Around Brady...

Isn't this a beautiful school? It's Brady High School, home of the Bulldogs. When my sister taught there waaaaaay back when, there was no air conditioning but that's been corrected and it's now climate controlled. However, the school board is proposing to level it, make it into a parking lot and build a new building near it. One of John's favorite saying about colleges is "just because it's an institution of higher learning does not mean good thinking always goes on". Perhaps that applies to high schools as well.

About 10 blocks from the school is one of Brady's newer businesses - The Tree House Family Salon offering "Professional Microdermabrasion", at least that's what the sign attached to the building says. We were speculating that since it didn't have a pickup in front, it was probably "out" with the latest family dragging them behind to "cleanse" their skin.

And last, but by no means least, is Texas BBQ. We had lunch at Mac's, home of Brady's finest. However at the same time and only a half block from my mother's, was this BBQ "on the go". It smelled delicious as well.

Eola

Eola, Texas... that's where we went today. It's a VERY small town somewhere north, then west of Brady (FLAT country always turns me around - neither John or I can ever tell what direction we're headed).

On the way we passed a camel... (unlike John, my sister WILL turn around so I can get a photo). I had hoped for a profile shot of the camel on the horizon, but the camel was a bit too friendly and came trotting over to the fence once he decided we were turning around to take his photo. Perhaps the rancher who owns him knows something about this drought the rest of Texas is slow to catch up on. Pulling back on the road was tricky with ALL the traffic. Look left, look right...

Photos 4 & 5 are of the schoolhouse restaurant in Eola. The owner (probably in his mid 30's) bought it 3 or 4 years ago and is a one person restaurant and brewery owner. We had the special of beef brisket (not bad) in one of the classrooms that now serves as the dining room. He cooks, serves, cleans (??? - the floor hadn't been touched in quite some time), makes the beer (VERY good beer) and, when time allows, continues with some restoration work on the place (it was vacant for about 20 years before he bought it so needs a LOT of work). If you're passing through Eola it's really the ONLY place to eat. However, since there's no sign, you do have to know it's there.

Just outside of Eola is Barrows Museum which has the biggest arrowhead collection I've ever seen. It also has collections of just about everything else as well (cats, swans, S&P, rocks, liquor bottles...) Photo 6 is what ladies used to go through to get their hair done. Photo 7 is some old tubs beside old computers beside an old popcorn maker beside an old book printer beside a broom maker (some of it is obviously arranged in "what fits where" order). The outside is sort of the same way - where the museum founders are buried (I didn't ask about the green hose that's on their graves) by the water tower by the windmill by the caboose. In the last barn were the tops of some interesting windwills beside some fans beside some scales beside some old cars... Needless to say, the choice of placement was as much fun as the contents.

To add to your old Texas sayings... "If it thunders in Feb. it will frost on that same day in April." It thundered here Feb. 2 so let's hope we hear if it frosts on April 2nd.

And a PS from yesterday... I forgot to tell you we had lunch in Miss Hattie's housed in one of the old banks in the "historic" section of San Angelo. There's a trap door in the floor which opens to a stairway and tunnel that goes next door into what used to be the bordello. "Gentlemen farmers" would bring their families to town, then send them off shopping while they did their "banking".

A trip to San Angelo...

The closest "bigger" city to Brady is San Angelo, a drive of about 70 miles. It is the home of Fort Concho, touted as the "best restored frontier fort in the USA". (It's NOT pictured - sorry, I forgot!) However... it's also the home of the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts which has the best ceramics collection I've ever seen. The first two photos are part of their collection I just love. They're by artist Ruth Wilson from Brenham, TX and stand about two feet tall. (Sorry for the reflections - they were behind glass.) At the old gas station on the corner by the museum is an old VW completely covered in mosaic tile, even the wheels (John was quite taken with it.)

In row 2 we have Panchita's tortilla factory where we picked up GREAT (you guessed it!) tortillas and homemade salsa with ZIPPPPP! The tortillas are delicious because they're probably made with lard. As you can see by the middle photo I took in the supermarket, the 25 pound buckets of lard are the most popular size.

