The Long Road Home

Graham  Cave State Park

The decision was made, home it was.  Well, wait a minute that is long way.  It was not exactly a speedy drive home and we did not take the fastest route either.   We opted for I70 through Indiana and Missouri and then getting off the interstate and taking some of the less traveled routes through Kansas and western Oklahoma.  We did an overnighter somewhere in Indiana just before Indianapolis. Hot.  It was hot.   It was pretty miserable in the RV after a long day of travel. It takes awhile for the RV to cool off when it gets this hot.  Plus the whole stretch of I70 in Indiana is in bad shape.  We had a frustrating time getting fuel in this state. We found out the interstate truck stops handle commercial diesel pumping different than private vehicles.  Save yourself the hassle and use only the passenger pumps if they have them.   Let’s get out of this state!  

Lazy Day Campground

Whew, crossing over into Illinois was like a breath of fresh air.   The roads were in better shape and the trucking traffic thinned out.  We decided  to find a place to stay for a few days and take break while the heat spell passed.  We found Lazy Day Campground about 40 miles west of St. Louis, MO.  What an unexpected joy that turned out to be.  It is a pretty little park with a pool and the owner takes great pride in the gardens around the grounds.  Two days turned into five.  

 It turned out to be an interesting area.   We explored a cave used by early Native Americans in nearby Graham Cave State Park.  Daniel Boone also made this area his home in his later days. The town of Hermann  located on Missouri river is a short scenic drive from the RV park. It was an early German settlement noted for wineries that pre-dated the infamous Prohibition days.  The local farmers at the time helped hide some of the equipment before all the fields were burned and the wineries destroyed. In the late 6o’s some of historic wineries were bought and the area started restoring the vineyards.  Wine making has returned to the area in a big way.  I hear they have one wild Oktoberfest due to the German heritage.  We toured the town and enjoyed lunch at the beautiful Stone Hill Winery.    Do take the tour and sample the wines.     

Stone Hill 

Just down the road a piece from Lazy Day is the historic Crane's Country Store .  It is still  an operational store but the owners are happy to let you walk around and check out the antiques strewed around the merchandise.   Next door is a small museum and restaurant.  I suspect that popular restaurant chain Cracker Barrel was based on this place.  Come see the genuine article for yourself. What a fun place to explore!

Crane's Country Store

We hitched up and continued down I70 past Kansas City and  turned onto I35 through the Flint Hills  of Kansas.  Unfortunately,  it was just too hot to explore the area.  We did an overnighter in El Dorado, Kansas and headed out on RT 54.  I enjoyed this part of Kansas and the western panhandle of the Oklahoma It was a nice break from always taking I40 through this part of the country.  One last overnighter in the panhandle of OK at Corral Drive-In.  A fun RV park with an attached drive-in that shows movies on the weekends!

A cold front moved in overnight for the last day of travel.  Sigh of relief. We entered New Mexico via RT 54 and onto I40 in Tucumcari.   Wait! Is this New Mexico? Eastern NM was unexpectedly green.  Monsoon season has arrived!  Amazing how fast rain changes the desert landscape.  Just one more stop at Joseph’s for lunch in Santa Rosa.  That first bite of green chile is always so yummy.  And  then home it was! That's all for this time around. Now it’s time to unpack – ugg.

Corral Drive-In

Note:  We arrived  home on July 27th 2014. All was well with homestead although we did lose some large pinyon trees due to the bark beetle.  Guess those monsoon rains were too late to save them.

Around the Shore

Sunset from our RV site

We moved about 150 miles along the shore line to another one of the Greats, this time Lake Erie.  The area is similar  to Wilson but you are in Pennsylvania and on Lake Erie instead of Lake Huron.   We found a RV park not too far from the town of Erie and near the Ohio border.   The RV Park was right on the water but a bit on the run down side filled with seasonal weekenders.  That seems to be the case with most of the RV parks around the Great Lakes and East Coast.  Quiet on the weekdays but a bit of zoo on the weekends.  It advertised as having a beach but that was a stretch. No sand and you shared it with a small boat ramp.    If swimming is what you're after the beaches at Presque Isle State Park in the town of Erie is the way to go.  Our site  was on the water so the view made up for some of the shortcomings. We had a few campfires and watched the beautiful sunsets and moonrises.  We happened to be there for a super full moon, it was spectacular!  A few of the nights some of the fellow campers lit candle powered lanterns over the shores. Must be the new thing to do these days. We saw them few times in our travels  You would burn the whole state down if someone did this in New Mexico! Still it was pretty to watch.

