Sweet Home Alabama

Mural celebrating the history of cotton in the South

Steamboats frequented the rivers

Old & new peanut harvesting methods - man to the right, machine on left

Civil War

Depicting Dothan's early lawless & wild history

I loved the movies 'Sweet Home Alabama' , 'Driving Miss Daisy', 'Gone With the Wind', 'Steel Magnolias' and 'Ya Ya Sisterhood', mainly because they are set in the deep South - Georgia, Alabama or Louisiana. The accent of these Southern folk is very appealing. So too is the traditional southern hospitality and respect shown towards others. Very gracious people. Yes, Joe Bill, you are considered Southern too! You have all the Southern traits that we like!

When we were sitting having margaritas with Pam the other night, she knew we didn't have a car, so she kindly offered to give us a lift to church on Sunday morning. Murray was going to be watching the soccer, but I accepted. Just before 10am, we drove into downtown Dothan. I had never been past the Walmart, as the center of town was 10 miles from our RV park and too hot to ride bikes that far. Or perhaps we were just too lazy! Anyway, we made it to Mass on time and afterwards Pam showed me the numerous murals painted on building walls in historic Dothan, and I have shared a few of them here with you. She drove me to her beautiful home and we had a walk around and admired the fruit hanging thickly on the pear trees. Then we called into Barnes & Noble for a late morning tea. The chocolate frosted cupcakes were very rich & decadent, and went down well with the lattes. Pam explained how the city of Dothan got its name from Genesis 37:17: "let us go to Dothan," and I tried not to appear too ignorant. Although I was!

I was very impressed with the size, cleanliness and magnificence of the city buildings. Apparently the area has been made very rich from the peanut crops - the wealthiest families are the peanut farmers. Who would have known peanuts could be so lucrative! Sadly she also added that the gap between the rich & the poor is huge here. Such a common story in most countries.

Dothan, Alabama

Entering Alabama from Florida
Murray chatting next door

Sunset

Our current campground in Dothan, Alabama is only about 18 miles north of the Florida/Alabama border and 20 miles west of the Georgia border. It is known as the Peanut Capital of the World. A quarter of US peanuts are produced nearby. Tornadoes are common here, copping 79% above the US average. Please Lord, no tornadoes this week.

We haven't regretted our decision to stay here for a week. It has been so hot though. By 10am it is already 32C (89F) but according the the weather channel, it feels like 40C (104F) - and it does! I did have plans of setting my table up in the shade outside, and doing some beading, but it is like a sauna out there. The dinette table will be perfect.

If we have an evening shower it helps to cool things down a bit. 2 nights ago that happened, and we went for a stroll after dinner. The sunset was vivid, but mainly hidden behind the trees as you can see in the photo above. The humidity also must have bought the fireflies out. Lots of flickering going on in the bushes!

There is a lovely African American family in the site next to us. The mother was an Air Force nurse, but is now a civilian nurse. She has just come back from 7 months nursing with a company in the Middle East. One of her son's is raising his cute 2 year old daughter alone, so the mum has returned to help out. She owns a house locally, but had it rented out while she was overseas. She thinks being a grandmother is the best job of all, although she really enjoyed her work in Doha. Meeting people on our travels is the highlight of the RV life.

The Alabama accent is very strong, very southern - der! When I was in Walmart yesterday a teenage girl was in the oral hygiene aisle looking at some dental floss product and talking on her mobile phone. She was commenting on the difference in the price she saw advertised somewhere else, and the price in Walmart. It was almost difficult to understand what she was saying. I had a chuckle to myself and it hit home how I am really living my dream. Here I am just going about my business in a place in Alabama that I had never even heard of until I found it in my RV campground review site. Next week we'll be doing the same thing in a town in Mississippi, then Louisiana, then Texas.

