The Ray Adventures

Friday, April 28, 2017

April 21 - April 27 Tallahassee,KIssimmee & Patrick Air Force Base Florida

We arrived at Patrick Air Force base yesterday afternoon, continuing our tour of north and central Florida. We've been on a golf tour, mini golf that is. The weather continues to be in the mid to high 80's with high humidity. NO bugs though!

Thursday, April 20, We took the All Aboard Capital City Tour, Beth the owner and tour guide, took us on a 90 minute tour around the city of Tallahassee in a 3 seat golf cart. We wanted an overview of the city, what a kick! We started in the Government district, past the Old Capitol Museum and the "new" capitol building 22 stories tall, thru RR Square Art Park, where you'll find at least 50 working art studios and some funky restaurants, the FSU, and by FA&MU, (70,000 students combined) then out to Cascade Park, a 24 acre downtown park which includes an amphitheater, interactive water fountain, and a restaurant in the former Edison Power Plant building, also a rail to trail that you can ride your bike (or walk) all the way to the Gulf, about 22 miles. There is no shopping area downtown, it is all out in the market district. Strange. Beth dropped us off back at the new Capitol Building. Honestly it's the ugliest state capital I've ever seen, looks more like a "high" rise office building. We took the elevator to the observation floor for a 360 degree view of the city and surrounding area. Lots of trees! Now that we are out of the "flats", hills seem strange. Tallahassee was built on 7 hills just like Rome We visited the House of Representatives in session, they did pass 3 bills in the short time we watched. End of legislative session is April 30, no time to doddle. We went back to Cascade Park to have lunch at the Edison, the former power plant. Then home to Luci who was cooped up in the coach all day. After dinner we went to a nearby public park, picked up 3 geo caches.

Friday, April 21, Tallahassee has 28 miles of canopy roads, the huge Spanish moss draped Live Oak, Sweetgum, Hickory and Pine trees reach across to meet in the middle, shadowing the roads. Truly beautiful! The roads we took were narrow and curvy with some beautiful homes along the way. We had a busy day, we decided to take Luci to doggie day care to tire her out. We took a canopy road out to Bradley's Country Store, a family owned store, listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places, it's been operating at the same location since 1927. Famous for their homemade sausage, the place smelled delish!While we were there a man picked up a large order of meat for a family reunion, he drove down from Georgia. The Tallahassee Automobile Museum is filled with some amazing cars, I fell in love with a 1961 Chrystler Imperial. Oh those fins! The oldest vehicle is a 1860's hearse that was used to carry Lincoln. The museum is not only full of cars but just about anything anyone could possible collect. After a quick bite at Mickey D's we drove to the Goodwood Plantion, originally a 2,400 acre cotton plantation. The1830's home is filled with period furniture that belonged to the several families that lived there, the home was occupied until 1990 when it was bequeathed to a non profit to preserve the house and property as a house museum and park. Our tour guide, Margaret, was very knowledgeable in the family history, the home and contents. The grounds and out buildings are in need of a little attention and money. We got to the Mission St. Luis 45 minutes before closing, we really had to hustle to see everything. Another National Historic Landmark, a 63 acre Spanish Mission that includes a Native American Council house, a re-constructed fort, a Spanish dwelling and a Franciscan church and several out buildings. The local Friar stopped by to answer questions outfitted in period clothes. At the fort a soldier filled us in the facts of the Alpalachee Indians and the Spaniards fighting together against the British. It is the only reconstructed 17th century fort in Florida. We picked up a very tired Luci, she had a great day, they have a boned shaped pool in the play area.

Saturday, April 22, We took Luci to doggie day care again, we planned to spend the day downtown. Our first stop was the Saturday market, a variety of arts, crafts and produce. I bought a loaf of jalapena cheddar sour dough bread and some veggies. Delish but the peppers were HOT!! Gary took the goodies back to the covered garage, then we walked to the Old Capitol Museum, the historic building was restored in 1979. The dome and staircase were especially beautiful. The self-guided tours take you through Florida's political history, the House and Senate Chambers, Supreme Court and Governor's office and suite. We weren't able to take a picture of the front of the building, there was a large Earth Day protest for Science. We had lunch at Andrews Capital Grill and Bar, where during session, is filled with legislators. We enjoyed a nice lunch outside, several people had their dogs with them. After lunch we walked down the the Museum of Florida History. It exhibits artifacts covering Florida's history from prehistoric mastadons to the Space Age. We picked up a tired Luci at day care, we were all dog tired.

