December 8, 2015 Published December 17, 2015 I promise to get caught up, really I will!!
After another pleasant night
in a W/M parking lot, a quick breakfast and I was on my way. I really don’t
know what I’d do if it weren’t for being able to park overnight in most WalMart
parking lots. I know lots of people criticize W/M for some of their business
practices but man, let me tell you, being able to use their lots respectfully
for someplace to park overnight while on the road has made this trip not only
so much easier but also economically more viable. Well, them and the Flying
J/Pilot truck stops. Kudos to both of them for allowing us.
I arrived in Lake Charles in
the early afternoon and arm-wrestled (one way streets and funky off ramps) my
way to the Welcome Center. All my information on the Creole Tour I wanted to do
through Louisiana’s’ bayous and swamps kept telling me that I needed to either
print the file (no printer on board) or I could download an app to my phone.
Well, let’s just put it this way…I haven’t a clue how to download an app to a
phone…heck I manage to make phone calls and now I know how to use the WiFi
hotspot because a friend set it up and showed me what buttons to push but
that’s about it. So I went to the Welcome Centre and asked the two attendants
if either of them knew how to download the app to my phone and could they do it
for me. Much laughter later all three of us seniors agreed that it was beyond
all of us. Fortunately they also were able to tell me that I didn’t really need
to download anything. The stops on the tour were well marked on the road and
all had information signboards that would explain what I was looking at.
Off to check in at the Sam
Houston Jones State Park for the night because by this time I was due for a
shower. I totally lucked out at the park. Met a really nice woman and her
husband who split their time between New Mexico and Alaska. Aside from having a
wonderful chat with her, she pointed out that the little building ‘right over
there’ had FREE laundry facilities. I’d scoped out a laundromat on my way in to
the park and had planned on spending some time there the next day. Score!!
Needless to say I promptly washed everything in sight.
The next day I doddled around
until it was check out time. Actually, the staff came around and kind of gave
me the old evil eye about an hour BEFORE check out time so I stalled some more.
Actually the neighbor and I were having another chat so I finally left the park
shortly after checkout time.
I spent an entire lazy
afternoon sitting on the Lake Charles beach shore watching the lake, a couple
of families and a few joggers. Oh and I read some too.
 |
| Lake Charles Beach |
Off to another Wally World
campground for the night – that’s the euphemism for Wal Mart parking lots for
those that aren’t familiar with the term.
Tomorrow morning I start the
108 mile Creole Nature Trail.
Hi Beth! I enjoyed the posts about your trip down the Trace so now you have to keep blogging. More please! :-D
ReplyDeleteHey, Beth (I see your name on the above comment)...I'm Rhonda. I just jumped over here (with your link) from the Bob Wells cheap rv living forum tonight. I've been thinking about getting a Runaway and stumbled upon the thread over there about the FL guy that purchased a Runaway then regretted it. Bummer. But, not really. I have a tendency to be impulsive so I def needed that wake-up call. Prob no Runaway for me--if it was a coffin for him, well...I don't even know if you'll see this comment as your last post on this blog was some time ago. But I'm feeling chatty tonight and I've no one else to chat with so I'm gonna chat to myself right here on your blog. Some might call me a nutjob for doing so and that's their perogative. (I know, the correct spelling of that is "prerogative" but I just can't make myself write it correctly.) Okay, so...I spent a heckova long day today driving to and from Nashville to attend the annual RV show downtown. What a crock! I've never before in my life seen so much glossy patina on crap with such a high price tag. The RV industry is SUCH a pisser! Bear with me here, I've got a reason for writing all this--I'll try not to bore you to tears before I get there. I've always heard "be wise and buy your third RV first" and then, stupidly, I didn't do it. In the last two years I've purchased and sold two different travel trailers--a Little Guy T@G and then a 15' fiberglass Parkliner. Neither one suited me for different reasons. What the heck is a wanderlust filled traveler wannabe supposed to do? So I see your posts over there about why you like your rig (stand up room, all in one vehicle) and I'm thinking that's prob the route I'd like to take. Makes so much more sense to me than dragging yet another travel trailer behind me trying to make it fit my needs/desires as an adventurer. Class A's and C's are too big for my comfort level. Class B's (glorified vans) seem sorta cool but, golly gee!, who can afford the dang things? Certainly not moi. Okay, we are down to the reason for all this gibberish (thanks for hanging on). I tried to retrace your posts to find out which van you settled on and got lost meandering through it all. I need advice and I would very much appreciate your input if you so desire to help this weary seeker of the perfect "rv". Can you please steer me in the right direction for the type of van that might best be tricked out (not by me...I'd def need to muster up help from around here) so that I could travel long distances/voyages in security and comfort? I am semi retired and not wealthy. I'd have to buy used...but how do I know how used is too used? It's gotta be reliable. If you can shed any light on which van you'd recommend (and how old/new) to begin looking for that might be the "perfect" van for me to modify I'd very much appreciate it. My email address is: adhorana@aol.com I'm wandering around in rv hell and I wanna' start traveling the *right* way for me. Thank you for taking a few moments to steer me in the right direction...Rhonda, in Tennessee
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