Well, the RV gathering at the brewery did not turn into ‘The Burning Man festival’ but there was a fire-pit and much communal gathering amongst some in attendance. We even had a couple of late arrivals filling more of the lot. All in all though, a good nights sleep.
On the road by 9:15am heading West through New Orleans heading deeper into Louisiana. The first stop would be Berwick, LA to look at an old lighthouse. It had been built in the mid-1800s and stood in the Gulf at the entrance to Atchafalaya Bay warding ships away from the many sandbars. Built of steel and boiler plate, the square shaped lighthouse is evidently one of only a few of that style built. A nice unique find for the day.
Berwick, LA
From Berwick we continued West on SR-90 towards New Iberia where stopped to reprovision a few grocery items. The area is quite agricultural with the Winter crop being onions, thousands of acres of onions are almost ready for harvest this month.
From New Iberia we headed a few miles westward to Avery Island. The island is really the top of a huge salt dome pushing up through the marshland of the area and is one of several. Avery Island was purchased in the early 1800s by the McIlhenney family where they established a company that produces a product for which they are known worldwide, Tabasco pepper sauce. The family stills owns the company today and all Tabasco sauces are made here in Avery Island, LA. The property houses a museum which is open to the public and a self guided tour allows you to see the entire production process. A second unique stop for today and one we highly recommend for those visiting this area.
McIlhenny Co., Avery Island, LA
Our final hour of driving took us just South of Abbeville, LA to Palmetto Island State Park where we will camp for the next two nights. Come back again for an update on how we like the park.
DST kicked in this morning so it feels early, earlier than normal early. We’re leaving Pensacola today so I’ve got some time for a short walk and quick breakfast before we strike camp. The short walk turned into a medium walk and suddenly we were a little later leaving than maybe we wanted. All good though and still on the road before 10:00.
We started the day heading across country on some State roads towards Fairhope, AL. Missed a few turns along the way which only adds to the adventure. The GPS knew where we wanted to be so simply corrected my mistakes.
Fairhope is a very pretty town, with lots of old oak trees lining the streets in front of orderly clapboard houses. Picket fences, trimmed hedges, all very orderly. Clearly the town had not suffered the wrath of a hurricane head-on.
Located on the East side of Mobile Bay the town has long sand and pebble beaches and a 1400’ long pier, this we walked out and back as you do on a pier. Local fishermen had taken up their favorite spots and locals out for a run also joined us on the pier. A popular spot.
Fairhope, AL pier
From Fairhope we traveled North where we joined I-10 West. This would take us into Mississippi and onto Louisiana where we would be staying a night at the Faubourg Brewing Co. in N’awlins (New Orleans), LA. The brewery is a member of Harvest Hosts, establishments that allow RVs to stay the night on their property. Cost? Visit their business and buy something. A brewery….. easily done.
The drive out of AL and across MS was uneventful and easy. The interstate was fairly busy but was flat for the most part as it crosses the marshy southern lands of this part of the continent. There were a couple of impressively long bridges that seemingly suspended the interstate above the bayous and river deltas that we passed through.
Arriving at Faubourg Brewery we were not alone. First, this ‘craft’ brewery is huge, easily as large as any commercial brewery I’ve seen. Second, because of this size, the parking lot can accommodate large numbers of RVs. Until tonight we had only visited Harvest Host establishments that could accommodate no more than 4 or 5 visitors, here we were among 20 or so rigs of all sizes and styles.
Faubourg Brewing Co., New Orleans, LA
However, getting past the number of people joining us tonight, the brewery is amazing. They have lots of styles of beers to try as well as a very good kitchen from which we purchased lunch that we enjoyed while sitting outdoors on the large patio in the sun. It was 29C and breezy, a far cry from the cold of the North.
We took an Uber ride from the brewery into the French Quarter of the city to be like tourists for the remainder of the day. Having not been here before we really weren’t sure what to expect beyond what we’d seen in videos. Sensory overload would probably be a good place to start.
Anyone for hot sauce?
So, very busy, lots of tourists with cameras and lots of street vendors. There’s an amazing vibe and I can easily see getting caught up in that vibrancy and partying the night away. We made our way through the streets dodging the drunken hen parties and sidewalk bucket drummers looking for a place to get supper. Bourbon Street is the heart of the French Quarter, a jostling street party that appears to be going all the time. The noise is quite unbelievable, the aforementioned bucket drummers (5gal plastic pails) competing with bicycle/tricycle equipped rolling beatboxes turned to 11, all trying to outdo the street bands for your attention and donations. Ah, but not to be outdone, the eating/drinking establishments also were vying for your auditory attention by outdoing all of the street noise with noise of their own from massive sound systems clearly aimed out at the street. It was all bit numbing to be perfectly honest.
We chose not to try an eat downtown, places wheee there were lineups for tables (probably the better establishments) were incredibly noisy, dark and we suspecting not very clean given the state of the clientele. Food? I think not. Drinks? Again, hard pass.
