Hurlshot's 2014 Summer RV Trip

[mkreku]

Grapefruit beer.. sound delicious 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I'll be going through Santa Fe on the way back, so I'll keep an eye out for the micro-brewery and church.

 

 

Day 5 - 600 miles through Texas! Today was the longest drive of the trip, and it was crazy. I got on the road by 6:45 AM, and managed to get 200 miles under us before the kids start to stir and ask to get dressed. They slept through quite a bit of it, so that was great. We passed through El Paso, which was huge. But then for the next 400 miles there was hardly anything. At one point, I went a pretty long stretch without gas. I pulled over to a station in the middle of nowhere, but they were charging $4.00 a gallon! I still had a quarter of a tank, so I figured I'd stop at another. 50 miles went by and there was nothing. The next town was about 40 miles out, but I estimated I only had enough gas for about 30 miles. I stressed and stressed. I checked google for possible side roads that might take me to gas. The light went on with about 20 miles left to go. I checked to make sure I knew where the hazard lights were, I checked to make sure we had decent cell phone service for roadside assistance, and I kept a sharp eye on the shoulder to look for a decent place to pull over. Somehow we managed to make the town. I filled up, and it turns out that my 30 gallon tank really has about 30.5 gallons in it.

 

Then we hit a tremendous thunderstorm a couple hours out of San Antonio. I white knuckled my way through the torrential downpour as bolts of lightning crackled around me. The kids actually slept through it, which was for the best. We pulled into San Antonio and found our park just down the street from where the Spurs play. It's a great park, it has a bunch of stuff for the kids and is more alive than all the other parks we have been in. Tomorrow we will take a bus to the city center and explore.

 

Here's a pic of us at a roadside rest stop:

 

Just some friendly advice, try to keep your tank at least half full when driving through the emptier parts of Texas along I10. Gas stations are few and far between and the heat can be brutal.

[Hurlshort]

Thanks for the heads up KP.  That advice is literally a day late and a gallon short.  

 

Day 7 - Today we had a nice lazy morning relaxing in the RV, where I played a lot of Blackguards.  Then we did some laundry, had lunch, and took a bus into the city for the afternoon.  We walked around the mall a bit, but it is very much like every mall in America, and so we headed down to a steak restaurant.

 

 

The place was called Saltgrass Steak House and it did not disappoint.  At one point I did lecture our waiter about the differences between pale ales and IPA's, but I tipped him well so I don't feel bad.  It was an expensive meal, but we've been pretty frugal until now, so I think it was deserved.  After dinner we walked back to the bus stop, with a quick detour into The Westin for a bathroom break.

 

 

Now I'm enjoying some ice creamand getting ready to play more Blackguard.

[Guard Dog]

For a chain restaurant Saltgrass is pretty good. I believe you said you were going through Abilene, if you see a Texas Land & Cattle on they way it's worth a stop. Saltgrass has nothing on them.  

[Hurlshort]

Day 8 - We drove from San Antonio to a place just outside of Lafayette.  It was a bit exhausting and I don't have any pictures for today.  My Samsung Galaxy S3 was fantastic through Houston, saving me 30 minutes by taking some different roads of I-10.  We grabbed groceries, cooked up some pasta, and now I'm going to bed.  Pictures of the Tabasco Sauce factory will be on the way tomorrow.  

[ManifestedISO]

What's the price per gallon, as you've been going. I remember you balked at $4.00, but I mean it hasn't been that cheap here at home for, like, since, 2012. I have to cover my eyes and not think about it whenever I fill up. It was $4.30 two days ago, due to rise probably, with the holiday weekend.

[Hurlshort]

In California, I had the advantage of a bunch of gas reward points, so even though gas was around $4.20 a gallon, I got it closer to $3.50.  Arizona and New Mexico were about the same, around $3.75 a gallon in most places.  In Texas I started to see a far amount of $3.45 a gallon, but there was a surprising amount of inflation depending on where I was.  So far the cheapest I've seen is $3.39.  Louisiana has been about $3.45 a gallon, but I'm still close to the Texas border.

 

Every time I fill up it is between $80 to $100, so it adds up.  I fill up every 250-300 miles.

