WE VISITED THE BIG EASY TODAY!

The weather today was mainly sunny with a high of 18c and a low last night of 5c.

We drove down to New Orleans today to see the sites. We never thought it would be so hard to park a motorcycle but we drove around  for up to 1 hr. trying to find a spot. All the lots down town had lots of vacancies but as you entered there was a large sign stating motorcycles are not allowed. We could not find out why. We ended up going into the parking garage at the Hilton which was quite close to the French Quarter.

This train was passing after arriving at the Hilton it must have had 50 - 80 pieces of armed forces equipment on it.

We walked along the shore of the Mississippi and saw this tugboat at work.

We then went to the Cafe Du Monde which Cathy found on Google and is famous for its beignets ( a square donut covered with icing sugar and their Cafe au lait blended with chicory which Cathy said was good. I went for the reliable hot chocolate. This cafe was established in1862 and is still on the original site.

After our snack we crossed the street to negotiate a 1 hr. buggy ride which took us through the French Quarter and to the oldest cemetery in New Orleans "St. Louis Cemetery No. 1"

 "Mabeline" the mule did a great job negotiating the streets and getting us back safe.

Are journey took us past the St. Louis Cathedral with Jackson Square in front of it, named after Andrew Jackson who latter became a President.

We noticed a lot of construction in the city, getting ready Super Bowl 2013. On average they are closing three streets a day after finishing the previous three.


The cemetery was very interesting. This cemetery is dated back to the 1800's. It contains the crypt with the Voodoo Queen - Marie Laveau who was a re noun practitioner of Voodoo. It also has a crypt owned by Nicolas Cage the actor.

 

 The Voodoo Queen crypt with offerings and "X's" marked on it to indicate the wish came true.

                                                                Nicholas Cage"s Crypt
 Crypt is purchased by a family and when a person dies the body is placed into it and closing up. The crypt can not be reopened until 1year and 1 day. In this period of time the crypt due to the weather conditions will reach a internal temperature of up to 1000 degrees cremating the body. If another family member dies during this period of time they are placed in a temporary crypt. After the time frame is up the the original crypt is opened and the bones and ashes are pushed to the back and the other body is placed inside.

More pictures tomorrow.

TODAY'S UPDATE

Last Night we had some rain and thunder storms which stopped early a.m. The low last night was 16C.  and the high was 16C, feeling damp and overcast.

                                                     This KOA is ready for Christmas

 Ford Update

Called today and talked to their Customer Service Technician who said I can continue driving with the light on until the icon turns red, starts to blink or the coach starts to misbehave. So I will be staring at the light for awhile!

This afternoon we went to a near by store called Bass Pro Shop which is a chain mainly across the U.S. and one in Toronto. This place is huge with lots of different boats in the parking lot as large as any big box store has.

                                             The parking lot still went around the building

                                                      Artificial trees through out



                                              

                      This is a dead fish in a set of tongs being fed to Fred - see next picture.

Inside the store there were two levels containing rows and rows of  fishing rods, racks of rifles, cases of pistols and more rows of bows and gear to name a few items. There was two inside gun firing ranges and one bow shooting range with a deer target and a bail of hay to shoot at which were all busy.

                                                      Fishing rods all the way to the end!

We started talking to the store clerk watching over the ranges and said he would only need to see my driver`s licence to sell me a gun and that is only to confirm my credit card. That`s it!

                                           Aquarium right beside the see through elevators.

                                                                Sharp Shooter!

                                             Wow, a crossbow with a rifle stock and scope.


Take Care.

YESTERDAY WAS A GOOD DAY / BAD DAY

I plan on doing  a blog later today but wanted to do yesterday's now.

We arrived at the Ford Dealer early and they hooded up their code reader. The mechanic said everything was within the parameters and seamed a none issue.(Good) The code however indicated the left side was running lean and it probably made the computer unhappy, showing the code. (Bad)
He cancelled the code and we were ready to go. (Good) I had a great talk with him (Ralph) afterwards. He just heard from his son who is in training in New Mexico, after joining the Armed Forces for a 6 year term. He is going to be trained to work with the nuclear weapons which completely surprised Ralph as he said " I didn't know my sone was so smart, he couldn't even keep his room organised".

The day was pretty much cloudy with showers on and off which was ok since we were on the road.
It even got muggy with a temp. of about 20C.

