Day 18 - Monday, December 16 - Busy Day

 After breakfast we went over to the clubhouse for the 9:30 Monday morning Activity Meeting. Everyone has access to a handout that outlines each days activities during the month but during the meeting additional details are shared. We saw quite a few familiar faces from last year but only visited with a few. 

I went to the office and got all our "paperwork" for our stay taken care of. I also talked to Karen about our problems with levelling jacks sinking into the soft wet grass. I asked her to have the Maintenance folks bring me over some fill dirt and some concrete pads. In less than an hour one of the Maintenance ladies showed up in a golf cart. She had a 5 gallon pail of sand and some 4" think solid concrete blocks. It took me at least an hour but I got the jack holes mostly filled and the coach levelled. I expect that the coach will settle some more and tomorrow or the next day I will need to get another 5 gallon bucket of dirt/sand and do some more hole filling.

There are dozens and dozens of puzzles in the clubhouse puzzle room. Kathy volunteered to help go through them and get rid of some of them. She spent several hours over there. (See my December 23, 2024 post for a picture of the puzzle room)

I manually regened our water softener and took one of the side panels off the basement so that I could clean the spray head that rinses the black tank. I needed a part for one of our light fixtures so I went to the local RV store in search of it. They didn't have what I needed so it was on to the hardware store (I love going to Johnny's True Value Hardware. See my post for January 2 &3, 2024 for some photos of Johnny's). I didn't get the part that was missing but I got something that would work.

About dusk I did some laps around the campground streets and got in a 3 mile bike ride. The days here are significantly longer, which is nice. Today sunrise/sunset here was 7:11AM/5:42PM, in Centertown it was 7:21AM/4:49PM. Last nights low was a humid 70 degrees. Todays high was a somewhat humid 83.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 17 - Sunday, December 15 - WE HAVE ARRIVED!

 Today we travelled 207 miles from Victoria, TX to Encore Lakewood RV Park in Harlingen, TX. Lots of road construction but none that slowed traffic down much. A fair amount of 75 mph speed limit, which we don't do but traffic sure moves along. It rained on and off all day.

We haven't looked at the "lake" since we arrived. There may  be water in it with  the rain. When we left this spring it was just a big mud flat, with a small mud puddle here and there. It is not part of the campground. Lakewood is on the left side of the photo below.

We are parked in Site 121, which is between Poplar Lane and Sycamore Lane. The white squares are concrete pads. It appears that each pad used to be for a campsite. Now there are only 6 or 7 pull thru sites between Poplar and Sycamore. Most of the places around the perimeter are park model, semi-permanent units.

Everyone I've talked to down here goes to Progreso, 34 min, 22 miles, if they want to go to Mexico. I went two years ago. Almost everyone parks in a lot on the US side of the border and walks across the International Bridge. Kathy thought she wanted to go at least once last winter but we never made it.

With the rain here the ground is soft. The sites are grass, our levelling jacks just punched down into the ground. I put 3 - 2x4'x15" long, under one of the jacks and the jack broke them in half. Something for the campground staff to work on tomorrow.

It was quite warm here today. The high was a very humid 79 degrees. PTL for AC! It supposed to cool off, with highs of 68-73 Thursday thru next Tuesday. No one down here complains about rain. It has been abnormally dry here for several years.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 16 - Saturday, December 14 - Enjoying Victoria

 Last nights low was 66. We ran the AC all night because the humidity was near 100%. The day was mostly cloudy with high near 80. 

A little after 11 we headed to Mumford's for some BBQ. We found Mumford's when we were here in the  spring. The food was so good that we wanted to be sure to go back when we were in the area.

The decor may not be impressive but the food more than makes up for it.

Kathy got a brisket plate and I got a rib plate. 

You stand in line and order and pay at the counter. Drink options are sweet tea, unsweet tea and probably water. You get your drinks, find a table and someone brings you your  food. When we were here in the spring the line was long enough that we could barely close the door behind us. Today we were early enough that there were only two people in front of us. That was the shortest line while we were there.

There are no Aldi's around Harlingen but there is one here in Victoria. After lunch we went to Aldi's so Kathy could stock up. Then it was back to the campground. Kathy put away groceries and did a couple of loads of laundry. I took a couple of bike rides. Kathy took a picture of me as I biked past the RV on the other side of the stream. I did 7.2 miles after we returned from grocery shopping and later did another 3.4 miles before I went to pick up pizza for supper. Riding here is so nice. Concrete or asphalt pathways to ride on and no steep grades.

In between bike rides we did some alligator watching. We were sitting outside and noticed some folks who were walking down the path stop and look at the stream. Once they left curiosity got the better of Kathy and she walked over to look. I took this photo while sitting in a lawn chair at the RV. The tall grass is on the banks of the stream.

The alligator on the far stream bank is at least 6' long. I will be sure to have a 9mm in my  hand when I step out of the coach in the morning, in case he decided to sleep under the coach.