The country between Brady and San Angelo is flaaaaaaaat! The first landscape photo is the country either before or after Wall. The next one is on the other side of Wall. (Sorry, I blinked when we went through Wall and I didn't get a photo.) They grow a LOT of cotton there assuming it rains which it hasn't in quite a while. As the country begins to transition to mesquite nearer Brady, there's a ranch called Buzzards Roost. (I just liked their gate.) The last photo I took for John's cousins John & Judy of Eden's auto body shop (J & J run one in NJ). For those who don't know about Eden, it's the geographic center of Texas. One more thing about the terraine in case you haven't already noticed, this part of the world gives Montana competition for the phrase "big sky country".

Food...

Like most towns, Brady has its share of interesting places to eat. In fact, there are so many choices we've decided we need to eat out every day to try the best ones out. Yesterday it was "El Flamingo" home of some pretty good Mexican food. Today it was "87 Cafe", the home of Brady's best hamburger. Big, juicy, handmade burgers (no preformed patties here) with the works and served wrapped in paper as only the best burgers are - price w/chips... $2.95.

Brady is big on goat. They raise them for their hair (angora) and they raise them to eat. Although some of the local BBQ places sometimes offer roast goat, the biggest customers of Texas goats (for eating) are New York City Muslims. Their religious leaders come to San Angelo and buy them by the truckload. Don't fret... Brady always saves enough for their annual World Championship Goat Cook-off. It's Labor Day weekend if you ever feel inclined to tackle Texas heat that time of year.


Yesterday when I went to the local meat locker (when was the last time you had access to a real meat locker where you could have your own animal butchered and kept in a deep-freeze locker until needed?)... Anyway, when I went there to buy some beef bones for stock, I found their price list interesting - especially the goat head for $2 - I think you get the whole head - but, though tempted, I decided to take a pass this trip...

About Rochelle...

Wanting to keep Rambo in tip-top shape, we decided it would be a good idea to have the oil changed while we're here in Texas. J.A., my Texas-born brother-in-law who knows all the best places, sent us to Rochelle. Although we had been there last year, there didn't seem to be much action when we left Rambo a little before lunch for an afternoon appointment. John had to admit it did look a BIT suspicious when the only two vehicles waiting for service were an old road grater and a tractor. But, you never know about Texas.


Rochelle, where we took Rambo, is a fairly small town. In fact, the WHOLE downtown (pictured) is for sale if you're interested. The sign in Brady for Rochelle says it's 10 miles. The sign in Rochelle for Brady says it's 11 miles. (Guess the tailwind/headwind must have been fairly strong the day they took the measurements.)

So where's the garage? Well, it wasn't where we left Rambo but it wasn't far away (nothing is that far away in Rochelle) so the mechanic just went and got it. The garage is the building on the left in the photo. The building on the right I assume is either for rent or for sale. They are on Sixth Street although I have no idea where the other five streets are. (Guess the "city planners" have big dreams.) Way off to the left in the photo is another vehicle in for work - the one with the hood up. It's on a trailer. I couldn't decide if they'd brought it in with the hood up or if the mechanic just decided to work on it on the trailer. I didn't ask...

About those beads...

Remember those Mardi Gras beads that were collected at the parade and which have, I'm sure, decreased our gas mileage because of their weight?

If an article Joe brought us from the Pensacola News is to be believed, there are countless things you can do with them. Such as?

• Stringing them together to make a bead curtain to hang in a doorway - perhaps it might even discourage mosquitoes from coming in..
• Pasting them around the edge of that dull old picture frame you have hanging on the wall (don't you think your relative in that frame might enjoy a change of pace?)
• Making your own earrings (although you might want to shorten them up a bit)
• Think about those animal balloons clowns twist together out of long balloons. Turns out you can cut the bead strings into shorter lengths and use them to make some "cute little pets" of your own...
• Like stained glass? The article suggests spreading the beads out on a cookie sheet, melting them down in an oven, then with thick gloves shaping them over an upside-down bowl to make a melted bead bowl. It also warns it stinks to high heaven so be sure to do it with the doors and windows open and the fans blowing. (Lucky for us, Rambo does NOT have an oven!)
• Don't forget the rear-view mirror. Rambo is still sporting a few himself.
• When all else fails, hope someone you know (such as your sister, Becky - she's the one with the beads, that's my mother, Alice, next to her) is having a birthday and load them down with birthday beads. (Can you believe I actually had to remind Becky TWICE before she finally took them home?!!!)