The town of Erie was close by and we spent a few days exploring Presque Isle and the town.  They did a nice job of preserving the history. Captain Oliver Perry wintered in Misery Bay during the War of 1812.  One day we took another drive to the town of North East where a Cherry Festival was going on except it was only open at night during the weekdays. Oh well,  it was a nice drive anyway but I did want some of that cherry pie.   Guess I’ll settle for root beer in a frosted mug.  We found this little gem of place  White Turkey Drive-In just across the border in Ohio.

My son-law’s mom Lori happened to live about two hours away in Ohio.  We met for dinner one night about half way.  We had a nice dinner chatting and comparing notes on JR and Emily.  Oh, I bet their ears were ringing that night!

Lori and me

The weather turned quite blustery and along with the lake being churned up came a mayfly infestation! It was apocalyptic crazy, you could even hear a high pitch sound from them swarming.  Time to hitch up and move on down the road! Hmm, where to next?  The weekend is coming again and we better find an RV park. We decided to move the Huron, PA area.  We found a pretty park on the Huron River but again once that weekend come around  it was nuts!  Spent  a few days in the area exploring, there is the big amusement park Cedar Point nearby which we decided to skip.  Our bones are past the days of enjoying this type of excitement.  Decision time was at hand again.  Do we continue up around the Great Lakes and then head on over to the Chicagoland area to visit family in August?  It was getting harder to find places on the weekends, so we decided to start the long trek home. We figured once we moved away from the water and West that problem would go away.  So home it was!

Presque Isle Beaches

Monument to Captain Perry

Trail on Presque Isle

The Falls

Originally we were thinking of heading to the Adirondacks but the 4^th of July holiday weekend was coming soon. It became apparent that all the RV parks in that area were full.  We opted to go to Niagara Falls.  How is it that I made it this far in life without seeing them? 

We found the small Daisy Barn Campground on the shores of Lake Ontario near Wilson, NY.  The daisies growing around the barn were in full bloom when we arrived.  It also has great views of the Lake Ontario with spectacular sunsets. The skyline of Toronto  was visible on a clear day and silhouetted by an orange sky at sunset.  Rolling hills, fields of grapes, old Victorian houses and sailboats, that describes the area.   The roads were bigger and no carriage dodging either.   Yup, I think this will suit us fine to wait out the holiday weekend.  Did I say wineries?  Plenty of them to visit as well.

Daisy Barn Campground

One of the days we took a drive to the nearby town of Lockport on the Erie Canal.  You can walk along the locks or take tour boat of the locks.  It is an interesting bit of our nation’s earlier industrial days.   Another day we drove down to the nearby town of Newfane and Olcott Beach.  It has a fun little pier with a few shops and a small amusement park that has a carousel and old fashion band organ.    They do have size restrictions and it is strictly for the kiddies but all the rides are 50 cents.  What a deal! Our hats off to the town of Newfane for preserving a little bit of Americana.

Wilson Boat House

We opted not to visit Niagara Falls till after the holiday weekend but we did drive to the area and checked out a few of the smaller state parks and towns. We were about 18 miles from  the town of Niagara Falls and it was an easy drive via the Robert Moses Parkway.  Seriously, there was hardly anyone ever on the parkway and it is a straight shot to the Falls.    It would have been a beautiful day to see the Falls but the closer we got to Goat Island the more the traffic gridlocked.   We found a small coffee shop in a nearby town instead and enjoyed the weather.   We also got few tips from the locals about how to see the Falls. 

 The 4^th itself was a day for a barbeque and watching fireworks. Oh, and some of that local wine.    The RV park had an impressive fireworks display right on the water and it was fun to meet some of our fellow RV’ers.   Just a very nice day indeed! The next day Jack and I celebrated our 11^th wedding anniversary.  We had dinner in nearby Wilson at the historic Wilson Boat House Restaurant.   It was hard to decide whether to eat in or out.  The restaurant is beautiful!  We opted for outside dining and sailboat watching.  Very good food too!  Yum!

That's me getting wet on Hurricane Deck!