We decided on pizza for supper. Kathy found a super deal (the Belly Buster) at Double Dave's, a place only a few miles from the campground. The pizza is great, the pepperoni rolls are okay, I didn't eat any of the "desert" pizza but Kathy said it was good. We have enough leftovers to feed us for another 2 days.

Just after dark, as we were sitting eating our pizza. Some type of parade when down the street. The first vehicle was pulling a float that reminded us of an arcade at the state fair. It was playing loud music. Behind it were multiple vehicles that looked like jacked up, souped up gas powered golf carts. They had lights all over them. There was one car and one truck that I don't think you could have placed your hand on the body without touching a light. Several of the cars sounded good. They would stop, let the others get ahead so that there was a gap and then hit the gas hard to catch up. We have no idea what it was all about.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 15 - Friday, December 13 - White Oak Park near Lake Charles, LA to Victoria RV Park in Victoria, TX

 The low last night was in the high 40's, it great to finally get far enough south for warmer weather. We left White Oak Park at 10 AM and headed to Victoria, TX. We topped off our fuel before getting on I10, $2.99/gallon. We had seen the station on the into the park and knew it was an easy in and out for the RV. I knew there were stations where we could buy fuel for $2.80/gallon, or less, once we got into Texas but didn't think it was worth the hassle of trying to find one we could get in and out of. The "name brand" truck stop stations are always 30-50 cents a gallon more than the discount stations. When it takes 74.6 gallons to top off our 150 gallon tank its worth searching for a discount station we can get in and out of.

Light rain fell a few times, but never enough to leave the wipers on full time. Traffic was heavy most of the 278 miles and HEAVY for a few of them, especially the 50 miles through Houston. Still lots of construction on 59/Future I69 south of Houston. Traffic actually runs on the frontage roads that parallel the highway while they completely rebuild long sections of US59, which was a divided highway but not limited access.

We stopped at a rest area between Beaumont and Houston for lunch.

It was around 3:30 when we finally pulled into Victoria RV Park and got set up. It was a challenge getting the tow bar unhooked. For some reason the pins connecting the tow bar to the car were in a bind. No matter what I did I could not get them loose. I ended up having to drive them out of the connections. I grabbed my table and a beer and took a break after all that work. Kathy, who did all the driving today, was in taking a nap.

This is a great little park, only 18 spaces, $12/night for a full hook up. The RV parking section is along the edge of Victoria's 660 acre Riverside Park. Four and a half miles of the Guadalupe River run through the park. We spent several days here in early March of this year, on our way back north. We are only staying 2 nights this time. I hope to spend maybe a week on our way  back north in the spring. There are several museums within 50 miles that I would like to check out.

One of the cool things about staying here is watching the deer stroll through in the early evening. At 4:30 I had seen 4 of them further down the park. Four more came out of the woods and walked down an asphalt walking/biking path around 5:15.

Photo blown up.

The crossed the little stream a little further down the way and then actually walked part way back up towards the campers. 

Kathy was out after her nap. She said that it seemed like they were looking to be fed.

Friday's high here was 74. It is misting rain, on and off, and very humid. Tonight's low is forecast to be in the mid/high 60's. 

God is good. I pray that He bless you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 14 - Thursday, December 12 - Lake Charles, LA

 The biggest excitement for the past 24 hours was the overnight low being 38 degrees and finding out that our front furnace won't turn on with new thermostat. Our front AC/heat pump is OLD. It doesn't put out much heat when the temperature drops below 40. The rear AC/heat pump was new last year and seems to be much more efficient. Even when temperatures drop into the mid 30's it still puts out a reasonable amount of heat. When the front furnace doesn't work we don't have much for heating the front of the coach. Kathy wants it cool/cold in the bedroom. All of the rear furnace heat goes to the back as does most of the heat from the rear AC/heat pump. The only significant heat source for the front half of the coach is a small, portable electric space heater. The front half of the coach was down in the low 50's.

When the guys at Lakeshore installed the new thermostat Monday afternoon (it didn't arrive until midday Monday) they had to remove part of a kitchen cabinet to get access to the wires behind the thermostat. They didn't finish the installation until near quitting time. 

I sent them a couple of texts this morning and they replied with a couple of things for me to try. None of them worked, looks like I'm going to have to remove the cabinet to check the wires. They are supposed to get me information on how I do the cabinet removal.

Today was sunny with a high in the high 50's. There was a breeze, if you were in the sun and out of the breeze it was nice. If you were in the breeze it was cool even in the direct sunlight.

We went to Tia Juanita's Fish Camp for lunch. We previously went to one when we were in Beaumont last spring. Kathy loved her fish tacos. My food was OK.

After lunch we took a circuitous route back to the campground, just to look around a little. Once we got back we walked down to the river. It's a pretty place. We sat and enjoyed the view but it didn't take long to get cold, because of the breeze.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 13 - Wednesday, December 11 - Brookhaven, MS to Lake Charles, LA

 It rained some last night and we had 30 mph winds, Today the weather was beautiful. The early morning temperature was in the low 40's. During the day it warmed up to a sunny 59 degrees. 