Be warned, you may be next....

Texas & more of Texas...

If you've never been to Texas, it's a BIG state. Sort of discouraging when the first exits you see are numbered in the 800's which means (we finally figured this out last summer) that it's that many miles to where the road exits the state on the other side.

Coming in on I10 from south Louisiana, you pass the last of the rice patties, most of which are being used at this time of year to raise those millions of crawfish needed to feed all those hungry folks down here. It's FLAT. Near exit 808 there's a billboard for an Alligator Fest in Sept. (no town mentioned - guess they figure everyone knows where it is). Sloooooowly, the terrain changes from FLAT to a gradual rolling as you enter Texas Hill Country.

Signs change to BBQ... Pecans... Bulls for Sale...
You begin to see cactus, lots of cedars. Finally an actual curve in the road. (Remember the "connect the dots" games you did as a kid. That's how they lay out roads in FLAT country between towns.) You know you're in cow country when you see a store sign - "Cow Patty Patch" - where your "MOO LA" goes further. (Now why did they have to spell Patty the same way I spell my name?!)

Anyway, we finally made it to the heart of Texas (the almost geographic center of the state) where my mother lives (born in Ohio, spent most of her life in Arkansas, & now lives in Texas) and also my sister (born & raised in Arkansas but has lived most of her adult life in Texas) and her husband (a true dyed in the wool Texan, born here with his boots and cowboy hat already on I'm sure - Texas mothers are a hardy breed).

PS - I tried uploading the photos again from Friday to those blogs as it seemed a lot of folks had problems seeing them. Hope you can see them now.

Last day "on the job"...

The photos are a last look at the project. John & I and the other two couples have been with "our house" since we started framing. Today the last of the sheathing on the outside went on (for you construction folks out there - we know you generally put it on the wall BEFORE you stand it up but they do it last here). The first photo was taken just after lunch.



The second shows the openings cut out. We must admit that our group just rough nailed it. A new group of ten CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) kids came yesterday and they were given the task of pounding in the hundreds of nails required to hold it on. Since this is the first time some of them have hammered, we're sure they're going to have sore arms tomorrow!



Photo 3 - Another new house was started today. Even though it's only 30 feet from the house next door, it's in a different flood plain so must be built higher in the air than the others that are built on slabs. Many hands make light work as the center beam is carried into place.




The last photo is this little thing that all Habitat projects we've been to do in the morning. Everyone gathers in a circle for an overview of the days work and a short devotion. Then with our hands joined we hold them in front and say "Habitat is not a hand out, but a hand up" and lift your hands in the air. (I will tell you it takes most of us the full two weeks to finally get what are hands are doing coordinated with what we're saying!)

Tomorrow we're off to Texas for new adventures!!

Crawfish Boil

Last night as we were trying to decide what to do for dinner, the answer arrived at the pavilion. Turns out the Habitat project has made arrangements for us all to be treated to a crawfish boil - Louisiana style (they just forgot to mention it to any of us campers but we can be VERY flexible especially when it comes to a free dinner!)

Photo 1 - the guy on right looking in the pot is John (when food is being cooked he's always the first one to arrive on the scene).
Photo 2 - 250 pounds of crawfish to serve about 70 folks (if you've never had crawfish, there's a LOT of waste).
Photo 3 - the "pot" - they throw in tons of seasoning, onions, the crawfish, then let it boil awhile. Then they drop in bags of potatoes, sausage, corn on the cob and cook everything until done.
Photo 4 - some of the crawfish being brought in
Photo 5 - happy eaters
Photo 6 - a crazy Canadian with a crawfish body on each finger
Photo 7 - the serving dish (an actual boat)
Photo 8 - one crawfish who finally became someone's dinner
Photo 9 - back at the beginning again

Back at the campsite...