We stopped for lunch in a parking area on the interstate and as soon as the coach started the engine light came back on. (Bad) I ignored it for the rest of the day. So we will have to call Ford again!(Bad)

When we entered Louisiana it was quit flat and of course low and wet (lakes, ponds, swamps and canals). The lady at the Tourist Centre said if you dig down 6 feet you hit water.

                              
                                                  The Brown Peligan is the State Bird 

                                              
                                                   Trees outside the Visitor Center


Along our way Cathy saw her first palm tree so had to take a picture.

                                                Lake Pontchartrain (very large)

All day long Cathy had been trying to book into a campground in the area know as the Plantation section and in fact was beside one of them but she could never get him pinned down to making a reservation. All he would say is to call back and he would be able to accommodate us. Looking back this should have raised some red flags but we followed the directions given. As it turned out, the campground we wanted didn't have a site for us. (Bad) But he owned another site just down the road with a site. (Good)  When we arrived at the new location we knew it would be very tight to get into but we gave it a try. I could only partially get in and then I could not back out due to the trailer jack knifing and the narrow entrance. (Bad) We then disconnected the trailer and pushed it out of the way so the coach could be manoeuvred to get out, took us 1 1/2 hours. We finally reconnected and told the campground manager we were not staying and left. (Good)

The pressure was now on to find a new place as it was getting dark now. (Bad) Cathy found a KOA near Baton Rouge so we headed for it. Another hour on the road to get there. We finally arrived at about 6:30 (Good) but it was raining (Bad) What was suppose to be a nice 3 and a half  hour drive took 8 hours. (Bad)

http://goo.gl/maps/7oxNB

PACKING UP AND CLEANING


 We stayed around the campground today packing things up and doing some coach clean up for tomorrows departure. We are hoping for a quick fix or at the very least a non issue from Ford at our 10 o'clock appointment. You never know!

GOOD THING THERE IS A NURSE ON DUTY

I didn't mention the other day about my run in with the side of the coach. When the sides are out it makes for a potential head injury so some time ago we bought two pool noodles and cut them from end to end to slide over the edge.

 Great idea, all I have to do is keep my head up and navigate myself around them.

Well, I was walking around the coach checking for any potential leaks with my head down and I walked into the side edge of the slide out without the protection. " Ouch"


By the way, in case you are not aware there is 1 month left til Christmas. Just thought I would throw that in.

I am now trying to finish this up as it is half time during the Grey Cup.

Last night we had a heavy frost but it went up to 18 through the day.

Got  to go half time is over.  GO ARGOS GO!

DOING CHORES ON BLACK FRIDAY

Cathy was on the phone a lot this a.m. calling Verizon to see if we can bring in the laptop and i-pad to get them to communicate to each other. We did and they are now having great conversations. She talked to Ford to see where the closest dealer is who would help us with our engine light. There is one here in town but does not work on coaches and the person said the closest one is in Louisville Kentucky meaning we will have to back track 69 miles. So we went over to talk to the guy in town and made an appointment for Monday to have the code read and see how serious it is. We are planning on leaving here on Monday. Lastly, the blog problem might be solved as both Lori and Gwen had access today. I decided to make it public to reduce the hassle for the follower (I hope). Now I will have to let the others know the process.

                                                 Afternoon rest time - listening to the radio

      We sure missed watching the local news and we are now in business. Just hope it will find the satellite at our future stops.
 

The first night we arrived here we couldn't get to sleep due to a racket which we couldn't figure out. So I went out through the night to figure it out. Upon my investigation I determined it was the nearby
large oak tree dropping its acorns onto the metal roof of a shed which stores an RV. Mystery solved!
I guess watching the CSI shows finally paid off.

I guess we are starting to get into the Christmas spirit as we bought this cinnamon scented candle and put it on our fireplace mantel.

The temperature today was 21C and is going to drop as well, down to "1C" tonight. High tomorrow 15C.

Note: We are 1 hour behind you at home.

FINALLY A DAY OF REST!

Sorry, I didn't post yesterday as I was just too tied after 3 full days of driving. Yesterday was a great day for driving being nice and sunny. Going through the rest of Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama were quite hilly and it levelled out going into Mississippi. After out stop for lunch the engine light came on and stayed on for the rest of the journey.

