Week 32…New Orleans, Biloxi, Fort Myers & The Keys

After leaving the Sam Houston National Forest, we continued east into Louisiana and across the Mississippi River to Natchez, MS. We camped out in the parking lot of the Natchez Visitor Center where they allow RVs to stay for two nights and even offered free electricity. There was also a small lighted driving tour for the holidays so a few people were driving through but it wasn’t too bad.

Saturday we continued south and crossed back into Louisiana. We checked out a boondock spot north of Lake Pontchartrain that was not going to work at all. We found Fountainbleau State Park just west of that and were happy to be away from most of the crowd in the primitive campsites. They had just gotten a ton of rain in the area and many of the sites were flooded. It kept the traffic down in our area.

We got set up and wanted to relax for a bit. I took Gus for a walk since we’d had a long day in the truck. As I was looping back toward our campsite, I saw two dogs by the road. One was a large white husky, the other a little tiny thing getting dragged around by the large dog since their lines were intertwined. I was happy they at least were tied up and I was feeling really bad for the tiny dog especially when the big dog saw me and started really getting riled up. I picked up our pace hoping to pass by as quickly as possible. When the husky saw Gus, he started running full steam ahead. I thought, wow, that’s gonna hurt him when he gets jerked back…but instead his collar broke and he was coming straight for us. I grabbed Gus by the harness and tried to turn away but the husky circled around me and went right for Gus. They got into in briefly and then I managed to give the husky a good kick even with having just flip flops on. The husky was ready to come back for more but thankfully by then the three guys at the site were there and able to get it contained. I looked at Gus’ head and saw blood and I lost it. They were asking me if we were okay and I screamed at them that he’s 16 years old and we just wanted to go for a walk! I left in tears and got Gus back to our trailer. Craig had heard the commotion and asked if it involved us and then saw my face.

We checked Gus over and he only had a small cut above his eye. Once again very lucky he didn’t get it in the eye. I went back to talk to the guys who were very apologetic, made sure to point out the broken collar to me, and continued to express their concern. I appreciated how they handled it and gave Hugo the husky some crate time. I suggested a stronger metal collar for their dog and told them to have a nice day.

After that crazy incident it started raining so we went to Old Rail brewing for some beer and good soup. We ended the night at Chafunkta Brewing where we talked to a local who gave us the low down on New Orleans, which breweries to go to and places to avoid. He told us to go in early and get out before 3 pm when the Saints game was done.

We did actually get up early and were on the road by 7:30 am. It was rainy and foggy and we could see nothing as we drove the Causeway into town.

We made our way to the French Quarter and eventually got to Bourbon Street. We found ourselves behind the street sweeper and two guys on each side of the street power washing the street. We went around the block and got ahead of them only to be able to drive a few more blocks. But we got to see the mess that they were cleaning up.

We drove past Cafe Du Monde hoping to slide into a parking spot and get some beignets but the line was around the corner and there was nowhere to park. We had seen enough of the French Quarter at that point. We drove around the different neighborhoods and found Satsuma Cafe in the Bywater neighborhood. They had an excellent scramble and coffee and made up for missing out on the beignets.

We had time to burn before the breweries opened so we made a quick run to Costco and made our way back to Courtyard Brewery just as it opened. They had really good beer and were even dog friendly.

We moved on to Urban South brewing and the first thing we saw when we walked in the door was a bounce house filled with kids. We were immediately blasted with the Saints game on way too loud of speakers and the place was filled with TVs. We grabbed a beer and found a seat among all the black and gold jerseys and tried to have a conversation. We left as soon as we finished our beer.

We headed back to the Bywater neighborhood to Parleaux Beer Lab and were happy with the setting. The game was playing inside but they had lots of outdoor seating so we enjoyed our beer with Gus and were able to hear each other.

At this point, we had seen enough of New Orleans. We did get to see a lot of the different areas; the run down areas, the homeless under the bridges, the super narrow streets with tiny old houses, the streets with huge old houses, and the areas with big newer houses and fancy cars. It was very interesting to see and we are glad we went.

