2/25/07 I got up around 7:00 and headed for the waffles. The guy sleeping in the bunk below me got in at 5:30 in the morning, while the night before he had gotten in at 3:30. At least last night he didn’t smell like smoke like the prior night. After eating two waffles which was way too much I took my big gut out of there and jumped back in the truck. It felt good to be on the road again. I got to thinking more and more about my schedule and as I approached Phoenix I realized I am making [View Full Entry]

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2-22-03 Last night didn’t get much below 40 deg and I was comfortable all night long. If it gets in the low 30’s that is when I really start to notice it. I rolled out of the truck around 8:00 after doing a Soduko puzzle and went and got some water. Since I had camped in the day use area, access to water was about a ¼ mile walk. I walked there and when getting back got some oatmeal going. I started talking to my camping neighbors and let the oatmeal get a little cold as I was enjoying the conversation [View Full Entry]

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2-19-07 I got going the next morning around 10:00 feeling well rested and close to being over the cold. I was headed for Carlsbad Caverns and had read something about the park not letting anyone down into the cave after 2:00. I felt a little rushed and consequently hurried. Once I got out of Texas however, the time zone changed and I was sure to make it there before 2:00. I made it there around 1:00 . To get there you drive through this tourist town called White City. It was obvious not the touristy time for this area as several [View Full Entry]

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2/14/07 The next morning I grabbed a quick breakfast at an IHOP. It was interesting the person waiting on me actually handled the monetary transactions without a cash register and simply made change from her pocket. I asked her about that and she said that’s how this one is ran. There was no register in the store anywhere and yes it all was on the up and up. I guess the IHOP folks get a percentage. Not sure of the details. As I drove through Houston I was amazed at all the elevated highways. These guys are not afraid to put [View Full Entry]

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2/12/07 The next morning I got up and worked on my travel blog for awhile. I had intended on fixing breakfast, but the kitchen was messy from the night before so I decided to have a couple pop tarts instead. Around noon headed down to the area along Frenchman street, where we were listening to jazz the previous night, to eat some Cajun cuisine. Got down there around 12:30 and orderd a bowl of gumbo. I couldn’t believe they put a crab claw in the soup. I had gumbo one other time and they had done it their too. After that [View Full Entry]

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2-9-07 I got up around 6:45 and got going around 7:00. The rest of the group were beginning to have breakfast. I again told them thanks and went on my way. I went to Katrina’s kitchen were I heard they serve free breakfasts. Ok maybe I am a moocher. No I wanted to learn more about it and thought if they needed volunteers I could help the following week a few days. I was surprised at the sheer number of people eating. Katrina was 18 months ago. The kitchen was located in Gulfport, originally it was at Pass Christian where I [View Full Entry]

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2-7-07 I awoke around 8:00 and tried to work on the Journal. but wasn’t having any luck with the website. I ate a big continental breakfast thinking I would skip lunch. I left the motel around 11:00 and headed towards New Orleans. As I drove down 90 the houses and area looked a lot worse. In a lot of areas all that could be seen were foundations. It was pretty horrible. I drove as far as I could until I ran into a bridge that was out. I knew the bridge was out, but hoped to see what it looked like. [View Full Entry]

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2/5/07 The next morning I decided to do laundry. I drove to Gulf Shores to do it. It was amazing as pretty much everbody I ran into was retired. That’s true for all of Florida as well. One guy who was in his 80’s was watching his laundry. We talked for awhile. He is from Minnesota. I told him that is such a beautiful place and asked him rhetorically why would anyone leave there! After getting back to the campsite I rode my bike on a nice trail. It however is only about 6 miles long. They have plans in the [View Full Entry]

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2/4/07 Panama City has some cool attractions, but it looked to me like it was mainly a big party town so I decided to mosey on down the road and work my way further west along the pan handle. Panama City has a cool looking Ripley’s Believe it Or Not location which looks like a boat. That night made it to Gulf Shores, Alabama. This area is under lots and lots of development. It was Super Bowl Sunday and it was about 4:30 with the game starting at 5:00. I stopped at Gulf Shores State Park paid my $22 and asked [View Full Entry]

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2/3/07 The next morning I decided to work my way into the Florida Pan Handle. Wasn’t sure where I would go. As I stopped at a gas station just north of Chiefland their was a truck that had a sticker on it’s windshield that said “REDNECKTIFIED” with the rebel flag on each side of it. This amused me and I wanted to take a picture, but was concerned the owner might think I was making fun of him. Stan, our manatee tour guide said this area of the country is the last of the wild frontier and the locals I met [View Full Entry]

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