sitting down for a while

The day started windy wet and overcast. I left Houston early and headed to Goose Island State park. Instead of following the computer map I decided to follow Susie (my GPS) as she was pointing down some secondary roads which I like to follow when I've got the time. You really get to see the "real" country that way. Well that was fine until I hit construction and had no choice but to go down a roadway underconstruction ..... not really gravel but basically mud.....my poor rig was already dirty and got a mud bath. Thankfully the rain started again so once back on the paved roads alot of the mud got washed off.
Drove by the Aransas wildlife area (that's where the Whooping cranes winter) and saw lots of birds flying in the winds............ got to Goose Island State park and realized it was a Friday......duuuuuh. don't really keep track of what day it is anymore so found out they were full for the weekend. Sooooooo on to plan B which was to continue on to Seawind RV resort near Kingsville. Arrived there in bright sunshine and got a site for at least one week. I have included a few pics of my site here. http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99
Doug.

Glad I'm in Houston

Like last year at this time big Ice storm going through just north of here. The temp. here in Houston today was 70 but the humidity is high so feels a lot higher. We are forecast to get rain starting late this afternoon and tonight and then tomorrow the temps dive down into the 40's here, but north of here they are going to be getting up to 1/2 inch of ice. Soooooo time to move further south. Will hook up tomorrow morning and head on down to Goose Island state park on the gulf.
I spent today relaxing and shopping. Went into the Katy Mills mall which must be owned by the same company that runs the Vaughan Mills mall north of Toronto. Exactly same layout and stores including Bass Pro. I did walk around the mall 1 mile trek I'm told.
Finally found a replacement filter for the water system at Walmart and at a good price. Will start reading a new book this evening I think.
Doug.

braking braking

Left Coushatta rv park this morning and set out along Louisiana route 12 towards Houston. I like to get off the interstates when I got time to explore the real world and see how everyone else lives. A lot of people in Louisiana seem to live in prefab homes and because of the high water levels most don't have basements. Another thing that struck me was the big disparity between rich and poor.
Anyway as I was driving along up pops a deer right in front of me ...........whew got a chance to check out the new brake controller, the trailer brakes and the exhaust brake and all were pushed to the limits and performed perfectly. The deer will live to scare someone else another day and my unit will live without dents, at least for now. Unfortunately the inside of the trailer didn't fare so well........no major damage but one of the doors in the kitchen popped open (note to self secure with bungee cords from now on) and the dishes crashed to the floor. I was lucky I guess because I only lost one corell plate (smashed into a thousand pieces) well I will have to vacuum again, and look for a matching plate to replace it so Sue won't find out. :-)
I am always amazed driving through big cities (must be the urban geographer in me) and Houston is on building spree many things seem to have changed from last year in the corridor I travel along. I 10
I am at the Houston West RV park and will stay here for two nights ..... gotta hit camping world and Costco before I head on down further south. this is a nice park with gravel pads with good WiFi at least so far.
Well off to vacuum
Doug

still heading down

I pulled out of the RV park early in the morning and got through Nashville's rush hour traffic fairly quickly then a long haul down to Memphis then south on I55 ending up at Canton Mississippi. This is where they build Nissan's Huge plant located here. I stayed at the Movietown RV campground very quiet but no WiFi anyway left there at around 9am this morning and got onto the Natchez Trace parkway heading further south. I had travelled this route in reverse in the spring and really enjoy the trip. The road is limited to non-commercial traffic and therefor the traffic is very light. It is like travelling on a road going through a park the whole way. No stops no traffic That road ended at Natchez Miss. and then over the river to Louisiana. I stopped at the Coushatta Casino Campground. I had stopped here on the way North and knew they had free WiFi so great place to spend the night with full hookups for $17.00 (as long as I don't go into the casino) I was able to get under the trailer (concrete pads) and wash off some of the salt and sand from up north and lubricate the slide outs etc.
The temp here is about 71 degrees F. but is suppose to drop down into the upper 30's at night and this coming weekend it is only getting up into the 40's for a high so I will leave here tomorrow and head to Houston to spend a few days so I can visit camping world, and Costco.
Not sure where I will go then ..........I guess where ever the wind blows me.
Doug.

