All posts by paula

18-Gulf Coast of Florida, Places we Visit-Year 1

Fort Foster – site of battles with the Seminole Indians in the 1830s

While in the Tampa area we visited the site of a fort that was built, used briefly and then abandoned during the 1830s.  Fort Foster was along a river that was necessary to provide supplies and men to various places in the area.  There was a massacre by the Seminole Indians at Fort Foster and all but two white men were killed.  One of the two survivors wrote a book which is how the story of the massacre and life at Fort Foster became known.  More men arrived at Fort Foster afterwards and the Seminole were driven further south, but a lot of men got ill during their time at Fort Foster and it was decided that the “air was bad” so the fort was burned and abandoned.  The fort has been rebuilt and is a local tour attraction now.  During the tour that we were on there was a boy about 9 years old who asked a lot of questions – one was about a very low structure within the fort, he asked if it was a dog house and what kind of dog would need such a big house!  Actually that low structure was the black powder storehouse (could be explosive if there was a fire).  We also learned that one of the requirements to be in the army back in the 1830s was to have “two opposing teeth”.  Apparently a lot of men back then had few if any teeth, and to load your gun you took a little paper package containing the black powder and ball, tore it with your teeth and then poured it into your gun.  If you didn’t have at least two opposing teeth you couldn’t tear the package and had to put down what you were holding to do it with your hands, and in that length of time you could be killed!

Here are a few photos we took:

17-Tampa Bay, FL, Places we Visit-Year 1

Zephyrhills FL – the heart of Florida, near Tampa

Yesterday we traveled deeper into Florida from Pensacola.  We’re here at the Hillsborough River State Park in Zephyrhills which is just north of Tampa.  The state park is in the middle of a swamp, so once again we are parked right next to a swamp.  Here are a couple of pictures of our campsite:

 

16-Pensacola FL, Places we Visit-Year 1

Pensacola – the gulf and a fort from the Civil War era

We went from Lake Charles to Pensacola to stay for a few days on our way down into Florida.  It’s a very beautiful area with a huge bay (Escambia Bay) as well as lots of white flat beaches.  The gulf coast is very different from the Pacific Ocean – it’s warmer although I wouldn’t say it was bath-water warm in December!  It’s also got very tiny waves.

  

We visited Fort Pickens, which was first established during the Civil War and was the site of a battle with the Union Army taking control of that Fort and fighting the Confederates who were at two other forts at different points in the mouth of Escambia Bay.  The fort was also used in WWI and WWII to protect the bay.  It’s mosly in ruins now but most of it is open to the public for a self-guided tour.  Here are pictures Jeff took at Fort Pickens.

 

15-Lake Charles LA, Places we Visit-Year 1

We watched a woman coax a deer close enough to take food from her hand

When we got back to the Sam Houston Jones State Park today where we are staying, we stopped on the road as we saw a couple of deer right next to the road.  We were going to take a picture or two, but then we saw a couple walking toward the deer with a bag of bread.  So, we backed up the road a little bit to watch.

The two deer saw the couple and one started to leave, but the other turned toward them and actually starting walking toward them.  The woman got a piece of bread out of the bag and tossed it towards the deer, and with a few pieces and some encouragement she got the deer to take food from her hand!  It was very cool to watch!

15-Lake Charles LA, Places we Visit-Year 1

Avery Island – where they make Tabasco Sauce

We visited Avery Island today to see the only factory that makes Tabasco brand pepper sauce and see the natural beauty of the island natural preserve.

It’s called an island because there are bayous all around it.  It’s really a salt dome in the middle of a very flat swamp area.

Just before the Civil War Ned McIlenny, a lawyer from New Orleans, married one of the Avery daughters and moved with her to the family plantation.  They were forced out during the Civil War but returned afterward.  Someone travelling through the area gave them some pepper seeds they had obtained in Mexico and these soon turned into fiery pepper plants.  The McIlennys experimented with a pepper sauce and developed the recipe that is still used today.

Between this beginning and today, the McIlenny family has run the business and have also been interested in conserving the wild beauty of the area.  They created a snowy egret preserve and planted and maintain a beautiful park area.  Here are some pictures we took today:

15-Lake Charles LA, Places we Visit-Year 1

Lake Charles, LA – and the Sam Houston Jones State Park

We’re now at the Sam Houston Jones State Park in western LA.  We’re doing a bit of backtracking by heading west before we head to Florida for the rest of the year because Jeff needs to get his Texas drivers license.  Our efforts to get Texas drivers licenses has been long and would be funny if it weren’t so alarming!  I had to go into the Drivers License Office 4 separate times when we were in Livingston before I had all the paperwork in order to get my license.  They couldn’t tell me all at once what I needed – each time I went in they gave me one more item I had to have.  Geez!!

