January 11, 2013 by Rae

Truck Trouble

I went out this afternoon to run some errands. I pulled into a mall parking lot, parked, cut the engine, and got out only to notice that I really wasn’t parked far enough into the slot. I got back in and happened to notice that the gas pedal felt really loose. I tried to start the truck and it revved really hard like I had given it a ton of gas! I turned it off and tried to turn it on again, but the engine would not turn.

So, in a strange city, it’s getting dark, and it’s about to pour. I used the GPS to get a few repair place numbers and everyone was, “Sorry, we’re closing right about now and we couldn’t get anyone to you till Monday.”

Living out in the middle of nowhere right now, being on foot was not an option! I had a gut feeling that I had only about 45 minutes, to 6PM, to find a tow and get my butt to a rental car company. I was right.

I went into the mall to ask security about just leaving the truck in the lot over the weekend. Only till Monday, but they were concerned about vandalism or theft. So the awesome mall security lady called a tow company and then started calling around the rental car places. Enterprise promised not to close if I could get there by 6:00.

The tow truck came expediently and the driver was amazing. I had no idea where to take the truck of course and he gave me the name of a Ford dealership, saying he would drop it there and have them call me in the morning. But, first, he would drop me off at Enterprise. He got the truck loaded and we tore out of there like a bat out of hell. I’m not kidding. This guy ran every red light he could safely to get me to Enterprise for 5:58.

There, he wrote up my contract while I ran inside to secure a car. Their computers were down, so they got my info and started work on a handwritten contract while I finished up with the tow guy. Tow: $85, plus a $5 tip.

He left and I went back inside to learn that I was being upgraded to a fancy car for the price of their cheapest car. Mine not to question why, but this is an example of why I never rent from anyone but Enterprise.

The more I think about this, the more I think this breakdown occurred in the best way possible. Had it happened tomorrow, who knows where I would have been and my day would have been completely shot. At least, I can still take off and do something if I want to, although I am beginning to feel that tomorrow is going to be a home day as I am exhausted. Plus, I don’t want to spend too much money until I know how much the truck is going to cost me to fix. 🙁

Hey, at least this didn’t happen during the road trip yesterday…

January 11, 2013 by Rae

New Orleans!

I made it!!! And those exclamation point are because the bit on US-90 between I-10 and the park entrance were harrowing!!! OMG, the wind kept battering the rig and people were zipping in and out and slamming on their brakes and reducing my stopping distance to zero and tailgaters were honking at me like my smoking the brakes was my fault. It was just like Montreal! Why?! Because these drivers and I share the same ancestors! It must be in French Canadian blood to drive like a lunatic!

Um, now that I’ve got that out of my system, let’s go back to Mississippi. 🙂

It was so good to see Biloxi open for business. That the region has managed to rebuild after the devastation wrought by Katrina is a testament to the notion of home as being a physical location. As the camphost here said, “What else could we do but rebuild because where else could we have gone?”

Louisiana welcomed me in French!

I stopped at the welcome centre and got a ton of state tourist info IN FRENCH. I grabbed a pile of tourist brochures and the helpful lady at the front desk organized them by location so that I can plan an efficient itinerary. At the minimum I’d like to do the French Quarter one day, a bus tour of New Orleans another day, and then go out and do a swamp tour.

The lady thought it was cool that I’m from Alberta and I replied that I’m really French Canadian from Quebec and I wish my ancestors had been smart and gone south instead of staying in the frigid north. I’m not saying I would have wanted to be part of the Acadian Expulsion, but I come from a long line of explorers. Couldn’t they have looked south just a teeny bit? 🙂

You have to cross huge Lake Pontchartrain to get to the Big Easy:

First glimpse of New Orleans:

I am staying at Bayou Segnette State Park where $18 (off season rate!) a night gets you power (20, 30, or 50), water, and FREE laundry!

I continue to have the best timing in the world and have apparently landed at the start of Mardi Gras season (which I thought was at least a month later) so the campground is nearly full. I am stuck in a ‘double’ which means another rig could put in right next to me on the same pad. But I picked the best ‘double’ available so that I will never have a neighbour on my passenger side, and therefore a clear view from the office.

There is an extremely expensive RV park right in the French Quarter, but one night there is the same price as five nights here. I don’t plan to be out after dark, so this location is a good compromise. I can drive less than half an hour and catch a FREE pedestrian ferry right to the French Quarter!

There is concern that there will be no more availability past my checkout date of Wednesday, but I’ll cross that bridge when I have to. I have to stick around until my general delivery parcel arrives.

It’s pretty cool thanks to a nice breeze but quite muggy out. I thought it was going to storm, but now I’m not so sure. Anyway, I can run the AC no problem to bring the humidity down if I need to. Right now, I have all the windows, roof hatches, and front door open and it’s quite lovely and comfortable!

January 11, 2013 by Rae

Muggy Mississippi Morning

I am paused for a very early lunch at the second Mississippi rest area on I-10 westbound from Alabama.

It was a hot night in Atmore and I awoke to cloying mugginess. By 7:30, the sun was shining brightly. So much for the forecast!

I took it really slow this morning as I only had about 300KM to drive. I’d hooked up the night before, so I thought I would have an easy pull out. HA HA HA HA.

Signage and directions in the Wind Creek parking lots are poor and I wound up driving straight into a dead end unloading area with no place to turn around! Thankfully, I was able to pull into a quiet area in a straight enough line to unhook. A nice gentleman helped me back the motorhome out of there once the truck was out of the way. GAH. Anyway, unhooking without any pressure isn’t too bad.

If the next few days are anything like today, I will be glad to have shore power when I get to New Orleans! In fact, if I have the choice, I will get 30A rather than 15A.