We only travelled 230 miles today, from Brookhaven, MS to the White Oak RV Park near Lake Charles, LA. We stayed here before and wanted to stay here again. The sites have water and 50 amp but no sewers. There is a conveniently located dump station. It is a great deal for only $12/night. We plan on staying two nights. We are 485 miles from our final destination, Lakewood RV Resort, Harlingen, TX.

Traffic was heavy but it seemed to be far worse in the eastbound lanes. We only had one significant slow down in the west bound lanes. An old school bus, with West Virginia plates, was holding a steady 50 mph. It looked like it was packed full of household belongings. A car, also with West Virginia plates, was following behind it. All the west bound traffic had only one lane to use. 

Crossing the Mississippi in Baton Rouge.

Note the ship being loaded.

I would love to have been able to check out the gantry crane and conveyors that were being used to load the ship.

When we saw these domes last year, located on the west side of the river, I assumed they were some type of grain storage structures. They store wood pellets for overseas shipment. They are 117' tall and 202' in diameter. Each dome has a storage capacity of 40,000 tons. They are part of some "green energy" biomass project. Burning wood pellets is greener than burning coal because trees can be grown.

 Every time I goI10 through the Atchafalaya Basin. Every time I go through this area I am amazed at the people who managed to build I10 through this area. We came through here on December 9th last year. You can see more photos of the campground and a link to information on the Basin at:

https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2023/12/day-6-saturday-december-9th-brookhaven.html

Parked at White Oak Park. Kathy visited with the lady in the camper on the left. She and her husband live about 15 miles from here. They come a camp so that he can fish for catfish. The campground has a boat launch. I didn't see the anyone around the blue tent.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.

Day 12 - Tuesday, December 10 - Heading South, Finally

 We left Lakeshore at 9:30 this morning. We drove 296 miles to the Civic Center RV Park in Brookhaven, MS. I had looked at the routes suggested by my Garmin RV GPS & by Google Maps, I didn't like either of them so I did the routing.. 

Parked in Brookhaven.

We drove south down through the edge of Iuka and got on the Natchez Trace Parkway about mile marker 302 and took it all the way to Jackson, MS, about mile marker 102. It is a beautiful drive. The Trace is two 11' lanes, one each way, with minimal shoulders most of the way. The speed limit is 50 mph. There are a lot of curves but none require dropping your speed below 50 mph. The pavement is mostly in good to excellent condition. 

Traffic is almost non-existent.  Only two cars passed us. The only thing we passed was two people on bikes, with lots of luggage. There wasn't one stop sign or stop light the entire 200 miles. There are lots of places to pull off for scenic views or historical points of interest. We were more interested in making miles today, plus the parkway didn't really have 40' motorhomes towing vehicles in mind when it designed it scenic parking areas. We pulled off at one roadside parking area and ate lunch in the coach. At another of these little turn outs someone was laying on the asphalt, not 20' off the edge of the roadway, fully covered by a blanket. A big pack was next to the person. We did pass a guy with a big pack walking northbound.

We both are sure we have driven some of the Trace before but we can't remember when. I remember doing some research on it back then. It is an interesting piece of our history. Read about the "Kaintucks" at 

https://www.nps.gov/natr/learn/historyculture/index.htm#:~:text=The%20Old%20Natchez%20Trace%20is,%2C%20Chickasaw%2C%20and%20Choctaw%20nations.

When Kathy got up this morning she started having leg cramp problems. Pickle juice and a muscle relaxer seemed to help. She drove the first 40 miles and then I took over. I drove until we were 18 miles from the campground, so that I could do any necessary  navigating.

We have stayed here before. It is quite a complex with everything from a variety of different sports fields to an arena for animal shows. There are full hookup RV sites around the perimeter of a big parking lot. In the future I doubt that we would stay here again. All the spaces are back ins so we had to unhook the car. Also, the place is 5 miles off the highway. It is relatively cheap, $30 I think. Kathy called and made a reservation when we were an hour out. She was given the site number and we didn't even have to bother with check in. We found the site, parked and hooked up.

We were at an I55 rest area when we did the driver switch. The rest area had a dump station for RV's. I wonder it that is a Mississippi rest area thing or this was just an isolated case. There were "No Overnight Stays" signs posted in the rest area so pulling in, dumping your tanks and then spending the night is apparently unacceptable.

I did text Chris today, the Pastor of the Cowboy Church we attend, to tell him we were arriving early next week. I asked him to think about what I could  help with while in Texas. He told me to catch him after church and we would discuss options.

Enough typing for tonight. I think a beer before bed is in order, I'm not even going to proof read this, hopefully those who read it will forgive my laziness.

Today's high was mid/high 60's. Tonight's low is forecast to be 39. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He had blessed me.