The Gulf. She is Angry.

After watching Ohio State be embarrassed in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day, I took off for Mustang Island near Corpus Cristi, TX. Gray skies and rain followed me. I was supposed to stay for three days of fun in the sun, but after two days of this, I decided to head out to visit another college pal who lives between Austin and  Houston.

Gravytrain Gets a Boat Ride

I punched my destination into Waze like I do every time I set out. The two route options were more than an hour different from one another, and the visual on the map showed them going in very different directions. It was then that I noticed a little exclamation point beside the shorter route - it included a ferry ride. I pulled into a gas station and did a little research.

Gravytrain Gets a Boat Ride

How much does it cost? Nothing. Wait. What? Will Gravytrain fit? Yes. How long is the ride? 5 minutes. Wait. What? How long is the wait? Currently little to no wait. What? Three ferries operating simultaneously. Wait. What? Turns out this is a 200-yard link in Texas route 361 at Port Aransas, that is operated by the state in order to allow barges to pass through without building what would be a very expensive bridge. It was an amazing operation, running like clockwork. When I arrived, I drove right on to the ferry after about a five minute wait. The ride was just a few minutes, and I was on my way. Texas never ceases to amaze.

La Grange, Texas

Rumor spreadin' 'round,
in that Texas town,
'bout that shack outside La Grange

Had a HH stay at this little place on the way to visit my pal. It was the divey-est of dive bars, but I met a few of the locals, and introduced them to red beer, which is made by adding a shot of Bloody Mary mix to 12oz of beer. I enjoyed the diner special - country fried prime rib - and turned in early.

That Was Easy

Grace Hill Ranch

My friend and his lovely wife have retired to this wonderful slice of heaven with a 360 degree view of the surrounding hill country.
1/5/24

Grace Hill Ranch

Notice the two oak trees in the gate?

Grace Hill Ranch

In this shot from the gate, you can see that these are the two HUGE live oak trees that envelop the ranch house. The building on the right is the carriage house (too magnificent to call a garage).

Grace Hill Ranch

... cool huh? Augie didn't have enough pee to do a good marking - although she tried.

Truth Barbecue

We had an amazing lunch of smoked sausage, collard greens, and coleslaw from this little shack. Yum!

Lake Somerville State Park

Spent a great, sunny morning hiking around this park with Augie...
1/6/24

Grace Hill Ranch

...then back to the ranch for a beautiful sunset and a big 'ol fire.

Grace Hill Ranch

This was the scene when I took off this morning. A lovely way to end a great visit! Now on to New Orleans.
1/7/24

Faubourg Brewing, New Orleans, LA

Another HH stay. In addition to the tap room, this place has a huge outdoor beer garden, a frisbee golf course and a paved pet walk that winds through live oak and pecan trees. All for the price of a beer and a brisket sandwich. Love me some Harvest Host. 

Winter Storm Finn

As soon as I arrived in New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, the weather warnings started appearing on my phone. I looked around at the Faubourg parking lot where I was parked, and realized that I was at least at river level, if not several feet below. Since there were flood warnings for the area, I looked at the flood maps  and decided that the New Orleans KOA, where I was spending the next few nights was going to be safe (at a majestic 54 feet above the river).

New Orleans KOA

It was still sunny when I left the brewery Monday morning and moved about 11 miles up river to the KOA, and got to work on my laundry while the clouds gathered. Just as I finished folding my clothes, the rain started. As I watched Monday Night Football it rained harder, then let up and even stopped. I looked at the radar and saw a break in the action, so I decided it was a good time to walk Augie. That accomplished, we hunkered in for the storm. It raged over us from about 1-3am. Very loud. At one point, I turned on Gravytrain's headlights and saw standing water all around us. Good news: it was all drained by morning.
1/8/24

New Orleans

Tuesday was a glorious, if somewhat cool and windy, day (high - 55). I hopped on the KOA shuttle and visited the French Quarter. 
1/9/24

Cafe Du Monde

Stopped in for the obligatory Beignets. A little fried dough with your sugar? 

