Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

This is our first time we have been in Louisiana. We chose the Poche's RV Park and Fish-N-Camp in Breaux Bridge because it is a Passport America RV Park. Breaux is pronounced like "Bro" and Poche is pronounced "Poo - Shay".

We really like this park. It is several large ponds that you back up to. We chose site 68.

Site 68
As you can see we have water both in the front and the rear of us! Here is the view out of our rear window.

Rear Window
We wanted to go to a swamp while here in the bayou! I read online that Lake Martin would be a good place.

Lake Martin
We did not see any alligators here, although they are indigenous to the area. We did see these and other turtles and water snakes.

Swamp Turtles
The swamp lands are really pretty. Lots of greenery! This is what we expect to see when we think of Louisiana!

Swamps
There was a short 1/4 mile long boardwalk over the swamps that we walked. Very fun with alot of birds to see.

Swamp Selfie
On the way back we found the Breaux Bridge.

Breaux Bridge
We decided we had to try REAL Cajun food. Poche's has a restaurant a couple miles away from the RV Park that has great reviews. We decided to go share a lunch there.

Poche's
We were given a sample of crawfish etouffee. I thought it tastes like tiny lobster in a spicy sauce. We however decided to go for the Meatball Stew. They give you four spicy meatballs in a spicy gravy sauce. With it comes two sides, and rice. We chose smothered potatoes, which is mashed potatoes with seasoning and sausage mixed in it. The other side was creamed green beans with bacon. They also give you rice. Either white or dirty rice or half and half. We did both. With the meatballs they covered the white rice with the gravy. They also included two rolls. We were asked if we had ever tried Cracklin? We told them no, so they gave us some samples. They are sort of like pork rinds, but not exactly. I would not buy them, but we didn't hate them either. Interesting! All this for $9.50!

Plate Lunch
We went to the local Winn-Dixie grocery store. The butcher suggested we should drive to Avery Island where they make Tabasco Sauce. It is about 30 miles away and we decided to go and do the tour.

Tabasco Museum
After going through the museum there is a self guided tour. Here is the factory.

Factory
Here are some big bottles with one hot mama!

One Hot Mama!
That's it for Breaux Bridge. We will be back!

Love you all,

God Bless,
Brian and Patty







Columbus, Texas

We arrived for 4 days at the Colorado River Thousand Trails in Columbus, Texas. We were here for 2 weeks 3 years ago. We were surprised that the park was so full! There were only 2 sewer sites left when we got there. Neither would allow us to receive satellite on our auto rooftop satellite antenna. We picked site number A46 under the big oak tree and set up the portable dish.

Site A46
It may have been full because the Easter weekend was coming up. Either way we really like this park. BTW, this is NOT the same Colorado River as the one that borders California. The people in Columbus are what you would expect people in a small Texas town to be like, very friendly! The deer would come out every afternoon, and the sunsets were spectacular. For my California friends, this is what GREEN Grass looks like! 

Colorado River TT
We went into La Grange to go to the SuperWalmart. I read there was a gas station that had a good bbq in it. It was called the Texas One Stop. It also had a great bakery. We didn't buy any bakery goods although they did look great, but we did buy some smoked chicken breast and some brisket to go. 

Yummm!!!

Texas One Stop
On Easter our son Matthew texted us and told us that our home church New Life Community Church was going to start Live Streaming services! 

Live Streaming at mewlifeoxnard.com/live

We have gone to some great churches on the road, but to us, none as good as New Life! New Life was having 6 Easter services, 2 Saturday night and 4 Sunday morning. We decided to watch Streaming services Saturday night from Oxnard here in Texas and then go Sunday morning to the Columbus First Baptist Church. we appreciate that they have always made us feel welcome and part of the family!

First Baptist Church
If you want to Live Stream New Life services you can click Here Sunday mornings at 8:30am, 10am, and noon.

