north. Stopped at some little town in Mississippi and had breakfast and then Mike took over driving. We stopped for fuel before pulling into where we’re staying for the night. Not unhooking at all. We were set up by 3:30. Will relax and watch TV and leave tomorrow for Hayti, MO.

Belle the bloodhound and Chelsea the Irish Wolfhound mix

Belle doesn't bark--she has this mournful howl

Beautiful live oaks on the Fairview plantation house grounds, which is in the park

A very large, older yacht going by the park on the Tchefuncta

Fairview-Riverside SP, Mandeville, LA: This morning dawned clear, warm, and sunny. Sat outside in the sun for a while and the clouds started rolling in—ugly looking clouds. We’re supposed to get severe weather again. Headed out to pick up some wonderful Ponchetoula strawberries, drive to Ponchetoula to get some beignets at a little café there in the old, historic part of town, and then have some lunch at Morton’s Seafood House in Madisonville. On the way we ran right into a storm with lots of rain—which they don’t need right now. The rivers are very high—some over their banks. Our campsite is only about 100 yards from the Tchefuncta River, and we’ve been keeping our eye on that for sure. Madisonville is a neat little town which is very historic—established in 1811. Our park is only a couple of miles from this cute, historic town which is also on the Tchefuncta. Had a wonderful lunch. Mike had oysters on the half shell and I had red beans and rice with smoked sausage and corn bread. Very good. Back to our site and cut up all the strawberries and mixed with sugar and water. There’s strawberry shortcake in our future for sure. It hit 80 this morning before the storm. After the storm it went down to the 60s. We leave tomorrow and head to St. Louis. Taking three days though which will make for easy drives.

WWII Museum--Magazine Street

New Orleans

Historic St. Patrick's--circa 1838

Camp Street, New Orleans

Camp Street--New Orleans

Fairview-Riverside SP, Mandeville, LA: This morning dawned cloudy and grey. Mike dropped me off at Family Cuts so I could get my hair cut and he went over to check out what movies are playing. Cinema is shut down for renovations, so we decided to drive over to New Orleans and go back to the WWII Museum. Drove over the 24 mile long bridge over Lake Poncetrain into the city. Decided to get some lunch before hitting the museum, so after parking we walked down to Poydras looking for a restaurant. Nothing. So walked back down Magazine and found a little eatery on the corner of Magazine and Lafayette. After eating we walked back to the museum. This is a great museum and the area around the museum has improved quite a bit. They’re building a huge addition to the museum and there seems to be a lot more galleries in the area. We toured the museum until 5:00 and then headed back. Right in time for rush hour traffic. Got back around 6:30 and had left-overs for dinner. Supposed to be lousy weather tomorrow too.

Jade Plant--Fairchild Gardens--Miami

Fairview-Riverside SP, Mandeville, LA: Cloudy and threatening rain this morning. I set up a pot roast in the crock pot and then made smoothies for breakfast. We sat outside for a while and it started raining. Then started pouring. During a break in the rain I went over and checked out the new bath house and laundry. The new building is really nice and they’ve also put in wi-fi hot spots in both loops. Great park. Plus we only pay half because the state of Louisiana honors the Golden Age Passport. Love Louisiana! Ran out to get some strawberries but the market was shut down because of the weather. At least we didn’t get severe weather. The pot roast was great along with potatoes and carrots. Smelled so good in here.

Our site (the river in the background)

Tchefuncte (Cha-funk-ta) River

Chelsea--the Irish Wolfhound mix

Belle the Bloodhound

Eagle’s Landing RV Park, Holt, FL, to Fairview-Riverside SP, Mandeville, LA: Left this morning at about 9:30 this morning and arrived at Fairview-Riverside and were set up by 3:30. We made three stops—once for breakfast, once for fuel, and once at a rest area to get something to drink. Saw lots of signs of flooding along I10. Fairview-Riverside is such a pretty park. It was named after the Fairview-Riverside plantation—whose plantation house is on the park property and is available for tours. We’re right on the Tchefuncte (cha-funk-ta) River which is very high right now. The park has a lot of huge, old live oaks and Spanish moss is everywhere. Our neighbors are from St. Louis also. They have two dogs—a bloodhound named Belle and an Irish Wolfhound mix named Chelsea. We’ll get our dog fix for sure. Drove to Mandeville to get some prescriptions filled and then came back and had left-overs for dinner. Supposed to be nasty weather tomorrow. We’ll see.