Who flipped the switch?

Well, I guess it is good-bye winter. I wasn't really ready to give it up, but Mother Nature had other ideas. The sad part is the snowmobile trails will set up again tonight but the roads are shot. I can't even imagine what the lakes are like. So, with heavy hearts, the sleds will make their way down to the whatever it is called - shed? building? Doug's toy barn? It will be May before we will be able to "summer-ize" them.

You'd think there would be plenty of snow to ride...

All in all it was a GREAT snowmobile season. A HUGE thanks to the Bo-Boens and all the club groomer drivers. Such wonderful men and women who care so much for our sport and give us smooth, safe trails. We managed to get almost 1,000 miles in this year. Not astronomical, but very satisfying - going when we wanted to, where we wanted to and for as long as we wanted to.

It was a hard season for mailboxes!

So now - drumroll, please - it's time to concentrate on the adventure south! The pile in the Great Room grows a little more each day with all my camping "toys" and supplies. My scheduled departure day is Saturday, March 30, but with the abrupt end to snowmobiling, I may leave earlier. I have to check with my friend Robin to see when it will be most convenient for her to have me stop and visit.

It's about 1,200 miles to the Gulf of Mexico from here and it's almost due south. Good roads make it a very easy trip. I am camping at a state park for the first part of my trip. Then it will be on to New Orleans and two nights at a very nice RV park. I am meeting my friends Linda and Steve to join in the fun at French Quarter Fest. This is a party the restaurants put on for the locals featuring street food from the menus of these fabulous eateries. YUMMMMM! Oh yeah, and the cocktails, too!

I fell in love with this wine set ages ago. Too bad I never bought it!

I am so jazzed about this trip. Oysters, shrimp, grouper, gumbo - am I going to feast! Then there is the main attraction - the BEACH! I rented a tricycle for the stay and I am quite thrilled about it. I will be purchasing a trike when I get back and this will be a good trial for me to see how I will like it - maybe more like LOVE it.

And of course, all the enjoyment of camping in a rustic environment - relaxing, reading, cooking over a fire. I have spent a lot of time on my sleeping arrangement. First I bought a single bed frame and a hybrid inner-spring/memory foam mattress. I am using an old comforter over the mattress pad and under the bottom sheet for extra cush. All the linens are pure tropical fun! Flamingos galore! Once I have it all set up, of course there will be plenty of pictures.

My "bedroom" is my 2003 Ford Windstar minivan. No other camping gear will be stored in it. For the rest of the gear, I have a small cargo trailer that will be snap to tow. There is also a roof rack on the minivan but I am not going to be using it.

I think I am going to stop here and wait until I have pictures to go with the text. So with that I am going to sign off. I am sure the next entry I will have a more specific departure date!

Toodles!