Our Canadian neighbors show up about 15 minutes before the "gathering hour" of 7:30 a.m. and do a little Tia Chi to get warmed up. I'm thinking of joining them tomorrow - John would rather gab and have coffee. Each to his own.

Thought you might also like to see where Rambo has been parked for the last two weeks. Like Tillie the VW, he's somewhat out sized by his neighbors. (Am sure you can probably pick him out in the line up - the dinky one towards the right.) He is, however, a bit bigger (but not by much) than the vehicles they tow. Except for a couple of small leaks that John hope to address in Texas, Rambo seems to be working fine for us. It is a bit small but on the other hand we don't spend a lot of time in it - happy hours at the end of the day for some reason continue to get longer and longer.

Ladies & Canadians...

Never let it be said that volunteers are not dedicated hard workers. One of the work crews (all ladies) had only one more piece of siding to put up when it started to rain/pour... HARD. The youth of the group opted to put it up anyway - after all how any many times can you work in warm rain in February especially if you're like the woman on the ladder from Saratoga NY?!









After the rain stopped the rest of the crew came out to celebrate.













And then there are the Canadians (seems this is a VERY popular time of year for those of us from the north to come south). These folks are from Edmeston, Alberta. Flew down for the week to help with this project even though all of them are active volunteers with their own Habitat project in Canada. They're staying in a hotel (smart folks!). By the way, the house they're in front of was framed by Canadians and this group is doing the painting and the finish carpentry on the inside. It's great to have such friendly neighbors to the north!!

PS - Those U. of Michigan students I mentioned in an earlier blog turned back because of the snow. The Montreal students here last week made it just fine even though they had several hours of very slow going - once again they drove it straight through.

NOT all work and no play...

Finally, more building supplies arrived! We were out of lumber for the house we were framing, missing doors and windows for others which held up siding etc. All of us felt very productive this morning so of course we took the afternoon off. It was 89 degrees after all - a perfect day for a swamp tour.

The swamp is really beautiful and our boat guide was great. He was one of 11 kids, all raised in the swamp - in fact, he paddled 5 miles to school every morning (this was at least 50 years ago). The swamp he grew up in is no longer there - destroyed by the rerouting of the Mississippi by the Corp of Engineers. The house he owns now was 89% destroyed (insurance company analysis) by Hurricane Rita but FEMA will not give him any assistance. (I'm telling you, it's a toss up in Louisiana who surpasses who on the thumbs DOWN scale - FEMA or Corp of Eng.)

But back to the swamp... The alligators are just coming out of hibernation so are rather lazy -our guide could only get a couple to take chicken fat from his stick (personally I wouldn't want it either!)

Also sighted - 2 types of snowy egrets, 2 types of vultures, 2 types of herons, a red-eared turtle - we didn't get close enough to see if he actually had red ears. Our guide said they used to be sold in pet stores but it's now illegal in Louisiana. However, it is legal to sell all the supplies to keep a turtle at home and then they can give you a turtle - go figure.


By far the cutest bird was an owl (sorry - I don't remember the kind) that hunts snakes during the day (more power to them - the owls not the snakes!). The owl we saw sat in a tree about 20 feet away and "whoooo-ed" at us. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately we didn't see any snakes to feed him.

How were the mosquitoes? We got lucky - they weren't out today. The guide said just wait until night... and then there's spring, summer, fall. Actually, we were told they were really bad up until the week we got here. Now they're only coming out once the sun goes down. We'll hope our luck holds through the end of the week!

Bird's Eye View & Mules...