Sunday, April 23, I was about to cross another thing off my bucket list, but not to be, YET. The Tallahasse Museum has zip lines in 3 skill levels, one for kids, intermediate and advanced. Unfortunately it's not just a zip line but an obstacle course with zip lines. Phooey! I can't physically do the obstacle course, maybe the kids level but I couldn't bring myself to do it. A Blues Festival was happening all weekend at the museum, we could hear music all around the property. Not a typical museum it depicts North Florida Natural and Human history . A nature trail winds through 52 acres of lakeshore (swamp) and woodlands. We saw panthers, owls, bears, deer, an eagle, birds of prey. The alligator section was closed and the wolves must have been sleeping in the bushes. You walk through trails and elevated boardwalk through their natural habitat. Jim Gary, a sculptor, featured more than 15 tons of auto parts into dinosaurs scattered throughout the park. Several 1800 to 1900 buildings were brought into the museum, including a farm house, schoolhouse, church, slave quarters and even a caboose. The zipline obstacle course takes you over the tree tops and cypress swamps. Oh how I wish! Back to the coach and poor mistreated Luci. The forecast rain came, lasting a couple of hours. The cool air sure felt good.

Monday, April 24 Moving day, those 5 days in Tallahasse sure flew by. We left about 10 for our 275 mile drive to the Kissismmee area, arriving about 4:30. We had to put more money on our Sun Pass we purchased 2 years ago before getting on the Florida Expressway to Kissimmee. Tropical Palms Resort and Campground is big, about the same number of cabins and RV sites, almost 800 total. We will be here only 3 nights, it 's very expensive.

Tuesday, April 25 A day of rest although we played 3 rounds of mini golf (72 holes) Gary won all of them! Our neighbor June, from North Ridgeville Ohio joined us for happy hour. She and her husband own a business there, so he's up there running it, he will be back to take her home in May.

Wednesday, April 26 We left Luci at Best Friends Pet Resort, located on Disney property, about 9. A very fancy place, she had
her own inside/outside "suite". We made sure to wrote down our parking row number, Epcot's parking is WAY to big to search for your car. The first thing you see is the iconic Spaceship Earth, an 18 story geodesic sphere that takes you back in time on a very slow moving ride up and down, demonstrating advancements in human communication. Epcot spans 300 acres of Disney's 2,700 acres, it's divided into two sections, World Showcase, made up of 11 nations and Future World made up of 8 pavilions . Things have changed (of course) here since my last visit 10 plus years ago. Gary and his sis Suzanne visited Epcot 2 years ago while I was in Oregon for my class reunion. We were lucky to visit during the Festival of Flowers running April and May. Everywhere you looked your eyes had a feast of gorgeous flowers. Along the way we visited the Butterfly Exhibit, monarchs were hatching as we watched. I've never seen anything like it. We left about 6, a long day but as always it's fun. We picked up a tired Luci, all 3 of us were "pooped" out. Gary and I went to Orlando to BJ"S for dinner.

Thursday, April 27 We left Kissimmee about 10:30, it was already 81degrees, for our 79 mile drive to Patrick Air Force Base, just north of Cocoa Beach, situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Banana River. Patrick AFB is supposedly on the short list for base closing according to fellow campers we talked to. Patrick AFB is home to the 45th Space Wing, it controls and operates Cape Canaveral and manages all unmanned rocket launches. To reach the Fam Camp you pass the end of the runway, if the signal is green you can proceed, if red, of course you stop and wait for the plane to land or take off.   The Fam Camp is located right on the river, many military retirees winter here, most have headed home, the camp is only about half full. We will be here for 10 days.   After getting settled we drove into Cocoa Beach to go to the bank and Visitor Center, which had already closed for the day, so what to do, we visited Alligator Alley Mini Golf with live alligators in the ponds. On the second hole I about pee'd my pants, several 3 feet long alligators hit the fence close to where I was getting ready to putt. Wholly smokes! I finally won or maybe Gary felt sorry for me and lost purposely. We picked up some groceries at the commissary before heading back to the coach for dinner. It's pretty breezy, a good thing, afternoon temps reached the high 80's with high humidity.

