| Saturday 18th October we said goodbye to our | | | | or at night when the twinkling lights in the trees and the |
| friends and set off for Phoenix, a journey through the | | | | lights from the cafes, restaurants and river boats add |
| desert with few places to break the monotony. On | | | | a magical dimension. We had a delightful meal at a |
| Sunday it was hot, a record of 101, so we only stayed | | | | riverside table at sunset as the lights started to go on. |
| two hours at Phoenix's interesting 145-acre Desert | | | | On Wednesday, all the way to Corpus Christi on Hwy. |
| Botanical Garden, which features arid land plants from | | | | 181 the flat landscape was neatly tended lush farmland. |
| all over the world. They had lots of Saguaro Cacti, | | | | Corpus Christi has a huge oil refinery that dominates |
| which grow to 50 feet and can be over 250 years old. | | | | the road into town. The only thing that appealed to us |
| Monday we left Scottsdale and drove via Apache | | | | was the USS Lexington, a retired World War ll aircraft |
| Junction and Florence to Tucson. A number of people | | | | carrier. It was very interesting to look around this |
| had warned us there is little at Tucson and they were | | | | enormous aircraft carrier and read of its exploits in the |
| right! The journey on the Tuesday from Tucson to | | | | war against Japan. We continued up the coast to |
| Tombstone was initially along Interstate 10, which was | | | | Rockport, which is a nice little Texas Gulf Coast resort |
| as arid and boring as we had come to expect, but | | | | with a revitalised downtown that is home to a growing |
| Tombstone was a captivating place. We only wished | | | | colony of artists and craft people. |
| we had driven the 73 miles to it the day before and | | | | Driving on Thursday along the coastal highway was |
| skipped Tucson. It is a real bit of the old Wild West. | | | | unlike earlier parts of Texas with flat coastal land, |
| The number of original buildings in the town is amazing. | | | | sometimes neatly farmed and at other times marshy. |
| We did the OK Corral shoot-out visit of course, but this | | | | As we approached the southern tip of Galveston |
| is only a small part of the history of a town that once | | | | Island we lost count of the number of refineries and |
| boomed because of its silver mines. When they | | | | chemical plants that we passed. Thankfully there were |
| flooded everything changed, but the town still thrives, | | | | none on the island. It is over 30 miles from the southern |
| albeit on tourism. We headed back to the interstate | | | | part of the island to the city and at first there were |
| and drove on to Lordsburg, New Mexico for the night | | | | only a few beach homes interspersed with long |
| through arid mountainous desert with occasional farms | | | | stretches of totally deserted beaches. After settling |
| in lush irrigated valleys. At one point we crossed a | | | | into a motel, we went to see a film at the Pier 21 |
| 10-mile wide dust bowl with warning signs for dust | | | | Theater called "The Great Storm" that tells the story |
| storms. | | | | of the hurricane that hit the city on September 8th |
| On Wednesday for nearly 60 miles after leaving | | | | 1900, causing 6,000 deaths. After the storm the city |
| Lordsburg we were crossing yet more desert. At one | | | | built a 17 feet high seawall and raised the land behind it. |
| point we crossed the Continental Divide, but apart from | | | | The business district on the bay side suffered least, so |
| the roadside sign it would not have been noticeable. At | | | | many of its buildings survived. An old style diesel |
| Las Cruces we descended into a lush farming valley. | | | | powered tram runs around the historic area on |
| Soon we crossed into Texas and were greeted by | | | | tramlines set in the road. |
| cattle as far as the eye could see and the nose could | | | | On Friday to avoid the long drive around Galveston |
| smell in stockyards by the roadside. El Paso is on the | | | | Bay we took the free 20-minute ferry from Galveston |
| Rio Grande River. The Mexican City of Juarez across | | | | to Port Bolivar. The ferry weaves in and out of the |