That's it for Columbus. We are leaving on Monday and heading to Breaux Bridge, La. It is going to be our first time in Louisiana so we are looking forward to it!

God Bless and thanks for reading,

Brian and Patty













Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Luling, Texas

We stop in Luling for one reason, Barbeque! For those of you that have eaten Dickey's in Ventura, that is the best you can do there, but compared to what is available here you might as well be eating Arby's in my opinion.

Maybe it's the wood, maybe the way they smoke it, I don't know. But there is nothing like Texas BBQ! The 2 best known around here are Smitty's Market and Kreutz Market in Lockhart. We like Smitty's best.

We checked into our Passport America campground River Bend RV Park.

River Bend RV Park
We were assigned pull through site #2. We have a great view of a race horse training track next to us.

Horse Training
Patty went out to check out the horse. The trainer stopped and talked to her. The horse is named Sexy Senorita and is about 6 months from racing. This was a daily occurrence at 9:00 AM.

Sexy Senorita
Out our back window they are growing a garden.

Garden
This is the laundry room. Just past the Texas flag there is a pen with several other horses.

Laundry
This is a catch and release fishing pond on the RV park property.

Pond
The park backs up to the San Marcos River.

San Marcos River
Of course the real reason to stop here for three days was for the barbeque! After settling in to our site, we drove into Lockhart and went to Smitty's Market. Although they call it a market it is actually just a restaurant.

This is why we come here!

Smitty's Market
We got Brisket, Sausage, and Potato Salad. The White bread is always included everywhere. The brisket comes either wet (fatty) or dry (lean), we got half and half because Patty forgot that the wet is so much juicier and better! LOL.

Look at the bark and the smoke ring! It is actually better then it looks.

Delicious!
On Tuesday we went to Chisholm Trail BBQ. Chisholm is much cheaper then the other places in town and used to be a locals favorite. We went there last time we were in town and  it was close to as good. Still much better then the chains (Dickey's). I had read that they sold the restaurant and the quality went down and people weren't impressed anymore. I figured for us SoCal people we would probably still like it so we would go Tuesday, and then Wednesday go to one of the better places before we leave.

Patty was going to get Turkey. The server said the Turkey was cold and they would have to warm it. Didn't sound good. She said the Chicken was warm. 1/4 chicken for $1.95! Patty tried that and LOVED it! I got the brisket. 1/2 lb for about $6.00. It looked kinda dry so I asked for wet. She went and got a brand new one and cut that. It was about as juicy as the one from Smitty's with a thick bark. Close to as good! Great value and very good. Patty liked it better, but I think it was not quite as good. Still very pleased with it!

We think tonight we will go back to Smitty's and not go to Kreuz Market. They do a great smoked Turkey there so Patty can have that.

After eating we stopped by the Walmart. They had Strawberries from Oxnard! We bought some and they are good!

Oxnard Strawberries

Tomorrow we leave to Columbus, Texas which is a Thousand Trails. We have stayed there before and will be there for Easter.

Thanks for reading, 

Love you, 

God Bless,

Brian and Patty















Sunday, March 20, 2016

Fort Stockton, Texas

We are staying two nights in Fort Stockton, Texas. Texas is a huge state, so we will be traveling long days to get through here. Yesterday we drove about 350 miles from Deming, NM to Fort Stockton. When we got to El Paso, Tx there was a road closure of Interstate 10. Not just down to one lane, but a complete closure! I10 is a major trucking thorofare so there were thousands of trucks getting of the freeway having to detour through town.

This detour cost us about three hours of time! What should have taken us about 5 1/2 hours, took us almost 9 hours. We were pretty tired when we got to the RV park. Now the good part. The Ram truck continues to prove itself as a worthy tow vehicle. Put it in cruise control and let it do it's work. Doesn't matter if it's flatland or hills, the truck doesn't care, it just keeps pulling strong! We are so happy with it.