Ok, it was finally time to see those Falls!  I was getting impatient.  We ended up going on just about the worse day weather wise.  It was a cloudy day that turned into a very rainy day!  But it did not matter we were going to get wet one way or the other.  And walking in the rain under a shared umbrella over Rainbow Bridge was romantic. Right?  Well we ended up getting really really wet!  Here is the way we decided to see the Falls.  Everyone says the best view is from the Canadian side and that is true but it is also about twice as expensive.
 We went to the American side as we were told the parking at Goat Island is best for big oversized pickup trucks. Parking is $10.  You can ride a trolley around the area for $2.00 each and get off at various viewing points and attractions.   You can pay for each attraction separately or purchase a pass that will get you into all the attractions for about $36 dollars.    It is a much better deal than the Canadian side where parking is $20 and the bus pass is $7 each  and that does not include any of the boat rides or attractions.    We opted for doing the Maid of Mist and Cave of the Winds.

Jack on the Maid of the Mist

  Later we walked over to the Canadian side via the Rainbow Bridge to see the views and eat lunch. We also ended up buying  two of those pricey Canadian bus passes and an umbrella to boot, eh, because by that time it was raining waterfalls. Don’t forget your passport to cross back and forth.  And keep a few quarters handy for the crossing back into the USA.  It cost 50 cents per person.   They are magnificent any way you do them! Even in the rain!    You must see them for yourself, pictures and words do not do them justice.  We went back the next night to see them illuminated and caught part of the fireworks show over the falls.  Again it turned out to be an easy drive and parking was free at night.  It was worth staying up past our bedtime!

Click for more Pics!

The Farm that Time Forgot

Where next? Back in time!  Well, sort of but not really.  We headed out of Delaware to Lancaster county in Pennsylvania.  A land filled with picturesque farms, rolling hills, farm animals, and horse and buggy rides.  Picture post card perfect! The roads are winding, the farms immaculate and meticulously maintained.  Sigh.  Screech! These same winding two lanes roads are shared by a billion or so automobiles dodging horse carriages.  Yes, we were in the not so rural countryside where a large community of Amish and Mennonites call home.  So beautiful but turns out it has turned into a big tourist destination.  Bus loads of folks visiting to see how life was in a simpler time.  Visiting the many shops filled with crafty home décor, stopping at roadside farm stands, taking carriage rides.  I began to wonder how much was genuine and how much was show.  I have mixed feelings about the area.  Plus, the Amish and Mennonites were not overly friendly and always seemed surprise when I would say hello or ask a question at one of those many farm stands.  I guess it is to be expected if your lifestyle and religious choices were paraded as a tourist attraction.

We stayed in Intercourse, PA in a little RV park called Beacon Hill right in town.  Pretty enough but the sites were tight and staggered on a steep hill.  It was right across from a working Mennonite farm.  It was fun to watch the workings of the farm.  The field would light up with lightening bugs ( you may call them fireflies) at night bringing back wonderful childhood memories.  We do not have lightening bugs in New Mexico.  It was magical.  

The traffic became wearing after a few days.  These roads are narrow and not meant for being shared by both automobiles and horse carriages often making for harrowing near collisions. Plus, getting anywhere was confusing.  You never quite had a real sense of direction, even our GPS systems seemed to whack out.  We often drove right by our destinations never realizing it because nothing was marked.  One day we visited the Mascot Roller Mill and Ressler Home.  It was very interesting and worth getting lost.  It was of one of those places we drove by twice!  And the Lapp Family farm (we missed the turn three times for this one) has a dairy store where you can get wonderful homemade ice cream in a homemade waffle cone.   The cows are right there along with where they make the ice cream and butter.   They allow you to walk along the grounds but ask that women dress respectfully – no shorts or low cut tops if you want to watch them milk the cows.    I felt judged.

The town of Hershey was also nearby, that Mecca of chocolate making.  It was free to visit the store. It was not what I was expecting.  It was much more like Disney Theme Park than a factory tour complete with singing robot cows and an amusement park which is not free.   I'd recommend passing on this unless you have small children.   It is very much a tourist trap and crazy crowded.  Another day we visited the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania   in nearby Strasburg.  It was impressive and worth a visit whether or not you are a train buff.  Across the street is the Strasburg Railroad offering a train ride in the nearby countryside.  Jack and I did not do this,  but it did look like it would be  fun to do especially with children.

