March 1 - 10 (10 nights - Nacogdoches, Texas USA)
We drove 401 miles today. A long drive by Mexico standards, but on Texas roads it is not too difficult. We arrived at the Foretravel factory and are staying at the campground they have for folks that need service. They have electricity and water with a sewer dump nearby. We will be here for a few days getting some miscellaneous parts and service.

March 2 - 7
We went to visitor center to get information about the town and found out that Nacogdoches is the oldest town in Texas. Considering its' oldest town there were'nt many historical sites to see. One day is plenty time to visit them all. The town is relatively small, but lovely, and people are friendly. We went window shopping and were impressed the friendliness of the owner of the first shop we stopped in. She made us feel so very welcome to the town.

We rode our bicycles not once, but four plus times and did every bike trail in town. We rode the Azalea trail which was supposed to be pretty with Azalea blooms. But, where was the beauty, Sim wondered. We went there a little early and it was not time for the flowers to open yet. Once we tired of riding bikes and seeing the same scenery, we planned to see a movie. First theater was closed, second theater was also closed, and the third one, way out of town was, you guessed it, closed. We guessed Nacogdoches people didn't go to theater in the afternoon on weekday. We had lunch at the Clear Spring Cafe. Sim had her first Gumbo, and I had something catfish. We got our money's worth in this restaurant because both the service and food were superb. We experienced our first hush puppies, cornmeal and some other ingredients that are deep fried. Sim is not a dessert person, but she liked the service and food so much that she ordered peach cobbler. And the dessert didn't disappoint us. The other day we had lunch at the restaurant next to Best Western Hotel. Sim had never had Chicken Fried Steak, so she ordered it. And she wondered why it is called Chicken Fried Steak when it is cooked beef. I had no answer for her. She also asked me why Indians in the U.S. Didn't build pyramid while Indians in Mexico built a lot of them. Hmm...?? That was my response.

March 8
We are still here in Nacogdoches. Coming without an appointment was not a great idea. We did get in the shop today and all fluids and filters are now changed. The mechanic found the transmission drain screw loose and said it was a miracle it wasn't leaking. All is well, and we will go in to settle up the bill tomorrow, or have a few other things taken care of. We stopped by Xtreme Paint today and talked to the owner about paint options for the coach. He has three packages. 1. Decal removal and paint on the original striping. 2. Decal removal and partial paint with new graphics. 3. Full body paint with your graphic design. James, the owner, also does a nice retrofit on the old style lighting by updating to European style Halogen lights.

March 9
We debated and argued about the paint job. It was quite challenge to make Sim to give me the green light for this project. Believe me I worked really hard and sought every reason I could think of to persuade her. Xtreme cannot take the coach until the end of the month, so Sim and I decided to take a short 3 week trip to Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

March 10 – 12 (3 nights, Boerne, Texas USA)
We headed over towards San Antonio and stayed in Boerne which is only 30 minutes from downtown. On the way, we had to go through a couple of toll booths. I ended up in the wrong toll lane and realized too late that I could not make it through without scraping both sides of the coach. Sim had to get out to direct traffic. I unhooked the Jeep and drove it through, parked it and ran back to the Coach. Sim is still directing traffic, and I had to back out the Coach and move to the far right lane to make it. We only tied up traffic for 30 minutes or so.

The next day we went to the Alamo. There were lots of other tourists that were visiting that day as well. A long line snaked around the block to visit this “Shrine” of Texas. We toured the grounds, visited the museum and watched a short documentary of the events of that fateful day when all the defenders gave their lives. Sim was quite moved and even teared up by the end of the story. We enjoyed the huge Oak tree in the courtyard that was part of the history.

After the Alamo we walked over to the famous River Walk. The River Walk is a nice walk along the river with many choices of restaurants for all tastes, but mostly Tex-Mex. Sim and I walked to the South end of the River walk and back after which we had some lunch. The “Disney” style tour boats loaded with tourists motored down the river while the affable tour guide pointed out significant buildings and Tom Landry's restaurant.

March 13 (1 night, Winfield, Texas USA)
On the way heading for Arkansas, I planned to drive until my body asked me to stop. We drove 9 hours today and stopped at the town called Winfield. Winfield was a nothing town, but the park was a Passport America park and only $12. for the night. Passport America members pay half price at participating RV Parks. We had an interesting neighbor right next to us.