Joe stopped by this morning to take a few more pictures. One of our RV friends suggested we might like to take a photo from the top of their rig. Not wanting to get more than 2 feet off the ground myself (Joe was a Naval aircraft photographer so is MUCH more experienced with heights than yours truly), I sent our camera with him and this photo is the result. All the houses you see were built by Habitat volunteers. Bon Jovi donated a million dollars to the project so the street is named after him. Oprah "sponsored" 28 houses - they're on the "have" side to the right. She saw to it they were completely furnished as well. The others are on the "have not" side and home owners purchase their own furnishings and mailboxes. As with anything, EVERYONE has an opinion on the subject.

So what does this have to do with mules? Nothing. However, I thought you'd be interested to know the animals used to pull the "tourist wagons" on the streets of New Orleans are mules, not horses. This is because of the heat. Horses are so good to people they never complain and will walk until they die. Mules on the other hand will just sit down if they think they're being overworked and refuse to budge. So... they use one set of mules for six months, then swap them with another set that have spent the last six months getting fat in the pasture. The photo?? Is that in New Orleans?? Nope. Saw them just north of where we're staying and thought you might enjoy it too. (I have NO idea if they're horses or mules.)

A Louisiana Sunday Afternoon...

Wow! It's amazing what Habitat workers can build once they set their minds to it, isn't it? This project only took 50 "not-so-voluntary" workers 2-1/2 years to build in the early 1800's and even then, it didn't have plumbing or electricity. It's the Oak Alley Plantation named for the twenty-eight 300 year old Virginia live oak trees leading up to the door. (No, I didn't get my math wrong. Some unknown but foresighted person planted the trees but never got around to building the house of his dreams.) If you look really hard you can see John & Joe (our friend from Florida who drove over for the day) sitting to the right on the veranda. Then, if you look really really hard in the close-up photo of them, you'll see they're sipping mint juleps. (Locals sure know how to enjoy their liquor - the tour guide said Louisianians were born without livers...)

The other photo shows some of the trees. Can you guess what you see at the end? It's a BIG ship going down the Mississippi and the rise in front of it is the levee. (Was that a lucky photo or not?!)

One last item I you might find interesting... Traditionally, pineapples are a sign of welcome and early plantation owners always cut a fresh pineapple to welcome their guests. Because distances were so great, these guests sometimes stayed for weeks or months. What I didn't know was an uncut pineapple left at the foot of the guest's bed signalled "you've overstayed your welcome, go home". Modern day Louisiana hosts have apparently switched to leaving canned pineapple at the foot of the guest's bed instead. Just thought you'd like to know that little "tidbit" in case you're planning to visit friends in Louisiana.

New Orleans revisited...

New Orleans is still full of spirit in spite of the toll the hurricane, government & now the tornado have taken. We happened to be enjoying a coffee & beignet when this wedding party went by led by their jazz band.

John & I had driven through New Orleans a year ago - the devastation almost incomprehensible. Today we took a "Katrina" bus tour of the city. The scope of the damage is still clearly evident although, in a year's time some things have changed. The removal of a large part of the trash/rubble/wrecked vehicles/downed trees is clearly evident - an enormous undertaking in itself. The houses damaged, which is most of them, are being semi-repaired, gutted, or slated for demolition. It is by no means neat and tidy but if you'd seen it before there has been some progress. Whole areas such as the St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Nineth Ward will probably be leveled. Folks here are no longer blaming the damage on the storm but on the government. One MAJOR error was the government's decision to build a canal from Gulf to the City. It not only allowed a path for the storm surge but it destroyed the wetlands which are a major factor in controlling flooding. The levees built by the government to protect the city were to have had 30 feet of steel reinforcements set in concrete - instead it was found that parts of it were built with only 11 feet of steel set in peat. Our guide bitterly told us the government had the NASA facility that builds the fuel tanks for the space shuttle up and running again before the last of the residents of the city had been rescued (and these folks were rescued by the Canadian Mounties). FEMA & the Army Corp of Engineers are dirty words in the this city. On and on it goes. The city is VERY grateful for the thousands of volunteers who have come to help.
And they're very happy the New Orleans Saints are back playing again! Go Saints!!

We're still here!