Jackson Square 

Beautiful garden right in the heart of the Quarter...

Jackson Square 

... overseen by Ol' Hickory himself.

NOLA PoBoys, Burbon Street

Another must for me anytime I'm in the Big Easy - PoBoys! Had the sausage with red beans. Incredible!

St Bernard State Park, Belle Chase, LA

Spent a quiet night at this cool little campsite with power down on the Bayou south of New Orleans. Didn't see any gators, probably because of the temps, but it's easy to see that this place is built up right in the middle of their habitat. The campsite is on reclaimed land out in the swamp.
1/9/24

Gravytrain Gets a Boat Ride

I'm headed to an HH stay at Stonebridge Golf Club back up in New Orleans. When I punched in the destination, Waze told me it was 11 miles away, and the drive time was 1 hour 15 minutes. Wait. What? A look at the map showed me there was a ferry that cut the drive to 25 minutes. I had toll roads shut off in the options, so the ferry wasn't included because it had a toll... $1! 🤣1/10/24

Stonebridge Golf Club

Drove through wind and rain about 45 minutes (and another ferry ride) to get here at about 2pm, just as the skies were clearing. I wanted to play golf, but I also didn't want to miss dinner at the restaurant, which closed at 5pm. I paid for 9 holes, and told the dude I'd decide about the back depending on how fast I played it. Stopped at the turn, had an excellent lunch/dinner, and went to pay for the back nine. He couldn't figure out how to charge me (I'm thinking: you charged me for nine holes earlier...), so he just told me to play and not worry about it.  So, I did, and didn't worry. 

Hideway Bar at Sioux Bayou, Mississippi

This is a weird little HH is located at the end of a mile-long, single-track, blacktop path named John Daly Rd. When I asked the barmaid if that was John Daly the golfer, she said no, John Daly the drinker - which got a big laugh from the crowd (about six drunk redneck dudes & chicks). Turns out Daly and his son used to fish here. He also stored his fancy fishing boat onsite - until it was repossessed. Their story, unverified. 🤣

Hideway Bar at Sioux Bayou, Mississippi

Still, I had a few red beers at the bar and regaled those who weren't passed out yet with my stories from the road. Eventually though, the very pungent aroma of old beer and fresh tobacco smoke drove me out to the back deck, where I watched the sunset over the bayou. The place is attached to a little fisherman's RV park, so for $20 bucks I got a level concrete pad with electric, and newly renovated shower house!

Frost On the Ball field

Next stop: the I-65 RV Campground in Satsuma, Alabama. This place is close to town, and to I-65, two things that might dissuade the average camper - but I know that both of those proximities will likely mean good cell service. This is of great importance, because I'm snuggled in here for NFL Wild Card Weekend. GO LIONS!!! 💙 Sposa be sunny with highs in the 60s and cool mornings all weekend. That'll do. PS: 4 bars of 5G!

Only Lions Fan In Orange Beach Alabama

From Satsuma, I headed south to enjoy what looks like my last day of sun and warmth for awhile. I retraced the locations of our "First Occasional Bob Burnout Band Reunion." Time for another, don't you think?

More Burnout Footprints

The Flora-Bama bar is a classic American roadhouse that sits right smack-dab on the Florida/Alabama border. It is now a bit smaller and crowded on all sides by new development. We left some BBB graffiti on the deck - but that part of the deck is now, sadly, gone.
1/15/24

Scenic Hills Golf and Country Club, Pensacola

I arrived too late to play this HH course today - too bad, as it was a great day - mainly because of the change to the NFL Playoff schedule. Instead, I had dinner and a few Machitos (basically a beer with a shot of Bloody Mary mix) with Brian at the bar. Cold front came in with mucho rain... all night.