Jeff couldn’t get his as he didn’t have his ORIGINAL birth certificate.  It was in our safe deposit box back in San Diego.  So we left Texas without his, and since I was planning a quick trip back to San Diego the first week we were in Picayune, I stopped at the safe deposit box and picked his birth certificate up.  We made sure he had ALL the paperwork they were going to need and Jeff made the 9 hour round trip from Picayune MS back to Texas one day to get his license.  Wouldn’t you know…the day he chose to do that the computers were down state-wide and he couldn’t get his license processed.

SO…here we are back in west LA so we can do a little sight-seeing in this area and he can make a shorter trip into Texas to (finally) get his drivers license.

The Sam Houston Jones State Park near Lake Charles is very primitive, but beautiful.  It’s setting is in a swamp area, and our campsite backed up right to the water’s edge.  Picture below.  It’s very beautiful and has lots of trails, so we’ll do some hiking while we’re here (we’ll try to avoid any aligators!) and we’ll also see some of the west LA area including Avery Island where Tobasco sauce is made.  It’s also in a swamp and is a natural preserve area.

 

14-Picayune, MS to see family, Places we Visit-Year 1

Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas in Picayune

Jeff and I had Thanksgiving dinner with a large group of relatives here in Picayune.  There were about 50 or so people attending a potluck dinner outside at one relative’s house.  Great food, lots of good company!  The only downside was that I had laryngitis, so I was unable to carry on a conversation for more than a few minutes at a time.  But everyone understood.

This morning it was 31 outside when we got up, pretty cold for this area!  Here’s the pasture outside our door covered in frost:

We had lunch at my daughter’s in-laws house, just across the driveway from her house!  After lunch the guys got the christmas tree and all the ornaments down from the attic and the kids got to decorate the tree.  Here are a few pictures of the tree decorating:

 

14-Picayune, MS to see family, Places we Visit-Year 1

We’re here at my daughter’s house now – it’s been a week and this is my first post!

We’re at my daughter’s house now in Picayune, MS.  I have five grandkids here so we’ve been real busy with them instead of making posts.

It’s been pretty nice weather-wise, not too hot and not too humid, until today when it’s cold and raining a lot!  So, I have a little downtime to write a post.

I’m really enjoying being right outside my daughter’s door!  They have a large enough yard and a pole with a 30-amp plug on it so we pulled right up and set up just a few steps away from them.

The kids are getting so big!  I’m glad we’re able to spend several weeks here so we can get to know the kids better and spend good time with them including some time one-on-one with each of them.

I’ve attached pictures of the kids.

13-Livingston TX (our home base), Places we Visit-Year 1

Livingston Texas, visiting our new “official” home

We’re in Livingston TX this week, getting our vehicles registered in Texas and getting Texas drivers licenses.  Why? you might ask.  Why Texas? you might ask.

When we decided to become “full time RVers” and rented out our house, we discovered that the federal government requires everyone to have a state they are “domiciled in”.  You can’t be a U.S. citizen without being a citizen of a state.  And, to be a citizen of a state you must have a valid address in that state.  We considered using a relative’s address in either California, Arizona, or Mississippi where we have children.  We also realized that we need to have some way to receive mail while we’re on the road.

It didn’t seem fair to ask our kids to receive, sort, package and forward mail to us on a regular basis.  We learned that there are businesses who provide an address and a mail forwarding service.  The one we choose is the Escapee’s Club based in Livingston Texas.

In addition to the mail service, the Escapee’s Club is a large organization dedicated to providing service to people who are full-time on the road.  They have member forums where questions about RVs and trailers, places to go, how to make living in a small mobile place easier, etc.  They have discounts at a lot of other RV parks, sometimes 50%!

While here at the headquarters of the Escapee’s Club we are meeting lots of great people and participating in some fun activities.  Last evening at the Activity Center they had a great “one-man band” Walter Plant, who played country-western music.  We hadn’t danced in years but enjoyed doing the 2-step, West Coast Swing and country waltz!

No pictures though – sorry! 🙂

 

 

12-Dallas TX to see friends, Places we Visit-Year 1

Plano Texas to visit old friends

We made a stop in Plano (just north of Dallas) in Texas for one day to visit a friend of Jeff’s.  Jeff used to work with Keith and they’ve kept in touch over the years.  We had a great time visiting with Keith and his wife Sherry and had a great dinner together at a local sports bar and grill that specializes in BBQ chicken wings – great food, great company, wonderful time!

Now it’s on to Livingston TX to the headquarters of the Escapee’s Club, where we’ll become Texas citizens by getting Texas driver licenses and have our vehicles registered.