| the river is said to be far nicer than El Paso, but the | | | | huge tankers entering and leaving the Bay. We then |
| car wasn't insured for Mexico. | | | | drove along the coastal peninsula until we had to head |
| We were so keen to put the empty desert behind us | | | | inland to rejoin the interstate for the last few miles in |
| that we left El Paso at 6.45am on Thursday for the | | | | Texas. Entering Louisiana we left the interstate at |
| 493 miles to Kerrville. Texas has a 75mph limit in low | | | | Lake Charles and took the quieter rural Hwy. 14 to |
| population areas, and that description certainly fits the | | | | Lafayette. The scenery was very mixed with sugar |
| "Big Bend" area. There isn't a single radio station you | | | | cane and rice fields, cattle and nodding donkeys. That |
| can pick up in some parts. An interesting episode was | | | | night we went out to dinner to PreJean's, an award |
| finding the Interstate shut down outside El Paso for US | | | | winning Cajun restaurant that features live Cajun music |
| Border Patrol inspections. We stopped after 112 miles | | | | every night. We had an enjoyable meal accompanied |
| at Van Horn, thankful that we had decided not to carry | | | | by foot tapping music from a three-piece band. |
| on the day before and stay there instead of El Paso! | | | | Lafayette and the Parishes immediately surrounding it |
| The next place, Fort Stockton at 232 miles had to be | | | | are the spiritual home of Acadiana. Acadians were |
| an early lunch stop as there is nothing for another 107 | | | | French immigrants to Nova Scotia who were banished |
| miles! Fort Stockton is a relatively big place. It has the | | | | in 1755. Many eventually headed to Louisiana. Finding |
| first supermarket and Wal-Mart since leaving El Paso! | | | | New Orleans already settled, they settled around what |
| Kerrville is the first town after the desert ends and it's | | | | is today Lafayette. This is the origin of Cajun cuisine |
| a well-known tourist town in the Texas hill country. It is | | | | and Cajun music. On Friday we saw two fascinating |
| a rather charming example of small town America. | | | | films at the Jean Lafitte Cultural Center. One was |
| Dating back to the mid 1800's when this area was | | | | about the Acadian's exile from Nova Scotia and their |
| settled by German immigrants, it has a well preserved | | | | arrival in Louisiana. The other was about the |
| main street area and the whole town has lots of | | | | Atchafalaya Swamp. We had an interesting visit to |
| mature trees due to its location in the Guadeloupe | | | | Vermilionville, a Cajun-Creole Heritage Park and |
| River valley. | | | | explored Downtown Lafayette before driving out to |
| Friday morning we headed to Fredericksburg. It is an | | | | Breaux Bridge and St Martinville, two of the |
| even smaller town, but with a big Historic Main Street | | | | well-known Cajun towns just outside Lafayette. That |
| area. The town displays its German immigrant origins | | | | night we returned to PreJean's to have a final Cajun |
| extensively; in fact finding anything but German food is | | | | dinner. |
| quite difficult! The town has plenty of the usual antique | | | | On Saturday it was foggy when we set out. There is |
| and gift shops, and also a few beer halls! After | | | | no alternative to the Interstate, which for 16 miles |
| exploring the town we continued on Hwy. 290 to | | | | crosses the Atchafalaya Swamp on a low bridge. In |
| Austin. There were immaculate farms and vineyards | | | | the fog the swamp looked quite eerie. We turned |
| along parts of the road. Texas hill country deserves its | | | | south to follow the Mississippi River to the outskirts of |
| reputation as a scenic area. It is amazingly different | | | | New Orleans along Plantation Row, a Louisiana Scenic |
| scenery from the desert only 30 or so miles to the | | | | Highway. The rural parts are quite scenic, but there are |
| west. | | | | also lots of petrochemical plants along the riverbank. |
| On Saturday we took a Duck Tour of Austin on a | | | | Because of a 20-feet high flood protection levy you |
| converted 1960's ex-British Army Alvis Rolls Royce | | | | cannot see the river from the road. We had an |
| powered amphibious troop carrier. After touring | | | | excellent guided tour of the beautiful Oak Alley |