[Hurlshort]

Day 9 - We had a great day of driving.  I was only a couple hours away from New Orleans, so we took the time to sight see with the RV.  We first went to Avery Island, the only Tabasco bottling plant in the world.  They grow peppers all over, but they ship all the pepper mulch into Avery Island and make the sauce in one spot.  

 

 

There were a lot of different flavors, including a pretty decent Ice Cream.

 

WE were hungry at this point, so we drove into Lafayette and stopped at a place called Prejean's for lunch.  This place had phenomenal gumbo.  In fact I meant to take a picture, but I devoured it as soon as it was placed in front of me.  

 

 

The balls in the middle of the table are called Boudin, which seem to be pretty popular in Louisiana.  I had some trouble understanding what it was, I think it is meat seasoned in a sausage casing and then fried with rice in a ball?  I don't know, but it was delicious.

 

After that we drove across miles of swampy rivers.  You are basically on a bridge the whole time elevated above the water, it made for some great scenery.  Still waiting on a gator sighting, I keep joking about finding one on a morning jog.  We are staying a bit west of New Orleans, right on the Mississippi.  We take a shuttle into town tomorrow.

 

[BruceVC]

Day 9 - We had a great day of driving.  I was only a couple hours away from New Orleans, so we took the time to sight see with the RV.  We first went to Avery Island, the only Tabasco bottling plant in the world.  They grow peppers all over, but they ship all the pepper mulch into Avery Island and make the sauce in one spot.  

 

 

There were a lot of different flavors, including a pretty decent Ice Cream.

 

WE were hungry at this point, so we drove into Lafayette and stopped at a place called Prejean's for lunch.  This place had phenomenal gumbo.  In fact I meant to take a picture, but I devoured it as soon as it was placed in front of me.  

 

 

 

The balls in the middle of the table are called Boudin, which seem to be pretty popular in Louisiana.  I had some trouble understanding what it was, I think it is meat seasoned in a sausage casing and then fried with rice in a ball?  I don't know, but it was delicious.

 

After that we drove across miles of swampy rivers.  You are basically on a bridge the whole time elevated above the water, it made for some great scenery.  Still waiting on a gator sighting, I keep joking about finding one on a morning jog.  We are staying a bit west of New Orleans, right on the Mississippi.  We take a shuttle into town tomorrow.

 

 

 

Holy Smoke, Ice-Cream flavoured Tabasco !!!

 

I love Tabasco and I use  the standard 4-5 flavours regularly. How many different flavours did you see?

[Nepenthe]

 

Day 9 - We had a great day of driving.  I was only a couple hours away from New Orleans, so we took the time to sight see with the RV.  We first went to Avery Island, the only Tabasco bottling plant in the world.  They grow peppers all over, but they ship all the pepper mulch into Avery Island and make the sauce in one spot.  

 

 

There were a lot of different flavors, including a pretty decent Ice Cream.

 

WE were hungry at this point, so we drove into Lafayette and stopped at a place called Prejean's for lunch.  This place had phenomenal gumbo.  In fact I meant to take a picture, but I devoured it as soon as it was placed in front of me.  

 

 

 

The balls in the middle of the table are called Boudin, which seem to be pretty popular in Louisiana.  I had some trouble understanding what it was, I think it is meat seasoned in a sausage casing and then fried with rice in a ball?  I don't know, but it was delicious.

 

After that we drove across miles of swampy rivers.  You are basically on a bridge the whole time elevated above the water, it made for some great scenery.  Still waiting on a gator sighting, I keep joking about finding one on a morning jog.  We are staying a bit west of New Orleans, right on the Mississippi.  We take a shuttle into town tomorrow.

 

 

 

Holy Smoke, Ice-Cream flavoured Tabasco !!!

 

I love Tabasco and I use  the standard 4-5 flavours regularly. How many different flavours did you see?

 

Or was it Tabaso flavoured ice cream... Quick, we need an existentialist!

[BruceVC]

 

 

Day 9 - We had a great day of driving.  I was only a couple hours away from New Orleans, so we took the time to sight see with the RV.  We first went to Avery Island, the only Tabasco bottling plant in the world.  They grow peppers all over, but they ship all the pepper mulch into Avery Island and make the sauce in one spot.  

