Flo's November 2011 Travels

November Camping Adventures 2011

2011 FALL TRIP  Continues





click on photo for more pictures of Alabama

LOCATION:  Mobile, Alabama    SITE:  Wal-Mart Parking Lot
DATE:  11/01/2011    SPACE:  00    TRIP:  78    DISTANCE:  309 miles

Tuesday November 1, 2011

We woke up at 6:15 and mom fed me my breakfast. Then mom sat down with dad and had breakfast. After breakfast we went for a walk around the parking lot. Today was another relaxing day. We're not going to do anything but drive. We haven't camped in Alabama so we're going stop in Mobile for the night. The drive was all interstate so mom and I napped. Mom was a lot better than me on napping. She spent most of the drive awake but I didn't. We stopped at a couple of rest areas to stretch our legs. One stop mom made sandwiches for dad and her lunch and she gave me a milk bone. During our drive we saw one deer and a lot of dead possum, raccoon and deer a long the interstate. The scenery was very beautiful with tall pines, oaks and other trees. We arrived in Mobile at 3:30 and found a Wal-Mart to stay for the night. The Wal-Mart wasn't too difficult to find because dad plugged it in our GPS. Once there we parked the Minnie for the night. When we got to Alabama the time changed back to Texas time so we gained an hour. Now we have to we adjust our schedule again. Just think in a week or two we'll have to adjust again because the time is going to change again. Just thinking about that gets me confused. When dinnertime came around mom made soup and sandwich for dad and her dinner and she fed me my food. After dinner we relaxed in the Minnie until it was time to go to bed.




click on photo for more pictures of Mississippi

   

A Lighthouse in Biloxi Mississippi                                     Boomtown Casino in Biloxi


LOCATION:  Biloxi, Mississippi    SITE:  Boomtown Casino Parking Lot
DATE:  11/02/3011    SPACE:  00    TRIP:  78    DISTANCE:  80 miles

Wednesday November 2, 2011

Today we woke up about 7:00. We took our time getting ready because we're going to Biloxi Mississippi, which isn't too far away from Mobile Alabama. Mom and dad got dressed and then mom fed me my breakfast. Afterwards she sat down with dad and had breakfast. When we were all fed we walked around the parking lot before we left. The drive to Biloxi Mississippi was very peaceful via interstate. We didn't see any wildlife but when we got to Biloxi we drove by the beach area. We stopped at the beach in Gulf Shores and walked the beach and on the fishing pier. As we were walking we met a couple and their dog from Missouri. Their dog was a small dog and wanted to play with me. We checked each other out and everytime I jumped towards him he jumped away from me. We did this a few times and we had a great time playing. Our parents were visiting while we did this. After the couple left we walked on the fishing pier. While walking on the pier we saw a few pelicans sitting on posts and fishing. After watching the pelicans we went back to the Minnie. We didn't walk on the beach because dogs weren't allowed on the beach that was ok we walked the parking lot. When we got to the Minnie we drove down to a casino and parked it. Then mom and dad walked to the casino but they weren't gone long because the casino didn't have any no smoking area. On the way back they stopped to ask a security guard if there were any casinos in town that had no smoking. He told us that there was one back in Biloxi that did it was the IP so we drove back to Biloxi. We found the casino but we didn't like the dirt parking lot so we drove a block down the road and found a paved parking lot. It belonged to Boomtown Casino so we parked the Minnie in it for the night. After we set up for the night mom made sandwiches for lunch. She gave me a milk bone. After lunch mom and dad walked over to Boomtown Casino to check it out. When they walked in the doors they knew it wasn't no smoking so they asked the security guard and she told them the only casino in town that was no smoking was the Palace. Mom and dad didn't want to move the Minnie so they walked to the IP Casino. The security guard there told them there was a section that was no smoking so they went there. Mom played the penny slots for about an hour and half and then they came back to me. I was very excited to see them and I started talking to them. After I calmed down a little mom took me for a walk around the parking lot. When we got back we stayed in the Minnie for the rest of the afternoon relaxing. In fact we all took a little nap. About 5:00 mom fed me my dinner and then she and dad walked back to the casino so mom could play some more penny slots. They were gone another hour and half. Mom didn't too bad she started out with $10 in the machines and when she got back she had $7. Mom and dad thought that wasn't bad only losing $3 in three hours so that was pretty cheep entertainment. After we said our hellos mom and dad took me for a walk. When we got back from our walk mom cooked up soup for their dinner. After they ate we stayed inside and called it night. Tomorrow is going to be a long day because we going to Texas so we're going to try to get an early start in the morning so I'll have to say good-bye now.




