Yesterday was a total bust. It never got out of the low forties, we had wind, heavy rain and thunderstorms all day. So, for the second time on our trip we spent most of our day in the RV. On the bright side though, I did get a lot of quilting done! The next couple of days are supposed to be sunny. I'm not seeing any sun yet out the window but at least it's not raining! I don't expect much sympathy from those of you stuck up there in the snow but we will be joining you soon.
We are on the road again today to Pensacola, Florida, our last stop before turning northward.

Yesterday turned into a pleasant day after all, albeit a little chilly! So, we walked about 6 miles on the road and trails in the park.  It was too cold for swimming....but we were discouraged anyway :)  Click to read the sign.

No quilting got done but I did a little crocheting with "plarn". This morning we will move on to Alabama. I hope there is room at the inn!

Miles and miles of sugar sand beaches

Testing the water in every state!

We are now in Mississippi, along the gulf coast. I had no idea the sand was so soft and white here. It's beautiful! We are at a national park, Gulf Islands National Seashore. Yesterday it was 75 degrees so  we walked 4 miles of trails in the morning and were lucky enough to see an alligator in the bayou and some bottle nose dolphins in the bay. In the afternoon, we got out our bikes for a quick bike ride on a "loop" in the park. We followed the bike trail signs into the nearby town of Ocean Springs, where they disappeared! We asked, but nobody seemed to know how to get back to the path other than going down a major 4 lane highway, which we were not about to do. So, we knew which direction we needed to go and just made our own trail, eventually arriving back at the campground. It kind of felt like Gilligan's Island. Our short ride (his 3 hour tour) definitely turned into something MUCH longer!

Gator in the bayou

The bay with Ocean Springs, where we took our bike ride, in the distance.

Dolphin

The front came in overnight so it is expected to be 50, windy and rainy today.  I'm glad we got our walks in yesterday. Today may be a quilting day!

It was a beautiful day in the New Orleans French Quarter yesterday. We started out with coffee and beignets at Cafe Beignet  in Musical Legends Park, yummy. And, live music was played there all day.

 We walked, and walked and walked. We saw a lot of street musicians and performers, beautiful

old architecture, lots of bars and restaurants and of course, quite a few homeless. At least they weren't freezing! Since it was only a few days after Mardi Gras a lot of the decorations were still up.

 We drank our way through the French quarter, that was what everyone else was doing so we followed suit!

Bloody Mary

Beer on the balcony

Hurricane in the doorway table where we got to watch a jazz wedding stroll by!

We sampled some pralines and made a couple of new friends and then headed back to the RV park to rest.

Wildfire in the wildlife refuge

View from the front of the ferry

On the way from Galveston to Louisiana, we got to take another ferry. This one was much longer than the last one. We even had time to get out of the RV! We saw a wildfire but weren't sure if it was planned or not.We spent one night in a quiet little park in Lake Charles, LA. where we met a couple from Australia. They bought an RV to travel the US for 4 months. They plan to do that each year for 4 years and then sell it! We then moved on to a park on a canal on Lake Pontchartrain. It is a BUSY park. It even has it's own bar/restaurant! But, best of all, it has a shuttle to New Orleans French quarter, about 6 miles away. Mardi Gras ended a couple of days ago so it should be calmer! We ate at the park restaurant last night. Denny had some great barbecued pork. This is not a vegetarian friendly place so I ended up with mac and cheese (blah) and a small salad from the sides menu :(  The highlight of the night was a GREAT Bloody Mary full of pickled veggies!

Well, today is our last day in Texas. We spent the last 2 days in Galveston, right on the gulf. Yesterday was cool but sunny and we were able to get out and do about 5 miles of beach walking. Monday was a different story. We had cold, rain and wind and barely left the RV! Nearby Houston had sleet. But, I know that is no different than the rest of the country. The polar vortex does not play favorites!
Now, we will be moving on to a few days in Louisiana, a few in Mississippi and a few in Alabama before starting our journey home.

We are in winter jackets and gloves here. The surf was pounding and the sea air bracing, to say the least!

We saw this out the window of RV when we woke up. I think we must have taken the wrong ferry!

Their dunes are not as friendly as ours!

Denny insists on taking candid butt shots while I test the water temperature!

 Saturday was Valentine's Day and we had a great time with some old friends, Chris and Gene. They aren't old, but I have known Chris since Jr. High! We had a lovely dinner and talked (well I did mostly) non-stop since we hadn't seen each other in a decade.  I certainly hope it isn't that long until we see them again! I meant to take a picture but forgot :(
We walked all the open trails at Brazos Bend so it was time to move on. When we got up  it was 70 degrees. We drove to Galveston where we have a lovely spot on the gulf. As soon as we got here (around noon), the temperature started dropping and the wind picked up. It is currently 46 out with high winds. The waves are quite impressive! I hope I can sleep tonight with the wind throwing the RV around! It was definitely a quilting day! Denny didn't want to quilt...so he napped :)