Our computer decided to STOP (one day it works, the next it won't ever turn on) so is in the shop for repairs. Took it to the place recommended by the local "jambalaya guy" (he made everyone a GREAT lunch today so John figured he must know about computers too). They'll look at it on Monday - guess some folks are still recouperating from Mardi Gras.

The photo is from yesterday's after work social. Of special note is the "RV" in the left of the photo. It's a truck frame with a custom made "unit" on the bed. Inside is Bill the Baker's professional kitchen. Last night we not only had his wonderful homemade wholegrain sourdough bread, but he also cooked up a pan of redfish with a brandy/cream sauce that was absolutely delicious. Bill took courses at the Culinary Institute of America so knows what he's doing. He had planned to leave today but as luck would have it, he decided to stay on. We're looking forward to more samples... It's a tough life here at the job site! By the way, the exterior walls and most of the interior walls are up on "our house". We've all had a great time working with the students from Canada and will be sorry to see them leave tomorrow. Would you believe the ones from Montreal drove down, straight through - 36 hours?! They plan to do the same going back - most of them have mid-terms on Monday. I don't want to think about it.

Back to work...

This morning we awoke to that dreaded work condition - rain. However, being a bunch of die-hard do-gooders, we donned rain ponchos & forged ahead to the work site. Seeking shelter only during the worst downpours (would you expect anything less from do-gooders?!), we managed to get the first wall nailed and up. We can testify that Louisiana mud is a whole new animal clinging to everything. Several of the college students were working on moving wood from the dirt/mud heaps. They were a mess by lunchtime. (I'm happy I'm over my mud pie years even if it did look like they were having a good time!)

We were rewarded with a delicious lunch of hot & spicy shrimp pasta (one couple who was here last week said they had shrimp 4 days for lunch - a real hardship but I think I can live with it!) and a great salad. The weatherman said the skies would clear in the afternoon and, sure enough, they cleared at 12:30 to give us a beautiful 70 degree afternoon. (I'm guessing forecasting is a bit easier down here. It's so flat they can probably see the weather at least a day ahead.)

The second wall was constructed a bit faster (although in the photo to the left it does look like the group was a bit undecided about where it went).

Are you wondering about those pink studs? Well so are we. We know the house we're building is for a woman, but don't you think pink studs is carrying it just a bit too far?!

Mardi Gras

We now understand why there was NO question Mardi Gras would take place after the hurricanes. It's like one big tail party all along the parade route (President's Day was all but ignored... Mardi Gras on the other hand everything closed down for). Almost no street vendors either so if you didn't bring something to eat you were pretty much out of luck. In Houmas there were two parades today back to back (it's still a mystery to me why they called it two parades since there was no separating the two but so be it). The amount of beads and stuff the folks on the floats throw people is incredible. We figured at least one village in China must be able to eat for a year on what they made selling beads to the US. The theme for this parade was something to do with Holywood (John's trying to bring himself a little luck by posing with the Oscars).

With the thousand of pounds of beads they throw (I'm not kidding!) I'm sure your mind runs to clean up... Turns out they bring out the convicts. We happened to be at the half way point of the parade where the floats dump their empty boxes and bags over the side. The convicts rake them up and load them in the garbage trucks. Efficiency Louisiana style. I still do NOT know what everyone does with all the loot they collect, especially folks who come year after year. It seemed like everyone was going home with bags of the stuff - certainly everyone in our group except for John & me had at least two BIG bags full. I thought we only had a small amount until John began unloading all the beads he had around his neck. The weight must have been too much for him as he took a two hour nap when we got back - almost missed happy hour around the campfire. Guess some days can be more trying than others...

On the Job at Last...

We must say, this Habitat site is impressive. ALL of the houses in the photo were built with volunteer labor. In fact, last year they built 100 houses in this area and hope to do at least as many this year. The new owners of these homes are people displaced by either Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita - Rita actually hit this area harder than Katrina.