We ended up taking the Causeway back and found Coscino’s Italian Restaurant in Mandeville. We had our first muffuletta sandwich and we both loved it.

As we were finishing up, two obviously tipsy guys walked in and sat next to us at the bar. Turns out one was the owner of the restaurant and was pretty insistent that one of us do a shot with him. Since I was driving, Craig stepped up. They were really nice but after the first couple hugs from him, we decided it was time for us to go.

New Year’s Eve we had just a short drive to Biloxi, MS. My friend, Jason, lives there and was going to meet us for happy hour drinks. I met Jason 10 years ago at a forensic conference and we’ve kept in touch. It was great to see him and have him meet Craig. We parked our rig at the Golden Nugget Casino and met him at The Blind Tiger.

We met a few of his buddies and had a fun afternoon of hopping to their favorite places. We had a riot! They invited us out to ring in the New Year with them but we had somehow forgotten to eat and were feeling the effects of our afternoon drinking. We declined and were sleeping soundly well before midnight.

We’ve been moving along pretty quickly but not really on purpose. Four to six hours of driving now feels pretty normal for us. We were not going to go to the Keys, but now that we were close, well, what we consider close, we decided we might as well do it.

We were headed toward Panama City when my friend, Linda, texted me and told me her husband, Larry, was there working with Team Rubicon to help clean up after Hurricane Michael. I got a hold of him and although he only had a few minutes to chat, it was nice to see him and hear about their efforts there. It was kind of crazy that we got to spend Christmas Eve with Linda’s daughter and see her husband on New Year’s Day and she did not.

As we continued south looking for a place to sleep for the night, the area from Panama City south was just horrible. Such a devastating sight to see homes ruined, debris and trash everywhere. Homes that were once on the coast were now in a pile across the street. The roads were not good and although the rough parts were marked with barrels, our trailer got tossed around a little bit. It also was extremely foggy and we weren’t able to find some of the spots we were looking for to boondock. We came across the Carrabelle Park which looked more like a rest area. There was a sign that stated no overnight camping was allowed but there was a huge motorhome parked there already and we did not want to continue driving. We took a chance and it turned out just fine.

As we laid out our plan, we realized that Craig’s Aunt Karen and her husband, Roger, were staying south of Fort Myers for the winter. We were up and on the road pretty early and decided to make it a long travel day and meet up with Aunt Karen and Roger for dinner Wednesday night.

I called a state park that was close to them and it was full. There were a few other places listed as campgrounds but they seemed more like RV resorts for snow birds and were really expensive. We headed to the Pilot truck stop and were very surprised to see how busy it was. There were semis everywhere. We drove around twice and grabbed one of the last spots available…or so we thought.

We got the Jeep out and met Aunt Karen and Roger at Miller’s Alehouse. We had a great dinner and conversation and we didn’t put up too much of a fight when Roger insisted on paying.

We went back to our rig to find not only did a truck squeeze in directly behind us so there was no way of loading the Jeep, there was a huge car hauler semi right next to us. He was so close we couldn’t open the trailer door all the way. So we settled in for a noisy cramped night and marked that one as the worst boondock ever.

Thankfully we never heard the semi leave and got a decent night of sleep. Gus did wait until 6:30 am before he puked and woke me up. We have been trying to get a handle on why he’s doing this and we think it’s because he waits all day for something better to eat and when he realizes he’s only going to get his kibble, he scarfs it down so fast that his little body can’t handle it. We are watching how much he eats and how fast he eats it now. I shouldn’t complain too much since it’s Craig that cleans it up. I attempted to help and ended up gagging so much that I almost threw up myself. It’s weird that I saw and smelled so much worse stuff in my line of work and I can’t handle my own dog’s puke.

We left the truck stop and parked the rig at the Lowe’s in Estero. We went to see Aunt Karen and Rog’s place. We had some coffee and pastries and chatted some more. We finally said our goodbyes and were on our way. It was so great to see them and we appreciate them taking time to see us and take us out for dinner! I always love their hugs and Rog’s kisses on the cheek.

