BLOWOUT!!!!

I had left the restaurant  and was on my way back to the campground when I felt a vibration that was unusual. It began to be more of a thumping and I guessed I had a bad tire. No place to turn off on the Levee Road and no shoulder. I only had 5 miles to go so crossed my fingers then B A M!!! The outside right rear tire exploded and pieces of it started whipping against the motorhome banging like crazy.  Left black marks around the wheel well.

I stopped in the middle of the road. Couldn't change it here. I got my hunting knife and cut away the strips that were hanging out and decided to try and make the campground on the single tire left. I added air to that tire and set off at 12mph for 3 miles.  Luckily I made it. Pulled in, jacked up and put on the new spare I'd bought last trip in Minnesota.

So now I have no spare and have 1,500 miles to get home. Don't even have cell service here so I can't call around.  I'll decide tomorrow; I'm pretty worn out,.

Oh, the puddle in the photo is water from the cab a/c. I kept checking the tranny leak and saw nothing all day?

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Visit the Tabasco Plant and Jungle Island on Avery Island

This morning I left for Avery Island home of Tabasco Sauce. On the way I drove past miles of sugar cane. Don't know if it's for sugar or ethanol. Got to the plant; it was not running. There really wasn't that much to see, it was pretty small. One room with a giant bottle of Tabasco, a movie room, the plant and then a small display room.

The creator of the sauce, Edward McIlhenny was a collector and bird lover. He created a huge sanctuary for egrets which were near to extinction. He gathered many exotic plants, trees & flowers. Plus a 1,000 year old Buddha sitting on a lotus flower! Saw a couple of gators in the ponds but NO birds! There are 20,000 in the Spring. This big park is now called Jungle Island.

I left and headed for Bon Creole Seafood in New Iberia, a place I saw on Google Maps which got good reviews. Sure looks like a dive from outside. I ordered a 1/2 Crawfish Po Boy sandwich, seafood gumbo and a Miller Lite. It came with some potato salad and rice. The sandwich was HUGE but I managed to eat everything. Probably not real healthy but it tasted good!

I left for the campground and then things got nasty...

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Around the Bayou

Just hung around the camp today; had a rotten sleep for some reason. Heard a rustle outside last night, went out with a flashlight and almost stepped on an armadillo! Scared the crap out of me.

Today I hiked around the campground. Saw a large hawk swoop down and land in a tree across the road for a bit. Saw this little lizard; looks like something may have chomped on his one leg but he was scampering around pretty quickly.

While I was cooking my hot dogs on the grill this little raccoon wandered over until I shooed him away. Then he hid behind a tree and kept peeking out. Early this morning a ranger caught a possible rabid raccoon in a wire hoop noose by the entrance building. The thing was growling, hissing and fighting like mad. They put it in a van and drove off.

After supper I walked over the bridge and looked at the water for alligators. Saw 2 tonight (1 last night) water as calm as can be. Mosquitos are FIERCE at night though. They don't buzz around much, just zoom in and start sucking. Don't make much noise, either, so I've had 3 or 4 on my leg before I knew it. Very busy tonight. The campers are coming in about every 5 minutes.

At Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, Louisiana

Had a few motorhome problems yesterday. First off after it sat in the hot sun yesterday the gas expanded in the tank which raised the level enough that it started dripping out of the rubber hose connection at the top of the fuel tank. So I thought I'd just idle it for 15 minutes to lower the level. Well that worked ok; it stopped dripping. But another puddle appeared under the engine of what I first thought was water but it was transmission fluid. Probably only a cup full but it made a mess and was upsetting. My neighbor, Paul, was going into town and offered to pick me up some transmission Stop Leak (THANKS!).

After he came back we walked up to the local beach bar, Woody's, with his 2 dogs Smokey & Bandit. Had some Texas Shiner drafts out on the deck; a gorgeous night. Big moon rose out over the gulf later on.

I set my alarm for 5:15 to beat the heat and the Houston bound traffic which Paul said was pretty bad. I stopped at the park entrance under a streetlight and added my Stop Leak. I figured I'd already spilled enough things on my campsite pad...