Snow in Alabama

Woke up to 22 degrees and a dusting of snow on about a half-inch of frozen rain. For reasons that I'll share later I'm still headed north to Atlanta.
1/16/24

Frozen

HH stay tonight at the Silurian Brewing Company in Alabaster, AL. They were closed because of the weather - as were almost all non-essential businesses and schools. Sposa be in the teens tonight. No big deal in Gravytrain - I have two full tanks of propane, and the furnace is cooking.
1/17/24

Grandstand RV Park, Talladega, AL

The master plan called for three HH golf course stays leading up to watching a friend perform with an all star band in Atlanta this weekend. Thanks to highs only in the 20s & 30s, I opted for a couple of nights at an RV park right next to the speedway. This is the view from Gravytrain's parking space.
1/18/24

Talladega Superspeedway

Right next to the RV Park (and the raceway), sits the Motor Sports Hall of Fame. The offer a tour of the Speedway, so I braved the 25 degree temps to see this massive facility - so glad I did.

Talladega Superspeedway

Right next to the RV Park (and the raceway), sits the Motor Sports Hall of Fame. The offer a tour of the Speedway, so I braved the 25 degree temps to see this massive facility - so glad I did.

Talladega Superspeedway

The Motorsports Hall of Fame is an amazing facility. I'm much more of a Drag Racing fan than NASCAR, and while this museum tips it's hat to other motor sports (including air and water racing), it is really focused on NASCAR. There are more than 100 racecars on display - of course, I was drawn the the only fictional one. "If yer not first, yer last."

On To Atlanta

Since the drive from Talladega is less than two hours, and since Hotel check-in isn't until four, I scanned the map for points of interest along the way. I immediately noticed the "highest point in Alabama" in Cheaha State park. It was a great, twisty mountain road, but it was a glorious, sunny day despite the cold, and it turned out to be a. wonderful state park with great camping and swimming facilities. Augie even posed on "Bald Point, at 2,407 feet" - but just for a moment. Did I say it was cold? About 11 for our 1/2 mile hike to The Point - with howling winds. Burr 🥶!
1/19/24

Sonesta Select Hotel

This is one of a chain of boutique hotels that have been recommended to me. I found a great rate online, but after I discovered that I had to pay $25/night for Augie, and $25/night for parking, it ends up costing about the same as any other 4-star stay in downtown ATL. You can just see Gravytrain in the upper right. It's so cold that I need to run her furnace all night to keep the water in her lines from freezing. This will be the first night I haven't slept in Gravytrain since Wisconsin in October.

Sonesta Select Hotel

Augie seems comfortable...

Sonesta Select Hotel

...and it's about 200 yards from "the best breakfast in Atlanta," so we were both pretty happy. Breakfast was good: red-eye gravy and grits!
1/20/24

Jammin'

I'm in Atlanta to connect with a pal from AT&T. We wired together for several years, but always remotely, so we had never laid eyes on one another. In addition to being a great video editor and animator, he's also a musician. He was sitting in with a band at Atlanta's Northside Tavern - a local legendary live blues joint, and I timed my visit to allow the opportunity to see him perform. The show was great, although being an old man, I was only able to make it through the first set. 🤣

Jammin'

He plays bass guitar and sings, but is primarily a keyboard artist, and he was in great form. The place was packed - being just blocks from the Georgia Tech campus right after a home SEC basketball game - the band wuz hoppin' as well as the crowd!

Back to the (Relative) Warmth

Next morning, Augie and I headed south toward Florida. Had a quick, still somewhat cold, HH stay at this spot. We walked the first few holes, but it was too cold to play.
1/21/24

Reed-Bingham State Park

We spent our last two nights in Georgia at this wonderful state park. The weather has turned a little, with highs in the mid 60s.
1/22/24

Reed-Bingham State Park

It was nice enough to rent a kayak and get out on the lake. Augie wasn't allowed - that'll teach me to ask - so it was just me. I wish I had video of me trying to get out of the boat without getting wet - it took a few minutes, but I was successful in the end.

Reed-Bingham State Park

I paddled up to within about 50 feet of this huge blue heron, before he slowly turned toward me, spread his wings to about 8 feet wide and flew right over my head. I thought he was gonna poop on me, but he allowed us both to save our dignity. On to Florida and some genuine warmth!