Two pictures says it all.  Success!

My view from the Naval Station Campground.

Easter. Hot today. Humid too. Yesterday I mentioned a desire to get away from people, so today I visited the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Not only were there few people, they were encouraged to be quiet.  2.25 mile hike on an elevated path over mostly swamp.  There were some informational signs, but not nearly enough. Then again, it took me 2 hours to get around it without more signs.  It was extremely pleasant.  Pictures.

From there I went to the Cypress National Reserve Visitor Center for some education.  I was saddened to hear that there are rattlesnakes here, along with three other kinds of poisonous snakes.  But all anyone really wants to talk about are gators.  I saw two smallish dead ones along the road.

Had a crab cake sandwich at the prototypical swamp joint.  Crusty old gal telling you what do to, signs saying “If you don’t like what we’re serving, go 41 miles west or 62 miles east and get something else!”

Took a picture of the country’s smallest post office.  I saw the sign for a post office and this little hut.  I had to turn back for a closer look.

Two lane roads with crazy drivers.  One guy figured that he didn’t have to fully cross to the other side to pass me.  Road rage wanted to kick in, but what could I do?

Staying at a campground that offers swamp tours.  It looks like the tours begin next to my tent!  Bugs are out.  Before now, I camped at places that were too cold for bugs.  Now it’s not cold, so I’ve got bugs.  Can’t win.

Tomorrow Key West.

The benefits of a zoom lens.

Nothing much today. No pics. Visited Florida Southern College campus, home to several FLW designs. They are certainly unique and entertaining. But already falling into disrepair.  Literature says he mixed concrete to get certain colors; nothing about longevity.  Oh.

Dunedin, FL, home of the Toronto Blue Jays Spring training.  Sold out!  Standing room only. Second pitch to the Yankees leadoff man; home run.  Hot dog and a beer.  Canada plates in the parking lot. Announcer said it was 31 degrees in Toronto.  Hot hot hot here.

Traffic everywhere. Must get back to nature. Everglades and Key West beckons.

I wore raingear all day.  I needed it for the first half, was afraid to take it off for the second.  There was about five minutes of intense rain with lightning, but mostly it was just heavy rain.  Since there was nothing to see, I drove as far as I wanted to.  But I did stop at the Tallahassee Automobile Museum.

What a place!  Not only do they have a tremendous collection of old cars with excellent stories and descriptions, there are a wealth of other old and very old collections.  Children’s cars, pianos, golf clubs, outboard motors, adding machines, guns, motorcycles, boats, etc. Nearly all in very good refurbished condition.  It’s incredible.  They have two of the Batmobiles and the Batcycle.  Not to be missed is an incredible collection of jackknives.  Don’t ask me why.  Thousands of jackknives.

An 18 wheeler jackknifed on the I75 near Gainesboro, necessitating a unmapped detour.  On one country road was two handwritten signs “Watch for motorcycles”.  I didn’t know how to react to that.  Anyway, the detours were also a traffic mess. When I rejoined the 75 in Ocala, still 90 miles from Tampa, it was slow traffic recovering from the reportedly 15 mile backup, so I packed it in.  About 350 miles of forward progress, 140 miles in the rain and about 3 miles of it at 3 MPH.  Tomorrow, weather permitting, I’ll try to catch a spring season baseball game somewhere.

My next bike.

The “before” pictures.

The “after” picture.

An early Tesla?

Doesn’t look like a Tesla.

An Amphicar. I could have used this one today.

I remember seeing this in the movie spin-off of the sixties show.  The sidecar is a go-cart.

Appears to have a rudder.

A 1923 Gibson.

Drove back on 98 west to Pensacola for bike maintenance and more touring.  The work was fast; they seemed more in a hurry than I was.  I think they missed some recommended work, so I may find another service center in Tampa.

Found forts near the Air Museum.  As with Fort Jackson, the forts were built pretty much after forts became obsolete, but no one knew what else to do.  As with so many other advances, they reached the height of their technology after the tech had become overtaken by entirely different tech.

