Motorhome News from North America 40 5th April - 12th April 2007 The Big Country! New Mexico, Colorado and Utah With time ticking by, we have stepped up our advertising to sell Winnie, our home and motorhome. The UK website has disappointingly only produced one enquiry, that from a rather dubious character we would rather avoid. It’s now also advertised on two US websites though we don’t have a lot of faith in their efficacy, as the USA is a big place - and the person who wants to look at it could be 1,000 miles away! Our best bet seems to be the ‘For Sale’ signs now on the front, sides and rear of the motorhome and we are getting enquiries almost every day - though no sale yet! Recent visits to scenic places of ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 38 13th March - 24th March 2007 Don’t Mess with Texas! Houston, San Antonio, Fredericksburg, Marathon, Big Bend National Park and The Rio Grande 7.42pm. Touchdown, at George Bush International Airport, Houston. The clocks have moved forward an hour in our absence. It’s crunch-time for our future travel plans as we approach immigration on our return to US soil after our all too brief visit to Costa Rica. There’s every chance we’ll be out of the USA in five days when our present visas run out if they choose to make life difficult for us. We follow the signs. The long yellow line for Non-US Citizens. We stand in the queue, waiting our turn, passports and entry forms in hand, smiling nervously, shuffling forward, our luggage between our feet. We're hoping ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 36 15th - 28th February 2007 The state of Texas What is it about this little bit of Texas? We might be in the south, but the familiar, ‘How y’all doin,’ greeting has all but vanished, replaced by a wave and a friendly, ‘Hello’, or, ‘Good morning’, as we pass complete strangers. It’s a fact that most of the people we meet here are from far away, from the northern United States and Canada where the cold and damp gets to the bones in the grip of winter when grey hair eventually forces you into retirement, and dreaming of warmer climes interrupts the slumber on a nightly basis. Southeast Texas is not a pretty place, the Rio Grande has virtually silted up and no longer discharges into the Gulf of Mexico, ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 34 24th January - 2nd February 2007 ‘Oh, when the Saints go marching in.’ Our arrival in New Orleans coincided with the big match - the NFL semi-final, and the flags and signs were flying on every street corner; ‘Go Saints!’ But sadly, the Saints were sent marching out - mauled by the Chicago Bears, and by early evening the city was in shock. The Bears move on to the SuperBowl, leaving the Saints to lick their wounds and regroup before next season. They’ve had a good run, but a win would have offered new hope and confidence to a city still reeling from shock in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Things could have been worse for New Orleans. Much of the hurricane that flattened the coastline to the east passed ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 32 28th December - 12th January 2007 A winding route up the west coast of Florida - to the Panhandle North of Florida’s Everglade swamplands, flat fertile fields segment the landscape; market gardens rich with fruit and vegetables: tomatoes, melons, beans, strawberries, mango and citrus, lychee, peppers, aubergines and bananas - and nurseries with row upon row of royal palms, bright orchids and colourful bougainvilleas ready to grace the south’s burgeoning housing estates. White busses were parked on open fields, their passengers amongst the hordes of immigrant agricultural workers from Mexico and Central America, a hundred broad backs bent over endless rows of plants under the relentless sun. An afternoon drive from the western end of the Everglades took us to Naples, its beautiful homes matching the elegance of the name, ... read more