from Baton Rouge Fri 6/24

Non-highway

                We choose to avoid the highways for the most part as we travel

                This allows us to see more of the country-side at a slightly slower pace

                We can more easily make stops as we see something that interests us

                We avoid the higher speeds and windiness of the interstate traffic (our RV likes to travel 55-60MPH rather than the 70MPH speed limit on some of the interstates down here)

 

Time change

                We crossed into the central time zone this week one day

                It was interesting to make the time change and talk about getting onto the right time schedule

                We left Mollie’s watch on EST time so that we know what time it is at home

 

Our visit with the Pullins family was very memorable

There was great growth in many of the kids that was inspirational to see

After we left the Pullins we drove through the rest of the afternoon and evening in on again/off again rain until 9:30p

We found an army corps of engineers campsite by chance that was open and took us in willingly

Ken was in the entry booth and greeted us weary travelers with a nice smile and an invitation to come in and sit down

After backing into the site in the pouring rain and hooking up the water and electric I made some ramon noodles for the girls and something for myself before retiring and falling fast asleep

I woke early as usual and readied the RV to roll without waking the girls

I don’t usually do this but on account of wanting to get some miles behind us I allowed them to sleep while I drove

They found that the back of the RV where their beds are is bouncier than the front of the RV and they both soon appear in their front seats partly awake and partly asleep

 

We traveled south in Alabama to Mobile and then headed west along the Gulf Coast

we were able to enjoy some nice ocean scenery on Rt 90 along the coast

we stopped in Biloxi, MS for a swim at the beach in part because we were hot and so we could say we swam in the Gulf

it was REALLY HOT that day and it was hard to get out of the RV we ventured onto the sandy beach

the sand was very fine and soft

the water in the Gulf was so warm, it was even warmer than Grampie’s pool

the water was very shallow way out away from  the beach, there was a pier that extended out into the ocean and one could walk way out into the Gulf to the end of the pier and only be up to the shoulders in water

there we no rocks on the bottom and barely any waves

 

we finished that day by reaching New Orleans, LA (NOLA) and the home of Diane and Rick Guevara

Diane & Rick are good friends of Denise Shochet from when they lived in NOLA
Denise connected Diane and I via e-mail a few weeks back and Diane agreed to host us in their home sight in seen!

The afternoon we arrived and she greeted us and invited us to sit on her couch she asked “so how do we know each other?”

We enjoyed making the connection between me and I married Julie, who knew Denise from childhood and went to college together, and Denise married Michael who was the cantor at Diane & Rick’s synagogue

So that’s 4 degrees of separation

 

Diane was a WONDEFUL host

She fed us the first evening rice and black beans, made cornbread and then took us to the French Quarter for a walk around

We say lots of sights and heard lots of sounds and soaked in the FQ culture (some of which was a bit more than I had bargained for! J)

At the end of the evening we went to the Café Du Monde for bengines (sp?) that are French doughnuts cut in squares and piled high with powdered sugar

The next day Diane brought us back to the FQ and dropped us off at 9a so we could walk around and explore

Since the FQ goes late not much was open at 9a but found plenty to do all day including shopping, walking, shopping, waling, aquarium, walking, street car, walking

We went home at about 5p and I took a nap!

After the girls had showers Rick and Diane took us out to a local restaurant and treated us to some good local NOLA cooking

A seafood platter included fried catfish (which I tried and liked very much), fried shrimp, fried oysters and maybe more

Lucy tried a good deal of the fish and Mollie tried some too

We also had seafood gumbo as well as a shrimp salad

The shrimp in the salad was slightly spicy and very good

While I have never been much of a fish or seafood eater I tried it all and found some that I actually liked

The meal with all new foods was a real treat and a fitting finish to our stay in NOLA

Then they took us out for snoballs and ice cream! What a day

We got ready to hear out this am and were on the road before 9a

We ventured across the 26 mile bridge over Lake Ponchitrain (sp?)

That was a very long trek over the water, luckily there was no wind on the lake today!

Mollie and Lucy both commented that the NOLA visit was their favorite to-date on the trip

Thank you Diane & Rick!!!!!!