Suwannee River, Florida

Entering Suwannee River Campground
Canoeists on the Suwannee River

Our tree shaded site - bikes out to have tubes replaced

Spirit of the Suwannee Gospel outdoor music venue

Our RV is on the road again. What a lovely feeling to have the road rolling underneath our wheels once again. We said our goodbyes to Rainie & Tom, and on Saturday we drove 3 hours north to meet our New Orleans friends, Cindy & Mike at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SOSMP). Yes folks, this is the famous historical 'Down on the Suwannee' River, and you may recall we stayed in this area on a previous visit. Different campground this time though, as we wanted to attend a gospel singers Jubilee which was held at the SOSMP campgrounds. The weather was hot & humid but thankfully we got a great site under some shady trees. Cindy & Mike took us for a drive around the huge campground (it is over 600 acres) and stopped by the Suwannee River for a photo shoot. I timed my photo just as two canoeists were paddling past. Can you see them? Then it was back to Cindy & Mike's Airstream trailer for freshly made margaritas (with tequila & triple sec liquer) accompanied by nachos with all the trimmings including sliced jalapenos and zesty salsa. At 7pm we headed for the outdoor music arena and set up our chairs ready for the gospel music show. We got to see the first act of the night before the heavens opened and thunder, lightning & rain descended upon us. A lightning bolt right above us gave us a terrible fright and had people grabbing each other - well, Murray grabbed a woman and it wasn't me! - and kids were screaming. The storm knocked out some of the music equipment but running repairs got the show back on the road. The main group, The Dixie Echoes took on a new singer 6 months ago - he is 19 years old and has the most amazing bass voice. He stole the show as far as I was concerned. I captured him on video, and I will try and upload it to the blog. Check him out on the far right of the stage.

Sadly the storm also knocked out cable TV to the park, and as Murray hopes to watch as many World Cup Soccer games as he can over the next 4 weeks, we moved on. Making our way north-west we left the lush environs of Florida, and found ourselves in drier and not so pretty Alabama. The contrast between the top part of Florida and the lower part of Alabama was quite startling. However, we found an RV park that offered free cable TV & wifi, plus all the hookups for $22 night. They gave us a good spot with rear shade and we backed in. We had enough groceries for 2 days, so only paid for that time. When we discovered a super walmart just a 15 min walk away, we decided to stay for a week. When Murray was in the air force he would take several weeks leave while the world soccer was on, so now that he is retired, he doesn't want to miss a game. Can't say I blame him. Retirement is all about doing those things you want to do. While he is occupied with the soccer, I can blog, write, read, sudoku, travel plan & bead to my heart's content. I am loving retirement.

RV Update

Rural view from host's front door
View from back door. See 'my' patio to the right?

My Sudoku mate

Tonight it will be 7 nights that the RV has been in the 'shop'. They are still waiting for the airconditoner unit, but have repaired the gas line, sealed some cracks in the roof and welded a part in the front chassis. Apparently when they went to put the hydraulic jacks up, one blew out. So now that has to be fixed too. Hmm. I think I need to come up with an acronym for RV like BOAT (Break out another thousand). At least we can console ourselves knowing the repairs will have the RV in a better condition to head into Alaska next year.

However I am feeling very discombobulated without my 'home', but very thankful for wonderful friends who have made the tedious wait more pleasant than it could possibly have been otherwise. Rainie has lent us her car each day, and she has been taking Tom's truck to work. While the guys have been watching the World Cup Soccer and cable movies, I have spent a few hours each day wandering craft stores, lunching at Panera, ambling the aisles in Walmart and checking out the summer clothes sales. The rest of the time I usually sit at the back of the house in the patio area with my iPhone playing sudoku or perusing the USA atlas checking out potential routes. Being out in the rural area, it is relaxing to sit outside and watch the squirrels play under the trees, or hear the redheaded woodpeckers knock, knock, knock as they chase grubs in the tree. Tonight I am cooking dinner to give Tom & Rainie a night off. I am going to cook your prawn dish Leonie - the one you were going to cook in Ballina and never got a chance!

The days here in Plant City, Florida (east of Tampa) have been very hot & humid. The last few days we have been getting thunderstorms & lightning. Murray & I were keen to watch the light show, but our hosts warned us that Florida is the No 1 state for lightning deaths. They average 8 deaths and 46 injuries per year. This area in particular is very vulnerable. Apparently people hear the thunder and go outside and it is common for the first lightning strikes of the storm to do the killing. We didn't need to be told twice - we scurry inside at the first sound of thunder each day. The house is beautifully airconditioned, so we are very comfortable.