There are no great RV parks in Fort Stockton. Last time we stayed here for one night we stopped overnight in the Comanche Land RV Park. They are full with oil field workers and would not take our reservation. There is a Passport America park for only $11.00 per night, but the reviews were pretty dismal. This is why we did not stay here last time. Since we couldn't stay at Comanche we took a chance here (the other parks were $30+ a night).

It turns out this park is a further from the freeway so it is quieter, and although certainly not a resort we prefer this park. It's not a pretty park, it is dirt and gravel with hookups, but for $11 a night I will come back!

Parkview RV Park
Fort Stockton is a city in Pecos County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Pecos County, located on Interstate Highway 10,  and the Santa Fe Railroad, 329 miles northwest of San Antonio and 240 miles east of El Paso. Built in 1979, at 22 feet long and 11 feet tall Paisano Pete was for many years the World's Largest Roadrunner.

Paisano Pete
There are not many churches in Fort Stockton. We decided to go to the Fort Stockton First Baptist Church. Very friendly people and good preaching.

First Baptist Church
After church we went to Flying J to fill up our fuel tanks and then to Walmart for some shopping. We have a long drive again tomorrow to Luling, Tx so we are going to relax today.

God Bless,
Brian and Patty



Friday, March 18, 2016

Deming, New Mexico

Two nights only in Deming. We are staying at the Roadrunner RV park which is a Passport America park. We stay half price which means we only had to pay $12.50 a night!!

Roadrunner RV Park
To remind you what Passport America is, for about $45.00 a year you pay half price in about 1500 RV parks around the country. 10 years ago we bought a lifetime membership for $400.00, so we do not have to pay the annual fee EVER. So just these two nights in Deming we saved $27 including tax. You can see how quickly in those ten years we saved the $400!

When we got here last night I read about a great little Mexican restaurant called El Camino Real. New Mexican Food is different then Southern Californian Mexican Food in that one of its defining characteristics of New Mexican Cuisine is the dominance of the New Mexico chile, which are either red or green depending on their stage of ripeness when picked.

Patty had Chicken Flautas with Guacamole and Rice and Beans. I had a combo #2 which had a Taco, Tamale, Enchilada, Chile relleno, Chili Con Carne and Rice and Beans. Just pick Red or Green! We both had Ice Tea and the whole check with tax was $18!! It was delicious, and when Patty and I come back through here in September we will eat here again.

Mexican Food
Today we drove to Columbus, NM. Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, about three miles north of the Mexican border. It is considered a place of historical interest, as the scene of the attack in 1916 by Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa, that caused America to send 10,000 troops there in the Punitive Mexican Expedition.

Pancho VIlla State Park
United States President Woodrow Wilson responded to the Columbus raid by sending the 10,000 troops under Brigadier General John J. Pershing to Mexico to pursue Villa. This was known as the Punitive Mexican Expedition or Pancho Villa Expedition. The expedition was eventually called off after failing to find Villa, who had successfully escaped. The Pershing expedition brought prosperity and international attention to Columbus and a realization that war had come to the border of the United States.

This actual car was shot up buy the raiding Mexican  soldiers. You can see the bullet holes in the seat and the front quarter panel.

Bullet Hole Car
General Pershing would ride around in a car like this, but this is not his actual car. After his experience here Pershing was deemed best fit for the European theater during WWI.

Pershing Car
These were Grease Racks for armored vehicles. There are now RV's camped around these as this is now a State Park with RV spots.

Grease Racks
After spending time at the Museum we decided to drive the 3 miles to the Mexican Border. There is a free parking lot to leave your car and you just walk across to the town of Palomas, Mexico. 

Palomas, Mexico
Online everyone said to go to the "Pink Store" and eat lunch. I have read but could not confirm that it is owned by former Americans that have settled in Mexico and it seemed so!

Pink Store
The food was OK, The chips seemed like they came out of a bag, and the salsa tasted like Pace Picante. The food last night was substantially better and cheaper to boot! Doesn't make sense to us. In order of Mexican Food on our trip so far, El Camino was best,  Los Algodones was second, and third was here. 

