Doryman's Meanderings

[Doryman]

We got up early (well, earlier!) and made 357 miles today, through Phoenix and Tucson to Benson (40 miles east of Tucson.) Here's a photo of the rig at a "rest stop" (no bathroom facilities) between Phoenix and Tucson




For all you Ike fans out there, here he is on his back-seat "throne."



We've come 1892 miles thus far, with 1732 miles to go. Tomorrow: Texas!

Warren

[hardee]

Warren,

Good luck on your Waycross

T....................e...................................x..............................................a.........................................................s

Harvey
SleepyC

[Doryman]

Sonora, TX

One of the challenges of driving in Texas is that you can't always drive the exact distance you want every day, because towns along I-10 are fairly widely spaced. This means that sometimes you have to stop earlier than you'd like because the next town is too far down the road for the current day's drive. But sometimes things work out the way you want, and yesterday we made 400 miles to Van Horn. We heard on the news that freezing rain was expected the next morning, so we delayed our departure until about 10 a.m., and I am glad we did because there were numerous indications that early-morning driving was quite treacherous. Our truck was covered in ice when we went out to get it loaded.

Fortunately, by the time we left, the ice was off the road, although the rain continued to fall and form ice on the windshield. We had to stop once to scrape off the windshield and wiper blades, but eventually we left the rain behind and enjoyed 45 degree temps the rest of the drive to Sonora. We decided to stop here early, after driving 261 miles, and from 4 to 6 we completed the job of offloading gear from the truck into the boat. Not everything is stowed away, but most of the important gear is now on board.

Tomorrow we are going to try to do some sight-seeing in San Antonio.

On a more geeky note, I came up with a minor hack involving the blog I have been posting these comments to (for family and non-Brat friends) and my SPOT. One of the addresses I set up for SPOT was the address that allows me to make posts via email. If you click on the link to the blog you will see the SPOT-generated blog post!

Warren

[Doryman]

Today we drove into San Antonio to do some sightseeing. Wow, the highways in this town are a maze of narrow, twisting lanes, frequently under construction. But thanks to the miracle that is a GPS system we made it to the downtown square where the Alamo is located. Here is Lori at that iconic Texas location.



Just like being in a church: men have to remove their hats and no one can take photos. On reflection, that's not a bad comparison: the Alamo is the cathedral of Texas culture.

After returning to the KOA campground where we are staying, we spent another couple hours stowing stuff away in the boat. It is impressive how much you can pack away in a boat if you really try!

Tomorrow we are headed to Louisiana!

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Warren and Lori,

Did you make it to the RiverWalk? That is one of my favorite parts of San Antonio - the shops, the water taxis... may even still be some holiday lights along the river.

San Antonio is one of the oldest cities in Texas. It seems to get "overlooked" with some of the other large cities in the state, but it is the 8th largest city in the country.

Try to time your passage through Houston to avoid rush hour times.

Travel safe and keep us posted.

Best wishes,
Jim

[Discovery]

Warren and Lori,

Good to see you are making progress toward Florida. The roads in Houston are mostly free of construction. However from Houston, east on I-10, its a mess most of the way to the Louisiana border. There are miles of barrier wall bordered road with two narrow lanes. At least that's what we found west bound on I-10. Just slow down and definitely try to avoid the rush hours.

Louisiana has overlaid most of the rough jointed concrete on I-10. Its much improved over what we found in 2007. Unless you intend to see New Orleans, stay on I-12 to bypass that area.

Brent

[Doryman]

Jim -- we did make it to RiverWalk (so close to the Alamo it's hard not to!) and we walked quite a way down, but discovered that the water level was way down for some sort of maintenance. It will be back up by Friday. I would have enjoyed a water taxi ride.

Brent -- I had to chuckle about your warnings about I-10 from Houston to Louisiana because we are now in Lafayette, at a KOA, and have survived the construction. Bob suggested that we make sure to get through Houston by 2 pm -- good advice! What road did you take to Florida?

We are planning to drive a short distance to the New Orleans KOA and go into the city for dinner, if we can find some sort of public transportation to the French Quarter. We have been advised not to try to drive in.

