Holiday Inn Waveland

... br>I wish we had a little more time to spend at some of these overnight resting places, but time is something you can't buy. However, Jerry did have time to get in a round of golf…an unexpected surprise for him. We also enjoyed seeing all of the water as we drove along the Gulf Coast. This is a novelty after living in the desert so many years.

We stayed ...

Rob Troke entry: Day 30, June 1 Wake up late. Ted's turn to empty sewage tank. He is not enthused - I, having emptied it for the first month, have no pity. Some manual labor will be good for the Investment Banker. He waits for instruction not wanting to learn through trial and error - would have been funny to see the sewage hose winging through the air like a wounded snake in his hands. We walk through the steps. Gloves on hands, Ted ...

... We drove across the bridge into the area where all the Casinos are (although suprisingly we did not gamble this trip) and showed us some of the cool projects he has going on. We spent the night in the RV on the side of their house. After Hurricane Katrina when Lloyd's had teams of guys coming in in RV's to work on construction projects with him, he had an RV hookup installed. How perfect and convenient for us! Tomorrow - New Orleans!

After leaving Jimbo's place, we went west along the Gulf. After about two hours of Interstate driving we took an exit for Hwy. 607 off of I-10, and then onto Route 604 and entered a whole new world - an old, worn-out two lane road through Spanish moss-covered, rural, hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast. This was amazing in a sad sort of fascinating way. Long afterwards, when Katrina has faded ...

A nice and early departure from Mississippi, heading towards the wide open spaces of Texas. passed the "Cross" along the way- what a sight. Tonight's stay in a small town just outside of Dallas. Long day, lot's of traffic towards the end. and 10 hours of travelling.

Today we left Gulfport, Florida for Las Vegas, and made the conscious decision to spend the first night in Gulfport, Mississippi, how apropos. Jose Luis is doing 100% of the driving, he is a master at commanding the U-haul. Tango and Cassis are taking up the majority of the front seat, stretched out and slumbering soundly with every bump of the truck's tires ...

... in and rest is just waht the doctor ordered! We were lucky to arrive in NO when we did - from the 13th - 15th April is the French Quarters's Jazz festival and the weekend after if the city's Jazz festical. The cobbled streets are closed to traffic and processions of brightly coloured jazz bands walk up and down the streets blaring out funky modern and old timer tunes. I love the saxophone and trumpet sounds. What made the evenings extra special was the numerous ...

... whoops...straight into the welcoming arms of LeMoyne's Landing. Yes, it's a bar, and yes we can have a drink! If you fancy a beer, it comes 'by the neck' and it's de rigeur to drink it from the bottle. If you fancy something else, a cocktail for instance, it'll come either in a thick chunky glass or a 'go-cup'. (a plastic cup, of which you'll be seeing a lot, either from the outside or the inside. More later) The staff at LeMoyne's are friendly, but then nearly everyone in this town IS ...

... around here, even the ones that weren't damaged by the hurricane, are pretty ******. There are huge blocks of what could charitably be called slums by any big city standard. They're mostly trailers, really. Mixed in closer to the main through-ways are small areas of decent houses, but they're still nothing compared to houses on the East and West coasts. Next stop, New Orleans (and Baton Rouge and Houston and San Antonio)...

... at the rest area just over the Louisiana line and then again east of Lafayette. I didn't reach New Orleans until after dark. My sister still complains that I wouldn't stop there on the way out, which I didn't really want to do in the summer heat and pulling a u-haul through the narrow streets trying to find parking ...