The house our team is working on is all the way to the end of the street on the left. Sometimes it's better to be old than young and this is one of those times. Our team was assigned the job of framing the house. The younger college team (all Canadian - 10 students from McGill U. in Montreal & 10 students from Queens College in Kingston) got to level the big dirt piles around the house just being completed. If they didn't seem to be having so much fun, we might have felt a bit sorry for them.

After work, John & I went to Houma (pronounced home-a... guess keeping the u in there is just a trick to separate the locals from those who aren't). The plumbing in Rambo needed a part. Got back at 7:15. Only a couple of the other RV folks looked like they had their lights on. Guess the first day has taken its toll...

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras and a day off. Houma is having yet another parade, at least the third we know of in as many days. Its parades are reportedly second only to New Orleans. One local lady told me to go and hold up a sign saying I'm from New York & this is my first Mardi Gras and I'll come back with bags of trinkets they'll throw me. (Think I'll go disguised as a local with a beer can in a huggie - bags of trinkets we do NOT need).

We have arrived!

Thibodaux (don't pronounce the h - just say tea), Louisiana is a loooooong way from NY but we finally made it!!! It's not only where we'll be working on Habitat houses for the next two weeks, but is the home of the Venetian Bar & Donut Shop (why don't New Yorkers think of such creative food combos as donuts and Bud Light?!!!)

Today was Thibodaux's Mardi Gras parade and we managed to catch our fair share of "beads" which we trust will bring us good luck the rest of the trip. I can't imagine how many pounds of those things they must throw to the crowd. Folks bring BIG bags to carry home all the loot they're thrown. My question is what happens to it then?! This float was just one of 50 in just one small town. Apparently parties/parades have been going on all week with more to come through Tuesday. Guess we picked the right time to come.

Spring has started here. A few trees have leafed out and what looks like wild mustard is blooming. Stopped and bought freshly picked Louisiana strawberries from one of the roadside vendors. Crawfish are in season so we had freshly boiled ones for supper - messy but nice & spicy & sweet. We scoffed down 3 pounds of them with hardly a thought (the thought was then how to dispose of the shells & heads - NOT something one wants to sleep with in a camper all night. John found a dumpster far, far away...)

This is our first night to actually sleep in the "beast" which John has now decided to call Rambo (it has a Dodge Ram engine after all... and the name sounds so ridiculous it makes me laugh so...)
Do I dare tell you after all this we don't QUITE have water yet? John turned it on & it proceeded to spring a leak under the sink and give it a good soaking. I hear Home Depot calling after work tomorrow. Sweet dreams...

Hot tea????

After George, good "Elk" that he is, took us to the "Club" for a fine southern breakfast (you know it was southern because they looked at me like I was out of mind when I asked for a cup of hot tea - cold tea is what you get in the south) we headed west. Wait!, you're probably saying aren't we supposed to heading south? Well, since "the beast" (John really does need to decide on a name for it - none any of us have suggested so far have been to his liking) seems to be running fine, I suggested we take the slightly longer scenic route through Asheville & Knoxville before heading south.

This route is beautiful taking you over the eastern Continental Divide and through the Smokies. Again we knew we were in the south because the farmer's market in Asheville had fresh beans (not the type of green beans we get in the stores in the north, but string beans that you're supposed to cook to death with a piece of fat back), a BIG display of turnips, fresh okra from a crate that was already half empty (from sales - not because it came that way), and a token bunch of asparagus for the "half-backs" (folks from the north who moved/retired to Florida until it got too crowded, then they moved half way back to NC).

On to Knoxville. As we began to drive through snow (why don't we ever learn to ALWAYS check the weather where we're going?!) I begin to worry. We pass the Ultimate Beef Jerky Outlet featuring 200 kinds of jerky. To take my mind off the snow I begin to mentally list all the types of jerky I can (when I begin to wonder if it's legal to make raccoon jerky I decide I might be better off worrying about the snow). We pass the exit in Knoxville for Broadway Hall of Fame Drive. (Do you suppose there's a Broadway Hall of Fame down that road - they don't tell you that, or do they just like the name?)

Finally, we drive out of the snow heading south at last. Slowed a bit by the route through the mountains and the snow, I reluctantly let John drive by exit 60 (remember that exit) where the billboard said they sell the "softest socks in the world". Next time...