click on photo for more pictures of our Trip from Mississippi to Texas

LOCATION:  Sealy, Texas    SITE:  Wal-Mart Parking Lot
DATE:  11/03/2011  SPACE:  00    TRIP: 78    DISTANCE:  436 miles

Thursday November 3, 2011     

Today we woke up at 4:45 because mom and dad wanted to get an early start. We're going to be in Texas today and they wanted to get as far as they could so tomorrow would be an easy as possible. I really didn't want to get out of bed because I haven't had to get up this early in over two months and I was used to sleeping in until 7:00. Mom fed me my breakfast and then sat down and had breakfast with dad. After breakfast we walked around the parking lot and then went back to the Minnie. Mom straightened the Minnie up a little and then we left. We drove in the dark all the way to the Mississippi welcome center, where we stopped  to use the dump station. Afterwards we continued our adventure back to Texas. The next state we drove through was Louisiana. After we left the Mississippi welcome center we had drive a big bridge over the Mississippi River. It was windy so the Minnie got pushed around on the bridge but once on the other side we were in Louisiana. Once we were in Louisiana, it started to rain so we had to take a 16.5 miles long bridge across the swamp. When we got to Baton Rouge the rain had gone away but we got stuck in some construction so it was slow getting through Baton Rouge. The roads in Louisiana were a little rough so it was hard for me to sleep but I managed to sleep a little. When we got to Texas we stopped at the welcome center to update our information about Texas. By the time we arrived in Iowa Texas it was lunchtime so mom and dad went to Hardies. Mom gave me a milk bone when they got back. We arrived in Katy Texas about 3 so we decided to go to Sealy Texas. When we got to Sealy we found the Wal-Mart and called it night. We started from Mississippi at 5:30 and now it was 4:00. The drive to Texas was very relaxing because it was all interstate. Dad did stop occasionally so we could all stretch our legs. Mom and I napped during the ride and dad couldn't so he was ready to call it a day when we got to Sealy. Dad had been fighting the wind all day and he was tired. After dad parked the Minnie mom and dad took me for a walk. When we got back mom and dad went to Wal-Mart to pick up a carton of Silk. When they got back mom took me for another walk and dad stayed back at the Minnie because he was too tired to move. When dinnertime came around mom went back into Wal-Mart to the Subway and bought a sandwich for dad and her dinner. When she came back she fed me my dinner and then sat down with dad for dinner. After dinner mom took me for another walk. When we got back we called it a night.




States we visit during our Fall Trip Adventure

LOCATION:  Austin, Texas    SITE: My House
DATE:  11/04/2011    SPACE:  00    TRIP:  78    DISTANCE:  204

Friday November 4, 2011

As we were walking around the Wal-Mart parking lot before leaving we saw a Minnie just like ours parked in the parking lot. We didn't stop to talk to the owner because it was too early. But if the owner had been awake dad would have. We got home from our Fall Trip Adventure today. We had a great time but we're happy to be home. This is the summary of our adventure. We drove 7104 miles in 63 days. We camped in 23 states. We stayed in 8 State Parks (2 in New York, 2 in Vermont, 1 in New Hampshire, 1 Rhode Island, 1 in New Jersey and 1 in Florida), 1 County Fairgrounds (Arkansas), 2 County Parks (1 South Carolina and 1 Florida), 4 National Parks (Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina, Shenandoah in Virginia and Acadia in Maine), 1 National Parkway ( Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virgina), 1 National Seashores (Assateague in Maryland), 1 National Historic Site (Mammoth Cave in Kentucky) and 3 Casinos (2 in Delaware and 1 in Mississippi). Some of the activities we did were site seeing, saw a horse race (cart races in South Carolina), we did some hikes and mom gambled in the casinos we visit. We took three ferry rides (1 from New York to Vermont and 2 from Upper Banks in North Carolina across the bay to Cedar Island in North Carolina). During our adventure we saw black bears (a couple of cubs), wild horses (1 colt), deer (white-tail and Sika), rabbits, bald eagles, birds and pelicans. We had a fantastic time now we need to rest up for our future adventures. Bye now and don't forget "LIFE IS GOOD"!!!  





