The View with a View – Part 5 - Relatively Speaking

The View with a View – Posted in installments, because it's almost a novel

Part 5: 
NOLA/Texas/Phoenix

October, 2017

Oct 6-8, Fri-Sun  - Finding our way to NOLA

We were happy to see a View, safe and sound when we got back to Miami. The shuttle worked as promised, with hardly any wait, and we were quickly on our way, except for one small detail… we found ourselves in Friday morning commute traffic. We beat feet to get out of town, wondered why our GPS keeps insisting that we go on toll roads when the interstate is so much better. I think it’s some grand conspiracy. We were glad to have AAA’s paper maps throughout this trip. It let us see all the options, not just the ones our GPS thought we should take. Anyway, we were going to drive like crazy to get to New Orleans ASAP. Oops, another hurricane. This one named Nate. Everyone was freaking out about it hitting NOLA, so we figured it would be a really good idea to chill around central Florida a bit, to allow it to pass through before we headed that way. As we were going north, we saw dozens of FEMA vehicles that looked like they were on their way to provide relief. The storm fizzled, so all that prep was for nothing.

That confirmed our decision to take our time. We found a decent state campground at Lake Wales, FL, then the next night another fabulous ACOE place, Lake Seminole, at the FL/GA border. We might make an entire future trip focused on these fantastic places maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. Every single one has been spacious, level, and practically free, though the sign at the booth was a little concerning:

ACOE - Lake Seminole

10/9, Sunday – A full day in NOLA

We got in Saturday evening, having pre-paid for a KOA spot since it advertised a free shuttle, and was about half the cost of the noisy RV park near the French Quarter. It turned out to be an excellent decision. Our host was very friendly, and we enjoyed our day riding the Hop on/Hop off bus, and visiting the WWII museum. Naturally we HAD to visit Café Du Mond, to have the world famous beignets. Later someone said to me, “I don’t get it. They’re just donuts!” Yeah, but hot, sugary donuts that come with a side of atmosphere. There was a guy playing a saxophone on the sidewalk. We enjoyed our day as tourists, letting someone else do the driving. We were soooooo glad we didn't opt for the RV park in town.

It started pouring rain as we were in the WWII Museum, so the rest of the day wasn't much good for sightseeing. We did catch a glimpse of the Mardi Gras floats, and saw a huge Carnival ship leave the port, squeezing through around the bend. We didn't go back out for the nightlife, so we can't say that we truly experienced everything NOLA has to offer. Our camp host gave an excellent narrative as we headed back to the KOA. We were the only ones on the shuttle.

Bill likes old airplanes, and they were hanging all around

Don't bother - this was lame, not worth the wait

10/10-12, Tue-Thur – Nederland, TX

WE LOVE AUNT MAGGIE!!! Through research on Ancestry.com, Facebook, and talking to Bill’s mom, we found an aunt and first cousins that Bill had never met. Maggie is Bill’s biological father’s younger sister. I reached out to her daughter Daneen through Facebook, and got an immediate response. Maggie reached back with the most warm, welcoming Texas howdy you ever did see! I saw through the pics that Maggie is nuts about her 3-year-old granddaughter, Sadie, and she lives her life with amazing enthusiasm and kindness. In one pic she was wearing a butterfly shirt. (Butterflies being my family’s symbol, this was significant.) And a FitBit just like mine. I just knew I was going to connect with this woman.

It was a complete surprise to find out she had remarried after her husband died. She didn’t change her name on Facebook, so when she said Joseph would be home, I was like, “Who’s Joseph?” It turned out he’s a nice guy, too. His wife passed away, so eventually he asked if maybe they could join forces. It’s a good match, as they both seem happy. And he likes to travel, too. I loved their pic being tree huggers when they visited the redwoods in California, so Joseph emailed it to me. When I called to let Maggie know when we’d arrive, she asked what I like to eat. I said I wasn’t very picky, as my favorite meal is ice cream and cookies. Well, 2 hours later when we got there, Maggie had made chocolate chip cookies, and there were FOUR tubs of ice cream for dessert that night! 

OMG

Maggie & Joseph - Tree Huggers

Daneen & Sadie - Twins in pink

Aunt Maggie is so talented. She teaches ceramics classes, has an entire warehouse of molds & a kiln, bought herself a nut-sheller and sells bags of pecans, has an entire room with shelves & shelves of cookbooks, and retired as the postmaster (mistress?) in her town. She’s just all kinds of awesome. And she has an RV pad with electricity!

Ceramics Warehouse - Cute Snowman Cookie Plate

COUSINS!!! Daneen & Sadie, Bill, Rhonda, Daryll

I think Bill & Daryll have many hours of friendly political debate ahead!

Aunt Maggie is also a ton of fun. I mentioned that I read a book about a food critic going undercover by wearing different wigs & disguises, and how I thought I'd like to try that, too. Next thing I know I'm trying on Maggie's wigs, and she urged me to take one! Actually I think I'll go blonde, but gosh, how sweet of Maggie to help me play.