| Austin's downtown and state capitol areas they drove | | | | Plantation, which was built in 1839. |
| us into the lake to give us a view from the water! | | | | Then it was back on the Interstate to bypass New |
| After exploring the downtown area on foot, particularly | | | | Orleans, which we had visited earlier in the year. |
| the famous 6th street music district, with rain due on | | | | Leaving New Orleans the Interstate crosses Lake |
| Sunday, we decided to explore two more small towns. | | | | Pontchartrain. We said good bye to Louisiana and |
| San Marcos has a real Universal Lot style | | | | turned onto Hwy. 90, a Mississippi Scenic Highway. |
| old-fashioned town square. Gruene is again German in | | | | After reaching the Gulf Coast at Pass Christian the |
| origin dating back to the 1840's. All the buildings are on | | | | road runs right alongside the beach to Biloxi. |
| the National Register of Historic Places. Many are now | | | | Sunday we had a lazy day in Biloxi and explored one |
| antique and gift shops and others are restaurants. It | | | | of the local casinos. It was rather small compared to |
| was absolutely packed with weekend visitors. Some | | | | Las Vegas. Leaving Biloxi on Monday we meandered |
| were listening to a live band in Gruene Hall, reputed to | | | | along the Gulf Coast, through Mobile, Alabama and |
| be the oldest dance hall and saloon in Texas. | | | | crossed the state line into Florida. We paused to |
| On Sunday we headed to Luckenbach. It is a quaint | | | | explore Historic Downtown Pensacola then we |
| General Store, US Post Office and Dance Hall dating | | | | crossed the causeway to Pensacola Beach and |
| back to 1871. It was made famous by two of its | | | | continued meandering along the coast to Seaside, the |
| regulars, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings who wrote | | | | forerunner of developments like Disney's Celebration. It |
| a hit record titled "Luckenbach Texas". It is a really | | | | is certainly attractively done and is located on a |
| quirky place, well worth the visit. Then we headed to | | | | beautiful powdery soft pure white sandy beach. The |
| Boerne, another historic town of German origin. It | | | | rental rates for the properties would make vacation |
| started raining so hard that we only stopped to fill up | | | | homeowners in Orlando weep with jealousy. Unwilling |
| the car and pressed on to San Antonio. | | | | to pay their rates we got a beautiful room in a Quality |
| Monday was ideal for sightseeing in San Antonio, | | | | Inn right on Panama City Beach for only $39. |
| sunny and in the low 70's. At the IMAX theatre we | | | | Tuesday morning we saw the Sunrise over the Gulf |
| saw "Alamo - the Price of Freedom". The film tuned | | | | of Mexico from our balcony on our last day on the |
| us in to the story of the famous siege in 1836 ready | | | | road. We rejoined our outbound route at Appalachicola |
| for seeing The Alamo itself, or the parts of it that still | | | | and passed once again through Carrabelle. This time |
| survive. Then we visited La Villita which is the oldest | | | | we spotted the "World's smallest police station" that |
| surviving neighbourhood dating from the 1750's that is | | | | we had missed on our outward journey. It is literally a |
| now full of craftshops, galleries and restaurants. We | | | | phone box! We ran into torrential tropical rain between |
| also took a disappointing trolley tour that spent most of | | | | Perry and Crystal River. What a way to welcome us |
| its time out of town. However the Riverwalk boat ride | | | | back after nearly seven weeks, but after Crystal |
| we took was excellent. The river is one level below | | | | River it was sunshine all the way home. With some |
| the streets, and on either side are pretty flower lined | | | | additional stops and exploring, the trip ended up being a |
| walkways and many riverside cafes and restaurants. | | | | total of 7,827 miles. Did we enjoy it? Yes, immensely. |
| I can't think of any riverside we have ever been to | | | | Being on the road became a way of life after a while |
| that is so picturesque, whether you see it by daylight | | | | and now the only question is "where next? |