Memphis was fun - cold but fun. We also went down to Beale Street on Sunday for the music. The couple we met in Clarksdale came to our Memphis campground and we all went again. Before leaving Memphis on Monday we went to Civil Rights Museum. It is at the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. It is a very well done museum. Without realizing it as you go through the museum, you end up in the hotel room where King stayed. Very thought provoking. Also, across the street you go into the room where James Earl Ray shot King from. Not a proud moment to be a white American - that is also the way we felt when touring the Wounded Knee Museum in South Dakota. On Monday night we camped about an hour outside Mephis our Route 64. We followed 64 all week through southern Tennessee. A relaxing way to travel. Today we crossed into North Carolina after a lovely drive through the Smoky Mountains. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate as it is still cold and rainy. But it is spring time in Tennessee and the Smokies - the redbud and dogwood trees are beautiful.

Comments from Eldon: Beale Street was fun again. The museum was very well done - I came away moved.

Comments from Larry: Stayed at some great campgrounds after leaving Memphis. Last night in Cleveland Tennessee was perfect - tall grass, lots of trees and no dogs. I had a good night.

We spent Thursday & Friday night in Clarksdale, Mississippi - the home of the Delta blues. We had stopped there last year too and liked it. Since it was on our way, we decided to stop again. We shared a limo/taxi ride with our Vancouver, British Columbia campground neighbors to the Ground Zero Blues Club and spent the evening with them. Enjoyed the music and the company very much. We are in Memphis now. Cold and rainy but plan to go to Beale Street tonight to hear more music. The campground owner is giving us a ride in her car (how nice is that) and we'll take a taxi home.

Comments from Eldon: None - taking a short nap so I can go out again tonight.

Comments from Larry: None - I'm napping too because I can..........

We stayed in Austin on Sunday & Monday night. We took the public bus again - the stop was about 6 blocks from the campground. Austin has a lot of live music downtown with shops & restaurants. I am now the proud owner of a cowboy hat (it has black roses on it and I'll wear it to the Kentucky Derby too). Yesterday we traveled through northeast Texas. Lots of ranches and cattle. A relaxing, non-Interstate drive. We stayed in Jacksonville, TX last night. Today we did more of the same driving. We were also in northwest Louisiana (Shreveport) and are now in El Dorado, Arkansas. The plan is to go to Clarksdale, Mississippi tomorrow - Eldon wants to hear some Delta blues. Then on to Memphis.
Comments from Eldon: Cindy's new cowboy hat looks really good - I wish she would have bought a short, suede, fringed skirt to go with it - yippee ki aye ki o! Happy trails, cowboys............
Comments from Larry: Campground tonight is quiet - only a couple lazy cats. NO dogs for a change. So pleasant................

Still hanging around San Antonio. We've become pros on the bus and trolley. It's a nice city to walk around in with lots to see. We went to the Spanish Governor's Mansion today. It was built in the 1700's when Spain owned Texas. We have become fans of Tejano music - its Mexican Texan music; sort of similar to zydeco. Heading for Austin tomorrow & Monday.

Comments from Eldon: I never knew that Cindy was an accordion-head; she likes her zydeco

and now Tejano.

Comments from Larry: I like our campground in San Antonio. Lots of birds and laid back - my kind of place.

We stayed at Galveston on Galveston Island on Sunday and Monday. Very small camp sites and it rained but we were surrounded by water and nice people to chat with. We arrived in San Antonio on Tuesday after a drive through Texas ranch land and small Texan towns. The campground here is very handy. The bus stop is right across the street (also a tasty Mexican restaurant). We have learned to take the bus and the trolley around the River Walk area which is where all the tourists go. Yesterday we did the barge ride on the river and toured the Alamo. Today we walked around Market Square. It is the largest mercado (Spanish market) this side of the Rio Grande. We ate at the outdoor stalls, listened to the entertainment and bought a few souvenirs. We were going to head to Austin tomorrow, but there is not a camp site to found within 30 miles of Austin this weekend due to a rodeo and a music festival. Luckily, we can stay at our site here in San Antonio, so we are here until Sunday. A very fine place to be.

Comments from Eldon: After staying in Galveston, I really have the fishing itch since so many people were catching fish there. I just need to do some more research on what I need to fish off bridges and shores. It's bigger equipment than I've needed before. Once again, I have stepped into my food nirvana - I get to have at least one taco a day. The Alamo wasn't quite what I expected, but I enjoyed seeing Davy Crockett's own rifle and Jim Bowie's own knife. The rest of you can go to hell, I'm going to Texas (this is what Crockett said in Tennessee before he left for Texas - at least all the T-shirts here say he said it).

Comments from Larry: Galveston camp ground had nice people and little dogs. How come little dogs are always have names like Spike and Rocky and think they have to act tough. Now that we are here in San Antonio, believe it or not, Eldon and Cindy bought me a cat sombrero. They expect me to wear it - I am NOT a cat that wears human attire. Next thing you know, they'll be trying to get me to wear a serape too.