While driving the long hours, I needed some kind of entertainment to keep me alert. Sim read me jokes sometimes, but most of the time I turned on CB and listened to the truck drivers conversation. I often found it entertaining. Once Sim said “that guy is so brave” when hearing a truck driver who, well you know, couldn't sing, but sang anyway. The highlight of the drive to Winfield was a joke told by a truck driver from Dallas over the CB on Channel 19. “What does Brokeback Mountain and the NFL have in common?.............Both have Cowboys that suck.”

March 14 – 16 (3 nights, Hot Springs, Arkansas USA

Hot Springs is a great little town. It is famous for its Bath Houses. Only one is still in operation and the line for a bath forms early in the day. Sim and I did not take a bath but we toured one bath house that is now a museum. We hiked around town, and up the hill to a picnic area. We bought a couple half gallon containers and filled them with the mineral water that is available to the public at several places in town. We stopped and gawked at Bill Clinton's childhood home, and hiked through a beautiful garden full of Tulips, Iris, and Narcissus set up and run by Arkansas University. They also have a beautiful wood and glass church that can be rented for weddings. About $2000 as I recall. There are facilities close by for a reception as well. It is a really nice setting in the woods.

March 17 -18 (2 nights, Memphis, Tennessee USA)
We headed for Memphis to visit with Bill Fundom. Bill and I went to Costa Mesa High School together, and joined the Navy together. We parked outside Bill's home for two nights. After we parked, while Sim prepared fruit for afternoon snack, two little Black girls came to us and asked if they could see inside the coach. Sim gave them a tour and afternoon snack. Five minutes later the two girls brought a boy and asked to show their friend inside. Sim again gave them a tour with afternoon snack. Three minutes later, here came seven kids marching to our coach. Well! Sim came to realize that she must terminate her tour service and stop giving away snacks, or else the number of visitors would keep growing. After sitting down and catching up with Bill for a couple of hours, Bill took us to FedEx headquarters building where he works and gave us a tour. We went back to Bill's, and he served up some of his special Iced Tea. He has a secret recipe for his Iced Tea, and it has a unique delicious taste. The secret recipe is, well, it is secret, so if I tell you it won't be secret any more.

One cannot go to Memphis without going to Graceland. The first day we headed up the road to Elvis's Graceland, took the shuttle bus right to the front door and spent several hours walking through the house and the grounds. The next evening we had Bill take us to his favorite rib joint. Memphis is famous for Bar-b-Que ribs so we did not want to leave without having some. Bill took us to the Commissary which has been around forever. We were served by a rotund black woman who used “honey child” numerous times and served us a gigantic portion of deliciously tender pork ribs. It was realy nice to see Bill again after so many years.

March 19 (1 night, Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi USA)
We headed out bright and early for Mississippi. Sim was anxious to see the scenic byway on the way to Natchez. The drive did not disappoint. The scenery was really pretty from Jackson, MS all the way to Natchez, MS. We stopped about half way to Natchez for the night at a state campground. Turns out it was free. There were no hookups, water or sewer but FREE. We took the bikes off the back of the Jeep and rode around in the park for a couple of hours. Sim showed off by riding “no hands”.

We had to leave early in the morning along with everyone in the park because they were going to do a controlled burn. We were off early and about 3 miles down the road a car passed us and motioned us over to the side of the road. We pulled off and discovered the right front tire of the Jeep had shredded. It turns out I had forgotten to put the key in the ignition and unlock the steering wheel. So for 3 miles I had been effectively “dragging” the Jeep.

March 20 – 22 (3 nights, Abita Springs, Louisiana USA)
The first priority in the morning was to find a couple of tires and a wheel for the Jeep. I took off around 9:00AM, drove about 30 miles to a Jeep dealer. They wanted $300 for a new wheel and another $200 for tires. When I passed on that deal the parts guy told me about a tire and wheel shop in another town that had used wheels for my Jeep. No problem, except it was 60 miles in the other direction. I called Sim and left her a message saying it was going to take a bit longer than planned to accomplish my mission. I was to discover later that due to bad reception, Sim did not get my message and in fact thought I was in some distress.

At almost 5 P.M., I returned to the campground with a used wheel and a couple of used tires, $200 poorer. Sim was not at the coach, but there was a note on the door saying she was at the park clubhouse. I went to the clubhouse to find Sim and instead ran into a whole group of people including the local Sheriff who were all looking for me. It seems Sim interpreted my voice mail as a call for help, so she enlisted the entire campground staff and the Sheriff to try to find me. They had been calling hospitals and every business that sold tires in a 100 mile radius. By the time I showed up Sim was emotionally drained, and I was physically tired. Neither of us had lunch; Sim couldn't eat anything, because she was worried about me; I couldn't find place to eat since I had to wait until the tires got done. However, we had a great dinner, and it was nice to have dinner together.