The campground here in Meridian is a small one with only 3 empty spaces and it seems that the majority have been occupied by full timers. Once we setup the water, hydro and the cable TV we headed for the local grocery store to stock up. The cupboards were getting empty. The temperature yesterday when we arrived and today was 22 degrees. I even worked up a sweat when I washed the bugs from the front of the coach that committed suicide on it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY

Today we relaxed in the a.m. and tried to do some computer work as we are having trouble with our  e-mail. In the afternoon we went for a ride and ended up Wal-mart. There was next to no traffic on the highways and the town was really quiet, like a ghost town. The trees here still have a lot of leaves  and the roses are still blooming.

http://goo.gl/maps/YUfBd

All for now.

ANOTHER FULL DAY ON THE ROAD

I should mention at this time what a great job "The Navigator and Entertainment Director" is doing. On the dash in front of Cathy are two GPS's, our old one and a new one specially for RVs which is programmed to direct us around low bridges and will also indicate how many gas stations are located at any interstate exit. She also has a paper road map sitting on her lap. In between looking at all of these Cathy is taking pictures as well.(A busy Girl). Being the Entertainment Director means  she operates the radio. Today while clicking through the channels she found a station called "The Christmas Channel" playing nothing but you guessed it Christmas songs.  

Leaving Auburn this morning we ran into a couple of light showers and then clouds for the rest of the day. At each stop for gas or lunch we noticed the temperature was getting warmer. When we arrived at the campground in Bowling Green we were quit surprised at the temperature which was
22 degrees C. We still had our long sleeved shirts on and noticed everyone else in short sleeves and shorts. There are about 2-3 other transients like us here.

                                                               Campground Entrance


Just down the road from the campground was this park honouring Bowling Green pilots and what they flew. It was great getting up close to them.

                                                               Panther - Max. speed 579 mph.
                                                                              rate of climb, 5900 ft. minute

  
                                                             Phantom II - Max. speed 585 mph.
                                                                                  Range, 1615 miles with 3 external tanks

  
                                                           Shooting Star - Max. speed 600 mph.

This is the KFC Centre in Lexington. By the way, one of the road signs indicated there was a KFC All You Can Eat Restaurant in one of the towns we passed through. (Never heard of such a thing).

                                                          KFC Centre in the foreground


http://goo.gl/maps/UxZqD


Meridian, Mississippi tomorrow!

A FULL DAY ON THE ROAD

We left early as per the plan (6:45) and it was a bit foggy and of course dark. Went straight down Trafalgar to the Pioneer gas station to fill up and hit the 401 at 8 o'clock. The fog turned into sun later in the a.m. but when we crossed the border it turned cloudy but still warm (17degrees).

The border

On average there were two cars per lane so I picked one with only one vehicle waiting. All the lines seemed to be moving quite well except ours, so on closer inspection we discovered there was a traffic cone closing the lane. We don't know how long this guy had been waiting so we backed up enough to change lanes.

The crossing went quit well except for Cathy having to part with the 4 cherry tomatoes she was trying to save for our pizza dinner. He also wanted to look in the trailer to see if in fact we did have a bike in there and not an illegal passenger.

We where on the road for approx. 7 hrs. and arrived at our destination campground which is about 20 miles north of Fort Wayne. The campground is empty except for 4 trailers which look like they are going to stay for the winter as they have their water lines wrapped with  heating coils. There is one other RV which arrived here for the night from Texas.

http://goo.gl/maps/HphM6


Tomorrow, off to Bowling Green Kentucky.

THEY'RE, AT THE POST!

Well, we are loaded and ready to go tomorrow morning. Boy, you don't realise how much stuff you need to take until you start going through the cupboards and closets. At Cathy's request I am leaving behind my "Brazilian waxing kit".

Not sure what time we will be leaving but I am sure it is going to be early since Cathy doesn't sleep well the night before we go on trips. She's like a kid on Christmas eve.

We are not taking much in the way of food to eliminate a hassle at the border and will pick up our needed supplies when we get across. We decided to take the Goldwing trike since it has a trunk to put the groceries in and will be able to keep up with traffic on the interstate highways if we need to go on them. It sure will be nice to bike over the winter instead of looking at it parked in the garage.

Our plans are to put a lot of miles behind us for the first couple of days so we can get into some warmer temperatures and be able to flush the antifreeze out of the coach water system and use it.

A special "Thank You" to our neighbours Julie and Dave, Marlene and Vic and brother Wayne for looking after the house while we are away. We greatly appreciate it. It sure makes leaving the house for such a long time easier knowing it will be in such great hands.


Til tomorrow.