A quick walk back across the border after showing them our passports and we were back in New Mexico.

Tomorrow we leave for Fort Stockton, Texas.

God Bless you,
Brian and Patty

 




Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Tucson, Az

Tucson, Az is a stopping point for us on our trip back east. We are just here for two nights. It was 245 miles from Yuma, Az. We are staying at the Voyager RV Resort. This is an Encore Resort that we are using through our Thousand Trails membership. We did not know this was available to us. We can stay for just $4.00 a night "resort fee".

Voyager RV Resort
I must say, this place really is a resort! We are ready to come back! In fact we have decided to change our plans and stay here instead of the Thousand Trails Verde Valle on the way back to Santa Paula.

Site 281
We were assigned site 281. There are a variety of RV spaces, mobile homes and park models. A staff person guided us to our site.

They have 2 hot tubs and 3 swimming pools, Here is the covered pool.

Covered Pool
This is the large hot tub. The jets come from both the outside ring and the smaller inside ring. 

Hot Tub
Just past the panapas is a third pool that is used for lap swimming.

Pools
Because we have decided to come back in September for a week, and our short time here we have just gone shopping instead of site-seeing. We came across a Whataburger. We have not had Whataburger in several years so we had to stop for lunch. We just ordered one french fry, but they gave us two. I let them know they had given us an extra. They said they decided to give us an extra for free! How very nice of them! By the way, it was as good as we remember!!!!

Whataburger
Now it's on to Deming, NM for two nights. 

God Bless and thanks for reading,

Brian and Patty







Monday, March 14, 2016

Yuma, Az

We left Santa Paula, Ca on March 7th and spent one night at the Thousand Trails in Palm Desert, Ca. We used a pull through and didn't even unhook the truck. Just hooked up the electricity to make it easy. It is 185 miles from Santa Paula to Palm Desert.

On the 8th we left Palm Desert and headed to an RPI park in Yuma, Az called Yuma Lakes. We stay in RPI parks for $10.00 a night so this is a good deal for us. We are here for a week. It was 155 miles from Palm Desert to here so it was an easy ride.

We checked in and they assigned our site. It was a back-in that had a sewer manhole cover under the trailer and an electric box and wires behind us. There was nobody anywhere near our site so I called the ranger station and asked if we could move over one. She said we could, so we moved to site 108.

Site 108
Yuma Lakes is part of the CRA (Colorado River Adventures). The one thing we like about the CRA parks is that they keep the swimming pools warm. Many of the Thousand Trails pools are just too cold (an exception is Palm Springs TT in Palm Desert). The CRA parks we have stayed at in the past are K&Q in Julian, Ca and Emerald Cove in Earp, Ca on the Parker Strip.

Many of the retired people that stay here go the short distance across the border to Los Algodones, Mexico for dental care. There are more dentist per capita then any other city in the world. Many of the dentist got their degrees in the United States. The costs is a fraction of the cost of the USA. A crown that costs about a thousand dollars in the USA is between $100-150 in Los Algodones. We're not sure we would get any major work done here, but we decided to get cleanings done. In the USA it costs us about $100 with a cash discount, here it was $30.00. All the equipment is modern and sterilized with autoclave equipment. The dentist and staff speak fluent English.

Los Algodones Border
Patty did not get a chance to get her hair cut and colored in Ventura when we were home. She normally pays a little more than $100.00 do do that. Her person does a great job. Researching I read that Juanita's is the place in Los Algodones to get your hair done. She went and checked in. The charge for hair cut and color was $36.00!

I think they did a great job, but I think Patty always looks great!

Hair Cut
My back has been hurting so I figured I might as well look for a chiropractor while here. I've never been to a chiropractor. I called my insurance. They will reimburse me $20.00 per visit. They told me even in Mexico as long as I have a receipt. They told me to expect to pay about $80.00 in Ventura County. The charge in Los Algodones is $40.00 for a treatment. There were 2 chiropractors and they were both American doctors. Felt better after the treatment and got instructions on how to self treat.