The Naval Air Museum is as modern as they come.  Definitely the most impressively designed museum I’ve seen on the trip.  A zeppelin exhibit!  They have an Imax theater and Blue Angels flight immersion simulator.  Actually, there was a change of command today so the Blue Angels themselves did a little show.  The cafeteria/bar was decked out with plaques that had been at the Cubi Point Officer’s Club bar at Subic Bay.  I’d been in the that bar in the Philippines, so it was more interesting for me than for others.  I actually remembered some of the plaques.

I had been watching the sky all day and just as I was about to leave the museum I realized it WAS TIME TO LEAVE.  I quickly found a hotel about an hour east of the my location and dashed off.  I was battered by a lot of wind (again!) on bridges and some rain on the way, even stopping at an underpass to put on my raincoat for the first time.  But I missed the worst of it.  About an hour after arrival the skies really opened up.  Thunderstorm warnings, tornado warnings, etc.  It was definitely not the kind of storm anyone on two wheels should go through.  The forecast is not good for tomorrow, so I may ditch any sightseeing plans and just push through to clear skies in Tampa.

I’m hopefully going to remember this quote in Alaska.

Marine One for Nixon and Ford.

Not the forecast I like.

In Crestview, in a hotel.

Getting out of New Orleans was more difficult than I expected.  Sunrise, lack of signs, and the fact that I10 East goes west in town all contributed to the troubles.

After entering Mississippi I realized that I had no “event” planned for the state.  My new rules dictate that must have a memorable experience in a state to say I’ve been in it.  So I turned off I10 and drove down to the coast.  Route 90 is so close to the coast there are work crews shoveling sand off the highway!  It’s a beautiful coastline, made poignant by the high water marks attached to the beach restrooms.  Katrina’s marker is 24 feet above sea level.  Even so, the houses along the shore are beautiful.  Its a road well worth taking.  I regretted turning back to the I10.

I learned about the USS Alabama Museum from a suggestion for the trip.  It’s really much more than the battleship, having a submarine and a building dedicated to aviation.  Timing and interest limited me to just the ship though.  I’d never been on a battleship and the 16 inch turrets were a revelation.  Hard to get into, and harder to move around.  I shudder to think about being in one while it was being fired.  The rest of the ship seemed very roomy compared to an aircraft carrier, I guess meaning that the size of the ship had more to do with providing a stable gun platform than crewing it.  There were a host of displays dedicated to other ships scattered throughout it’s interior.  Overall, a very nice museum that could do with some rework of the displays.  It’s been a museum for decades.  It’s so old it’s sort of a museum of museums.

Got my official “Retired” ID card at the Pensacola naval station.  I should now be able to camp in the naval station in Key West.  There are no other campsites there, and hotels are insanely expensive.  Now if it will just not rain, I’ll be fine.

On my way to Destin I stumbled upon Historic Pensacola Village.  I didn’t have time to see much, but it looked very nice.

DO NOT drive on 98 east from Pensacola.  Traffic and traffic lights.  Highways before interstates.

Gulfport

Note the Red Sign.

See the red sign?

More recent history.

Biloxi

This is the Visitor’s Center in Biloxi.

Mobile has some pretty buildings

This 5″/38 caliber gun mount is similar to the 3″/50 mount I was in when I lost most hearing in my left ear. Nostalgic.

The helm

View from the Helm

Interesting for tire freaks. (All MC riders are tire freaks.)

Shot 40 people, then became a lawyer.

You can learn all about brick making at the Pensacola Historic Village.

Just thought this was nice.

Rather than go back into New Orleans I drove along the Mississippi River nearly to its ending.  It’s an excellent road and goes much farther than I expected.  The pictures tell some of the story.  I stopped at Fort Jackson, site of a Civil War naval battle and more recently victim of two hurricanes.  On the return trip I used two ferries.

Obviously the peninsula is a company town, servicing the oil industry.  There are three helicopter airports, each with at least four helipads.  They all had large and full parking lots, testimony to the number of workers out in the Gulf.  There were three schools, all fairly new and all up on stilts.  Though the schools were new and very nice looking, at least 90% of the students live in mobile homes., of varying quality.  Down near the river’s end virtually every home is a mobile home.  The permanent homes are inconsistent, running in elevation from ground level to high up on stilts.  Storm damage was evident, though the roads were excellent.  Down very near the end I was on a road with water on both sides.  I failed to get to the very end because of flooding on the road.

