A chill in the air and sunshine greeted us when we finished packing up this morning. After breakfast, we loaded the remaining toiletries, and the cat's paraphernalia, and left Travelers World RV Park in San Antonio at 6:45 a.m. That would get us through Houston around 10:00-10:30 a.m. when there is little traffic. Worked like a charm.
Cars and pickups were practically absent from the freeway, but semi-trucks filled the void. The drive was actually not too bad for most of the day.
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| Blue tarps in Lake Charles, Louisiana. |
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| Lots of blue tarps. |
In Lake Charles, Louisiana, is where we saw the most damage from the 2020 hurricane season. One motel looked completely gutted. The debris field in front of it included mattresses, lumber, roofing, etc. A lumberyard roof had collapsed into the middle of the building. And there were blue tarps on the roofs of homes and businesses throughout the city. That was just what we saw from I-10. I can't imagine the devastation around the whole area.
We crossed the Trinity River, Sabine River, Lake Charles, and the Mighty Mississippi today.
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| Lake Charles in all its glory. |
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| Water tower for the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. |
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| Crossing the Mississippi River. |
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| Mississippi River Bridge |
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| Port of Greater Baton Rouge. |
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| A great view of the Mississippi River today. |
Our major problem on our drive was an accident on I-10 going into Baton Rouge. The back-up on I-10 east was nine miles long. We were stuck in traffic close to two hours. By the time we made it through Baton Rouge, I was tired. Our original campground for tonight, Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville, Louisiana, canceled our reservation due to Hurricane Zeta.
In the past, we have stayed two times at Lakeside RV Park in Livingston, Louisiana and really enjoyed it. It's 1.2 miles south of I-12 at Exit 22. We didn't have a reservation, but we decided to try for a spot. They gave us an excellent back-in site right on the lake. The last time we were here, we stayed in site 120. This time, we were in site 122.
After unhooking the 5th wheel and eating dinner, Bob took a walk two-thirds of the way around the lake. (The trail doesn't go all the way around.) He enjoyed getting out and walkng after driving for so long. We left home at 6:45 a.m. and pulled into the campground here at 4:00 p.m. -- a nine-hour day. He drove about six hours.
We watched the moon come up over the lake from our RV. An egret fished languidly along the edge of the lake and I could watch it from our dining room window. Ah, nature.
Bob told me that today is National Cat Day. I had no idea. LOL.
Tomorrow morning, we will leave around 8:00 a.m. and get into Milton, Florida, in the afternoon. Rosemarie invited us for supper. We're looking forward to seeing them and hearing their hurricane tales. I think Hurricane Sally is the one that they had the most trouble with.
Have a great weekend! Over and out.
My husband is from Vinton, LA (first exit on 10 after crossing Sabine River.) He flew down to Lake Charles to see sick sister on Monday and gets back tonight. He is staying with a brother who lives in Sulphur next to Lake Charles. We knew it was bad down there but he says it is so much worse than he expected to see. So many of his large family were affected.
ReplyDeleteSafeTravels!
Phyllis,
DeleteWe wondered how the rest of the Lake Charles area looked because of what we could see only from the freeway. I hope all of his family is safe and accounted for. We were supposed to stay at a campground in north Vinton, but because we were delayed a night, we had to cancel our reservation in Vinton.
Traffic delays when traveling are a given especially for an accident.
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it Safe and Enjoyed the trip.
It's about time.
Hi Rick and Kathy,
ReplyDeleteIn the past nine years of traveling all over the country, the only accidents we've been stuck in were on I-10 in the southeastern U.S. Crazy, isn't it? I guess we've been lucky.
Susan