That's it for this week, enjoy the pic's,

TTFN

Gary and Pam

Our tour guide Beth and our 3 seat golf cart

Canopy road

Bradley's Country Store

1860's hearse used to transport Lincoln

Ahh, I love '50's Chevy's

A sea of cars and collectibles

The Batmobile used in the movie

Back of Goodwood Mansion

Spanish Fort in San Luis Mission

Council house

Inside Council House

Luci's Day Care in Tallahassee

Old Capitol Museum

Amazing dodme


Governor's office and suite

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Gulport & Tallahassee April 12 - April 20

It's only been 18 days since we left Rockport, we've traveled to four states and covered almost 1,000 miles. We promised ourselves to take more time at each destination on this trip. The weather has been beautiful although it's a little hot here in Tallahassee.

Wednesday, April 12. We left Lakeside RV Park after filling our propane tank, it's been over a year since we last filled. We arrived at Shields Fam Camp, Seabee Construction Base Gulfport, Ms., about 11:30 after a short 107 mile drive, we'll be here for 7 nights. Our third time here, what a great place, miles and miles of white, white sandy beaches that run almost the length of the Mississippi Gulf coastline. The beautiful weather continues, it was 80 degrees before noon with a light breeze. I was able to get a doctor appointment at 4, I stubbed my toe about 6 weeks ago and it's getting sorer. It seems like a stupid thing to be "fussing" about but if the big toe ain't happy....... I was referred to a podiatrist Friday at 8am (arggghh very early for us) at their clinic in Gautier, about 25 miles toward Alabama. Ron, our CPA called with some questions about our taxes, he thinks he'll get them finished to file on time. Gary wanted to go out to dinner, we drove to Pass Christian to "Shaggy's", on a pier surrounded by marina's. We dined alfresco watching the silly pelicans dive for their dinner.

Thursday, April 13. We ran several errands, we needed to get a new bike rack to replace the old one that was damaged, a trip to commissary, picked up our Epcot tickets from Community Recreation (saved about $90.00) and took Luci to the dog park. I washed my car and Gary spruced up the tire rims, big day!

Friday, April 14. We were up and out the door by 7:00, my appointment was scheduled for 8, we weren't sure what traffic would be like. Since we'll be in the area for less than 5 days now, the Dr. wants me to wait until we get somewhere where we'll be there a couple of weeks so they can take off my toe nail and monitor the healing. Looks like I'll be wearing sandals a little longer. We were planning to re-visit Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, Al. so we continued a little further east. Two years ago we visited the home in early February, but not the gardens (1) Not much in bloom and (2) it was REALLY cold and windy. Mr Bellingrath was Mobile's first Coca Cola bottler in the early 1900's, he bought the fish camp on the Fowl River in 1917 and turned the 65 acre property into a showcase. The house features Mrs. Bellingrath's collections of antiques, silver, china, crystal and cut glass. I remember from the house tour, Mrs. B. would get together with her butler every morning to choose the china, crystal and silver for every meal of the day, mine is Dixie's finest with Oneida and our every day crystal of Solo Cups. Saves a lot of time that way. The Boardwalk along the Fowl River was closed for maintenance, we did walk it in the cold weather 2 years ago, you can sometimes see birds, fish, turtles, deer and alligators. Our last stop on the walk was the Asian/American gardens, we were disappointed, the Asian Gardens needed maintenance. I found out 2 days later that Gary saw a big black snake as we entered. He was wise not to mention it to me. I'm sure I would have been running and screaming to the exit at fast as I my short little legs would have carried me. The gardens began to develop in 1927, fountains, flagstone pathways, and the formal rose garden and conservatoryvwere all part of the original design. In 1932 the Bellingrath's placed an ad in the Mobile newspapers inviting the locals to see the spring flowers, over 4,700 people came, after that the Bellingrath Gardens were open to the public year around. Mrs. B. died in 1943. In 1955 Mr B. died, since they had no children a foundation was created to oversee the gardens and home and provide scholarships. The flowers were so beautiful, I've never seen hydrangea's bloom so big. The rose garden wasn't quite in it's prime but I did get to "sniff" a few. It was a beautiful day, I tried to envision, where if I lived there, would I enjoy sitting "out" the most. Certainly not the Asian garden LOL!!! We drove to Ocean Spring, Mississippi for lunch, 2 years ago we met Ron and Sharon, they were on their cross continental bike ride from St. Augustine to Santa Monica, we joined them at a cute brew pub, now a Tapa's restaurant so we walked across the street to "Off The Hook" instead. Pretty tasty! I had grilled grouper and Gary had fish tacos. After lunch we drove back to Gulfport rescue Luci from her prison in the coach.

