Mississippi Mishap and Louisiana

January 17:  This overnight stop in Gulfport, Mississippi was unplanned.  It turned out to be a real adventure, but in hindsight a happy one, although at the time I'll admit it was a "wee bit" stressful.  LOL. 

I feel it's only fair to show you that RV life isn't all sunsets and relaxation. Saturday, on our way to Baton Rouge, we planned to stop for lunch at new friends Karen and Bob, who we met when they camped next to us in Savannah. They live only 4 miles off Interstate 10 in Gulfport, MS. It seemed a shame to be so close and not stop to say “Hi”. They have a beautiful property in the country with a narrow, shared driveway, that had a sharp 90 degree turn in. I pulled off the right hand shoulder to make the wide left turn, and I veered about 12 inches too far off the shoulder and buried the camper wheels in wet Mississippi MUD. With the help of friendly neighbors, especially if they are in the construction business, and after 3 hours of digging, jacking and blocking, we rescued the RV. Steve and Toby, you deserve a HUGE thank you!!!

Lift and block under the wheels, lift some more and block some more, etc, etc.

It's pointless to cry, so we might as well laugh.

More lifting and blocking.

The rescue crew.

Toby and Steve

Dead tired, we ended up staying overnight “moochdocking” in Karen and Bob’s yard. Then, just to show that history does repeat itself (and that we are slow learners), the same exact thing happened Sunday morning when leaving. But no worries and only a day late, we finally made it to Baton Rouge for the rest of the week. And the best part, we got to spend twice as much time with Bob and Karen as we had originally planned.

We're slow learners.  But we knew what to do now.  :-) 

This "adventure" taught us 2 valuable lessons: 1) The difference between disaster and success can be measured in inches and 2) There are good people everywhere who will drop everything and help you in times of need. Watching the national news and social media and you think our society is falling apart. But get down to neighbor helping neighbor at the local level, and we are still a great people!!!

January 18th:  Tiger's Trail RV Resort in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was our next stop for 10 nights.  This is a new park for us.  We specifically chose it in order to visit some RV friends we met last May in Columbus, Georgia.  Mike, Sonya, Ted and Roxanne are such great examples of Southern Hospitality with outgoing and friendly personalities.  

Site 176 at night looking across the pond at the casino.

Tiger's Trail in Baton Rouge is a very nice resort with large and level sites. During our stay we faced some cold weather, albeit nothing like family back home in Northern NY. The campground turned off all water at the park for 2 days because of freezing temperatures. So we filled our onboard water tank and “roughed it”. I topped off our propane tanks one morning, and was the last customer before the campground ran out of propane. They couldn't get refilled for several days since all the local dealers were sold out. A weather crisis hits everyone in many different ways.

One of the joys of traveling is learning new things about our country. For instance, did you know that Mardi Gras originated in Mobile, Alabama even thought it is mostly associated with New Orleans. And what about King Cake, ever hear of that? We invited our friends over for dinner at the campsite one evening, and they rewarded us with Mardi Gras beads and King Cake. We had never heard of King Cake, which is a cinnamon cheesecake served only during the Mardi Gras season and is associated with the 3 kings of the Christmas tradition.

Our first ever King Cake

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Judy found the good luck plastic baby.

King Cake for breakfast the next morning.

Maggie was sooo excited to meet our Louisiana friends.  LOL.

We had a really wonderful time with our new Louisiana friends, but sadly after a 10 day stay we have to move on.  We celebrated our visit with lunch at one of their favorite restaurants and agreed to meet again in March at River View Resort in Vidalia, Louisiana.   

February 6th:  Sam Houston Jones State Park in Lake Charles, Louisiana was another new stop for us.  We spent 2 nights here, but could have easily spent many more.  The campground has been completely rebuilt after devastating storms.  

Cyprus swamp.  That's us in the background.

Walking trails

Boardwalk along the river.

Morning fog.

Neighborhood watch. 

Our amazing time in Louisiana is over for now.  Next up, Texas for about 8 weeks.

4 Weeks on the Gulf Coast in Florida and Alabama

For the first time ever, we are spending the Christmas and New Year Holidays away from home.  Well not really away from home since we consider our camper home too, but away from our stick built home in Gouverneur.

December 22nd until January 3rd:  We are parked at Coastline RV Resort, right on the ocean on the Florida Panhandle, for 12 days.  This is a new stop for us.  We have driven by it many times in our previous travels so we thought we'd give it a try.  We have beautiful views of the ocean along with gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. And it's all topped off with much warmer weather than we are used to in December!

Our next door neighbors turned out to be very pleasant company.  Mike and Melanie are from central Michigan and are spending several months here.  They became very enamored with Parker and Maggie's antics on the porch.  

We made several trips for shopping and dining at nearby spots we have enjoyed before, including Apalachicola, St. George Island, Eastpoint and Carrabelle.  We really enjoy this part of the Florida Panhandle with beautiful ocean views, uncrowded shopping and beaches.  No wonder it's referred to as "The Forgotten Coast". 

Site 12, Coastline East RV Resort.

Christmas sunrise.

Merry Christmas morning.

Snooping for presents.

The lights on St. George Island across the bay.

The sunrises are spectacular!!!!

January 3rd, 2026 and we moved on to Meaher State Park on Mobile Bay in Alabama. We have stayed there several times in the past.   We enjoyed a very relaxing 14 nights here, and ended up becoming friends with work campers Todd and Laura.   They are originally from Pennsylvania, and became full timers only a year ago. In March they are moving to Gulf State Park to work for 3 months.  

With seafood dining everywhere, great shopping in Spanish Fort and Daphne, and beautiful sunsets, we had lots to do.  We never found time, (too much sitting and reading) to make it to nearby Mobile, but that's on our list next winter.  Here are just a few of the many sights and scenery.  One of the joys of "lingering longer" at campgrounds is that you don't feel rushed to do everything at once.

Site 61 at Meaher State Park

Mobile skyline across the bay

What's Mom cooking for dinner????

Neighborhood Watch.

Long Leaf Pines surrounding our site.

Lunch at The Oyster House

Judy and her boy

Maggie and I on a morning walk.

Storm clouds on the horizon!!!

Sunset over Mobile Bay. 

So that's the end of our month on the Gulf Coast.  Next up, 2 weeks in Louisiana.  More later.