 

After exiting the bridge we headed west toward Texas and contrary to our usual choice we started out on the highway

We got to Covington LA before we ran out of fuel

I had been concentrating so hard on the bridge traffic and then the highway that I didn’t notice we were getting low until it was too late

We were able to chug and sputter off an exit ramp and turn the corner toward the station before we were totally out

I walked to the service station and bought a one gallon can and a gallon of gas and returned to the RV to start it again

Unfortunately the battery died before I got it started so I stood by the road holding the jumper cables up in a plea for help

Lucy made me a sign that said “HELP! Need jump!”

A nice man named Randy stopped and jumped us however I still wouldn’t fire

The RV was on tilt on the shoulder of the road and I crawled under to see that the fuel line seemed to be coming from the high side of the fuel tank

So I went back and got two more gallons of gas (one in a used OJ container)

This proved enough gas for the line to pick up the and the RV started and we were able to get to the gas station and fill up

A nice man at the station pointed out we had a soft tire so I attended to that as well

And we were back on the road

We decided to leave the interstate as we traveled through Baton Rouge

As we started along the local roads the RV died, I was able to restart it but there was something wrong

Since i could restart the engine each time I surmised that there was water in the gas that was fouling the engine  

After many stops and starts we stopped at an O’Reilly Auto Parts store in baton Rouge where I bought some HEET to dry out any water in the tank and a fuel filter just in case

After adding the HEET the battery died and the guys at the auto parts store charged the battery while I changed the fuel filter that was under the RV along the chassis

While the RV would run it wouldn’t stay running so I called AAA who called all their service stations and no one would work on an RV
finally about 1:30p the AAA agent contacted Todd at Baton Rouge Bus who said he’d make a service call on us at thee auto parts store and he’d be about 75 minuets

I was able to get the RV to run some so called Todd and told him I’d move the RV to his shop to make it easier to work on the RV

After stalling 2 or 3 times in the 2 miles to his shop we reached the shop to find no one there that knew we were coming so we waited for Todd who finally arrived after 4:30

He quickly assessed  the situation and determined that the fuel pump in the fuel tank had failed when the tank ran dry

He dropped the fuel tank from under the RV to remove the failed pump so he would be able to verify that he had the correct pump once he got to the parts store to pick it up

He called for the part and had it transferred to the O’Rielly Auto Parts store we had been at earlier in the afternoon

On his way to the parts store, Todd gave Lucy and me a ride to the Winn Dixie grocery store so we could do some needed shopping

When Todd got to the parts store the pump didn’t include the screen at the bottom of the pump so he drove to another store to get the screen before returning to undertake the repair

Todd, his head man Ross and two helpers worked on replacing the pump and the vent line until 9:30p, and it was Friday night too!

The vent line had been problematic over  the trip in that it leaked some gas if the tank was filled totally up the fill tube (which happens when the one pumps until the handle clicks off)

So after all that the immediate problem of fuel pump was fixed as well as the nagging issue with the vent line was also fixed!

The girls were very, very patient with the delay in our plans

It was so hot and humid (although Todd said this was a mild day) and we had no A/C without the RV running

They read and didn’t move much (other than Lucy going with me to the grocery store)

Ross let us sit in a bus they were working on that had the A/C working and was nice a cool inside, that helped a great deal

Todd recommended some high octane Shell brand gas and some Lucas Oil additive to help clean the valves and run a little better)

We bought some shell gas as we headed out of Baton Rouge

 

Once the RV fixed we were rolling again very quickly and Mollie navigated us to a private campground about an hour west

We landed at about 10:30p

I turned on the cabin A/C full tilt and made some dinner on the stove

After we all took showers to cool off and get rid of the grim we went to bed

I fell asleep quickly once the lights were out!

 

Sat at campground

 

This AM I’m doing laundry while we wait for the office to open so we can pay for our site

Mollie is sleeping and Lucy is swimming

Hope to be on the road in an hour or two

Heading for Austin I guess

Need to assess the damage from the days delay and our travel time to get to KS to see friends before they depart for summer camp activities

We really put the schedule in a pinch again

 

Jay