Back In Yuma :-)

We pulled up stakes and left Palm Desert yesterday. We had an awesome time visiting with family, spent many evenings enjoying the mineral water in the hot tubs, and managed to get a few chores done. Our main purpose when we are in Palm Desert is to visit with hubby’s cousins but hubby always likes to wash Maxx when we are there because the water is so good, but something has changed and the water is now terrible! He did wash the truck and half of Maxx but will have to do it all again 😦

It’s nice to be back among the veggie fields!

On our way down Highway 86 just before Borrego Springs we noticed the semi we were following was all over the road. Just as I was picking up my phone to call it in the semi rear-ended the car in front of him and he just happen to do it behind a police officer sitting in his vehicle on the side of the road. Hubby had been debating whether to pass the semi but didn’t feel like it would be safe to do so … good decision as that would have been Maxx he rear-ended! Fortunately nobody was hurt, but both the car and semi sustained a lot of damage. Two nights ago hubby and I were driving back from Morena Valley when we saw a cloud of dust up ahead and it turned out a semi had gone off the road in the other lane and hit the rock wall. We were also stopped on I-10, on our way out to Morena Valley, for over an hour because of something happening on the interstate … hopefully that was our three, because you know the saying, things come in threes!

We are settled into our site in Yuma for three months and looking forward to catching up with our winter friends 🙂

This field is ready for planting. You will be able to follow it’s progress as I will post pictures as it grows.

Until next time …

Five States in One Day!

Yesterday we traveled through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and into Texas … Wow!

In order to do all those miles we had to fill up twice, once when we entered Louisiana and again when we arrived for the night in Texas.  When we filled up in Texas we got our cheapest diesel yet.  So for us Canadians, with the exchange rate, this works out to $.866 per litre for gasoline and $1.017 per litre for diesel!

After filling up we headed off for dinner at the Black Eye Pea restaurant where we had some southern dishes; fried green tomatoes, Cajun catfish, red beans and rice, and black eye peas, which I thought were really yucky, but the rest of the meal was very good!

Today dawned overcast but warm as we headed out.  Hubby was anxious to get through Houston … if you remember, our trip through Houston on the way out was not fun and he was not looking forward to it.  This time we were taking I-10 right through which we hoped would allow us to avoid toll roads and overpasses.  The overpasses in Houston are actually a work of art and we think it must take some extreme engineering to build them!

I don’t think Houston really wants tourists to visit because in order to exit I-10 you need to pay a toll, however if you are heading straight through you do not need to pay a toll.  On the west side of Houston we did notice this sign …

So there is one road that you can exit on for free … or maybe not!

The exit for Texas 99 😦

In Luling, Texas we filled up the tank for $3.429 per gallon, which works out to $.996 Canadian per litre of diesel!!

We had a long drive today, almost ten hours, but we wanted to get the drive between San Antonio and Fort Stockton done today as the temperature is suppose to drop down to 32F, 0C tomorrow and rain in this area.  This was the section we had the most trouble with when we headed east because of low temperatures, freezing rain, and icy roads and neither one of us wanted to go through that again!  The weather is much better from Fort Stockton west tomorrow so we should have a good drive.

Until next time …

Good Bye Alabama … Hello Florida!

I might have to change my thoughts about liking Southern Alabama … in Mobile there is a 9.5% sales tax on food!

Many years ago hubby and I went to Atlanta, Georgia and saw red dirt for the first time and yesterday we saw it again.  It’s really noticeable when they are doing highway work and it makes construction that much more attractive.

Alabama Red Soil

Following tradition we stopped at the first rest stop after we crossed into Florida.  RVers and truckers are forced to park away from the main building and the temperature is down to 44F or 7C with a biting wind so it felt like a very long walk to the building.  We had to go in and purchase a Sun Pass so that we don’t have to stop at tollbooths, which will save us a lot of time since Florida is full of toll roads!  We did receive a free (small) cup of orange juice, which was very good.  We also ended up stopping at the next rest stop and once again RV and truck parking is at the back of a large lot.  Rest stops in all the other states we have stopped in are set up so that all vehicles have easy access to the buildings … I don’t think Florida likes truckers and RVers.

We hit our first toll road shortly after we activated our Sun Pass and according to the signs the toll for the truck and Maxx would be $9.00.  By using the Sun Pass it should be discounted but we won’t know how much until our account is updated.