We had plans to join some New Orleans friends at an RV park that has a music festival up on the Suwannee River (3 hrs north of Tampa) today, but now we hope to make it by late tomorrow. Otherwise, it could even be Saturday. How very sad. We also planned to go up to lower Georgia and attend the HandOver ceremony of our USAF friend Randy who takes over command as Colonel of his security forces group. Sorry Randy, but it was not meant to be. Hopefully we can meet up in Alabama while you are all there for the family wedding.

Things happen for a reason, so we are making the most of the enforced rest and recreation. Although my eyes are starting to get blurred from all the sudokus I am doing each day. Wish I could say my sudoku skills were improving! At least it is keeping the grey matter active, right? Yes, you may ask, what grey matter! I think there might still be some there...or am I going mad and talking to myself??

Key Largo: Snorkelling

We drove 175 miles on this road...across, then back home.

Great place to take a snorkelling trip

April, Martha, Trish & Rainie up in the boat

Some local coral

Pretty Blue Fish

Yellow & Black striped fish

Kelly touching the Jesus statue

Conch Fritters

Martha at our lunch restaurant

Kelly & Autumn - the photographers

Humphrey Bogart made Key Largo famous in his 1948 movie with Lauren Bacall, but it is known now as the Diving Capital of the world thanks to a living coral reef a few miles off shore. I went with my friend Rainie, her sister April and their mother Martha plus two of April's daughters (Kelly & Autumn) for a 5 hour drive south-east from Tampa/Venice to Key Largo. We drove the width of the tail of Florida (175 miles) through the Everglades across Alligator Alley, so named due to all the alligators that used to be hit by cars as they crossed the road. They now have it all fenced, but one critter snuck out and he was dead by the side of the road today. The area is also home to Florida panthers, thanks to a recovery program. Our destination was the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park where we were booked on a snorkelling trip. Our boat departed at 12.30pm and although there were a few clouds about, the skies were mainly blue and the seas calm. April had lived in Southern Florida all her life and had never been to Key Largo, and her mother had never snorkelled, so it was a first for both of them.

We were not disappointed. Our boat departed at 12.30pm and took about 20 mins to reach the snorkelling site. The weather was hot, and the water was beautiful, clear & warm. It seemed to me that the salt content must have been high, as you could just lie on top of the water and float. It did help that we were all issued with flotation vests, but they only had one puff of air in them. The Captain took us about 6 miles off the Key Largo coast to an area known as 'Dry Dock'. He told us that if we swam out a little way, past an underwood abyss that we would find an 8' Jesus statue that was in 25' of water. He was right - it was amazing sight to behold with such beautiful colourful fish darting around. Apparently it is one of the most famous & visited underwater sites in the world. Kelly & August dove down and touched the statue's fingers, but there must have been too much residual air in my vest as I just couldn't dive far enough. The girls each had an underwater digital camera and took some photos for the blog. The time flew past, and before we knew it, it was 3pm and we were disembarking. A most enjoyable adventure.

April, Kelly & Autumn had to get back home the same day, but the rest of us stayed overnight in a motel in Key Largo. We had dinner in the motel restaurant, and for an appetiser, I had my first taste of conch fritters. Like bits of calamari chopped up and mixed into a regular fritter. We finished with locally famous Key Lime Pie. Yum.

We headed home this morning but stopped off for lunch at the delightful city of Sanibel right on the water. The restaurant was on the marina, and had won the People's Choice award for 8 years in a row. A very pleasant interlude...

We arrived back home to Murray & Tom. The boys held up okay, but not so our RV. We had put it in to have some work done on it on Friday, but they didn't get to it until today, Monday. They discovered we needed a new dash airconditioner. and have had to send to Indiana for the part. Now we have to wait for that to arrive. Meanwhile, while they were working on the RV, they discovered the gas line from the portagas to the fridge & stove was showing signs of rust & wear, so they are going to clean that up as well. We have our fingers crossed that we get the RV back by Wednesday night, otherwise I am sure we are going to wear our welcome out here staying with Rainie & Tom! We are very grateful to our friends for their generous hospitality.