We ended staying here longer than expected due to our dog Wodi needing the removal of a benign tumor on his eyelid. He is doing well and fully recovered.  We had to switch RV parks  mid stay because no availability at Beacon Hill.  The second park was larger and sites more level but had an odd vibe.  Or maybe it was me and I was ready to move on, but  it was next to one of those farm stands. Hmmmm, I smell fresh baked bread.   Maybe I'll get some of that bread first.

De La Warr

The Smith cousins

The next few weeks were spent visiting family in South Carolina and then Virginia.  We had a good ole time enjoying all the nieces and nephews and their children. Lots of hugging and eating all around! Jack even had a chance to reconnect with some of his cousins.  The three of them have not been together in one place in over 30 years!  They haven’t changed a bit ;)  It was funny to notice that they all had beards.

Lake Fairfax

 Lake Fairfax Park is located just outside of DC.  It was close to my nephew’s home and worth mentioning.  Electric and water only but it was a pretty and unexpected oasis in the midst of the very congested urban sprawl of Washington DC.  It would make good base if you are planning on visiting the DC area in a RV.  We opted out of venturing into the capital proper this time as the focus was on visiting family.  I do have older posts on both areas.

It was time to move on and go on diet!  We headed to one of those states not conveniently located on the Eastern seaboard.   Tucked away just east of the DC craziness and the other side of Maryland is Delaware.  Sigh.  Glad to be out of the traffic and off the 495 beltway that circles DC.  We crossed over on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (not to be confused with Chesapeake Tunnel Bridge).  Hmm,  Chesapeake , now  that’s a name I think I learned something about a long time ago in school.   Way back there was a Lord De La Warr,  he crossed  the Big Pond to help out the Jamestown Colony in the early days of our country's history.  He later became the first governor of the Virginia colony and eventually had the state of Delaware named after him.  Turns out Jack’s nephew John David has been researching the family tree and that same person is Jack’s great grandfather 11 times removed. Who knew!

Cypress Trees at Trap Pond

Delaware check. Delaware is a small state and one of three states Jack and I have not visited. We can check this one off.   Now we just have to get to Rhode Island and North Dakota and we will have seen all 50 states together.  Delaware was a pleasant mix of rural farm lands, coastal tourist towns, small towns and some genuinely friendly folks.  We stayed in the older Trap Pond State Park, noted for having one of the northernmost stands of natural growing Cypress trees in the US.   It is a pretty park with some really big old trees which makes some of the sites (water and electric only)  difficult to navigate.     Unfortunately, it also has deer ticks so do wear bug repellent if walking any of the trails and check for ticks afterwards.  We found some of those nasty Lyme disease carrying suckers on Jack.  Yuck!  A quick note about the park, it fills up on the weekends with local families and gets quite busy.  However, during the week it was almost empty and very pleasant.

Delaware Coast

We were thinking at one point on this trip of visiting some of the bigger cities on the Eastern Seaboard.  Philadelphia and New York are just north of Delaware.  We decided not to deal with the problems a big city presents for a RV and opted to go to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania and start heading away from the coast.  I can  already smell the bread baking.

Keys to the Fort

Wait! Is that the sound of palm trees swaying? No, it’s the sound of steel drums playing.  Some call it Margaritaville, forever made famous by the Jimmy Buffet song, and now the obligatory theme song for the Florida Keys.  But for me - give me that Key Lime Pie.  Yum! More please! Yup, we headed down south, way down to the southernmost tip of the continental US.   Nothing beats that warm and brilliant turquoise colored ocean of the Florida Keys.  It always takes my breath away.

Did someone say it's margarita time!

We spent the next week exploring the beaches and enjoying the tropical breezes which happened to be bit on the blustery side the week we were visiting.  But heck it kept the state bird, known more commonly as the mosquito at bay.   We stayed at a smaller RV park in Marathon which is just about smack dab in the middle of the Keys.  We checked out some of the state parks and if money is consideration that is the way to go but they are very popular and hard to get into without plenty of advance booking even in the hot summer months.  One day we visited John PenneKamp Coral Reef State Park and took a snorkeling trip to the reef.  Very reasonably priced and very enjoyable!  I got to see lots of pretty fishies swimming around none which I knew the name of except for the slightly scary barracuda.  Great day in the water!  Another day we visited Key West, that drunken tourist trap of town but still so much fun just the same! 

