Dauphin Island, AL: Got really cold last night. A beautiful day, but really chilly—50s. So, we decided to drive into Mobile and check out the historic district. The historic district is really pretty—streets lined in huge, old live oaks. We also went to see Conde Fort, which was originally Spanish, then British, French, and American. We also toured the Conde Charlotte house, circa 1822. Also checked out the WWII exhibit at the Mobile Museum. Then went to Dreamland for barbeque ribs—well, Mike had ribs. Then back home. Another cold night tonight. Probably won’t go biking tomorrow either.

Dauphin Island, AL: Left Hattiesburg this morning around 9:30 and headed toward Mobile. Good roads all the way. Arrived in Dauphin Island around 1:00 and got set up. Had a quick lunch and then went for a walk down to the Gulf. The beach here is not pretty at all. But we’re not here for the beach. There’s a bike path the whole length of the island and we do a lot of biking. And there’s also several hiking trails. Walked the beach a little bit. The only view you get from the beach are all the oil rigs out in the Gulf. The trail in the woods is much prettier. But, the mosquitoes drove us back. Sprayed myself up pretty good and sat outside until the sun set. Warming up left-overs for dinner tonight. We’re here for 5 nights. This is a municipal campground—the only one on the island. Really nice though with lots of trees—live oaks.

A Tow going up the Mississippi

Hattiesburg, MS: . A tow boat and barge was going by the campground this morning before we left. A lot of barge traffic day and night. Left W. Memphis this morning at 9:45 a.m. and arrived in Hattiesburg by 3:45. Pretty drive and another gorgeous day. Supposed to be a cold front coming through tonight. Today was 80 for the high—tomorrow the highs will be in the 50s. Hope it will be warmer in Dauphin Island. We will arrive there tomorrow afternoon.

W. Memphis, AR: Left St. Louis this morning at 9:45 am and got to W. Memphis at 4:00, stopping at a Flying J truck stop to fuel up and have lunch. After setting up we went for a walk. This campground is situated right on the Mississippi River just across the river from Memphis. We’re only here for one night and then on to Mississippi. The drive down here was great. A beautiful, sunny fall day and lots of pretty scenery until just south of Cape Girardeau where it turns flat as a pancake. Miles and miles of cotton fields and rice paddys. On our walk we met a bunch of people—most of them on their way south for the winter like we are. Nice, friendly people.

Richmond, IN: Thank goodness for RV Road Help--although they sent someone to remove the tire last night with a 5000 lb jack even though they knew we had a 14,000 lb RV. This morning another guy came with the right equipment and removed the tire. Now we just wait until it’s fixed and they return to put it back on. Thank God we’re in a campground and not on the highway somewhere. At some point we leave for St. Louis and home. At least it’s much warmer and a very pretty day.

Richmond, IN: Left Westfield this morning at 9:15. Stopped for fuel and breakfast and then hit the road. I drove for 2 ½ hours and then Mike took over. Stopped for fuel and early dinner at about 3:30. Then I took over driving. Unfortunately for me, there was a lot of construction through this part of Ohio with those cement divider things, very narrow lanes, and trucks passing me very close. Very nerve wracking. Pulled into the KOA in Richmond, IN, at about 6:30. Then we discovered we had an almost flat tire. Jeeze, and I was driving. We’re going to have to call someone and have them come out and either fix it or replace it. Mike couldn’t get it to hold more than 27 lbs. (sigh). Then when I was putting the kitchen slide out I heard this awful crunching sound. Apparently, the cupboard door opened because of the rough roads we encountered and two glasses and a mug fell out. The slide broke one of the glasses (plastic). Oh well, at least we made it here in one piece. I didn’t notice anything unusual while driving with that almost flat. Tomorrow we leave for home at some point after we get the tire fixed.

Syracuse, NY: Before we left this morning we met Bobby McMahon for breakfast. He lived next door to us when we were kids. It was so great seeing him. He has a great, dry sense of humor which I never realized back in my teenage years. But in those days he was putting worms down my back and tying me up and throwing me on the local recluse’s front porch. Wish we could have stayed longer, but our water pump is now acting up. And three months worth of mail is awaiting us. We left at 11:30, took turns driving, and arrived in Westfield, NY (just a couple of miles from the PA line) at 4:00. Tomorrow we drive to Richland, IN, and will be our longest driving day. At least the weather has improved.