On the Road again

I started out at 2AM on Saturday morning. Nice easy drive down to Sarnia to cross over into the states. Easy border crossing this time no grilling just friendly questions then down interstate 65. Got down to Elizabethtown Kentucky around 4pm and setup camp at the same campground I used last year. The temps were in the upper 50's awe warmth. was going to stay a few days here but they couldn't get the Internet to work sooooo packed up in the rain Sunday morning and headed further south. I was going to get down to Mississippi but was stymied by a bad traffic accident on the interstate north of Nashville. I used the backup as an excuse to pull off and go to a Cracker Barrel for Lunch.....figured I'd wait out the backup but the traffic didn't start moving so asked the locals what was the best bypass road to take down to Nashville .... they told me and so I set out and met up with thousands of other truckers using the same route so the pace was stop and go on this route as well. Approaching Nashville I started to get a cramp in my leg just as I noticed I was coming up to a campground I had used on my trek north last spring.......so in I went and set up for the night. This gave me an excuse to go into Nashville to visit camping world which I did. Their WiFi works as well hence this blog.
I have posted a few pics of my new truck and of my travelling companion this year. Moe was a gift from Pat a colleague who passed away last spring. I will probably let Moe tell some of the tails of this winter's adventures in future blogs. Pics are posted here.
http://picasaweb.google.ca/collindo99
I am hoping to get down into Mississippi tomorrow will post when I can.
Doug.

Almost ready

I have all my stuff loaded and ready to leave early Saturday morning...... just need Sue to catch up and get her stuff ready to load. I figure if she can get everything loaded now she won't have to worry about any bags for the flight down in March. Last year she just had a small carry on bag to take but with recent developments ..... no carry-ons allowed.
We are having a parish dinner at our church Friday night which should be nice but I will have to restrain myself from eating too much as I don't like sitting for a long drive with a full stomach. I am hoping to get down to Elizabethtown Kentucky on the first day. Will bring the Ti home tomorrow morning and if the garden hose is not frozen up will try to get some of the salt and dirt off from my trip up to Morry's a couple of weeks ago.
Glendale industries which make the Titanium trailer I own have gone into bankruptcy :-) who knows I may have a collectors item. ......... but I do hope they can restructure and come back to life.
Doug.

new doo

Things must be getting serious I went in yesterday and got my summer cut. Marched right into my barber and said OK do it, cut it off for summer. Another patron looked at me funny and said know something about the weather we don't? My barber just looked at him and said he's retired probably heading back to southern Texas Oh they know me. :-)
Stopped into the school to say hi to my former collegues (and gloat) then off to make arrangements for new mud flaps on the truck. Got that scheduled for tomorrow. Have even started putting clothes that I'm taking into piles to go out to the trailer.
Need to get some US cash now that we are almost at parity. I know bad for the economy but good for Doug's travels.
Thatttttsss all for now folks.
Doug.

making plans

I just realized looking over the last few entries OK OK the last many entries I always start with "well" guess I better try to change things up a bit. So here goes..............
Can't wait to get on the road again. I have put things in high gear and even called my insurance people to push up the date of my leaving by a week. I hope to get out of here by Jan. 23 and start the mad dash down to warmer weather......... I know your saying it isn't much warmer down there from what we hear....well yes it is cooler than normal but the daytime highs are still up in the 50's, 60's and 70's which is much better than the teens and 20's here. The family was all together last weekend for the christening of my great niece Abby or Abbo as her big brother Sammy calls her. Have heard a few of my former collegues are going to be joining the ranks of the retired soon. Unfortunately I won't be there to help them celebrate but wish them well on the next phase of their lives. I certainly am enjoying it.
I have plotted out my intended first day driving on the map on the right. Long drive but made it that far last year.
Thatttsss all for now folks.
Doug.

getting set

well I have a new box liner installed, my hitch installed and a new brake controller installed. The truck is almost ready now need to start working on me and the other stuff that needs to be done so I can head to warmer climates for the rest of the winter.
Pulled the trailer for the first time with the new truck and I think I'm going to like this setup. The truck is strong and smooth. My Niece is having her daughter Abby christened in St. George on Sunday so will have lots of guests here for the occasion. What a treat.
well off to choir practise.
Doug.

shivering

Well the temps have dropped, the white stuff is a flying and I am anxious to get things ready to head to warmer parts. Oh well got the truck LineX'd and will get the hitch on this Wed. and am starting to figure out what I need to put back into the trailer before I head out.
I went to see Avatar 3D on New years day with family and boy was it neat. The story is so so, much like dances with wolves but the special effects are amazing. Sue and I kept swatting in front of our eyes as it seemed like you were right in the middle of everything. Also have been watching the World Junior Hockey Championships which have been great. Canada plays the Swiss tonight in one seme-final and the States plays Sweden in the other with the winners going for gold. It would be nice for Canada to have the six pack of championships, but they will have to play better than they did in their win over the U.S. as they were lucky to win that one.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. May the year be an improvement over the last one for all those out of work.
Doug.