By the way, what I didn't cover is the best way to get there is to park in the Quechan Indian Tribe Parking lot. They charge you $6.00 to park all day. The lot is right next to the border. As soon as you cross the border the town starts. The town is about 4 or 5 square blocks so everything is right there. You can also buy pharmaceuticals and as long as it is NOT a narcotic you do not need a prescription. An example of costs are 100 count 800mg Ibuprofen  are $3.99.

We had lunch at a busy restaurant. We Had five tacos (3 and 2), 2 bottled sodas and a bottled water. All the chips we wanted (they kept refilling our bowl). They gave us four different bowls of salsa, and a big plate of garnish for the tacos. The prices were not listed so when it was time to pay I asked the owner expecting the worse. He said, how about $10.00? I figured for 5 tacos and 3 bottles that was fair! BTW the tacos were stuffed! Very big and filling.

Coming back you need to show your passport to the US Agents and declare anything you are bringing back. In the afternoon the lines are very long and can take up to an hour to get back.

One of the places we wanted to go to in Yuma was the Yuma Territorial Prison. 

Yuma Territorial Prison
The prison accepted its first inmate on July 1, 1876. For the next 33 years 3,069 prisoners, including 20 women, served sentences there for crimes ranging from murder to polygamy. The prison was under continuous construction with labor provided by the prisoners. In 1909, the last prisoner left the Territorial Prison for the newly constructed Arizona State Prison Complex located in Florence, Arizona.

Prison Cell
Let me out!
Let me out!
Patty also in her cell.

She's sad.
Yuma Union High School occupied the buildings from 1910 to 1914. When the school's football team played against Phoenix and unexpectedly won, the Phoenix team called the Yuma team "criminals". Yuma High adopted the nickname with pride, sometimes shortened to the "Crims". The school's symbol is the face of a hardened criminal, and the student merchandise shop is called the Cell Block.

This was the original "Criminals" mascot.

Mascot
They have softened it some and this is the current mascot. It still cracks me up that a high school calls themselves the criminals! LOL

Yuma Criminals
This tower sits upon the water tower. Water is pulled up from the Colorado River below and stored for use.

Watch and Water Tower
Here is a view from the Watch Tower.

Watch Tower View
In 1915, if you wanted to drive from San Francisco to New York, you had to drive 1,500 miles out of your way because this was the only place to cross, Thus the name Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Bridge. The bridge would form a crucial link on the Old Spanish Trail Highway, which spans the country from the old Spanish colonial towns of St. Augustine, Fla., on the Atlantic coast to San Diego, Calif., on the Pacific.

Now it is a historical landmark and it is one direction at a time controlled by traffic lights. The best way to cross the Colorado in Yuma is via Interstate 8.

Ocean to Ocean Bridge
Here we are on the bridge.

On Bridge
On the banks of the river is the Quartermaster Depot. The depot was established by the U.S. Army in 1864 to store and distribute supplies to frontier army posts in what is now Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. One purpose of the depot was to ensure that a six month supply of much needed goods such as ammunition, food and clothing was on hand at all times. The goods and supplies were brought to Yuma from California aboard ships that traveled around the Baja California peninsula and up the Gulf of California to Port Isabel, Sonora at the mouth of the Colorado River. Supplies were shipped up the Colorado on river boats to Yuma and stored at the Yuma Quartermaster Depot.

Quartermaster Depot
The Old Plank Road is a plank road in Imperial County, California that was built in 1915 as an east–west route over the Algodones Dunes. It effectively connected the extreme lower section of Southern California to Arizona and provided the last link in a commercial route between San Diego and Yuma. This is remnants of the Old Plank Road at the Quartermaster Depot.

Wooden Plank Road
That's our time in Yuma. Thank you for reading.

God Bless you all,

Brian and Patty