Just one of the many beaches

We headed back north to Titusville and took a few days to shut down the site before really hitting the road. Bye Bye TGO.  First stop was the Florida\Georgia border.  We decided to check out Fort Clinch State Park and the beaches of Fernandina and Amelia Island.   Very nice area!  The park itself is big with two campgrounds ( water and electric only).  One on the river side and one on the ocean side, both have their merits.   The riverside sites are bigger and shadier which in the heat of early summer made a big difference in keeping the RV cool and comfy.   The ocean side has the beach but is much more exposed.  The  park roads are lined with moss covered oak trees perfect  for a pleasant bike ride or two.  Fort Clinch is within walking distance from the riverside campground so don't forget to visit it for a piece of American history.

Downtown Fernandina Beach

Sunset on the Amelia River

 There is a fun little historical town area nearby with plenty of restaurants and stores.   We had a  fun time exploring the area and enjoying the sunsets.  Jack said to me he has driven by this area quite bit over the years but never stopped, it turned out to be a hidden gem.  

TGO Time

Trail near TGO

So where have I been exactly?  And why haven’t I been blogging?  We spent the last three months in our winter home in Titusville.  Life at The Great Outdoors (TGO) carried on like we never left.  We spruced up the lot and put down new stone pavers and did some landscaping.  It looks very spiffy.   We enjoyed getting there later in the season and as the time went on the place became more of a ghost town as the snowbirds went home.  It was a rough long winter this year for most of the country.   We did sympathize and tried not to rub in the warm weather too much.  

We took a side trip down to Naples again this season and hooked up with family.   We lucked out and were able to get into Collier-Seminole State Park.   Very nice and much more reasonable then the private RV parks down that way.   One night we had a campfire and cookout with the family.  It was good to spend time with my sister Carol, her husband Joe, my brother Paul, and his wife Bonnie.  I call Naples little Chicago as most of the folks down there are from that part of the country escaping the frozen Midwest. Other than the palm trees and warm weather you could swear you are in Chicago by the way everyone talks.

Naples at night

I also  took a solo trip to the homestead in New Mexico.  I checked on the house and baby sat kitty Carlito for Jack’s daughter Jennifer.   I spent some quality time with my daughter Emily, meeting friends,  and eating out a lot.  Emily and husband JR took  me for a hike in the Sandia Mountains for an early Mother’s Day.  My favorite thing to do!   I visited with my brother Bob and his wife Pat.  And the latest addition to the family by way of niece Maggie - baby Bob.  He's a cutie! It was good trip home!  Hope I closed up the house and did not forget to turn off the stove!

Mama owl standing guard

TGO had a busy spring with a variety of wildlife to be seen. We had a pair of baby owls that were the talk of the park.  Jack rescued a baby doe that had gotten trapped in some vines. One morning I saw a bobcat, two young armadillos playing, and a gator all before I had my morning coffee!  Plus there are always a variety of birds to be seen including egrets, osprey, cranes, anhinga, blue herons, turkeys, woodpeckers, cardinals, mocking birds and the ever present vultures.   And don’t forget our resident gator and the guest appearance by his bigger brother Mr. Big Stuff.   We stayed long enough in the year to see both the bottlebrush and magnolia trees bloom on our property.  A little sad to leave but it was time to head North but first it was time to head south for a trip down to margaritaville.  

Mr. Big Stuff

Emerald Coast a Gem

Beach at Topsail

Path to the Beach

Little late with this post but after leaving New Orleans we decided to head straight to Florida and skip the Mobile area. Whew! Finally made it to Florida and the Emerald Coast!  I was looking forward to the  famous beaches of the Sunshine State. This time we opted for one of the Florida State Parks along the coast in this area.  We picked Topsail Hill which is between Destin and Panama City.  The park is now one of my favorites!  It has large well spaced full hookups sites with privacy from your neighbor. The park is right on the Gulf with plenty of the white sand beaches famous in this area.  The beach also has restricted access.  You either have to walk, bike or take the free trolley shuttle to the beach area.   There is also a nice bike trail that runs along the highway 30A  to the nearby little beach towns.  I had good time riding my bike and walking the park trails and enjoying the beach even if it was still a little too cold to swim. There are plenty of restaurants in the area and shopping in Destin if so inclined as well.   We tried to extend our stay but the park filled up and we had to move on.  I highly recommend reservations for this state park; it fills up on weekends even this time of the year. 