Saturday, April 15. Gary and I both rode our bikes around the base, well I just did 3 miles and Gary rode the perimeter of the base. I had a pedi appointment at 11, sore toe and all. After lunch we went downtown to mail some money to Uncle Sam. We did some geo cacheing at Gulfport Marina before running into a snag at the pier. Lots of walking.

Sunday, April 16. Happy Easter. I started the day with anothe bike ride, a bit breezy, the last half of the ride was into a head wind. We went to the base Chapel for Easter Service. The Chaplain wore jeans, a plaid shirt and a guitar, the message was good but short, only a half hour. After church I went to the store to pick up groceries to make Easter dinner. Unknowingly Gary had lunch while I was gone, so I put dinner off until 3:30.

Monday, April 17. A lovely morning, no wind, I had a nice bike ride with out a headwind. I did some cleaning before we went to Triplett Drug lunch counter for beignets, yummmmmy, basically a gob of goo, deep fried and smothered in powdered sugar. What's not to like? After, we walked the beach to burn off the calories. We decided to invest some of our hard earned cash into Mississippi's economy, we drove to Biloxi to the Beau Rivage Casino...We waited in line to join the players club to get $10.00 each playing money. Low and behold, I won $50.00, Gary lost $1.00. I quit before I lost my earnings. I think I like gambling after all. After a quick trip to Keesler AFB Exchange we went to lunch at Shaggy's Biloxi. I bought!

Tuesday, April 18. Our last day in Gulfport. Our new bike rack came in to Cyclist Choice and Fitness. The Saris bike rack is so much better than our old one, very study. One of the features that sold us is the bike lock built right in so no need for a cable and a padlock. There were still 2 things I needed to do. A trip to the wonderful quilt store, beautiful fabrics, I left the store empty handed, no time for quilting until we get back to Rockport. You know the saying "shopping with your husband is like hunting with the game warden", I left Gary behind while I visited the Outlet Mall, they have some great stores there including my favorite, Talbots. I bought some new tank tops and a pair of shorts-what restraint. Our rule - bring something new in - toss something out. Keeps you honest. When I got back to the coach we did some prep for our departure in the morning. We put our outside "stuff" away and loaded the bikes so we could make a quick getaway. I fixed one of Gary's favorite dinners, chicken curry and rice for dinner, I just had salad.

Wednesday, April 19. We left Gulfport a little after 9 for our 308 mile drive to Tallahassee. We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center to pick up some Tallahassee brochures. After a quick lunch we were on the road again, arriving at 5:00 EDT, settling in our site was nice and easy, no pesky trees to get in the way and best of all we have satellite service. Tallahassee has a population of close to 200,000 with an elevation of 216. The city has 7 hills, just like Rome. The Spanish explorer de Sota discovered the area in 1538 on his way to explore North America.

That's it for this week enjoy the pic's.

TTFN

Gary and Pam

Rose in Bellingrath RoseGarden

Hibiscus in Bellingrath Gardens

Mermaid Fountain - Bellingrath Gardens

Home and landscape

Swamp at fish camp

One of many statues

Live oak tree with Spanish moss Bellingrath garden

nasty snake

Bridge in Asian garden

New bike rack

Live oak tree with Spanish moss at our site in Tallahassee

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

More pic's from Galveston & Baton Rouge

Our view of Gulf from coach

Ferry ride from Galveston to Pt. Bolivar

Old Capitol Bldg Baton Rouge

USS Kidd Mississipi River bridge in background

The head on USS Kidd, red toilet seat used by sailors who had VD

Old Governors mansion designed to look like White House

New 34 story tall capitol bldg

View from 27th floor of capitol park

View of river from 27th floor

Liberty Bell reproduction as in all 50 states

Mongolia Mound Plantation

Outdoor kitchen

Overseers cabin

Slave quarters

Stupid kid at Bluebonnet Swamp

One of the last magnolia blooms

Rockport & Galveston, Texas - Baton Rouge, La. March 5 - April 11

We are on the road again, we left the 2nd of April for our lopsided loop back to Rockport for our 5th winter there. Our blogs "should" become more regular during our travels. I'll try to be brief to catch you up on our "happenings" this last 6 weeks.

I'll start off bragging, Dick and Fran and Gary and I won the trivia contests at Bay View both times! Wahoo! There is talk about splitting us up next year. NO Way!

