Youngsville, LA - Houston, TX -- April 2 - 7. 2021

 Youngsville, LA - Houston, TX

April 2 - 7. 2021

On Friday, April 2 we drove to Youngsville, LA.

The roads in Louisiana were bad.  Things in the 5th wheel got rearranged during flight.  We stayed at the Acadian Oasis RV Park.  It was bare bones with no amenities but very clean and well groomed.  The weather was very nice and we sat outside Sunday afternoon and enjoyed it.

Monday, April 5 we drove to Houston.

That was a tall bridge!

  I thought the roads in Louisiana were bad, but those in Houston were the worst.  The Sam Houston Tollway had confusing signs telling us "no cash, EZ Tag only".  All the navigation maps said that was the way to go, we figured what were they going to do to us once we got on, so we got on.  There was no place to pay when we got off, and they should have paid us for the white knuckle experience.  We don't know if we'll get something in the mail or not.  The road is under construction, has narrow lanes, drainage grates to run over with the right wheels as you're on an elevated surface most of the time, and a cement barrier on the right.  I did get a picture going over one of the bridges.

We stayed at the Jetstream RV Park, the nearest RV park to the Johnson Space Center.  It's a new and very nice park.

Tuesday, April 6 we went to the Johnson Space Center.

I took so many pictures it's hard narrowing a few down for the blog.  Remember you can click on a picture and make it larger.  We got there at 10:00 and looked at a few things while waiting for our trolley tour.

The tram took us to the Saturn V building.  They said if you stand it straight up it's taller than the Eiffel Tower.

There is a rocket outside the building.

Inside the building we started at the bottom of the rocket.

The trolley dropped us off outside at the Space Shuttle and Spacex Falcon 9 rocket.  A four story building takes you up to the Space Shuttle.  This is the shuttle on the 747, the front of the shuttle, some of the cockpit and cargo bay.

We walked over to the Spacex Falcon 9, which was used twice.  John was very interested in this as he keeps up on all the rockets launched.

Back inside the building we went through the other displays.  Here are just a few.

It was very interesting and I'm glad we went.  If you're in the area I would highly recommend it!

Lord willing, tomorrow we're heading south for Boca Chica, where they fire off some of the Spacex rockets.

Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

Out West, 2021

 Home to Biloxi, MS

March 28 - April 1, 2021

We left home on a windy Sunday, March 28 a little after noon, and after a quick stop back home because I forgot my prescription sunglasses.  Fortunately we were only 1/2 mile away when I realized it.

Our first stop was at a Boondockers Welcome in Augusta, Georgia.  It was out in the country and quiet.

It would have been faster to get down to I-10 if we went through Atlanta but John hates towing the 5th wheel through there.

Our stop on Monday, March 29 was at a Harvest Hosts location in Fort Valley, GA.  We parked next to the strawberry field, and bought some peach jam, pecans, and strawberries in their little store.  We were parked in the parking lot next to a highway and it was a busy two lane road, all day and night.  The weather was beautiful!

But before we got there we stopped at Buc-ee's.  I thought they were only in Texas but we saw the sign and had to stop.  I think it was a much smaller store than in Texas, but still very busy.

Tuesday, March 30 we traveled to another Boondockers Welcome location in Prattville, AL.  Our host was very friendly and had a beautiful back yard with a creek that ran behind the property.  It rained in the evening but was gone by morning.  We had a peaceful night's sleep.

The weather was heating up, there was a wind advisory, storms were expected, and a utility stop would be nice, so on Wednesday, March 31 we went to Wind Creek RV Park in Atmore, AL.  It was very nice, with concrete pads and full hookups for $37.50.  I-65 was near but didn't bother us.  We had a thunderstorm late afternoon into the evening, but the sun was shining in the morning.

Thursday, April 1 we had a windy drive to another Harvest Hosts location on a golf course near Biloxi, MS.  We had lunch in their restaurant and it was awful (April Fool's day - it was good!).

Here is the view from the back window...

and the view from the side window.

Before on our trips we've always driven right through Mississippi because it's a fairly narrow state.  This time we decided to stay in the state so we could get our MS sticker on our map.

We still have a few more states to go and will hopefully take care of some of those this year.

Tomorrow we head to Louisiana for a few days to sit out the Easter weekend, and then to Texas to see the Johnson Space Center.  After that who knows, we'll just be...

Roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

Pigeon Forge, TN - October 11 - 15, 2020

 Pigeon Forge, TN

 October 11 - 15, 2020

On Monday, October 12 we went to Dollywood.  We had purchased season tickets last year and because of the Wuhan virus they were extended until next spring.  They are having their Harvest Festival now and everything is decorated in pumpkins.  Here are a few.

During the festival they also have gospel groups.  We saw the Kingdom Heirs, The Carolina Boys, The Sound, and Messiah's Call.

Dollywood is a beautiful park.  Right now reservations are necessary because they limit the number of people in the park.  It was still pretty busy.  There were a lot of children and we found out that KY and TN are on Fall break.

On Tuesday, October 13 we went to the Titanic Museum.  The ratings were good and I can see why.  It was very well done; a lot of information but not overwhelming.

We weren't allowed to take pictures with a couple of exceptions.  Wallace Henry Hartley was the Titanic bandleader and violinist.  He and the whole band went down with the ship, playing "Nearer My God to Thee".  He had a life vest on and when he was found floating on the sea he had a valise strapped to his chest.  Inside the valise was his violin.  The valise and violin were the only pictures of the inside we were allowed to take.

It took about two hours to tour the museum.  If you are ever in the area it's well worth it.

Wednesday, October 14 we decided to take a drive.  We went south on Hwy. 321 to the Foothills Parkway.

We looked at the map and decided since the Tail of the Dragon wasn't far we'd do it.  We did it in the other truck so it was only fair we do it in the new truck.  John says he wants to do it on his motorcycle someday.

We had a picnic lunch near Fontana Dam and found the campground that's below it.  I knew it was there but never figured out how to get there.  Here's a view from the campground.

From there we went around by Bryson City, through Cherokee, and into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We tried to go to the top of Clingmans Dome but there was a long line of traffic to get to the parking lot.  After about 30 minutes we decided to turn around and go towards the Sugarlands Visitor Center.  I was surprised that there weren't more red colors, mostly yellow and gold.

The traffic around the parking areas was extremely crowded, but the roads weren't too bad.  We stopped at the Sugarlands Visitor Center to get my National Parks Passport stamp, as we had done at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.  There was a backup of traffic going towards Gatlinburg so we decided to take Little River Road and cut across towards Hwy. 321.  It may have been longer mileage but I think we got back faster.

We had a great trip and head for the barn tomorrow.

Roving on...

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Psalm 19:1