Warren

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Warren,

The French Quarter is an interesting place... let the good times roll! A few things to consider:

Definitely get begnets at the Cafe du Monde. Have a muffaletta sandwich. Stroll down Bourbon Street and have a Hurricane (don't drive afterwards). Keep your hand on your wallet. Not all the girls are girls in that area. Watch the street performers and give 'em a buck. It's a different world there after dark. The proper call for beads is "Throw me somethin', Mister!" (Lori will have better luck with this than you, unless you wander too far down on Bourbon Street )

Have fun.

Best wishes,
Jim

PS I-10 all the way into Florida.

[Captains Cat]

Warren, you can park on the main streets all around the French Quarter and walk in. They shut down Bourbon Street after dark for all traffic (only police and emerg vehicles are allowed). It's pretty easy to find parking this time of year. Don't try it around Mardis Gras....

A fun place for a short time, once or twice....

Charlie

[flrockytop]

Hi Warren,

If your in N.O. this week-end make sure you look up Marc from Wefings. He's at the boat show.

Roger

[Doryman]

Well, no New Orleans for us this direction. The Admiral issued orders that today was the day to make the boat shipshape (I can let things slide but she can't!) Plus, driving has been hard on her and she does need some downtime to recuperate, so we have spent a quiet day in the campground, really getting the boat organized. I have to admit, it is time well-spent because now when we get to the cruising grounds we will be all organized (or mostly so.) It will make getting going less stressful. We have never packed for this length of time away from the truck before, so it is a learning experience.

Tomorrow the plan is to get to Camp Thataway.

Warren

[hardee]

Warren, great thread, fun to go along vicariously. Great Dr Bob for us and you travel safe. Looks like the PNW may have survived another recordsetter. Thanks for the photo of Alamo. Ben a long time since I was there. In those days, the river walk was NOT the place to be. Not pretty and not safe. Glad to hear it has been much improved.

Harvey
SleepyC

[thataway]

Marie and I had the pleasure of hosting Warren and Lori for a day and a half at Camp Thatway. What extra-ordinary people they are. As we talked the question came up, if there is any other forum which has the extended family that the C Brats have? My answer is "No". I have been in some local organizations and groups with depth of relationships, but I cannot think of any national/international group which has the closeness that is found in our group.

Roger and Mary Jo Rockwell also joined us for Dinner (thanks for the crabs and Shrimp!). It is more than the boats which bind our group--and I have met the most wonderful people through this forum.

Warren and Lori drove to Apalachicola today. I'm not sure if they will catch up with the rapidly moving Marc or not. After a couple of weeks with days in the 70's and nights in the 50's it plumeted yesterday to about 45 wind chill during the day, and down to 32 at night--colder later this week. Not all of Florida is the tropical paradise.

Good traveling Warren and Lori--we will see you in a couple of months.

[Wefings]

Marc is wishing he was there to meet the Warren and Lori crew , perhaps on the way back up . This is the season of working harder . In Atlanta and then to Stuart and Miami . I sincerely hope we cross paths . I am counting on Jef and Doug,Alan and Jeremy [otherwise known as Team Wefings] to get the boat stuff done for you . Ill be posting updates on a regular basis . Have fun In Fl .
Marc

[Doryman]

Like Bob said, we came to Florida to find the warm. Since it's 43 outside this evening, obviously we haven't found it yet! Here are Bob and Lori at the shore. It was cold!



We had such a wonderful time getting to know Bob better, and meeting Marie and her "Momma" for the first time. Educational, too! As might be imagined, the discussion usually came back to boats, boats, and more boats. Here are Bob and Roger:



Dinnertable discussion gave us ideas for several excellent cruising destinations in the area, when we return north -- after it warms up!

On Sunday, Bob gave us the full geographical, socio-economic, political, maritime and military tour of Pensacola. We identified the best place to launch the boat when we return, and some places to visit while cruising in the area. Then we toured the Naval Aviation Museum, located on the grounds of NAS Pensacola. One exhibit at the museum gave me an idea for a new C-Dory:



We are now finishing up two days in Apalachicola on Florida's "Forgotten Coast" while the boat was being serviced by Wefings Marine. Nothing was wrong with the boat but we wanted to get it checked out and have regular maintenance performed before we launched. By happenstance we ended up staying at the Coombs House Inn bed and breakfast here -- a most luxurious experience!

Tomorrow we continue our journey south. Thanks, Bob and Marie, Roger and Mary Jo, and Team Wefings!

Warren