Fort Jackson was an example of building for past wars.  It was built as a result of the British attack on New Orleans.  Obviously, that threat was pretty well over, but build the fort we did (to match one on the other side).  But it was perfectly situated to deny federal access to New Orleans in the Civil War.  Getting past it was a major victory for the Navy.  There is a new Visitors Center, where many relics are on display.  The Fort itself was flooded by Katrina, then again by Issac, forcing its closure.  Funding to repair the damage hasn’t been identified.

About halfway down from New Orleans there’s a ferry, which I took on the return trip.  30 miles upriver there’s another ferry to cross back.  They’re interesting ferries because they dock broadside to the shore, whereas most ferries dock bow and stern.  The reason, which becomes obvious when observing the river, is the current.  To say it’s rapid is to grossly understate the situation.  Ships going downriver just fly.

I returned in the afternoon to visit the French Quarter again.  It was weirder than yesterday, but I grew bored with it.  (Many people highly recommended the new WWII Museum.  I just didn’t have time to do it justice.)

Fort Jackson

Bayou Mardi Gras, First named location in the Mississippi

Looking east

Same place, looking west

Tombs

High school on stilts

Boat in the headlights

Second night in a tent was great.  I’m definitely getting the hang of it.  The moon is almost full, which, as I’ve learned, makes the nights surreal.  It was easy to see where not to walk, and there were lots of those places.

Getting to the Tabasco Factory/Museum was another trip through small town after small town.  I could never have done it without a GPS.  At the Museum I was preceded by two busloads of young children and many of their parents.  I timed my walking tour around their tours.  (At the Nimitz Museum I’d bought a Navy Veteran ball cap.  It has been a revelation!  Everywhere I go I am thanked for my service.  More practically, it has also gotten me discounts I didn’t know I deserved.  It’s saving me money.)

The Museum tour is extremely well organized and interesting.  Tabasco is still family owned and operated.  The family tree includes a volunteer rough rider, arctic adventurer, nature advocate, etc.  They hide any black sheep very well.  I tried all sorts of sauce; didn’t like any.  Full disclosure: I don’t actually like Tabasco Sauce.  But it was a really fun morning.  Ate my first boudin po’ boy.  Delicious.

Route 90 to New Orleans is largely elevated.  Thump thump thump.  I turned up the suspension setting on the Goldwing to 22, which helped a lot.  Love my ride.  There are a lot of high bridges crossing small and large rivers.  Lots of turbulence in the water.

Checked into the hotel, then went into the city.  It’s a Monday and it’s crowded!  So many walking tours!  Haunted tours, drinking tours, etc.  I did my own tour.  Pat O’Brien’s was my first.  Huge place, maybe five bars?  (Got a triple shot of 17 year old scotch “for my service”.  Not sure I wanted it.)  From there I found many other bars.  I had a Jambalaya with alligator meat (my first time eating alligator).  Very good.  Need more.  Police are everywhere.  Crowds are too.  Many weird stores.  The Museums I wanted to visit were closed today (Monday), so I’ll have to return tomorrow.  Drat.  Wednesday is a busy day though, so the bars will have to be largely avoided.

My tent was in the box.

Bayou Alexander Highway

Economy size

White Oak Barrels. The tops are covered in salt. Aged for as much as three years.

A police “car”

Carousel Bar. The chairs and bar top rotate, the bartender does not seem to. Must be confusing.

Camping was very good.  Maybe I’m getting the hang of it.

The wind was intense again!! Mostly a crosswind.  Tiring driving.

The Johnson Space Center was as I thought it would be, though more tilted towards children than I’d expect.  A lot more.  But they had plenty of adult related stuff too.  Four external tram rides are offered; I took the one to the original Command Center, made famous by the Apollo missions.  We all sat in the original visitors’ seats.  (“Queen Elizabeth sat there.”) It was a great feeling to recall history from the place where history was made.

They have a Saturn V rocket display which was amazing.  They’d spent considerable funds to clean it up and put it inside for preservation.  They also have the Apollo 17 capsule.  Lots of history.  But as I said it’s got a tremendous amount of kids activities.  Almost like an amusement park atmosphere.  Disney-like.