 

 

There were a lot of different flavors, including a pretty decent Ice Cream.

 

WE were hungry at this point, so we drove into Lafayette and stopped at a place called Prejean's for lunch.  This place had phenomenal gumbo.  In fact I meant to take a picture, but I devoured it as soon as it was placed in front of me.  

 

 

 

The balls in the middle of the table are called Boudin, which seem to be pretty popular in Louisiana.  I had some trouble understanding what it was, I think it is meat seasoned in a sausage casing and then fried with rice in a ball?  I don't know, but it was delicious.

 

After that we drove across miles of swampy rivers.  You are basically on a bridge the whole time elevated above the water, it made for some great scenery.  Still waiting on a gator sighting, I keep joking about finding one on a morning jog.  We are staying a bit west of New Orleans, right on the Mississippi.  We take a shuttle into town tomorrow.

 

 

 

Holy Smoke, Ice-Cream flavoured Tabasco !!!

 

I love Tabasco and I use  the standard 4-5 flavours regularly. How many different flavours did you see?

 

Or was it Tabaso flavoured ice cream... Quick, we need an existentialist!

 

 

 

Maybe....lets get clarity

[Amentep]

Do you taste the Tabsco flavoured Ice-Cream, or does the Ice-Vream flavoured Tabsco taste you?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Day 9 - We had a great day of driving. I was only a couple hours away from New Orleans, so we took the time to sight see with the RV. We first went to Avery Island, the only Tabasco bottling plant in the world. They grow peppers all over, but they ship all the pepper mulch into Avery Island and make the sauce in one spot.

 

 

There were a lot of different flavors, including a pretty decent Ice Cream.

 

WE were hungry at this point, so we drove into Lafayette and stopped at a place called Prejean's for lunch. This place had phenomenal gumbo. In fact I meant to take a picture, but I devoured it as soon as it was placed in front of me.

 

 

The balls in the middle of the table are called Boudin, which seem to be pretty popular in Louisiana. I had some trouble understanding what it was, I think it is meat seasoned in a sausage casing and then fried with rice in a ball? I don't know, but it was delicious.

 

After that we drove across miles of swampy rivers. You are basically on a bridge the whole time elevated above the water, it made for some great scenery. Still waiting on a gator sighting, I keep joking about finding one on a morning jog. We are staying a bit west of New Orleans, right on the Mississippi. We take a shuttle into town tomorrow.

 

Boudin is bloodless pork sausage with rice. You probably had it caseless and deep fried, but you can get it casing in quite a few places. If you find a place close to you that stocks it, I reccomend simmering it in beer or smoking it slowly.

[Hurlshort]

Day 10 - This morning I jumped up at 7 AM, put on my running shoes, stepped outside, and almost choked on the humidity.  It was already hot and humid out.  I ran for a bit and then headed back for a nice cool shower.  We jumped on a shuttle bus to the French Quarter and went directly to Cafe Du Monde for beignets.

 

I gave my daughter a choice of a carriage ride, a riverboat tour, or a doubledecker bus to give us our first views of the city, and she chose the horse and carriage ride.  We had a great driver who showed us all of the French Quarter and gave us a lot of great ideas for where we wanted to visit.  Honestly I wasn't super jazzed about visiting New Orleans, it was more for the wife, but pictures and movies really don't do it justice.  The architecture and ambiance of all the storefronts and balconies is unlike anything I've ever seen before.  I fell in love pretty easily and I'm already thinking about how I can bring my wife here for a romantic getaway someday soon.  Here are a few pics I took:

 

Corn on the rod iron

 

 

This is just how all the streets look, it's amazing:

 

 

We went into a voodoo store at one point, and Logan accidentally disturbed an altar.  We put an offering up for him, so I hope he isn't cursed.

 

 

Oh and here is Andrew Jackson!

 

 

We ended up at an Emeril Lagasse restaurant for lunch called NOLA.  I had the shrimp n' grits with a great Abita beer.  It was very rich and enjoyable.  

 

 

Skylar enjoyed a great bisque, but my son preferred to snack on his cheez-its.  