Once again we were on the road. We didn’t find any luck with campgrounds that had availability or that we could afford anywhere on the Keys so we took a chance and parked in the Home Depot parking lot in Marathon which was about an hour from Key West. I went inside and asked if it was okay if we stayed there and the clerk called the store manager who said it was fine but if the cops told us to leave, we would have to leave. The clerk told us that if we were really nice to the cops they usually let people stay. We actually really liked our spot. It was behind the garden center away from the main parking lot and we were tucked behind two Penske box trucks. We had grass, trees and privacy.

We saw that the American Legion was right next door so we went in and met some fun people there. It was bingo night and pretty busy. There was one couple set up in another room because of they were out of space. We gladly gave up our table so they could be part of the action and went to lean against the pool table next to a guy that ended up being the Commander. He’s lived in the Keys for 30 years and we learned a lot about the area and places we should go. Another guy, Joe, bought us a beer and told us all about his time serving in Alaska. It was pretty cool. We left after a while and were happy to see we had no warnings or tickets on the truck.

Friday morning we were happy to have gotten a full night of sleep and no one pounded on our door telling us to leave. We had breakfast and decided to head down to Key West before the weekend crowd arrived. We drove around town, passed the Southernmost Point Buoy which already had a line for pictures at 9 am. So we just snapped a picture from the Jeep and called it good. We have now been to the northernmost, westernmost and southernmost points that you can drive to in the continental United States.

We ended up passing it a couple more times and the line just kept getting longer and longer. We paid $9 to park for 2 hours and went into The Bull for a beer, at 10:30 am because that’s what you do in Key West right? We were a little hesitant to even go in because we saw a sign that said clothing optional. Thankfully it was on the upper level of the building and not open since it was early.

After a beer at The Bull, we went to First Flight Brewery which is the southernmost brewery so of course we had to go there. We were planning on having lunch but decided the prices weren’t in line with our budget and just had a beer and left. It was hot and we’d seen enough of Key West.

We headed back north and stopped at Boondocks on recommendation by my good friend Trish. Trish also told us to go to No Name Pub and that her parents were arriving at their rental house in the Keys that day. I have known her parents since the second grade when we became friends so I definitely wanted to stop in and say hi. After a great lunch at Boondocks, we found Pat and Cathy had just arrived and were literally just unlocking the door. They were surprised to see us and Pat said “I thought you were in Arizona?” Yes, we move fast. We left to go to No Name Pub and give them some time to get settled. No Name Pub was a cool little place filled with dollar bills. We added ours to the masses and enjoyed an IPA from Islamorada Beer Company.

We went back to Pat and Cathy’s and talked for hours with them. It was fun to catch up and hear stories of their time on the Keys in the past and we got to share some of our crazy stories from our last seven months. We finally had to say goodbye since we didn’t know if our boondocking spot would still be okay.

We got back to the Home Depot and again found no warnings or tickets. We were tired after a long day and went to bed. We did wake up to a very enthusiastic forklift driver who loved beeping his horn and singing at the top of his lungs at 5:30 am. Not sure if that was for our benefit but it did get us out of bed and moving earlier than we would’ve liked. But no complaints since we successfully boondocked on the Keys for two nights. Winning!

As I wrote about everything we did in the past week, I realize how crazy busy it sounds. We were in New Orleans a week ago and have been to the Keys and are heading north already. We had two long travel days but otherwise we just enjoyed everything at our pace and I guess that’s pretty quick. So we are going to make an effort to slow down a little bit.

I found a free campground in the DuPuis Management Area close to Lake Okeechobee. It’s a pretty nice setting but we’ve been warned about the mosquitoes that will appear at night. We’ll stay here a few days if we don’t get carried away by them.

We’re really not sure exactly what the game plan is per usual. I wouldn’t mind showing Craig Savannah and I’ve never been to South Carolina. We don’t have to be home for a while so we’d like to find a nice spot to hang out that has weather between this hot & humid stuff we have now and the freezing cold temps we needed to get away from.

Off to find Vug friendly weather…we know it’s out there.