From there I had to rush east with very few stops.  Getting out of Texas was an event.  I didn’t see a “Welcome to the United States of America” sign at the border, but it wouldn’t have surprised me if one was there.  Texas has a certain feel to it, though in a sense the “feel” was more, not less, American.  I missed a lot, but that’s what return trips are made for.

I happened upon the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Museum near the border (closed on Sundays).  There was a cricket match behind it, which gave my last experience in Texas a definite international quality.

My first realization that there was serious flooding was the Texas Tourism Center at the border.  Underwater.  Many exits from I10 were closed for obvious reasons.

Louisiana is different.  Billboards are everywhere.  Pro-life, casinos, ambulance chasers, doctors, “Rent This Sign” signs, etc.  Not a pretty sight.  Roads are much worse.  Thump, thump, thump.  Getting to the State Park involved more local navigation than I’d imagine.  It doesn’t seem that the roads or towns were laid out in straight lines.  The Park was also largely underwater.  This is the first time I’ve camped two nights in a row.

This flag was planted on the moon, then returned to Earth.

The stairs to mission control. Just regular stairs.

Cricket

Ten feet from my tent.

A little bit of flooding.

As good a day as I could ask for.  Too much to report.  Bullets.

Chilly and VERY WINDY.  Even on a 900 lb. bike, I struggled at times.

Bandera; Self proclaimed Cowboy Capitol.  8:30 AM, already bustling.  Today was their “Pig Fest Explosion!”  Put kids of a specific age into a corral, let in a pig of a specific size.  The child who catches the pig wins.  Age groups go right up to adult I was told. (Pigs gets bigger as age gets older.)  I could have spent my entire day here and been satisfied.  The event also serves as a magnet for hogs of a two wheel variety. I reluctantly moved on.

Medina: The Apple Store.  4” Thick Apple Pie.  $4.50 per slice.  A little too heavy on the cinnamon, which for me is saying a lot.  It was a fine breakfast, but not up to Julian, CA’s style.  No offense.  Town calls itself the Apple Capitol of Texas.  Even has a statue of an Apple.  Well, oookay!  I was there too early to try their burgers.

Twisting road was too short to be much fun.  But if it was a taste of the famous Twisted Sisters route, I’ll be back.

Fredericksburg:  Sensational!  A full day’s visit would not do it justice.  Very German.  Birthplace of Admiral Chester Nimitz (who I was very knowledgeable of already). His literal birthplace is now a toy store.  There was a Museum of him, Museum of the War in the Pacific (huge and intensely detailed), and some other site I didn’t get to.  Hundreds of plaques from all over adorn the outside park.  The visit reminded me that Admiral Nimitz and one E. P. Potter co-wrote a book: Sea Power.  Potter was a professor of mine at Annapolis.  I’d forgotten that.  One ticket allows a two day visit, which would not be an unreasonable need.  To think this museum is so far away from any ocean is weird.  The place was full too.

Town has wine tasting rooms, breweries, candy shops, antique shops, etc.  Just incredible.  But to put the icing on the cake . . .

Driving out of town, saw some event in a park.  U-turned.  Commemoration of Phase I of a new Texas Rangers Museum.  Really just a nice tower now.  The museum itself is due in 18 months.  But at least 100 people dressed in period clothing.  Three functioning cannon. A staged shootout.  Displays of guns, saddles, Etc.  Just too cool.

I regretfully had to skip a visit to Austin.  I already have a t-shirt, so not a great loss.  I’m camping at Stephen F. Austin State Park, so that’s okay.  And the park is east coast style! Soft dirt, grass, big trees, no burn ban (no snakes and no scorpions either).  The place reeks of campfires.  And it’s only going to get down to the 40s tonight.

The only disappointment today was that it was too short.

There are some strange homes on the hilltops.

Bandera

“As seen on the History channel”?

Shop in Bandera

This is an apple statue.

Fredericksburg is certainly NOT a dry town!!

An elephant?

This was originally the Nimitz Hotel in the 1800s.

The saying on the cannon harkens back to 1835, when Texans stole a Mexican cannon. They asked for it back.