Day 05 - Mobile, AL to Houston, Texas
    
 
 
Thursday, March 8, 2007
 
I awoke to a foggy morning in Mobile, Alabama...
 
day05_001.JPG (149653 bytes)  day05_002.JPG (111314 bytes)  day05_003.JPG (111483 bytes)  day05_004.JPG (100916 bytes)  day05_005.JPG (144932 bytes)
 
day05_006.JPG (112885 bytes)  day05_007.JPG (160175 bytes)  day05_008.JPG (128173 bytes)  day05_009.JPG (117600 bytes)  day05_010.JPG (126262 bytes)
 
day05_011.JPG (129648 bytes)
 
day05_012.JPG (132373 bytes)
While flipping through the XM Satellite Radio channels the group Alabama came up. Alabama on the display, in Alabama...
 
day05_013.JPG (163942 bytes)
Entering Mississippi...
 
day05_014.JPG (270454 bytes) day05_015.JPG (196803 bytes) Mississippi has very nice Rest / Picnic Areas along the I-10... maybe the best in the country. Great spots for RV's, water & dump stations, and friendly dogs...
 
 
 
Proceeding to through Mississippi, to Gulfport...
 
day05_016.JPG (183028 bytes)  day05_017.JPG (117862 bytes)  day05_018.JPG (113317 bytes)  day05_019.JPG (139862 bytes)  day05_020.JPG (108444 bytes)
 
day05_021.JPG (96307 bytes)
 
 
day05_022.JPG (194762 bytes) day05_023.JPG (75301 bytes) day05_024.JPG (178570 bytes) Nearing Gulfport I began to notice the the effects of Hurricane Katrina; some parcels of land would show the ravages while others appeared unscathed. Lots of temporary trailers...
 
 
As I drove through Gulfport, toward the Gulf, the storm damage worsened. In the areas within three or four blocks of the coast, the devastation was tremendous...
 
day05_025.JPG (131300 bytes)  day05_026.JPG (171809 bytes)  day05_027.JPG (151503 bytes)  day05_028.JPG (202830 bytes)  day05_029.JPG (168743 bytes)
 
day05_030.JPG (194078 bytes)  day05_031.JPG (260395 bytes)  day05_032.JPG (142393 bytes)  day05_033.JPG (310611 bytes)  day05_034.JPG (224890 bytes)
 
 
Touching the waters of the Gulf of Mexico - my second ocean of the trip so far...
 
day05_035.JPG (317666 bytes)  day05_036.JPG (138150 bytes)  day05_037.JPG (1075076 bytes)  day05_038.JPG (246655 bytes)  day05_039.JPG (255361 bytes)
 
day05_040.JPG (151725 bytes)  day05_041.JPG (262933 bytes)  day05_042.JPG (171709 bytes)  day05_043.JPG (222525 bytes)  day05_044.JPG (201898 bytes)
 
day05_045.JPG (212939 bytes)  day05_046.JPG (206816 bytes)  day05_047.JPG (200826 bytes)  day05_048.JPG (198799 bytes)  day05_049.JPG (182782 bytes)
 
All around Gulfport I saw strong signs of recovery. I suspect Gulfport's rebound will be full and complete in two or three more years. This was not the case further down I-10 in New Orleans...
 
Proceeding on through Mississippi, along the Gulf coast...
 
day05_050.JPG (164348 bytes)  day05_051.JPG (167228 bytes)  day05_052.JPG (112888 bytes)  day05_053.JPG (151522 bytes)
 
day05_054.JPG (137009 bytes) day05_055.JPG (191864 bytes) Entering Louisiana, and the Stephen E. Ambrose Memorial Parkway...
 
day05_056.JPG (196359 bytes) day05_057.JPG (91969 bytes) Proceeding on through Louisiana, toward New Orleans...
 
day05_058.JPG (109369 bytes)
I had a fine lunch in Slidell...
 
