Steamboat Nachez

April 27,
Today we ate our first beignets at Cafe Dumond and had a cup of their great cafe au lait. We listened to a calliope concert before boarding the Steamboat Nachez for a cruise down the Mississippi. We saw the ships, tugs and barges that make New Orleans one of the busiest ports in the world. The narrator on the trip was much more informative than yesterday's bus driver as he told of the river's role in history and today.
After the cruise, we rode the Riverfront Streetcar and walked much of Decatur St. We stopped at Margaritaville and for the first time weren't impressed. The balconies and narrow streets are very charming. We noticed the barstool as we walked by an Irish Pub.....If the stool fits

Gray Line Tour

April 26,
We took the long way around to get to the French Quarter but we did get to see the St. Charles Streetcar and some beautiful houses. When we got to the docks we got our first glimpse of the Mississippi, broad but brown. On the tour we saw the Cities of the Dead, Lake Pontchartrain, Tulane and Loyola Universities. Unfortunately, I must say it was not the best tour we've been on. Usually the driver makes the tour and this driver was blah. Still love the city and we're surprised by the similarities to Key West---street pereformers and artists selling their wares.

Jazz Fest

April 25

We arrived in New Orleans Friday, during a typical Southern downpour. It just great to do the unhook of the car an the hookups on the coach in those conditions. Saturday we stayed put due to tornado warnings, which luckily amounted to just a cloudy day.
Today we headed to Jazz Fest. We wandered around listening to jazz, zydeco and good old Southern Rock. We watched local favorites and capped off the event with The Allman Brothers. We thought they had passed their prime but the local paper had nothing but praise. On the way out we listened to Darius Rucker, who we thought was much better. Unfortunately the big names played at the same times as oppisite ends of the venue.
The Fairgrounds was still muddy-but only in spots and boots of all colors were the footwear of choice. They have their own version of Hawaiin shirts with keyboards, guitars and a yearly design by the Fest. It definately was as much fun to people watch as it was to listen to music!

Mississippi Gulf Coast

April 22 ,
We decided to stay two nights in Mississippi because we doubt we'll ever be on the gulf coast again. Today we took a ride from Gautier to Bay St. Christian, on Rt. 90. Many of the beautiful homes still exist and are in beautiful shape but many of the docks, shopping areas and homes are wiped out. I don't think that we Northerners can understand the strenghth of a Gulf hurricane. It's been five years and there are still many empty spaces. Some of the trees destroyed by Katrina have been carved into wildlife sculptures-this one had a turtle, three dolphins, a fish and a pelican. The next picture shows whats left of a casino and the next one is Beau Rivage--one of Biloxi's 12 casinos. The Biloxi lighhouse stands in the middle of Rt. 90.

Blue Angels Pactice

April 20,2010
We went back to the museum to watch the weekly pratice by the Blue Angels at 8:30. From beginning to end, the stunts they did were amazing, going straight up, straight down, upside down and flying within inches of each other. They pracitce Tuesdays and Wednesday and perform every weekend in a different town. When a plane isn't performing perfectly, they land, get another and rejoin the stunts.

Naval Aviation Museum

April 19, 2010
We met Bill and Marilee, friends from Arkansas at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. We saw planes from the World War I and World War II era. They were all beautifully restored and displayed. Our guide, Oz, put an interesting spin on each plane's history and made the tour very enjoyable as well as informative. We ate lunch at the Cubi Bar Cafe, which has been moved from Cubi Point in the Phillipines and reassembled at the Museum. On our way out, we stopped at the Pensacola Lighthouse, which was closed

Panama City Pier

April 14 This afternoon we went swimming in the pool at the campground. The water is kept at 86 degrees. Even though it was a beautiful day, the air seemed cool when we got out. We took a ride west in search of a seafood restaurant. We were very surprised at how deserted the hotels and beaches are, especially since the weather has been perfect-sunny, dry and in the 80"s. We ate at Tbe Back Porch, City Pier Park. Dinner was excellent, Appalachicola oysters and shrimp.

Cape St. George

April 13
We continued from Cape San Blas east to Cape St. George. The lighthouse is a total reconstruction. The original lighthouse, on Little St George, collapsed in 2005. The remains of the lighthouse tower were collected, cleaned and rebuilt on the big island. The keeper's house is still under construction. We then took a ride the lenght of the island to the State Park. Beautiful dunes, nice campground and an old oyster boat and more beach walking for the kids.

Cape San Blas Lighthouse

April 13
Took a ride from Panama City Beach to Appalachicola. Stopped at this lighthouse which has been restored by the Air Force and the local historical society. It is located on Air Force property. The beach below showed signs of deep erosion, but L.D. and Lily enjoyed it anyway.

Weeki Wachee

While staying at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park, we traveled south to Weeki Wachee State Park to watch the mermaids. They've been swimming in the natural spring's 74 degree water since 1947. The grounds have been well maintained and the peacocks still roam thegardens.

St. Pete Islands

This is my first attempt at blogging. These pictures are from our visit to Madiera Beach with Andy and Marijo. They stopped to see us while we were in Palmetto. We watched the dolphins play in the intercostal while we waited for a seat at Scully's right on the pier. We also stopped at Ft. Desoto, which was quite disappointing, not much of a fort.