click on photo for more pictures of Muleshoe Bend Park


LOCATION:  Austin, Texas    SITE:  Muleshoe Bend Park
DATE:  11/09/2011 - 11/12/2011    SPACE:  00    TRIP:  79    DISTANCE:  33 miles

Wednesday November 9, 2011

Now that mom's retired we don't have to wait until the weekend to go camping. The weather's going to be beautiful for awhile and we're all rested from our Fall Trip so we're going to Muleshoe Bend Park. We haven't be here since March and we haven't had much rain so it's going to be interesting to see how low Lake Travis will be. We arrived at Muleshoe Bend Park about 10:00 am and no one was in the office so we drove to our special campsite. We have a yearly pass so we really didn't have to stop but we like to stop to say hi. As we were driving to our site we saw a lot of deer. Everywhere we looked there were deer. We haven't seen this many deer in Muleshoe Bend Park ever. When we got to our site we noticed that they had done some work on the road, they had filled in some huge chuckholes. We were grateful because now it will be easier to walk to the restroom and dad can now use this road to leave instead of the one we drove on the way in today. After parking the Minnie we walked around the park. As we were walking we saw deer. We also noticed that we were the only ones here. We walked about 1.5 miles for an hour. When we got back to the campsite we had lunch. In the afternoon we did a 3 mile hike, this time we walked to the park fence and along the lake. When we were walking to the fence line As we were walking by the lake we walked by a campsite that had a little hand built stand that looked like a bed. I was so busy exploring I didn't even go swimming. When we got back to our site we relaxed. After relaxing a little we walked down to the lake. Usually we can see Lake Travis from our site but today we couldn't so we had to walk pretty far to get to the lake. It's pretty sad to see Lake Travis so low. This is the lowest mom and dad had ever seen Lake Travis the twenty-three years they've been in Austin. When we got to the lake I really wanted to go swimming but I had to wait for dad to say it was ok. We walked for awhile because dad were looking for a place for me to climb down the hill that wasn't to muddy. When dad finally found a place I was excited so I ran down the hill to the lake. After I swam I was walking along the bank and I sank in the mud. I was so muddy mom and dad tried to get me to go back in the lake but I didn't fill like it so when we got back to our site mom sprayed me down with water and than she wiped me off. We walked for another 1.5 miles for an hour. When we got back to our site we relaxed in our chairs for the rest of the day.        

Thursday November 10, 2011

We woke up about 7:00 am. Mom fed me my breakfast and then sat down with dad to have breakfast. While we have breakfast we watched deer grazing. When ever they heard us moving around them would stop eating to check us out. After the deer left our site we went on a 5 mile hike. We started from our site and walked towards the park fence but when we got to where the mountain bike trail was we hiked it. We hiked the last half of the bike trail. As we were hiking the trail we saw deer, we were the only ones on the trail today. When we got to the main entrance we rested a little and then we took the main road to our site. By the time we got back to our chairs we were tired so we relaxed in our chairs. Our hike was very nice and peaceful. In the afternoon we walked around the park and by the lake for about 2 miles. This time we walked farther down the shoreline to find a place that had a lot less muddy. We walked for awhile and than mom found a place and walked down the hill to make sure that it was ok. When she got to the lake she called me down to join her dad decided to stay in the hill and take pictures of mom and me. Mom did well because I didn't sink in the mud today. After I finished swimming mom and I climbed back up the hill and we all went back to our site. While relaxing the park host came by and told us that there were going to be about 150 Boy Scouts in the park this weekend so we won't have the park for yourself any more. He also told us he expected them in tomorrow because it was Columbus Day and the kids had it off. We sat in our chairs for a couple hours and then mom and dad took me for a short walk before dinner. After dinner we went inside and watched the deer walking to the lake. 