Tampa, Florida

Yudian Navigating in the RV
Tampa Skyway Bridge in distance
Approaching....Down the other side...Restaurant View
Anna Maria Beach after lunch

Within days of farewelling my sister & aunt in New Orleans, we were enjoying family again. This time in Tampa with my brother Tony & his wife Yudian. You may recall they also caught up with us all in Las Vegas. Since we had last seen them, they had travelled to Miami, Cancun, Cuba & New York and really enjoyed their travels.

As they hadn't seen our RV before, we picked them up in it to take them on a short road trip. We drove west from Tampa until we hit the Gulf, then went north up the west coast to Tarpon Springs, an area noted for its history of sponge divers. It also has the highest Greek-American population in the US. The first Greek immigrants arrived in the 1880's and were employed as divers for the growing sponge harvest industry. We found a restaurant called Santorini right on the water and enjoyed our lunch there.

The next day our friend Rainie kindly lent us her car, so that when our RV was put into the service bay to get a new connection on a hot water pipe today, we were able to pick Tony & Yudian up and do another short day trip. We changed direction and headed south. The drive over the Tampa Skyway bridge was beautiful, and before long we found a superb little restaurant right on the beach at Anna Maria. The sky was blue, the sand was white, and the water was a glorious turquoise colour. See for yourselves in the photos. Tomorrow we say goodbye to them after we drop them at the airport. That will be the last we see of any family until we return home in late September.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Destrehan Plantation House

Us with Diane, Ben, Kathy & Mike on Mississippi River, New Orleans

Aunty Dympna on Bourbon St with her two bodyguards & Hurricane drinks!

The Ryall girls on the Gulf of Mexico - storm coming!


Natchez Steamboat on Mississippi River, New Orleans


Downtown New Orleans

Cafe Du Monde - oops, someone ate all the Beignets!

Ben, Diane, Murray, Cindy & Mike

Italian Cream Cake for dessert

You would all recall the devastation that Hurricane Katrina bought to the Gulf Coast in 2005 when 1836 people lost their lives. In a rental car we drove Ret & AD along the Gulf of Mexico heading east from New Orleans, with Biloxi, Mississippi our destination. They saw remnants of the damage as well as the new homes constructed in subsequent years during the recovery. By the time we hit Gulfport, MS we encountered heavy rain, and the road quickly became flooded. We decided to leave the coast and head inland, but not before we walked on the sandy beach and dipped our toes in the Gulf of Mexico. Sadly the oil from the Gulf oil spill will darken these shores in the coming days.

My aunt & sister had never been to New Orleans, so we were keen for them to experience Bourbon street at night. Times have been tough for the locals since Hurricanes Katrina & Gustav, and we were aware that the streets might not be too safe at night. Pick pockets were active especially in crowds watching night street musicians & dancers. Our friends Diane & Ben came to the rescue and offered protection in the form of two off duty Baton Rouge police officers - their daughter & son-in-law! The 8 of us met at our downtown New Orleans hotel on the edge of the French Quarter, and walked 1.5 blocks to the Riverwalk on the Mississippi River where we had a Hurricane drink to get in the party mood. Later some Grenades (similar but nicer than Hurricanes) were also purchased and consumed, with Aunty Dympna keeping the 'glasses' as souvenirs. After tasting the local fare including fried green tomatoes and crawfish etouffe as well as steak, fish etc, we slowly wandered to Bourbon Street where the music was flowing out of each separate establishment. Girls in bikinis were gyrating in doorways to entice the public inside. Several times I had to help Murray forward as his shoe seemed to get stuck to the pavement or something like that. Funny how it only happened at one of the doorways! Our last stop was a bar where Big Al Carlson was singing. Murray & I had seen him play on a previous trip in 2003 and were keen to see him again. It was time to call it a night, as our friends had an hour's drive back home. As we wandered back to the hotel (0.8 mile, about 1 km) we watched the street performers blowing trumpets and hip hop dancing, mindful that our trusty bodyguards were close by. Thanks Mike & Kathy!!