Drive was pretty smooth. Some traffic the first 45 minutes. Started getting to 90 again by 11. I stopped at Walmart for supplies and checked for transmission drips. Didn't seem to be any. Got off US 10 and had to drive 25 miles along a levee to get to this park! Nothing around but a few trailers. GPS said -8 ft in lots of spots. But I got here ok and the park is very nice. Had to switch sites because the 30 amp circuit was ng. Park will be pretty full this weekend. The premium sites have little docks on the water; I am next to one which is vacant today. Sites are all paved and I was surprised to find free wireless. Sites are $16 with electric. Mine backs up to the water.

So I will be here until Sunday at least. This is the first spot that has been closer to home than the one before, so I'm heading back East.

Just Sittin'

Quite a pretty sunset last night just before a small thunderstorm
passed through.

I got up this morning at asked if I could stay through the weekend but
they are totally full starting Friday. I added 1 more day so I'll leave
tomorrow morning for Louisiana. This beach is as uncrowded as I've
seen. In the mornings all you see are 4 or 5 people for 1/2 a mile. Ups
from the beach is a system of wetlands, maybe tidal pooling, that are
filled with different kinds of birds. I see people netting minnows for
bait.

After hearing this place was full I got concerned about the spot I'm
planning on stopping next, Lake Fausse Pointe State Park 270 miles
away: "Lake Fausse Pointe State Park, at the edge of a beautiful water
wilderness, is also a perfect point from which to explore the natural
and cultural heritage of South Louisiana". I checked and they only had 5
sites unreserved through the weekend! So I quickly reserved a site
Thurs.-Sun. Don't like to do it because it forces me to go there and
not some spot I stumble across on the way, but I don't want to end up
in the boonies of Louisiana with no place to stay!

So today I'm just sittin' by the Gulf of Mexico.

Johnson Space Center, Houston

So I decided to see the space center today! Drove there this morning
around 10:30. Not very crowded; only one other RV in the lot. Way too
much to describe. Saw the iMax movie of the International Space
Station, another of the shuttle missions, the vault where the moon
rocks are kept and many examples of the capsules, space suits and
equipment of the entire space program. Took a tram tour to see the
original 1960's Mission Control where the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo
missions were controlled. A lot smaller than it looks on tv. The first
and last word ever transmitted from the moon was "Houston". Saw the
huge facility where they assemble and test docking modules, Mars
rovers and future equipment for the Orion missions. Then we saw the
only unused Saturn V rocket that was supposed to be Apollo 18.
Indescribably huge. The wiring used in it looks like its from a 1950's
house.

I may stay here one more day. It's a very nice park and there are a
bunch of other museums and stuff here. Mt neighbors, Paul & Lisa from
Houston are really nice, too.

Has cooled of to the low 80's during the day and 60's at night.

Right on Galveston Bay!

Left Rainbow Park this morning, later than I wanted. 4 people stopped
by to talk about where I've been & where I was heading (they're very
friendly here). Tonight was also one of the weekly Movie Nights at the
Rec Center and the guy who puts the show on, who calls himself "Mr.
Movie", stopped to invite me.

According to the website Dellanera RV Park (operated by the City of
Galveston) offered dry camping (no utilities) for $20/day. The temp is
down to the 80's so I thought that would be ok. I stopped at a propane
dealer in Livingston and filled my tank. One snafu on the trip here:
The GPS steered me to Sam Houston Parkway around Houston, which is a
toll road. What it didn't know was NO CASH ALLOWED only an EZ Pass.
"VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED". That's Texas. So I got off and
reprogrammed the GPS for NO TOLL ROADS and it steered me around but
right through Houston. There was 6 lanes of heavy traffic for miles,
that's a BIG city, but I got through it ok.

I got here and asked for a dry site. The lady said they are no
longer offered because the city installed beautiful full hookup sites.
Sooo it's $34/day but I have elec/water/sewer and free, strong wi-fi and I'm right on the bay.
There's also a little gift shop/grocery, a laundromat and showers. As
you can see these beaches aren't too crowded! Oh, the 1st rig I passed in here is another Toyota Motorhome. I'll have to stop over there.

My plan was to see the Houston Space Center which I passed on the way
here about 28 miles back. I even checked and stopped at a local grocery
store for a $5 off coupon.

On the other hand I may just sit on the beach; I'll decide tomorrow!!