 
Crossing Lake Pontchartrain...
 
day05_059.JPG (167640 bytes)  day05_060.JPG (143673 bytes)  day05_061.JPG (114277 bytes)  day05_062.JPG (147127 bytes)  day05_063.JPG (177517 bytes)
 
 
New Orleans
 
day05_064.JPG (127925 bytes)  day05_065.JPG (116597 bytes)  day05_066.JPG (143729 bytes)  day05_067.JPG (117372 bytes)  day05_068.JPG (136892 bytes)
 
day05_069.JPG (135482 bytes)  day05_070.JPG (144285 bytes)  day05_071.JPG (172444 bytes)  day05_072.JPG (121530 bytes)  day05_073.JPG (149070 bytes)
 
day05_074.JPG (180511 bytes)  day05_075.JPG (128356 bytes)  day05_076.JPG (138533 bytes)  day05_077.JPG (130167 bytes)  day05_078.JPG (117277 bytes)
 
New Orleans is in sad shape...
 
 
Continuing on through Louisiana...
 
day05_079.JPG (133085 bytes)  day05_080.JPG (123912 bytes)  day05_081.JPG (121935 bytes)  day05_082.JPG (152624 bytes)  day05_083.JPG (180120 bytes)
 
 
 
Baton Rouge...
 
day05_084.JPG (136692 bytes)  day05_085.JPG (169069 bytes)  day05_086.JPG (114465 bytes)  day05_087.JPG (130845 bytes)  day05_088.JPG (88149 bytes)
 
day05_089.JPG (175913 bytes)  day05_090.JPG (163518 bytes)  day05_091.JPG (103636 bytes)
 
 
 
Proceeding on through Louisiana...
 
day05_092.JPG (138513 bytes)  day05_093.JPG (182018 bytes)  day05_094.JPG (289474 bytes)  day05_095.JPG (202392 bytes)  day05_096.JPG (146054 bytes)
 
day05_097.JPG (89583 bytes)
 
 
 
Lake Charles...
 
day05_098.JPG (119164 bytes)  day05_099.JPG (85013 bytes)  day05_100.JPG (113588 bytes)  day05_101.JPG (120515 bytes)  day05_102.JPG (126212 bytes)
 
day05_103.JPG (129265 bytes)  day05_104.JPG (142537 bytes)  day05_105.JPG (124478 bytes)
 
 
day05_106.JPG (106390 bytes) day05_107.JPG (63025 bytes) day05_108.JPG (80842 bytes) Approaching the Sabine River, and Texas...
 
day05_109.JPG (183096 bytes) day05_110.JPG (345123 bytes) day05_111.JPG (196433 bytes) Texas! The good ol' Lone Star state. I was mighty glad to be in Texas again...
 
day05_112.JPG (120268 bytes) day05_113.JPG (80474 bytes) day05_114.JPG (63729 bytes) I made Houston by nightfall and camped at that place...
 
This beautiful old song - Willie Nelson's version - played as I rolled into beautiful Texas...
 
Beautiful Texas
"Pappy" O'Daniel

You have all read the beautiful stories
Of the countries far over the sea
From whence came our ancestors
To establish this land of the free
There are some folks who still like to travel
To see what they have over there
But when they go look
It's not like the book
And they find there is none to compare

Chorus:
To beautiful, beautiful Texas
Where the beautiful bluebonnets grow
We're proud of our forefathers
Who fought at the Alamo
You can live on the plains or the mountains
Or down where the sea breezes blow
And you're still in beautiful Texas
The most beautiful place that I know

You can travel on beautiful highways
By the city, the village and farm
Or sail above on the skyways
And the beauty below you will charm
White cotton, green forests, blue rivers
Golden wheat fields and fruit trees that bear
You can look till doomsday
And then you will say
That Texas has beauty to spare

Chorus:
To beautiful, beautiful Texas
Where the beautiful bluebonnets grow
We're proud of our forefathers
Who fought at the Alamo
You can live on the plains or the mountains
Or down where the sea breezes blow
And you're still in beautiful Texas
The most beautiful place that I know

And you're still in beautiful Texas
The most beautiful place that I know...