Back On the Road Again

Our “must have” list for choosing a newer factory-built motorhome included a length requirement… under 35 feet. This would provide us with a tight turning radius and allow us to go most anywhere. In our previous 16 years “on the road” (1998- 2014), we had been attracted to State Parks and National Parks. Built in the 1930’s by Pres. Roosevelt’s CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), the sites tend to be minimal. Camping in those days involved tents, small tow-behind trailers and truck campers. Early in our RVing life, we bought a Florida State Park Pass. It fit our “price-sensitive” nature and the variety of campers that shared the parks with us broadened our horizons. That winter, in our 35-foot bus conversion, we enjoyed close-up experiences of some of Florida’s most unique features. Some years later, traveling in our 24-foot Class C Motorhome, we followed the National Parks up the West Coast. A Senior Pass offers U.S. citizens, age 62 and over, free admission to federal lands. What s...

For the record, Wally and I have a bit of history with the City of New Orleans. It was one of the  “high profile” destinations that we made a point of visiting back in 1998 when we first went “on the road”. Traveling in our 1958 bus conversion, we camped in Bayou Segnette State Park in Westwego, LA. Each day we’d drive to the ferry landing in Algiers and, as pedestrians, we’d cross the Mississippi River into The French Quarter. While sitting on a bench watching the tugs swing their tows around one of the tightest turns in the mighty river, a passing jogger in his retirement years stopped to ask, ”What can I tell you about my city?” We were not sure how to respond, so Wally asked about good places to eat. With great enthusiasm he recommended Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait… Central Grocery for Muffuletta sandwiches… Cafe Du Monde You cannot leave Cafe Du Monde without being covered in powdered sugar! Central Grocery The olive salad makes the...

When Wally and I chose to return to an RV for our 2019-20 winter travels this year, we were hoping to broaden our horizons. We wanted our day-to-day traveling to be a bit more care-free than life on a boat has been; we also wanted to seek out back roads to new places that we hadn’t ventured to in our previous 16 years of RVing… 1998-2014.  So far, our first 10 days of RV life have not been a disappointment. The yellow line is our general direction with many deviations. Along with delightful visits with family and friends, we have opened doors into new worlds. The Corning Glass Works and Museum was one of those special places. The admission ticket was good for two days. Two weeks might have been a more appropriate time frame in which to wrap our minds around the history of glassmaking. We were drawn to the “Hot Shops” where glass artisans were engaged in the techniques of blowing glass. We had become acquainted with Dale Chihuly’s flamboyant sculptural creations in...