ONLY 3 hours to cover the last 50 miles of yesterday's journey from the LA/TX border and into the Dallas area. I had no sooner made a comment to Deb that we seemed to have arrived in the area at a good time since traffic was reasonable when we entered some of the worst construction congestion that we've ever experienced. It took nearly two hours to cover about 7 miles on I-635. Adding to our great delight, thanks to the cold front and associated Winter Storm that has been rolling through the area for the last several days, as I write this it is still only 30 degrees (yes, that is Farenheit) at 9:30 am. Hey, we're in the South to keep warm, right? No photos to share to day since what we've been seeing was mostly traffic.
On the positive side, we are now situated at a very nice RV Park and Alpaca Farm in Sanger, TX, where we be staying for a week as we explore the area (you can bet we'll find some alternative highways to get around) and we've been invited for Thanksgiving dinner with the owners and about a dozen other folks that are staying here. This is a link to the park's information if you'd like to see where we're staying.
The second half of our week in Vicksburg, MS, included a chance to see two paddle wheel boats that provide 7 day tours up and down the Mississippi River, but I'm sure Mark Twain would be astounded at the prices. We next had the
opportunity to see about 30 murals that have been painted on the flood wall in the historic downtown section of the city. Other stops included the CocaCola museum (did you know that Vicksburg was the birthplace of that beverage?), some
downtown shops and eateries and a return to the Memorial Park to visit a couple areas that we missed earlier when time ran short.
Again, you can find quite a number of photos at this link. Also, some have questioned the few lines of a poem in our earlier blog and you can click here to read the entire poem.
The Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates the campaign, siege and defense of Vicksburg in 1863. The park includes 1340 monuments of various sizes, markers and plaques that mark locations and events, a restored Union gunboat and a National Cemetery. Pat, Dick, Deb and I spent the better part of a day exploring quite a number of the sites along the 16 mile road that winds through the park.
I know we all had some profound reactions to what we observed and felt as we made our way around the park. For myself, it was a deep sense of loss. We heard an account of a battle where over 3,000 died in just one day.
There are pretty many photos posted at our Shutterfly Site, mostly of the park, but a couple that include friends Jim and Wanda from just before our departure from Alabama. You will see some similar photos as Deb and I were both snapping away most of the day.
We are presently starting a short stay in Foley, AL, having just completed a two week visit at Fort Pickens, FL. The area surrounding the fort is one our favorite places to visit and we shared it this time with friends Pat and Dick.
Over the last few years when we had intentions of spending some time on the island which includes Pensacola Beach, we were forced to cancel our reservations at least three or four times due to bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico or other reasons beyond our control. This time the weather was just perfect and we were able to spend some great days on the beach, or on the fishing pier, or doing not much of anything, just enjoying our surroundings. We also managed to have some great meals, both here in the park and at some local eateries. Of particular note on the fishing front, if you view the included photos (click here) you will see Deb and Pat with the 'catch of the day' on one outing, a 35", 15 pound, Red Drum which had to be returned to the bay since it was considerably larger than the legal limit.
Be sure to review the captions provided with the photos for some additional remarks about our stay.