Chattanooga is next and we wave at the Choo Choo (we stopped last year - that visit was plenty to last for several years). We blink and almost miss Georgia (you catch the top western most corner, 8 miles of it, before you get to Alabama). Birmingham is next, home, of course, to "John's Plumbing - We repair what your husband fixed".

Tonight we're in Meridan, Mississippi and confess we aren't camping yet. Tomorrow. We're hoping for an early start so we can make it to the Habitat site by noon. Apparently there are parades in the two neighboring towns tomorrow afternoon (Mardi Gras is Tuesday), so we want to be there to enjoy them. The project is even giving everyone Tuesday off for Mardi Gras - should be fun. We have no idea what the internet connection possibilities will be so don't be surprised if we post or don't post - will keep you and us in suspense.

Rollin'

Rollin' at last! Personally I think it's because "the beast" experienced two nights outside (a first -it's been in one warm shop or another since we've had it) and decided it would much rather go where it's warmer. John & I on the other hand were getting used to being spoiled by Judy & John with 5 star food & drink, movies, a hot tub, toasting our toes by the fire... But all good things must come to an end.

Moving south proved almost as difficult as keeping "the beast" running earlier in the week. Some highways were closed (our connecting road west was one of them), high WIND ("the beast" is a bit more stable than Tillie but...), traffic slower than slow going south, an accident closed one of the main roads south we intended to take and so it went. However, if we had not taken yet another alternate route we would not have seen the first robins heading north (they're in Virginia so maybe spring's not so far away after all). Nor would we have seen the sign near South Boston (that's VA nor MA - at least we weren't headed in the wrong direction) for their Mud Festival in Sept. If you're into red clay mud, this is for you!

Finally, just 5 days late, we're at George & Vicky's in Hickory, NC. Who would have thought it could take so long to make a ten hour trip?! Our lesson? Always head STRAIGHT to Cousin John & Judy's when starting a trip - if nothing else, they'll make sure you have air in the spare tire (it does now).

Relocating to NJ???

We're growing quite attached to New Jersey and seem to be finding it VERY difficult to leave. However, John & Judy's woodshed seems to be getting a bit low on wood so we better start heading south soon!

The Johns put in the new alternator with the extra "something" on it yesterday afternoon. The snow & ice had let up so John G. drove "the beast" all over town picking up goodies (valentine cookies, a movie, etc.) and it ran fine. This morning we load everything in "the beast" and it has the same problem it had two days ago. (Tillie is looking better all the time - so what if she doesn't have heat or a toilet!) This time Cousin John takes "the beast" down the road to the electrical expert... diagnosis - voltage regulator. A new one is expected in this afternoon so we're keeping our fingers crossed.

This may sound unlucky to you, but it turns out it may have been lucky. If we had started out as planned we would have gotten stuck in one of the worst traffic situations ever created. The main road between here and Harrisburg was completely closed down (not expected to clear until this afternoon) which means John & I would have been sitting there for hours with a "flaky" voltage regulator in wind chill temps below zero and probably getting towed. As it is the Johns are entertaining themselves at the shop and Judy & I got to go shopping. Downtown Hackettstown is really kind of fun... especially in comparison to the alternative!

Cupids in Winter Gear

NJ may be getting ice & snow & wind, but the Johns were out and about in Cousin John's dump truck with the snow plow on the front. After all, "the beast" was waiting for new parts, John & Judy are trying to get rid of us before spring thaw, and John & Patty WOULD like to make it to Louisiana by Sunday.

The good news was the part came in this morning. The bad news was it had an extra "something" attached to the side. The good news was they didn't cut it off. Another mechanic from down the street was able to tell them the "bad" part we had was jury-rigged in the first place and the new one should work IF the "something" was attached.

Anyway, the Johns are off attacking and attaching and hopefully getting "the beast" running again. In the meantime, Judy & Patty are napping and cooking and staying cozy in front of the fire. Not a bad division of labor.