French Quarter
We did find a place for an ice cream and then we picked up an order of Beignets and took them with us in an Uber back to the brewery, they’d be tomorrows breakfast.
We caught up on some YouTube viewing in the van before heading to bed. Our neighbors seemed intent on partying into the early hours, we were done. It had been quite a day. Good night.
We told ourselves that we would sleep in today as we are staying put at Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola, FL… So, why am I awake at 6:30am? Most probable cause would be that we fell asleep before 9:00pm last evening. Sigh.
Previous evening upon arrival
I thought I’d start the day by walking the longest trail in the park, a 3.5 mile loop that should allow me to really see what the park is about. The walk started well along the trail is pure white sand so it was similar to walking in several inches of fresh snow (something I am quite familiar with). Two steps forward and half-step back. At about 2km into the walk after passing several examples of alligator crossings on the trail I came upon a drainage channel that I could not cross(without getting wet), the bridge had apparently washed away (hurricane Sally in 2021?). This caused me to reverse my route and improvise the remainder of my walk. I ended up at the boat launch as the remainder of the park (day use area) was still closed as a result of the afore mentioned hurricane. After sitting and taking a few photos I returned to our campsite with stories of my adventure. Yay, 4.92km.
About the park from the walking trails
Eggs & bacon for breakfast cooked on our 18” Blackstone griddle (not too heavy or bulky Mr. Milddogs.com) 😆. There’s something about breakfast cooked outdoors… it always tastes so much better.
Views about our campsite
Most of the day was reserved for relaxing and reading. Of which we both did quite a lot. We both also tried the park showers which we rated a solid 7 out of 10. Room for improvement but satisfying nonetheless.
I also checked and adjusted tyre pressures of the van as I had inflated correctly for -9C which proved a little too much when checked at an air temperature of 21C. All tyres needed some air to be removed. I feel a little better about our upcoming drives now.
Before long the day had slipped us by and dinner needed preparing. Tonight the menu was steak, along with fried vegetables and potatoes all prepared on the Blackstone. A glass or two of Cabernet Sauvignon was also enjoyed. Followed by Little Debbie snacking cakes. Mmmmm.
Campsite selfie (usie?)
As the evening sky turned that hazy bluish yellow color, Barb and I walked back to the boat launch at sunset. The remainder of the evening saw us prepare a few items ahead of tomorrows departure and then more reading ahead of sleep.
Sunset from the boat launch.
Tomorrow we head to NOLA. Be sure to check back to see what we get up to!
Oh, and if your interested be sure to check out our ‘merch’ store for our latest wearables and accessories… Oh right, we don’t have any merchandise to sell. Maybe we should?
Having listened to several train horns at various times in the night, 6:30 arrived and I was up for my morning walk. Lightly showering but 11C so lighter clothing under the rain jacket.
Collegedale is a very car-centric community, or at least the area we stayed in is. Walking was a challenge as sidewalks were far and few between, the inclusion of them clearly being left to the developers should they have felt like it, most didn’t. This meant that I walked in the narrow shoulder facing traffic that was going well over the posted limit in damp conditions. Needless to say, I didn’t last long & hope to put in the remaining distance when we arrive at the state park this afternoon.
After breakfast in the van, we headed out at about 8:30 and travelled through Chattanooga on I-75 before picking up the I-59 towards the Georgia border, a few minutes later we crossed into Alabama where we entered the Central timezone, so it was 8:30 again. But we didn’t get too excited as we’ll lose that hour this coming weekend when the clocks change to daylight savings time.
Eastern Redbud in bloom
Onto Birmingham, AL where we followed the I-465 around the city before heading South on the I-65 towards Montgomery, AL and then towards Pensacola, FL.
The driving today has been easy, lots of construction zones with reduced speeds and few to no workers to warrant the slowdowns, but stress free driving is always nice. The landscape changed a lot, from the mountains of Tennessee to the rolling hills of Northern Alabama to the mostly flat sandy pine tree covered dunes of Florida. Most of the hardwood trees were replaced with softwood varieties and the wild wisteria that hung blooming in many trees in Northern Alabama is not suited to the heat and humidity of the gulf coast.
Wild Wisteria
As I write this it is overcast and showering in Pensacola but warm at 24C. We’re booked in to spend two nights at the Big Lagoon State Park here in Pensacola, FL and so will provide a review of our site, the park and what we get up to in the next couple of posts.
Sneak peek at our destination
Stay tuned, be happy! Spring really is on the way.
Yep, all camping trips begin with provisioning, except this one. It’s day 2 and we’re yet to gather supplies. That changes today!
Had a great sleep parked at the Cracker Barrel in Winchester, VA. Highly recommended. Awake just before 7:00 and out for a 5.5km walk along mostly overly busy roads. Chilly at -1C but it should soon warm.
A restful parkup
Back at the van, Barb has reorganized some things and is feeling much better about where and how our stuff is stored.
After a smallish breakfast at our hosts, we were back on I-81 South at 9:00am. I’m hoping for a shorter day (a little foreshadowing here).
