Fort Stockton was a town that we would describe as being very tired. The RV park typified it in our opinion. It was the cheapest so far at $15 per night but as you can see by the photograph that is all it was worth, as it was very, very basic.
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| RV park- Fort Stockton |
We were pleased that after Fort Stockton the road (I10) started to improve, therefore we decided not to go to Laredo and kept on track heading towards New Orleans passing San Antonio. This part was horrific to drive through which was a bit like the Phoenix roads, so many lanes and very busy. We ended up in a town called Schulenberg for the night at an RV site just off the I10. We did not want to venture as far as Houston at this stage as going through one major city was enough. The RV site we found was quiet and peaceful and after our bad experience we had previously of the other RV sites we both approved of the site. As the name of this town suggests it was settled by Czech and German settlers in the 1800's and had a very unique feel to the town as the architeture was very Czech and German as was the many places of interest and roads etc.
The next day we headed for Baytown, just outside Houston and reached the East Coast at the KOA (Camp of America) RV site. It was a stunning site on Galveston Bay overlooking the sea, we got a sea view plot so were really pleased. The hospitality was fantastic as they offered Steve to take their car a mile down the road so that he could go and get some fishing bait from the local shop. It was well worth it as the sites jetty was a good fishing spot and kept Steve entertained for hours. He caught loads of fish, Croakers, Catfish, and a large Bream which Steve delightfuly cooked for me.
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| RV on the sea by Galveston bay |
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| Our tea! |
We would have stayed longer but we knew we had a deadline to meet in order to deliver the RV to Orlando and still had a long journey ahead of us. We were starting to enjoy the scenery alot better, as Texas was getting greener and the roads were slightly better as each mile passed driving eastwards. We stopped off at Lake Charles just outside Houston which was an absolute picturesque lake. This is where the RV came in handy, preparing lunch in beautiful settings.
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| Lake Charles- Near Houston Texas |
Our next stop was a place near Lafayette called Frog city which was right next to the I10. We only stopped overnight as Steve had done enough driving for the day.
The following day we finally arrived in New Orleans, where we had booked into an RV park about 15 minutes drive from New Orleans central attractions (even though the website did say it was in the centre). The site was once again neat and tidy so it was great to see the improvement since the beginning of our journey. We found out through the locals that the site had been six feet under water only a few years earlier when Hurricane Katrina had devestated most of the city and the state of Louissiana.
We had arrived late afternoon on a very hot day, the sky was even more spectacular by the USAF Air display by the Blue Angels. The noise was unbelievable as they flew right above the RV. We loved being right in the middle of it.
The RV park offered a shuttle service into the centre of New Orleans so we decided to do a bit of site seeing on both of the nights we were there. All we can say about New Orleans is it is one of our favourite cities, because of the hustle and bustle of people and atmosphere, music and partying come to mind. We mostly spent our time around the French Quarters, Decataur Street which had little quaint squares and narrow streets and 200 year old architecture. There were lots of shops ,bars and restaurants with live music playing in most of the bars, blues, jazz etc. On Saturday nights they have an outdoor market which sold lots of artistic products, some made by local artists. Special bars were set up so people were just walking around with cocktails or beers in their hand, but still very civilised.
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| New Orleans market- local produce; Alligator heads |
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| Local delicacy- Gators on sticks |
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| New Orleans- Margaretta Bar |
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| Locals dancing to the Blues band- New Orleans |
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| French Quaters- New Orleans |
New Orleans was one of the best cities on our travels so far and we hope that one day we will be able to go back again. However with still 700 miles to go we set off travelling through Mississippi. Before stopping off near Mobile, Alabama we stopped for lunch at Biloxi Beach on the Gulf Coast, this reminded us of some of the beaches we saw in Australia,just as beautiful, with clear white powdery sand.
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| Biloxi Beach on the Gulf Coast |
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| Biloxi Beach on the Gulf Coast |
After leaving Alabama, we entered Florida and suffered our third time change in one week and started Eastern Standard time (only 5 hours behind the UK). Also the roads took on a new feeling as they were poor on the I10 in Lousisana and steadily improving to a great standard in Florida. This made our lives much easier in the RV and after a good day travelling we arrived as planned in Tallahassee in Florida at their KOA site. The site had every amenity , but no people!( Apparently it is only busy when the football season is on and Tampa play at home) So we relaxed and both fished in the camp pond, my first attempt of lake fishing, not much luck on this occasion.
As we had to get the RV back in excellent condition for the morning of the 25th we decided to stay in a KOA RV park really close to the depot, this site had a nice little outdoor pool so it was a great way to spend our last and twelth night in the RV.
So 2,337 miles, 12 days later and having crossed through seven states, plus three time zones we were pleased to give the RV back with ourselves and the RV all in one piece.
We only passed through Houston and San Antonio on this occassion as we are going back there in June to meet up with some friends,when Bailey's Tours do Texas!
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