Tonight we are staying in a State Park along the Gulf Coast.  We were able to go on-line to make our reservation and pick out spot.  The web page shows you a picture of each spot and gives you the measurements.  The park is fairly empty and is well suited to motorhomes, tents, or trucks & campers as the spots are set up to drive straight in.  Even though we picked a site that was 50 feet long we had some difficulty navigating Maxx into position, but once he was settled the views out the window where very pretty!

View from window at Florida State Park, Panama City Beach

Until next time …

It’s Snowing at Home, is it Snowing in Alabama?

A look out the bedroom window this morning showed grey skies and light rain, along with some wind so we dressed warmed … and then I opened the door of Maxx and we were hit with a very warm wind!  So back inside to change clothes, still jeans, but short sleeve T-shirts and flip-flops:-)

We headed down to Dauphin Island, which is at the mouth of Mobile Bay where it joins the Gulf of Mexico.  Once again we crossed a long bridge, but I won’t bore you with it’s history today:-)  One thing that we have noticed about all the bridges is how quickly they rise in the middle and then just as quickly drop down on the other side … there are no gradual rises like we have at home.

Bridge over to Dauphin Island … note steep rise in the middle!

Sharp drop on other side of bridge to Dauphin Island

Is that snow???

 

The west end of the island has a road down the middle and homes on the north side along Mobile Bay and homes on the south side along the Gulf of Mexico.  All the homes are built on stilts and surround by white sand beaches and sand dunes.  The wind blows the sand over the access roads in such volume that the roads need to be plowed in order to keep them clear.  At quick glance made us think it was piles of snow!

Homes on the Gulf of Mexico

Beautiful White Sand Beaches!

The east end of the island ends at the Mobile Bay Ferry which we took across the mouth of the bay to Fort Morgan, a 40 minute ride for $20.50 for the truck, driver, and one passenger.  There are many oil rigs in Mobile Bay and it was interesting to see them up close.

Up close with an oil rig 🙂

After disembarking the ferry we drove up the other side of the bay through very picturesque communities, a great round trip drive that we highly recommend.  I really like southern Alabama!

Until next time …

Friday the 13th!

Even though it was Friday the 13^th and we thought it might be safer to stay put it was time to move on to Mobile, Alabama.  Heading out of New Orleans on I-10 East we saw overpasses and entrance/exit ramps that had been damaged in Hurricane Katrina and where now closed to traffic.  Our travels also took us over the Twin Spans Bridge at the east end of Lake Pontchartrain.  This bridge was recently rebuilt as the old bridge was severely damaged in Hurricane Katrina and had to be demolished.  The bridge is three lanes wide on each span and is 5.4 miles long.  Despite what you might think from my posts I’m not really a big bridge history buff but hubby kinda of is and its my job to search Google for the answers to all his questions so I feel it is only fair that you should also have a history lesson:-)

We stopped at a rest stop in Mississippi and the visitor info booth was just what I expected, a southern home all decorated for Christmas inside and Christmas music playing.  I really wish I could have taken some pictures but the camera battery was dead.  In Mississippi the boots came off and the flip flops went back on!  We are still wearing jeans and sweaters but it is warming up.  Unfortunately along with the flip flops I had to put the robo boot back on because my foot is pretty sore and swollen from all the walking yesterday in New Orleans:-(

After we set up at the RV Park in Mobile, Alabama we took a drive out to Point Clear and Fairhope on the other side of Mobile Bay.  It was dark by the time we arrived so we could see all the Christmas lights and they were very pretty.  The City of Fairhope has done a really nice job of lighting the trees along their main streets and the planters along the sidewalks have poinsettias in them!  Who would believe you can plant poinsettias outside!

Poinsettias in the sidewalk planters!

We decided to have dinner in Fairhope because it was such a pretty town.  We found an Italian restaurant that looked nice so in we went.  The restaurant is made up of the main building, which was full when we arrived, and several small rooms surrounded by a patio with tables.  Since it was a little to chilly to sit outside we were seated in one of the small rooms.  When we first arrived we were on our own but the room quickly filled up.  The atmosphere was great and the food was also good.  All in all not a bad day for Friday the 13^th!

Can you see hubby at our table?

Tomorrow we are going to drive out to Daphne Island on the Gulf of Mexico and hopefully get some good pictures:-)

Until next time …