Friday November 11, 2011

We woke up about 7:00 am. Mom fed me my breakfast and then sat down with dad to have breakfast. We watched the deer again before going for a hike. Today we hiked around the park. We walked for about 3 miles. We started our walk down by the lake. We walked a road along the shoreline towards the park fence but another road before the fence we turned on and headed back towards our site. As we were walking back we found a deer antler. During our walk I explored and we saw deer. We had a nice hike. We returned to our we sat in our chairs. While sitting in our chairs we watched a bird drinking water from my dish I was so tired I just laid there and watched it. This was so much fun. Later in the afternoon mom and dad was taking me for a walk around the park to see if the boy scouts we here yet. I started out walking with them and than I sat down because I was tired and I didn't want to go any farther. Mom and dad had already walked me about 15 miles and I finally had enough. Mom and dad was very surprise because I never sat down and wanted to go back to the Minnie all the years and hikes we gone on before. So they took me back to the Minnie and then they went on the walk by themselves. As they were walking they saw a Scout Leader putting up a tent and a lady with a Boy Scout trailer. They stopped their walk and talked with them both. The lady was just dropping off the trailer for the scouts and the Scout Leader wasn't even part of the big group but he was just setting up camp for his troop. Because he was a boy scout group he was allowed to stay. After talking with these folks they came back to our site. I was happy to see them. After we said our hellos mom made dinner and we called it a night.  

Saturday November 12, 2011 

We woke up about 7:30 and had breakfast. I was rested up so we went on a 4 mile hike. We walked the main road to the main entrance and then we hiked the part of the bike trail we didn't do the other day. As we were hiking we hiked through trees and up and down hills. During the hike we saw a lot of deer. A couple of times when I saw them I would run after them, I didn't run far because I knew I couldn't catch them. We also saw one guy riding a bike so we moved off the trail so he could get by us. When we got close to where the boy scouts were camped dad put me back on leash. The park host was right there were a lot of scouts. There were cub scouts, boy scouts and rover scouts. The man mom and dad met yesterday came over to us and visit for awhile. After our visit we continued walking back to our site. As we walked pass the scouts campsites we saw all the tents and a flag raising ceremony. Mom took pictures of them. It seemed like there were scouts everywhere. When we got back to our site we started to get the Minnie ready to leave. As we were doing this the wife of the part host came by and visit with us. After she left we finished packing up and left. We had a fantastic visit at Muleshoe Bend Park we saw a lot of deer and people.  


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November Fun Stuff 2011




click on photo for more pictures of Mansfield Dam

   

End of the boat ramp at Mansfield Dam                                       Meeting a new friend        

LOCATION:  Austin, Texas    SITE:  Mansfield Dam    DATE:  11/20/2011    DISTANCE:  5 miles

Sunday November 20, 2011

We woke up this morning and it was going to be over cast all day and we have been meaning to go down to Mansfield Dam to see how low the water was. We knew that Lake Travis was down about 55 feet but we wanted to see it ourselves. When we got to the dam there were barricades at the boat ramp saying it was closed so we walked to the bottom of the ramp to check it out. The ramp was differently out of the water. We continued our walk by the shoreline. As we walked the pieces of land that are called sometime islands were no longer islands they were one piece of land. During our walk we saw some low spots, where people would drive their boats through but we also saw how careful they had to be. Occasionally I would stop walking to go swimming. We walked to some blocks where there use to be a mine years ago and then turned around. As we were walking back I met a chocolate lab, she was a year old. Her mom wasn't sure about me but mom and dad told her I was friendly so she relaxed and let her dog play with me. She had a lot more energy than me but we still had fun playing. Right before her dad came and took her away she jumped into the lake. She could really jump far. While she was swimming I joined her. After our swim we said our good-byes. She continued her walk with her parents and we continued our walk. During our walk besides meeting a new friend we said hi to a few more people and kids. It was sad to see Lake Travis so low but we still had fun.  





click on photo for more pictures of Thanksgiving

   

     Waiting for Turkey                                                   Dad carving the turkey


LOCATION:  Austin. Texas    SITE:  My House    DATE:  11/23/2011    DISTANCE:  0 miles

Wednesday November 23, 2011

Aunt Louise has to work on Thanksgiving so we decided to celebrate it a day early. Aunt Louise showed up a little early but the turkey was already in the oven so it just gave us more time to visit. I always love it when Aunt Louise comes out to see us. Mom cooked a super Thanksgiving feast. We had turkey, freshly baked bread, mash potatoes, gravy, dressing, homemade noodles, deviled eggs, a relish tray and apple pie. The relish tray had sweet pickles, olives, ham and cheddar cheese. Your never sure what type of meat mom will put on the relish tray, sometimes it's salami or sausage. I always like Thanksgiving because I get some turkey and some of the bones. I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.