David, Marihelen, Dick, Fran, Lynda, Bob, Sharon, RJ, Gail and Gary and I carpooled to Goliad, about an hour from Rockport, for a day of sightseeing in the historic city of Goliad. We took Luci and Kelsea, David and Marihelen's dog to Salty Paws Doggie day care so we wouldn't have to worry about them. They are great "buds" and had a lot of fun. We have been to Goliad several times, I won't go into the history again. We visited the Fallin Massacre Monument, The Presidio and walked through the historic district downtown. We had lunch at The Hanging Tree Restaurant, a bit of an adventure, they seemed to be out of most everything on the menu, it was almost "I'll have whatever you still have in the kitchen", the food was good but not necessarily what we wanted. The restaurant, right across from the Courthouse, in the 1800's had a hanging judge, when convicted of a capital crime were immediately taken to the hanging tree and hanged. No stays of execution in those days.

Every Thursday we have a sewing day at the Adult Clubhouse, this winter I finished Lyla's baby quilt (the most beautiful baby girl ever) and a king size quilt for our bed. It is brightly colored to jazz up the brown interior of the coach. This year there were only 4 of us who regularly showed up from 9-3.

We took the kayak out only twice this winter, it seems the gorgeous weather days we were been busy. We launched at Paradise Key, a busy marina and restaurant next to a wildlife area. A kayak fisherman told us where to go to see the nesting birds but the only ones we saw flew away as we approached. We paddled across the bay, we happened upon a Reddish Heron,he stayed in one spot as we paddled near him "shooting", with the camera of course. Beautiful birds.

Dick and Fran, our neighbors across the street, hosted a fish fry. David, who is from north Texas has a boat, furnished most of the fish. The rest of the meal was, of course, pot luck. The guys fried, grilled and bbq'd. Delish!!!

The 24th we had a good bye party for the Winter Texans at the Family Clubhouse preceding Bo Rivers, our favorite entertainer. Sharon, our activities director (and friend) does a wonderful job of coming up with fun activities and entertainers. Bo does a nice job of mixing country and oldies that all the "old coots" can dance to.

After many months of stressing we finally got our new washer delivered and it works! Very long story but we have been going to the laundromat since the end of November. Many, many thanks to the guys who did the heavy lifting, especially RJ who was there everytime. The washer is filled with concrete to keep the machine balanced as it spins, it had to go up the stairs and over my chair.

Our last Friday at Bay View, Sharon organized a pool party at the Adult Clubhouse with burgers and hot dogs.. We had a floating poker table complete with plastic cards and chips, beach balls, squirt guns, nothing brings the "kid" out of the old farts like a good squirt gun fight. I (of course) won the hula hoop contest.

We washed the coach and car getting set for our trip to Galveston. We have gotten out of the habit of packing and purchased a few new things, it was a bit tricky getting everything put back in the basement.

Our last day in Rockport I made a decision to cut my hair short, after a winter of frizz I couldn't take it any longer. Big step, I've worn my hair this length for about 20 years. Since it was our last night at BayView we hosted happy hour at our place. The usual suspects came, lots of yummy app's to snack on and good conversation along with adult beverages. Will miss our friends while we're on the road, some of them are heading back home, a few stay there year around and some (like us) travel.

Sunday, April 2, Moving day, 193 miles to Galveston. About 30 miles out the skies opened up and poured. There went the clean car and coach. We arrived at Sandpiper RV Resort about 3:30, we stayed there last October, what a great park right next to the beach. Gary talked me into dinner at Yamato's Sushi, we ate there our last night before Rockport in October. We will be here 5 nights, Luci loves it here and we all know she rules our life. As we came into Galveston we noticed large pipes on the beach for several miles that ended a short way from the Sandpiper. We found out they are dredging the ship channel then somehow draining the sand through the pipes and out into the gulf. Whether that is true or not I don't know, I question that because the ship channel is East of our park. They were in the process of removing the pipe while we were there.

Monday, April 3, Today is my big brother's 76th birthday. Happy birthday Punch! I hope Eliana took you out to a great place in Honolulu. Took it easy today, did laundry and walked 4 miles on the beach.

Tuesday, April 4. Happy birthday to our daughter-in-law Barbara. We started the day walking on the beach. Since we've seen most of Galveston on our previous visits we get to enjoy ore of the beach and park amenities. Our trip to Magic Carpet Mini Golf was fun - I'm in a real "slump" Gary beat me by 9 strokes. It's just a game, right? We had lunch at Nick's Beach Bar and Grill, pretty tasty! Another evening walk on the beach after dinner. Very laid back day.

