Thursday morning we were both up and back to the beach to watch the sunrise.  Neither one of us was in a hurry to get going, so we had breakfast and hung out.  Went for a nice long walk down the beach, and on our way back met a couple from Ontario.  Like everyone always does, they asked where we were from, and when they heard Ohio they asked if we had the white van.  Turns out they stayed in the same free parking lot in Natchez with us two nights before.  I bet we accidentally travel with strangers like that a lot more than we realize. Headed out by 10, nice and warm 59 degrees already.  Drove for a few hours, stopped for some sandwiches and made it to our only stop for the day just around 1pm. Oak Alley Plantation is an old sugar cane plantation built in the 1830s.  The family that ran the place, the Ramon's, relied on some 200+ slaves over the next 30 years to keep up the house and the farm.  Once old man Ramon passed away, his wife tried ...

As is tradition, I was up before the sun and went on a short walk to see if I could spot any wild pigs.  I did not. We finished up the laundry and were out of the park by 8:15.  Along the way to our first stop we passed a ton of rice fields that were flooded.  We also noticed crawfish traps in them.  Turns out, this area used to farm a ton of rice, but crawfish raising makes more money, so the farmers keep growing the rice, but only so the mudbugs have something to eat.  Smart, huh? First stop of the day was the Tabasco factory in Avery Island.  We were the first ones there for the day.  Got to see future Tabasco in barrels, the area where they mix everything up, and then finally the bottling line.  After the tour we bought a big bottle of Chipotle Tabasco, Joe's favorite.  Also sampled all the different stuff they had out, including some Green Pepper Sauce ice cream (meh).  Headed east through Morgan City and met Mr. Charlie, a ...

What a storm Tuesday night!  I woke up around midnight to a pretty intense thunderstorm.  Lots of lightening followed immediately by thunder, so clearly it was right on top of us for a good half hour. Joe slept through the whole thing. Out of the parking lot by 7:30c and went just down the road to the grocery store.  Finally, a real grocery store that had everything we needed.  And by everything, I mean a boat load of snacks and random stuff that the Piggly Wiggly in nowheres-ville doesn't carry.  Such a nice town, Natchez.  Everyone we met was super friendly. and we even say a rouge shopping cart corral itself at the store.  I could live here. Crossed the Mississippi for the first time and into Louisiana.  I forgot my navigational duties, and missed the first turn we were supposed to make.  Had to backtrack a bit to get back to the road following the River south.  This was a neat section to drive.  When we planned this trip I t...

Up and at 'em early again this morning.  The bathrooms at Fuller SP were like walking into a furnace.  I swear, at least 85 degrees.  Funny, though, because even thought they had the heat cranked up, the lights are on a timer, probably a money saving measure.  You know when I found this out? About 5 minutes into my shower.  Luckily, there was a skylight and I have been washing this same body for the past few decades, so I got it handled. Joe had everything packed up by the time I was done, and we were pulling out of the park by 7:20c.  Remember when I said north Memphis was rough yesterday?  That place looked like paradise compared to south Memphis.  I think Waste Management must just empty their trucks out as they drive down the streets. Crossed into Mississippi by 7:40, and then flatness and farm fields for the next four hours (with a small break in the middle for casinos).  Very uneventful morning.  We saw a house on a hill, that ...

I was pretty motivated this morning, and had a shower in before the sun was up.  Thank you, Montgomery Bell State Park people, for trusting me with a real shower faucet which turns on, and stays on the whole time.  Nothing worse than having to push a button every 15 seconds to keep the water going, except the ones where you actually have to hold the button down the whole time.  This was an excellent start to my day, and it only got better from there. We were rolling by 7:40c, 29 degrees. Stopped just down the road for a quick car wash to knock all the salt off.  Joe was well prepared with his rubber boots. Drove through Dickson TN and back to 40W. Had to get off the highway for a fuel stop, and picked Jackson for the cheapest diesel.  Took the long way and went through town, stopping at Rusty's TV and Movie Car Museum.  The guy running the place (probably Rusty himself, I didn't ask) gave us a quick rundown of 20 or so cars and then let us walk around...

Currently sitting in a very toasty van while Joe tries to muster up the energy to get a shower. Pre-organization Left the house at 9 this morning. Made it about 1/4 mile down the road before we had to turn around to shut off the water pump. The roads were a bit snowy until we hit Columbus, but smooth sailing from there on out. Well, almost. The washer fluid must have frozen, so had a gross windshield until that thawed out. Made a stop before Cincinnati for fuel and to grab the sandwiches I had made the night before. Stopped again at a rest stop halfway through Kentucky. Tough to make this day sound exciting, we were really just trying to get through some miles so we can be done with the interstate. Joe beat me at the alphabet game, pretty impressive for the driver. Tonight we are at Montgomery Bell State Park, just west of Nashville. The sun was just setting when we got here (5p central), so we took a short walk down one of the trails and around the campground. Looks ...

8:57 and heading west!