Cedar Key

Jack and I had stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Cedar Key a few years ago and decided to revisit this area.  Old Victorian houses and funky little beach hotels.  No big hotels or restaurant chains here just world famous clam chowder with lots of old Florida charm.   There are a few RV parks around the area.  The ones in town are close quarters and we stayed just outside of town.  We could not get into the newer Cedar Key RV Resort and stayed across the street at Angler which could use some sprucing up.  We enjoyed exploring the area and the sunsets on the pier.   Come see for yourself!

We thought we might need some under warranty repairs on the Biff and made an appointment at the Excel dealership near Ocala.  We stayed at Spring RV Resort which is an older well kept park catering to snowbirds. Silver Springs and Juniper Springs are nearby and both worth visiting.  We had few bad days of weather and waited till the sun came out to visit Silver Springs and the historic glass bottom boats rides.  The Florida State Parks recently took over this iconic private park and were busy repairing, restoring and turning it to more of  a nature reserve instead of a tourist trap.  Glad they are preserving this piece of Florida’s past.   The springs are amazing and hard to explain how clear the water actually is until you see if for yourself.   Pictures do not do them justice.  Juniper Springs has boat run where you can canoe or kayak with a shuttle pickup provided by the park.  Next time we come this way we plan on doing that. 

Silver Springs

Turns out we did not need the repairs. We hitched up and headed to Titusville to our home away from home at TGO.  We have not seen our resident gator from last year but it looks like there are three baby gators instead - maybe mama moved to bigger waters?   This will be my last post for a bit since we plan on staying put for awhile. Happy trails everyone!

  

The Big Easy Easier the Second Time Around

French Quarter

This was our second time coming this way through New Orleans and we just had to stop for beignets.  Last time we stayed at a Koa on the west side and although the park was nice the sites were tight and we opted to try St. Bernard’s State Park.  The park has water and electric and is nestled just off the banks of the Mississippi river on the southern shores of Louisiana.  The park is nice with large well spaced site. I imagine summer time would be hot and a mosquito fest.   This time year it was pleasant and beautiful.  However one word of advice, if you come this way from the west drive RT 39 down even if it is out of the way a bit. Google navigated us through the infamous Ward 9 so devastated by hurricane Katrina.   The roads were bad and we stuck out like a large white whale.  Ya just never know how navigation systems are going to take you to save a few miles. 

Levy

The first days yet another winter storm hit the South! One grey day we drove all the way down RT 39 to its end.    The road hugs the banks of the Mississippi but the levy blocked the view of the great river. Once in awhile a glimpse of large freight ship was reminder that she was still there.  This is mostly a rural area and there were signs of getting hit hard by Katrina with quite a few abandoned houses marked with yellow paint on the front doors indicating it had been searched for survivors.  We stopped for lunch at a local establishment and the breaking story on the local news was the conviction of the ex-mayor of New  Orleans on 20 counts of illegal bribes. The now infamous Ray Nagin was mayor during the time of the storm and immediately after during the rebuilding of New Orleans. 

Abandoned Church 

The weather cleared and the days became mild with brilliant blue skies.  We took the Belle Chase ferry also known Plaquemines across the Mississippi and drove into New Orleans proper to visit the French Quarter. It is free and runs every half an hour almost all day.  It was a fun way to get into the city but I would not suggest it with a large RV in tow, strictly for smaller vehicles.   It was getting close to Mardi Gras and New Orleans was starting to wear her party dress.  Green, purple and yellow banners adorned the buildings and music everywhere in the streets.   Last time we passed this way was in late summer and it was too hot to enjoy walking around the French Quarter.  This time it was perfect not too cold or too crowded.  We spent an enjoyable day seeing the sites, eating the food and enjoying the music.  Yes, we did get those beignets at Café Du Monde.  Yum!

Guarding the cemetery

We spent a few more days at St. Bernard’s taking it easy.  We had a nice day after Valentines dinner at a nearby restaurant but did not venture into the Big Easy again.   One night the moon was full and the clouds were moving swiftly in the night sky.  In the distance we heard coyotes howling.  It was beautiful and reminiscent of old black and white classic horror movies.  After all, this area sets the mood for many a tale about vampires, werewolves and voodoo.  It was time for us to say our goodbyes to the magic of New Orleans.

   

St. Louis Cemetery