Wednesday, April 5. As promised a "cool" (not cold) front blew in, blue skies but winds about 25 MPH all day. We did do our morning and evening beach walks, we drove up to Texas City (near NASA) looking for a new bike rack, we did find one for $300. Guess we can wait until we get to Baton Rouge.

Thursday, April 6, Happy birthday Brayden and Jessalynne, 12 already! Lots of birthdays in our family this week. Truly a Chamber of Commerce Day, sunny with a slight breeze with temps in the high 70's. After the morning beach walk we washed the coach, in the afternoon we rode our bikes down Seawall Blvd. past the Pleasure Pier, I wanted to pick up a souvenir T-shirt and to check out Blvd. Seafood, the restaurant where we planned to have dinner. We "prettied" up, went to Hotel Galvez a historic hotel, for happy hour before dinner at Blvd. Seafood. Yum, yum, yum.

Friday, April 7, We left for our 198 drive to Baton Rouge , La. shortly after 9. Louisiana has rough roads, especially through the Atchafalya basin, the largest wetland and swamp in the United States, with probably 20 miles of elevated Interstate. About 30 miles from our RV park in Livingston, traffic came to a halt, it took us 2 hours to get to Lakeside RV park, including the bridge over the Mississippi. I'm not too keen on looking over the guard rails straight down to the water. We'll be at Lakeside RV for at least 5 days, we have an appointment Monday morning to have back tires checked. We picked up dinner at Wayne's BBQ, choosing to eat in the coach, the place was a bit "seedy" but tasty and enough for 2 meals each. Luci is missing the beach.

Saturday, April 8, We took Luci to doggie day care, drove 20 miles into Baton Rouge to take in the sights. Another traffic jam, this time downtown, a walk/run was stopping traffic. We parked about 8 blocks away from the river, it would take us less time to walk than drive, with the event going on. Our first stop was the USS Kidd, a WWII era destroyer located on the river. (of course) She was launched in 1943, seeing action on Wake Island ,Rabaul, Gilbert, Marshall, Guam and Philippines. A kamikazi attack in April 1945 killed 28 crewmen. She was decommissioned in 1964 and brought to Baton Rouge in 1982. After a quick lunch we went to the state capitol building, the tallest in the US, 34 stories located on beautiful park grounds, the magnolia trees were just finishing their bloom. We took the elevator to the 27th observation deck for a 360 degree view of the Baton Rouge area, very, very flat.

Sunday, April 9, We took Luci to doggie day care again. Our first stop was the Bass Pro Shop, not as fancy as the one in Memphis, Gary got a new UPV shirt and we walked around looking at all the huntin' and fishin' stuff and dreamed about buying a boat. We had lunch at their restaurant, Fish Co. we ate at the bar facing a large aquarium of salt water fish. After a delicious lunch we drove to Brec's Magnolia Mound Plantation in Baton Rouge. The original 4 room house with a wraparound porch was built in 1791, surrounded by 950 acres of cotton, sugar cane, indigo and tobacco. The house was enlarged by subsequent owners to 8 rooms, the several outbuildings include the overseers cottage, slave quarters, outdoor kitchen, 3 hole privy and pigeoneer, showing how the operations of the plantation were supported. In 1966 the city of Baton Rouge purchased the house and 16 acres, they spent time and money renovating it back to the 1800's, the home was occupied by families until 1960. The furniture inside is not original to the home but are time pieces valued at over a million dollars. Our tour guide was excellent, wish I could remember everything she said.

Monday, April 10, Bright and early we took the coach to GM Vardo and Sons for the tire check, the back tires are wearing funny, there are less than 5,000 miles on them. Good news, (for a change) no axle problems. only took an hour and $150. We are back in Costco land - we took our $335 rebate credit and did a little shopping.

Tuesday, April 11. Our last day in Baton Rouge area. We left Luci in the coach for our trip to Bluebonnett Swamp and Nature Center, a 65 acre cypress swamp smack in the middle of BR. The visitor center have many live animal exhibits including a small alligator and way TOO many snakes. One of the employees was walking around with a snake around his neck. Ick! We took the Outer Walk through the swamp, saw only squirrels, a few birds, lizards and many turtles. A nice walk through the swamp on boardwalks. A great value, only $2.50 for seniors. We had lunch at Roux 61 before heading back to the RV park.

That's it for now, enjoy the pic's.

TTFN

Gary and Pam