On our last morning in New Orleans we walked to visit the beautiful St Louis Cathedral which is the oldest cathedral in North America. The parish, located on the banks of the Mississippi River, was founded as a Catholic parish in 1720. From there we walked to Cafe Du Monde, the original French Market coffee stand that was established in 1862. We enjoyed the local cafe au lait, a blend of coffee & chicory, served with fresh beignets (French style donuts) warm from the oven. Delicious. The girls couldn't leave New Orleans without seeing a plantation, so despite some raindrops, we visited the Destrehan Plantation which was established in 1787 and is the oldest documentated plantation home in the lower Mississippi River Valley - it is located on the banks of the Mississippi River. The plantation, worked by slaves, was initially used for Indigo (dye from these plants was highly sought by textile companies as it turned fabric a bright blue) before the fields were planted with sugar cane. It was later used as an oil refinery. Before we knew it, it was time to drop Ret & AD to New Orleans airport for their flight back to Los Angeles & then Brisbane. They are due to land in Brisbane in 30 mins time. It is 12.30pm Sun in Florida now.

Murray & I joined Diane & Ben again at their home north of New Orleans (where we left the RV), and all drove to other friends' Mike & Cindy for a very warm welcome (see Australian flag flying at their front letterbox), and a lovely, home cooked dinner. Mike had prepared local food including deep fried catfish & seafood (crawfish) etouffe and finished up with a huge Italian cream cake served with gourmet coffee. Cindy & Mike presented Murray & I with parting gifts - a CD of Fats Domino playing Christmas music to remind us of our 'Deep South' visit, and I got a sterling silver charm of a 'Fleur de Lis'. The symbol is seen all around New Orleans and represents its French heritage and is now used as a symbol of New Orleans recovery since Hurricane Katrina. The following morning we bid farewell to Diane & Ben and drove away with another CD, one of Ben recorded singing local music, and a Cajun cookbook. Thanks to you all for making our visit so enjoyable. We were sorry to miss meeting up with Laura and her family who live north of Lake Ponchartrain. Perhaps next time Laura?

Majestic Mississippi River

Todd River (Dry), Alice Springs, Central Australia

Todd River Flowing

This morning at Sandy & Joe Bill's back yard, Meadolark Farm

Sunset over the Mississippi River, Vicksburg, MS

AD, Ret, Trish on banks of the Mississippi

I first heard of the Mississippi River as a schoolgirl at least 45 years ago, and finally got to see it in person for the first time 9 years ago. Since then I have walked in its trickling beginnings up in Minnesota and witnessed its energetic end in New Orleans, Louisiana. Yet everytime I see it, I cannot explain how it makes me feel. I loved the Todd River in Alice Springs (Central Australia) despite it being a predominantly dry, sandy river bed during the ten year drought of my youth, but it became a raging, frothy torrent when the rains came. I think it only flowed 3 times in the 8 years I lived in Alice Springs. But the Mississippi is something else. Like a majestic lady, she just keeps going through the ages...

Getting back to our travels, after we left our dear friends Joe Bill & Sandy at their Meadolark Farm in Arkansas today (see the photo I took as we sat outside & had our coffee on their back patio this morning), we drove south into Louisiana. Aunty Dympna had been wanting to have a meal at a traditional American Diner, so we stopped in at the Old South Diner. It was a bona fide diner and well patronised by locals which gave it authenticity. We ordered a variety of foods that Ret & AD were unfamiliar with (ie Hush Puppies (like a herbed, cornmeal dumpling, deep fried), deep fried okra & turnip greens (like spinach)) to accompany our main meals of blackened catfish and pork chops.

After our daily stop at Walmart and Walgreens stores, we crossed the mighty Mississip and crossed from Louisiana into Mississippi state, and immediately took the next exit (right on the river) to our Ameristar Casino Hotel & RV Park in Vickburg, MS. Less than 50 miles west of Jackson. We checked AD & Ret into a lovely double queen bed room on the 4th floor overlooking the Mississippi, and we went around the corner to our spacious RV Park complete with free wifi and cable TV. Both hotel guests and RV guests get complimentary passes to the breakfast buffet at the Casino. If breakfast is anything like the buffet dinner we had there tonight, we won't have to eat for the rest of the day. But I know we will! After dinner we went outside and enjoyed the amazing sight of the sun setting over the Mississippi River. All this and heaven too???