Lousiana ...

Just a stop over-night for us near Lafayette, but a rewarding one just the same. Providing some much needed help as I was pulling into my KOA site, our new neighbors Hank and Linda, were what makes travelling so much fun. I never gave much thought to the idea of instant friendship but meeting them was it. After brief introductions it was apparent that we had some common interests (food and wine and travel) but the clincher was a taste of boudin (I think pronouced boo day) they brought out for us to try. Boudin is a cajun inspired sausage that is as unique as sausage gets. Spicey yet mild enough to enjoy. Something I needed to have in our frig. They invited us over for wine and chocolate later in the evening and we soon discovered that Hank knew his wine. A collector of fine wines, he introduced us to a couple of wonderful vinters and their products. Linda provided some far too good chocolate and along with great conversation, made for a great evening. We decided to meet again for breakfast and a trip to Don's Specialty Meats in Scott LA so we could stock up on boudin. We got stocked up with sausage and other cajun spiced meats and said our farwells. We plan to stay in touch and hopfully we'll cross paths again soon.

Mississippi ...

Miles and miles of some of the most beautiful beaches; a sun lovers mecca out our right side window. But looking left, towards land, gave us another vista. A horrific display of the power of Katrina. Though many months have passed since the storm's August 2005 arrival, the loss is immense. These miles of vacation paradise, with stately old mansions every few hundred yards are mostly vacant. Bare foundations, concrete stairways leading nowhere, twisted metal, the destruction is numbing. Sporadic restoration projects are underway to save some of the more prestigous homes. With either big insurance checks or deep pockets funding the work, human resources seem to be limiting some of the progress. My guess is that many trademen who once lived here have not returned, and may never.

As Phoenix rose from the ashes, there are some serious commercial and governmental projects underway that will ultimately be the salvation of this beleagured coast. Roads and bridges are under repair or have been completly replaced and the resort industry has begun its resurrection.
Closer to Biloxi, the frequency of hotel/casino complexes is greater with millions being spent to build or rebuild these economic anchors as quickly as possible. Hard Rock, Grand, Beau Rivage, Silver Slipper are all gearing up for the spring rush within the next few weeks.

We visited the Grand Casino, again making a special effort to help out the bottom line of another upstart casino, and found it on par with most of the big casinos around the country. Since it's all brand new, I guess it should be.

As we travel along we often consider if we would ever return to one of these tour stops in the future. After visiting this area we think a return in 3-5 years would be worthwhile. The infrastructure should be complete and this resort destination should be fully engaged by then. The winter weather is not too hot nor too cold and with the miles of sandy coast, great seafood, great hotels/casinos, and shopping, this area will be a fun get-away.

Just so we don't forget that little problems are a way of rv life... of all things the toilet broke about 3 days ago. Some of you may say that's no big surprise but anyway the little flapper in the bottom of the bowl went spastic and would not stop opening and closing. Outright dangerous for some of us I might say. The electrical driven device had something amiss in it so I called the company out in California and they diagnosed the problem and sent a new part via overnight UPS. Thankfully it arrived and I put it back together successfully. You probably don't really care but having a "wants-to-flush" every 8 seconds is the pits!

Tomorrow is again moving day. On to the Alabama Gulfshores. Weather looks good, the drive is short and we're looking forward to seeing old friends.