Friday and Saturday night we stayed in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana - in the "Cajun Heartland". We wanted to hear zydeco music before we left Louisiana and we found the right place. The resort campgound we stayed at had live music Sat. afternoon in their tiki bar. Near the campground, a charity benefit was going on Sat. night. At the benefit, you paid $10 each for a gumbo cook-off and zydeco music by the Kickin' Cajuns. So we got our fill our yummy gumbo and lots of music. Sunday we finally made it into Texas. We are staying on Galveston Island. Water all around us, but we were not lucky enough to get a water front camp sight. Unfortunately it is raining today. A good day to do some laundry and looks to be about all it will be good for! Tomorrow the plan is to head to San Antonio.
Comments from Eldon: The Cajuns accent was difficult to understand except when they were singing. The gumbo was good, the music was happy and the dancers looked like they were having fun. I do like little community festivals.
Comments from Larry: Cajuns drink too much and party too late. It was hard to get a decent nights sleep in their campground. And too many dogs - again. The Cajuns like big dogs.

We traveled bayou country today. All the houses are on stilts. Tomorrow we are going on a swamp boat tour.

Comments from Eldon: The bayou wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be - kinda the same after a while. Check out the picture of the trailers on stilts.

Comments from Larry: Not much to look at but the smell of shrimp permeates the air! Yum.....

Either been too busy or too lazy to keep the blog updated. Here's another quick summary. Hopefully pictures will follow soon. After 2 days at beautiful Keaton Beach, we spent the night at Mexico Beach near Panama City. We scootered to a Tiki bar to watch the sunset. Next we headed into Alabama and spent 2 nights in Gulf Shores. The weather was cold, windy and rainy - not too much fun to report there. Next we got adventurous (or crazy) and decided to go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. We spent 3 nights in a campground not too far from the action. Wow, Mardi Gras is wild and crowded and very interesting. Lots of people were dressed in costume - many that were very risque. We watched lots of parades - and caught lots of beads. We're glad we did it.... would we do it again? Not likely! We had a huge rainstorm last night with tornadoes in the area. We survived that too and headed to bayou country today. We are in Houma, LA until Friday. We'll let you know how that turns out. One thing we have learned - there are many families that live in campgrounds in a camper for their home - school buses actually stop at the campground.
Comments from Eldon: I never realized how unbelievable and wild Mardi Gras is. You have to see it to believe it. I've never been at a loss of words but I can't cover it. It was safe and tasty too. My favorite was Frenchtown and Snug Harbor Jazz Club. The Zulu parade was very cool and I caught a golden coconut to prove it!.
Comments from Larry: Mardi Gras sucks. I spent the time in the over flow camper section with people coming & going 24 hours a day - it was hard to catch a cat nap. Too many dogs go to Mardi Gras. Now I'm in alligator country............I can't catch a break. Maybe I'll see a poodle get eaten by an alligator - go Gators!

We left home Dec. 24, 2010 and this is our first time back at the blog. We celebrated Christmas wih our Ohio relatives and New Year's in Richmond, VA with Chad & Carlynn. We left Jan. 2 for Sarasota. Along the way we camped in South Carolina, Savannah GA and St. Augustine, FL. After being in Sarasota for 1 1/2 weeks with my Mom, Eldon's mother died. We flew to Ohio on Jan. 16 for a week to make arrangements and have the funeral. Then back to Sarasota for a few days before camping in the Keys for 12 days. We stayed in the newly re-opened Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo going both south and north. While there we rented kayaks and took a tour of the coral reefs in a glass bottom boat. Key West, as always, was an interesting visit. This time we toured in our newly purchased scooter (see picture!) Then back to Sarasota with my Mom for more than 3 weeks - a good time was had by all. We are enjoying our first winter of warm weather. We left Sarasota yesterday for a month in the camper. So, we decided to start the blog up again - the plan is to travel the Gulf Coast before heading back to Virginia for a get together with the kids before heading to St. Ignace in time to do our income taxes.

Our first camping adventure of the trip turned out great. So great, we decided to stay 2 nights. We are in Keaton Beach FL - where the pan handle and the peninsula meet. We didn't know remote places like this still exist in busy Florida. The camp was full when we arrived but the owner unplugged someone who only comes on the weekend, told us to back up by their site and plugged us in! There is no cell phone service here, but we have Internet and cable TV - go figure. The sunset last night was fantastic. This morning we moved to an ocean site - super place as you can see in the pic.

Comments from Eldon: The scooter brings a new dimension to camping. We are able to buzz around the side streets and roads - basically I feel I was born to "scoot."

Comments from Larry: I spent a nice month and a half in Sarasota with no children or dogs. Life was good with Donalee. Now it's time to explore again. Oh yea, when we were in the Everglades, I was supposed to see alligators, panthers and birds of prey (whatever that means) but I didn't see anything but bugs - lots of bugs. Thank goodness for Frontline.