Mon, Nov 12:  KOA, Milton, FL, to Tallahassee East RV Park, Tallahassee, FL:  Well, the repair guys showed up around noon and had the wiring on the slide fixed by 2:00.  I wanted to pack up and leave right away so we could avoid the storms tomorrow.  Mike didn’t want to because we’d be pulling in after dark.  So, okay mister man.  We’ll leave tomorrow but we’re heading out early.  The alarm was set for 6:00 a.m. but we woke up at 5:30.  I turned on the TV—and surprise, surprise, tornado warnings were out for the Gulf coast—including Milton.  Great!  Forget about leaving now, it was pouring and the winds were picking up.  Tornadoes scare the crap out of me—especially when we’re in an RV.  We hung around until 10:30 and the rain had slowed somewhat so Mike suggested we make a break for it.  Really Mike?  Did you see the radar?  Anyway I went along and we packed up quickly and headed out.  Mike drove all the way.  We did luck out and only encountered light rain most of the way, but the wind was pushing us around a bit.  West of Tallahassee we started seeing some of the devastation from hurricane Michael.  Downed and damaged trees, mangled road signs, billboards down (hate them anyway), and rest areas demolished.  Tallahassee itself didn’t look like it got much damage—at least from what we could see from I10.  We stopped for fuel and picked up a couple of sub sandwiches and continued on.  Arrived here by 2:30.  But it was really 3:30 because we’re now on Eastern time (ugh!).  70s here and we actually saw the sun for about 2 minutes.  We leave tomorrow for Lake Pan. And when we turned on the TV and saw the radar, we realized we really lucked out.  Lots of nasty cells along I10.

Bixby Bridge, Big Sur
California

Big Sur

Sun, Nov 11:  KOA, Milton, FL:  Still playing the waiting game.  We called the repair guy at around 11:00 and he said he was waiting for the wiring harness to be overnighted.  He said it should be there any minute.  So, we paid for another night here and will leave tomorrow.  Unfortunately, storms are forecast for tomorrow.  It’s beautiful out there right now—albeit chilly.  So we continue to wait.  60s today.

Lunching with friends in California.

Emerald Bay--Lake Tahoe

Sat, Nov 10:  KOA, Milton, FL:  We hung around all morning waiting for the repair guys to show up.  But he called at noon and said he wouldn’t be able make until tomorrow.  So, we’ll stay here another day and leave here on Monday—hopefully.  Played spades on-line for a while.  Made chili for dinner.  Only in the 60s today.

Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

Skull Rock
Joshua Tree National Park
California

Fri, Nov 9:  Fairview-Riverside SP, Madisonville, LA, to KOA, Milton, FL:  I wanted to get going early this morning because of the impending storm, rain, wind, and cold temps.  And Mike accommodated me.  He is not a morning person, but we were hooked up and heading to the dump station by 8:50.  I drove to just east of Biloxi, MS, and Mike took over.  We stopped at a truck stop in Alabama and fueled up and had some lunch and we continued on.  Arrived at the KOA by 2:00.  We thought we were home free with mechanical issues, but our kitchen slide wouldn’t go out again.  Mike was able to override it and it went out almost all the way, but the left part of the slide wouldn’t go.  So, we called an RV dealer and they came out and put in a new motor but it still wouldn’t go in or out.  Luckily, the slide was 90% out so we can get to everything.  They’re going to come back tomorrow and change out some wires.  Hopefully that will do it.  Anyway, it was 83 when we got here and the cold front moved through and we’re now in the 60s.  Supposed to go down to the 40s tonight.   Where is the warm weather?  We’re here for two nights (not unhooking) and hopefully we’ll leave here on Sunday.

Santa Fe, New Mexico
2006

Thu, Nov 8:  Fairview-Riverside SP, Madisonville, LA:  Cloudy again today, and the cool front finally came through.  A lot cooler today and more so tomorrow.  We gathered the laundry and took it over to the facility here in the park.  The machines are free, but only one washer was working and there is only one dryer.  But we got it done and put it all away and then headed to Rips on the Lake for fried green tomatoes topped off with shrimp in remoulade sauce.  Really good!  After eating we drove along the lake front admiring the park-like setting and all the amazing homes along there.  Back to our site and played spades on-line for a while.  We leave tomorrow for the KOA in Milton, FL, for a couple of days.  We sure haven’t had great weather while we’ve been here in LA this year.  But it didn’t stop us from doing anything.  Probably in the low 70s out there today.  Tomorrow it’s supposed to be in the 60s with rain.  Ugh! 

Even our RV has Spanish moss on it.

Wed, Nov 7:  Fairview-Riverside SP, Madisonville, LA:  A cloudy but warm day today.  We got the grocery shopping out of the way and then stopped at a po-boy shop and bought a couple of sandwiches for lunch.  Came back and after putting groceries away we sat outside and enjoyed our sandwiches just before the rain started.  Poured for a while.  Got windy so we put the awnings away.  Glad we went into New Orleans yesterday.  Fog started forming over the river out there.  The causeway will be a mess tonight.  Low 80s again today.

Flowers on the swamp trail.

Tue, Nov 6:  Fairview-Riverside SP, Madisonville, LA:  Headed out to New Orleans this morning.  When we got to the causeway over Lake Pontchartrain, it was backed up pretty bad.  At the toll booth we asked what was going on and she said “fog and convoy.”  Wondered what that meant…military convoy?  I’m sure locals know what that means.  One lane only and 35 mph.  So, it was slow going.  Even the pelicans were grounded.  Finally made it to the WWII Museum, parked and headed in.  We wanted to see two new exhibits—Bob Hope and the USO, and local efforts during the war (victory gardens, rationing, Rosie the Riveter, etc.)  They do such a good job.  The museum has grown considerably since we first started coming here.  Had lunch at the American Sector Restaurant in the museum complex.  Great meal!  Coming home we had to deal with rush hour traffic, but no fog.  82 here today.

Fog on the causeway!

Made it to the other side (over 25 mi) but skies look iffy.

Some artwork on Poydras.

Architecture office on Magazine.

The museum complex.

Going home through rush hour traffic (sigh).