Forgotten Coast

Nearing Apalachicola, FL

June 5-9, 2015

Going  to spread our entries out in a couple posts. Certainly don't want to overwhelm with the craziness of this trip. We have had amazing scenery and experienced many more trials and tribulations with the OZ mobile than we could have ever imagined; we will get to all that later.

Emerald Bech RV

 The Florida of yesteryear still exists along the Gulf Coast. From Navarre, Florida we continued to roll along the coast to New Orleans.  Passing through Panama City and Pensacola, we were shocked to see it was like Fort Meyers Beach on crack. If we ever pass this way again, I'll hit the interstate until we reach Biloxi. 

Our overnight stay at Emerald Beach RV left me a bit underwhelmed. It was full and the sites were tight and I had imagined it on a wide open beach on the Gulf but it was on an intercoastal and a tiny spit of sand. I will say we were terribly grateful to have the gulf breezes to cool us off from hot and muggy and to take a dip in the gulf waters.

In high 90º temps, I am reveling in the actual time on the road IN the OZ mobile with the air conditioning. It is hard to roll by places I dreamed of stopping, but with animals along for the ride we can't leave them in the car while we stop and explore... so we just tool on by. The drive from Biloxi and on into Nawlin's was stunning. Biloxi is one of the oldest communities in the country, having first been settled in 1699. The beaches were uncluttered and had long stretches of no development on the Gulf side of the road. How did these communities manage this? No towering condominiums in sight. I could spend real time here on the sugar-white sands and the warm emerald waters 

Driving along the coast

A beach park in Biloxi

Gerard and Sitka on the corner of Bourbon St.

It's been a bit over ten years since I've walked the Big Easy. It would be a short stay and a quick tour of the French Quarter with all its wrinkled edifices. I wanted just a few moments to share with Gerard the sights and a bit of the flavors I had experienced in all the years of coming down for Undoing Racism National gatherings. We settled into an RV park on Lake Ponchatrain.  Breezes off the water allowed us to have some outside time. It helped to have a lovely swimming pool, waterfall, marina and transportation into the Quarter. 

With our limited time, we set off to just walk the Vieux Carré (French Quarter), it is the oldest neighborhood in the city. We walked down Toulousse St to Bourbon St and over to Frenchman St. to one of my favorite restaurants for soul food, Praline Connection and they didn't disappoint.

Between us, we consumed jambalaya, fried okra, catfish, red beans and rice, collard greens, corn bread and I had a Hurricane. After dinner, we needed the walk to the French Market and Jackson Square before we consumed Beignets at Café du Monde for dessert. We sat and watched the comings and goings of people and sailing vessels on the Mississipi River for our last hour before we caught our ride back to Ponchatrain Landing.

Natchez is heading up river for an evening of revelry

ship heading to Duluth?

Back at our campsite, we planned our trajectory as well as contacting Roadtrek for our constantly leaking coolant. As long as we top of each day before we set off we are certain we will be ok. We seem to be speeding up and curtailing some of our landings because now we have lost hot water and all the lights in the center ceiling panel.... concerned we might have a lemon. We are trusting that Roadtrek is going to make good on this and get us in fine shape for the next 100,000 miles of road tripping.

In the morning we will head out to cross Lake Ponchatrain on the causeway and make our way through Mississippi along the river road.


There is a house in New Orleans 
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many poor girl 
Down in New Orleans