Well, it looks like we are pretty terrible about writing this blog, and with keeping the website up to date. I'd like to blame it all on bad internet, but honestly a lot of the times it's just because we're having too much fun! And we've both become obsessive knitters. We decided one of our projects on the road would be to salvage yarn from junk shops we visit (a favorite pastime of Zora's) and turn it into one big colorful, messy, knobbly blanket as a document of the trip. We're going to assemble all the randomly sized results and maybe put a back onto it over the winter. We'll see if we end up with a baby blanket or a full sized quilt at the end, but we're off to a good start!
Our progress so far! Zora's is on the left.
We have now completed our trip through Louisiana and are somewhere in Texas! Louisiana was a mixed bag for us. We had a lot more trouble finding places to camp, so we've now added RV parks (one really nice, one right next to a busy railway yard, both expensive) and casino parking lots to our list of places we've tried (and usually succeeded) sleeping in. We have faced the challenge of driving our rig through an unfamiliar, busy city (New Orleans), and discovered that either NOLA drivers are blind/jerks, or that our turn signals are just too dim compared to modern vehicles to be comfortable changing lanes on highways. We also discovered that Louisiana roads are TERRIBLE. We did take the rig down some very sketchy gravel tracks in Arkansas, but by going really slowly (and not having to worry about anyone else on the road) we could get over some really challenging terrain without anything making terrible noises or rattling our teeth out. Louisiana didn't give us that option, not on their back roads, not on the streets of New Orleans, and not even on the freakin INTERSTATES! Most of the roads were made of concrete slabs instead of a continuous pave, which meant every time we hit a seam (every 10 ft or so) the whole rig would jump, no matter what speed we tried taking them at. Add in potholes and the usual assortment of neglected maintenance issues, and abundant traffic, and we were left carsick, worried that the whole thing was going to shake apart, and pretty much at our wits end. There's a reason we are looking especially happy under that Welcome to Texas sign, the roads on this side of the border are way better!
I would like to take this opportunity to reveal that our beautiful, hitherto anonymous steed finally has a name! Ladies and Gentlefolk, may I introduce the steadfast, reliable, lovely, powerful VROOMHILDA! We've been agonizing over the name for a long time now (and still are struggling to name the camper), but we have finally identified her. Like her Shieldmaiden namesake, she is strong, competent, and super badass.
Also I didn't mean to make our stay in LA sound like it was all stress and truck angst! We did find some beautiful places. Tris got to meet a 500 year old oak tree at St. John Cathedral in Lafayette, and we took a long walk on the swamp boardwalks in Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve. It was such a foreign landscape for the both of us, and we fell in love with it totally. So many neat trees and plants and abundant wildlife! We met a yellow crowned night heron, lizards, interesting insects, water snakes (Zora distrusts swimming snakes as a rule, but these guys were chill), and our first WILD ALLIGATOR! He was about four feet long, playing/hunting in the water, and not very fussed about our presence, pretty much the best way to encounter an alligator we think. We also discovered we have a penchant for photographing dragonflies, so enjoy the barrage below, we're pretty proud of them.
We also spent a night in New Orleans! We unluckily arrived during Jazz Fest, so the RV parks had doubled their prices, which was a bit painful. But we did get to see all the festivities going on around the festival. Frenchman street was swarming with musicians and colorful characters. We had tons of recommendations from friends and friends of friends (thanks everyone!) and had way more to do/see/eat than could be crammed into our one night there. We had a nice walk next to the Mississippi and saw the touristy steam paddle boats, saw the Art Market and a touristy junk shop, ate beignets and drank coffee at Cafe du Monde, watched the busking across the street, and enjoyed the ability to wander around with a beer in hand (Abita Strawberry, yum!). We went into a couple of the bars and watched a huge brass band play on the streets. However, I think we've been too long in the wilderness. The chaotic excitement of the city drained us pretty fast, and instead of the full night out watching music and getting mildly drunk, after a cheeky feast of sweet potato fries and a daiquiri on the very edge of the quarter, we caught an uber back to our park and were passed out by midnight. I think if we had managed to meet up with a guide we would have had a better chance of holding up against the excitement, but there we are.
We rounded off our stay in Louisiana by heading down to the Gulf and dipping our toes in the water. We found a little place called Holly Beach. It was a cool, mellow town where all of the buildings were built atop stilts, and in the manner so common for coastal communities, they were all painted in vibrant colors. Tris swam very briefly, Zora waded in to her knees and looked skeptical about the water quality. We both sat and poked through an amazing tide strand of oyster shells, finding beautiful mother of pearl lined mementos, while flocks of pelicans beat their winds against the onshore breeze and plovers (pipers? should know the difference by now...) waged little wars against their neighbors in front of the small waves. It was a nice way to say goodbye to our third state.
Oh and one further question: Where are all the dogs in Louisiana!? I swear there can't be more than 30 in the whole state! We saw a grand total of 9. It was very disappointing...