The Pride Is On The Move!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Happy Birthday to John

Yesterday was John's birthday so we celebrated and honored him with a day filled with fun, food and relaxation. He wanted pork chops, eggs, biscuits and gravy for breakfast, bar-b-que for dinner and German chocolate cake for dessert, plus a massage mid-afternoon, so he (and we) all had a great day and went to bed with smiles on our faces!! Plus, it was Mardi Gras, so we decorated the camper with a few beads and even wore our masks for a little bit as we celebrated :-).

The bar-b-que place that we went to dinner...it was really yummy!!

Kids in their Mardi Gras masks...

John in his mask...looks like Gladiator-huh-?!?

Me in my mask

"Happy birthday to you..."

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Hot Springs National Park

The "hot spring" of Hot Springs National Park!

On Monday afternoon, we took a trip into Hot Springs (Arkansas) National Park, which was not at all what we expected. We envisioned lush, wooded forests with natural, bubbling hot springs that would be enjoyable for all to swim and play in...what we found was an old town, with a small row of adult-only "bath houses", that were popular in the early 1900's where the wealthy people would come to "cure" whatever might ail them!! So, since there was no place for the family to enjoy the hot springs together, sadly we had to leave the kids at the camper while John and I went and soaked a couple of times for his birthday. We had originally planned to stay a full week here, but we decided to hit the road this morning (Wednesday) and head back down into northern Louisiana where we found a gem of a state park near Lake Claiborne to spend a few days until we begin making the trek across Texas. So, we tried to make the best of our time in Arkansas for the few days that we were here, but we are looking forward what adventures may be ahead!! Blessings to all of our family and friends that we love and miss so much :-)

One of the two remaining bath houses that are still in business...no children allowed :-(

The other operational adult-only bath house.

A huge and really beautiful Army/Navy hospital on the hill over-looking Hot Springs.

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Friday, February 8, 2013

Welcome to Arkansas

This morning, after schooling, we got on the road headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas...home of one of the top ten national parks in the US...Hot Springs NP. We were making great time, until about 30 miles southeast of our destination...then....slam on the breaks (literally... Which is NOT easy to do with our big rig) and come to a screeching halt!! Praise The Lord for John's alert driving and quick reflexes...he got us shut down in good order!! We are very much thankful that we are safe, not part of the accident that is apparently up ahead and that we have food, drinks, a place for the kids to play AND toilets, right behind us!! So far we have been at a stand-still (not one inch of movement!!) on I-30 for almost and hour and a half, with now relief insight. After nine months of being on the road, this is our first major accident/slow-down, so we have nothing to complain about!! Plus, we are praying for whom ever was in the accident up ahead....

Life on I-30 at the moment...

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Last Night in New Orleans

Our spot to watch the parade go by...

Our time in New Orleans would not be complete without a Mardi Gras parade, and lucky for us, the family friendly parades began on Wed evening, our last night there!! Here are a few pictures of our first (and only) Mardi Gras parade. I apologize for the picture quality, our iPod doesn't take very good photographs in low lighting. We pulled out of New Orleans yesterday morning, after one more breakfast of beignets, and began making our way north. Overall, we had a GREAT time in the "Big Easy" and we were glad to get out when we did...before the craziness of Mardi Gras begins!!

"Old Glory" leading the way!!

A marching band...

The cheerleaders...

The floats...

The jazz band in the gutted school bus...

More floats...

Spectators of all sizes...

Do you think they got enough beads?

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Touring the Garden District of New Orleans

We started in another cemetery...LaFayette Cemetery of the Garden District

Our last tour was of the Garden District of N.O....this is where some of the huge, old, "plantationish" homes are. Even some famous people live there now!! These were really beautiful...the pictures really don't do them justice!

The home where the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons" was filmed. This was the nursing home where he grew up in ( in the movie)

The home where the actor John Goodman lives.

The home of Sandra Bullock

Look at this fantastic cast iron work!!

Huge house on the corner of the street...this one was breathtaking!!

Sooooo pretty!!

For all of you sports fans...this is the home where Payton and Eli Manning grew up...their parents still live there. Can you picture these brothers playing football together on the lawn?!

If you look very closely, you will see at this cast iron fence has stalks of corn all lined up...this fence was the most expensive of all of the fences in the Garden District!

I HAD to take a picture of this beautiful tree...learned it was a "Japanese magnolia" and it blooms in Jan/Feb. I wish these would grow in NM!!

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Touring the Sites of New Orleans

Our National Park tour guide through the French Quarter.

Here are more pictures of New Orleans, still in the French Quarter...all the way to the Mississippi River and through some of the many famous cemeteries in the area.

The St Louis Cemetary #1

A local bookstore...absolutely love these kiddos who love to read and learn!!

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Thursday, February 7, 2013

New Orleans, Louisiana

We arrived on Monday (the day after the Superbowl, which had just been hosted by New Orleans) and settled into our fully gated campground that is located right in the hub of all the activity. This was great because we could just walk wherever we needed to go and not have to mess with parking our big truck!! So, we crammed in LOTS of walking and lots of sightseeing in the "Big Easy" for the two days that we were there!! It will take several blogs to cover all of the cool things we have seen...in this first one, I'll show parts of the "French Quarter"...some of the oldest parts of the city!

The public square/park/garden in front of the church where people gather and play music.

St. Louis Cathedral in the "old town" area of New Orleans. The original church that was built in this same site was the first Catholic Church in Louisiana, built in 1718.