The next morning we headed out for New Orleans for the day. We drove across Lake Pontchartrain bridge, the worlds longest causeway, and it took Sim's two good naps (30 minutes plus). That is one big lake. We walked Bourbon Street up and back and had lunch at the Red Fish Grill. The food and service were both great. They have a W hotel in town, and we have never been in a W so we went inside to check it out. They have a small library off the lobby and I pulled a book at random off the shelf. It turned out to be a medical book all about heart disease. We looked at each other and smiled “what a co-incidence out of one hundred books, I picked that one.” The W hotel is pretty cool and the décor is quite nice. We walked down to the Mississippi River and took the ferry across the river to Algiers. We walked the town and enjoyed the old homes, then took the ferry back to New Orleans. We did some window shopping and walked back to the car and headed home. There is a good size lake at the RV park, so I pulled out the IOM and sailed until the wind died at sunset.

March 23 (1 night, Vinton, Louisiana USA)
Vinton was just a stopover on the way back to Texas to drop off the coach at Xtreme Paint & Graphics. We exchanged an email with Martha and Randy before leaving Abita Springs to Vinton. Martha suggested we stop over on Hwy 90 in Lafayette for lunch at the restaurant called Boiling Pot. It serves great Crayfish, Crab, and Boudin sausage. Well! We could not find it, however, we stopped at some place called ...something Boiling. The restaurant was packed. Every table we walked passed had huge bowl of Crayfish. The bowl contained FOUR pounds of boiled Crayfish. And that was the order for each individual customer. We knew for sure that we would not be able to finish Crayfish if we ordered four pounds each. So, we ordered salad and Crayfish. Based on her experience, a waitress thought four pounds Crayfish would not be enough for two people. Two customers at the table next to us had four pounds Crayfish for each and two other dishes. It seemed very easy for them to peel the Crayfish shell off, but we found it a little difficult at first. Our four pounds was plenty for us to share. I think Crayfish tastes like lobster, but Sim thinks it tastes like crab.

March 24 – 26 (3 nights, Nacogdoches, Texas USA)
We are back in Nacogdoches again. This time to leave the Coach at the place that is going to paint it and change out the current headlights, which are very ineffective, with new Euro projector beams. I also ordered all new windows that will be replaced during the paint process. Before we left the town, we went to Azalea trail again to see Azalea garden. This time the garden was full of flowers in a variety of colors. It was really pretty. We had lunch at a local restaruant near the Foretravel factory called Aunty Janes. It looked rustic outside, but was very modern inside. Sim had meatballs and spaghetti, and I ordered some kind of fish. Sim's dish came with six meat balls, and the size of the meat ball was as big as her fist. Na! Sim didn't finish her dish, but left one half for her dinner. The food and service has never failed us in Nacogdoches.

March 27 (1 night, San Antonio, Texas USA)
We are coachless, heading for California with a few detours in our old friend “jeep.' On the way to Carlsbad Caverns, we decided to drive through the Texas Hill Country. It was a big disappointment for us. I don't know if it was too early in the year or what, but we were not impressed. Yes there were some nice large homes and ranches, but we expected rolling hills in full bloom. Nada.

March 28-29 (2 nights, Carlsbad, New Mexico USA)
We arrived in New Mexico late in the afternoon, found a hotel room and went out for some good New Mexico Mexican food. In the morning we drove out to the Carlsbad Caverns. We toured the big cavern for a couple of hours. I could not believe how large the caverns were. They are several football fields long and at least 50 feet high in places. Very impressive.

March 30, 31, and April 1 (3 nights Santa Fe, New Mexico USA)
We went to downtown Santa Fe in the morning, walked around and did some window shopping. Santa Fe is a lovely town. The building style is quite unique, and all buildings and houses are painted brown. There are lots of shades of brown, but they are all brown. We found a nice square around lunchtime and sat in the shade, relaxed and ate lunch. For dinner we went out to the local Olive Garden. Now we have had dinner at a few Olive Gardens in California but the food and service in Santa Fe was superior. We headed out for Taos the next day. We took the scenic route and added an hour to the drive but saw some beautiful country. We stopped at a few interesting little towns as well. That evening we had dinner at the Blue Corn Cafe. Sim ordered grilled chicken breast with mango salsa. She could not figure out the ingredients, but it was great and tasted like a Northern NM dish, she said. No, not really! She didn't really know Northern NM dishes because it was her first time in New Mexico. I ordered... um! I forgot, but it must have been excellent because I finished it all and remember liking it.

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