Cherry blossoms
Virginia is a beautiful state. The mountains, farms, forests and valleys all tell a tale of over two-hundred years of settlement. It really is easy to see why it became a popular settling destination.
Although it won’t feel like it to those of you that live north of the US/Canada border, Spring arrived early for us today. The grass here is greening up and in some-places could already be mowed (still on the lookout for that first operating mower). Many trees are budding and the flowering trees are in full bloom. We saw Cherry blossoms, flowering dogwoods (State flower of Virginia) and Eastern Redbud that actually flowers with a purple flower. Daffodils are also in bloom. Yep, Spring is here.
Forsythia in bloom along the roadside
Arriving in Roanoke, VA we decided to visit Camping World and pick up a few bits and pieces for the van and get Propane. Bits and pieces were acquired but their propane system was out of order. They suggested the TSC store next door. Hmmm, I’m hoping they will know how to fill an RV tank.
We drive to the TSC and immediately prune one of their lovely trees with the roof of the van. Argh! Phew, no harm to the van thankfully, but the poor tree had a few branches less after greeting us. As for the Propane, all went well & the dude was quite skilled in filling RV tanks. Yay, provisioning has begun.
Next we acquired water for our tank, we can now flush and wash!!! This is a good thing. We do not drink the water from our tank and instead buy bottled water for safety reasons.
Leaving Virginia and entering Tennessee, I-81 turns Westward towards Knoxville. We arrived during afternoon rush hour… yay! This slowed our progress and resulted in our arriving in Chattanooga at 7:00pm. Not a shorter driving day.
Dinner courtesy of Arby’s, parkup courtesy of Walmart on Little Debbie Lane, Collegedale, TN. the home of the Little Debbie factory.
After the Propane and Water acquisitions of earlier, food provisions have been acquired from Walmart that should last us for a few days.
All for today. Tomorrow we cross into the Central timezone and should arrive in Florida!
Welcome back to our travel blog! The long and snowy winters end approaches; however, not quickly enough for these intrepid explorers. And so this post finds us heading out in search of sunnier and warmer climes in the Southern US. Todays drive took us from the US/Canadian border, across the Blue Ridge mountains and into the state of Virginia.
It’s 6:00am and half of the house is awake for the day, it should be a busy one. No snow overnight so at least there’s none to brush off of the van before we can drive. Now, time to go for a walk and then the final loading to complete. 9:00am target departure. Wish us luck!
About to hit the road
Ok, so 9:30am and we’re rolling out of town after dropping a package off at the post office. The roads are dry and it’s sunny, a good omen we believe.
The St. Lawrence river is open water signaling that Spring is near. The border crossing is very smooth with just a few cursory questions concluding with the agent saying a rather abrupt “Goodbye”. Several hundred yards later at the bridge toll booth we were held up slightly as a trucker maneuvered his/her 11’6” wide load through a series of bollards signed at being 11’6” clear. Some of the item wrapping brushed against the bollards but otherwise no damage done. Nice driving.
The drive across US37 towards Watertown, NY was easy and a nice way to ease into what would be a long day.
We picked up I-81 and headed South towards Syracuse and onto Whitney Point where we stopped at the visitor center and had a ham & cheese wrap for lunch.
Frost capped trees near Whitney Point, NY
Binghamton, Scranton and Wilkes Barre soon followed as the interstate took us further South with each passing mile. By this point in the journey almost all of the snow on the ground was gone and the temperature was steadily above zero Celsius. By the time we cross out of Pennsylvania and into Maryland the temperature is a steady 8C, that’s 15C above this mornings temperature at home!
Crossing the Potomac
Driving through West Virginia the sun sets and the nighttime truck traffic is taking over the interstate, time to find a park up. Like Mr & Mrs Milddogs last year, we decided to stop at the Cracker Barrel in Winchester, VA. where we enjoyed a chicken dinner before settling down for the night. I was even carded when requesting a beer with my dinner! 59 and still looking under 25! I’ll take it.
Sunset
It was a very long day of driving which saw us arrive at 7:15pm, almost 10 hours after leaving home. Tomorrow should be shorter and will see us head towards Chattanooga, TN. Stay tuned for how we make out.
Before signing off for the night, let’s address a few questions you, our readers, might have. 1. How are you handling the colder temperatures? Are you not afraid of the piping freezing while driving through states with temperatures below freezing point? – We left home with the van still ‘winterized’ with plumbing antifreeze in the piping and plan on leaving it that way until the ambient temperatures support ‘dewinterizing’. 2. Have you made any changes or improvements to the van over the winter? – We were generally very happy with the van when we last used it in 2022. We have added a small shelving system under the sink to better organize baskets that we keep there containing various items used in the galley. 3. Was any specific maintenance performed before travelling this year? – As the van currently has only 15000kms on it, only an oil change and service was performed by the Ford dealer last Fall. Other than this, only the typical pre-trip checks of fluids, tyre pressures, etc. were performed. We are expecting to have to perform a little more maintenance upon our return.