I probably shouldn't write this, but... Maggie is Bill’s biological father Ernie’s younger half-sister. She’s only a couple years older than me, but she feels like an aunt. She has more energy than all of us put together! Ernie left home at a young age, so Maggie wasn’t raised with him, but she has made an effort to keep in touch. Ernie doesn’t care much for family, so it was joyous to be welcomed with such loving arms. We talked about how it must have been very difficult for their mother, being a single mom in those times. Ernie maintains his mom was “just fine,” and feels like HE wasn’t given a fair shake. Maggie said he left home early, and went into the service to avoid going to jail for teen vandalism. Ernie disputes this story. Whatever, it doesn’t matter, because we’ve now found blood relatives that prove there is good in that family tree! Ernie happens to have been married to his third wife for 40 years now. I think he settled down, but I never observed him to be kind or respectful to his wife. She’s really nice, and worked as a school teacher before she retired. In the past, I heard him call her “dummy” and “fat.” So in my opinion, he’s lucky she’s hung in there with him. We actually ended up visiting Ernie later in the trip, and my newfound understanding of his early life made me feel a lot more charitable towards him. Previously I felt that anybody who would walk out on a pregnant woman, leaving her to raise 2 children with NO support, is pretty much the scum of the earth, and as a mom, I just couldn’t be accepting, warm and loving to such a person.

We had to keep moving, and despite Maggie’s pleas for us to stay a little longer, we invoked the 3-day rule and hit the road towards Phoenix where I have quite a few relatives, not to mention that’s where Ernie lives. We got Maggie to agree to come to California on their planned trip to Hawaii. They will be allowed, and encouraged, to stay 3 days before HI, and 3 days after 😁

10/12-13, Thurs-Fri, driving across TX & NM, heading for AZ

We spent a night at a Walmart parking lot in Ft. Stockton, and I wrote an Allstays review: "Arrived at 9:30 PM, saw about 10 other rigs, and no trucks. It was exceptionally quiet, no problems, and the gas station had the best price on diesel anywhere around. Best Walmart night ever!" The other night was in a crackhead-infested RV park in Tucson, but by golly, we made it to Phoenix! 

One of the convenient things about traveling in an RV is that we can pull into a rest stop, fire up the generator, fix a latte and some toast, or maybe a grilled cheese sandwich, and be back on the road in less than half an hour. Oh, latte, you ask? Yep. I pack my Nespresso machine when we go camping. Even with it along, we still spent about a hundred bucks at Starbucks over the 2 months. But we saved a lot more than that. I simply MUST have my latte in the morning.

Food coma?

Knowing we’d be heading through southern New Mexico, Bill started salivating over the thought of green chili for lunch, so I read the reviews, and we landed at Nellie’s. Worth it! It's a family business with good people and good food. Then a quick visit to the Ristaman, where we bought ristas and chili powders to bring back as souvenirs, then back on the road.

That's a lot of chilies

Ristaman was a fun spicy place

Love the packaging

On the way to Phoenix, I picked up a message from my cousin Mary Ruth, who had noted our travels posted on Facebook. Seems she and her husband were in their Phoenix rental, hosting her brother and his family who were in town for his wife’s graduation ceremony for her online master’s program. And when were we going to be able to see them??? I was caught totally off guard, as I thought they were in Canada. “Uh, how ‘bout in an hour?” They were all just hanging out anyway, so we were able to stop and have a lovely visit. Wendy and I took Cooper for a walk around the complex. Because the pavement was so hot, we had to alternate carrying him. For such a little guy, he weighs a ton!

 

Bill, Wendy, David, Mary Ruth

Cooper

 We had to push on though, because our next date was with my cousin from the other side of the family at 1:00. She had arranged for even more cousins to come over for a gathering of the clan. It was a bit chaotic, but we were able to get in quick visits with a lot of cousins, and also met for breakfast the next day. Thanks to everyone - Linn, John & Emma for hosting, and so many for coming... Dennis & Tonnie, Kristin, Ginny & Larry and family, Bryn, and maybe more... no pics due to being in the moment, and that's a good thing. My cousin Linn loves whipped cream in a big way. She and my mom used to revel in sharing it whenever we got together. So Honey, if you’re watching, here’s to you! 

In a sad note, we met cousin Frankie’s daughter, who was faced with moving her parents to a different assisted living home. Both parents have Alzheimer’s, and I admire the strength their daughter has in dealing with this heartbreak. Ending ALZ is a personal thing for me, as I have spent many years supporting the work of the Alzheimer's Assn. 

10/15, Sunday -  We needed to either hit the road or find a place to stay before heading to the Grand Canyon. Although he didn’t know we were coming, we stopped by to see Bill’s father Ernie and his wife Eileen. His health has deteriorated a lot since we last saw him. Well, he’s 82 and diabetic, so it’s not entirely unexpected. And he mostly lives on a diet of mashed potatoes, tempered with insulin injections. His hearing, teeth, and eyesight are all pretty much shot, so he’s not a happy fellow. I gathered up all the compassion I could muster, and had a pretty normal visit. By the end of the visit, he was more than willing to let us take them out for dinner, and he implored us to stay overnight. It did my heart good to see him working with Bill to figure out how to power our RV from the garage. Luckily it wasn’t too hot that night, so we were able to get by on low amp service, just running a fan rather than the AC all night. In the morning they led us out through the neighborhood, avoiding the heavy traffic on the main road. Their golf cart was recently stolen (a big problem in senior communities), so they were proud of their new baby.

We didn't know it at the time, but we were about to embark on the most adventurous part of our trip as we headed up to the Grand Canyon and other National Parks. Tune in for Part 6, the final leg of our journey.