 

We walked around quite a bit today and explored a lot of the streets of the French Quarter.  Early on we walked a bit down Bourbon Street, but around noon we started skirting around it as it got a bit wilder.  We started to bake around 3, and by the time our bus came to get us at 5:30 we were well exhausted.  It was an amazing day of sightseeing.  Tomorrow we are heading to the WWII and Civil War museums for the day, and then Wednesday I think we might get a swamp tour in.

[Guard Dog]

You gotta love Nawlins

[mkreku]

It's like a fake France!

[Hurlshort]

Day 11 - We started our second day in NO by visiting the WWII museum.  There was more testimonial and information than artifacts in this museum, but it was still worth seeing.  Although I feel I missed out by not visiting the Civil War Museum across the way.  Ah well, another trip hopefully.

 

Logan did a little posing for propaganda posters:

 

 

I have no idea what he is doing here, but these gliders were neat.

 

 

A good ole' Mustang.  

 

 

After that we caught a streetcar back to the French Quarter, had a bit of Jambalaya, and headed back to the RV.  Oh, I almost forgot, I had some crocodile sausage on a poboy.  It was interesting, the kids surprisingly ate it up.  I think they just liked the idea of eating something so fierce.

 

 

Tomorrow we are riding on this big steam boat for a lunch cruise.

 

 

I'm going to try and wake up early for a jog on the levee, I hope that works out.  

[Guard Dog]

It's like a fake France!

Only the natives are nicer!

[mkreku]

Not gonna argue with that. I was in Paris and used a phrase book to ask an old lady where the bathroom was and she slapped me.

[Enoch]

Not gonna argue with that. I was in Paris and used a phrase book to ask an old lady where the bathroom was and she slapped me.

 

You can get treated that way in N'awlins, too, but it'll cost you at least $200. 

[kgambit]

Day 11 -

 

 

 

A good ole' Mustang.  

 

 

 

 

 

The original "Bunnie" (named after Brown's daughter) was a P-51D-25NA flown by Capt. Roscoe C. Brown.  His unit was the "Red Tails" of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, out of Ramitelli Italy - better known as the Tuskegee Airmen.     Brown scored two air-to-air kills in the plane - one versus an FW-190 and the other versus a ME262. 

 

The P-51 on display is a fiberglass replica - the restoration of an authentic P-51 was still underway as of last year. 

 

The Dauntless SBD-3/A24 (BuNo. 06508) to the right (just the starboard wing is visible) is authentic - that plane was involved in the Battle of Guadalcanal and operated from Henderson Field by Marine Scout Bombing Squadrons (VMSB) 141 and 132.  It was reassigned to the aircraft carrier Enterprise in the spring of 1943. 

Edited July 2, 2014 by kgambit

[ManifestedISO]

I hope you're now driving in the opposite direction to the hurricane. 

[kgambit]

I hope you're now driving in the opposite direction to the hurricane. 

 

LOL  I'll probably see more of the effects of the storm than Hurlshot will - the hurricane is moving up the east coast and NC issued an evacuation for the Outer Banks.  N'awlins is safe.  Besides sustained winds are only at 60 mph (with forecast for a max of 74 mph) which is only a Cat 1 storm. 

[Hurlshort]

My kids were freaking out a bit at all the wind and lightning we just had come through, but it passed quickly.  

 

We head inland to Memphis tomorrow, and I think it's pretty calm there.

[Hurlshort]

Day 12 - I went for a run on the levee this morning and it was amazing when I got past the tree line and saw all the freighters and barges going up the river.  It was a great run, and hopefully I'll wake up early enough for one more tomorrow morning.  

 

We jumped on the riverboat Natchez for a lunchtime cruise.  The lunch wasn't that great, but the engine room was amazing and watching that big waterwheel churn to get us down the Mississippi was a sight to behold.

 

 

 

I was pretty tired of the heat at this point, so we decided to walk down to the outlets nearby after out cruise.  I got some new shoes and we were able to avoid the midday sun for a few hours.  I had one last Jambalaya meal (The IPA was great), one last gelato, and we boarded our bus for home.  

 

 

Tomorrow we leave pretty early for Memphis, I've got a Howlin' Wolf CD prepped and ready to go for the ride.