Trip Day 1 & 2

May 31, 2008 marks the first day of my trip. I can’t tell you all the different emotions that keep running through my mind. I just forced myself to load up and head out. And as I write this at 3:53am June 2, 2008, I haven’t noticed anything that I forgot to pack, although I did manage to leave my cap at Jane & Windy’s.

        The first stop had to be her Mother’s house because we always loved to go up to Broaddus, Texas every chance we got. It is one of the most serene places on this earth. With the hubbub of living in a big city like Houston, Dolores and I could look forward to recharging our batteries and just taking the time to breathe every time we visited. Their house is located about 3 miles back a dead end gravel road with their backyard the Angelina National Forest and Sam Rayburn Lake. I can’t think of a single time we didn’t enjoy ourselves and Dolores would be so happy and just beam for days after each visit. We were talking about the fact that just last Memorial Day weekend Dolores and I, her oldest son Keith and his girlfriend at the time camped and went fishing on the lake in Wendy’s brand new pontoon boat where Dolores caught her very first fish ever. She was so excited, just like a little girl.  Funny how much can change in just one year. Jane and Wendy accepted me into their family as if I had always been a son. I can’t tell you just how much this meant to the both of us. And still does.

        On the way up I stopped at our favorite lunch stop “The Whistle Stop Café”, it is located in Livingston, Texas and is one of those cafes on the courthouse square like many small towns. The food is always good and the people always very friendly. It felt so different sitting there without her; I kept expecting her to come out of the restroom like every time before, but she never did. All the memories came flooding back; the food she loved, the endless browsing in the gift shop. We would always try to sit at one of the tables at the front window so we could watch the people go by as we sat and ate our lunch. There are just some things in this life you can never recapture, her and I at the Whistle Stop Café is one of them.

        After a nice visit I was up early and off to the next stop. I planned on finding a RV Park or campground close to St. Francisville. LA. However there isn’t any!  But it was nice to cross the mighty Mississippi on the ferryboat instead of some overcrowded bridge. So I ended up going on to the east side of Baton Rouge, LA., and stopped at a place called Night’s RV Park. Nice little place with clean bathrooms and showers, although I thought it a bit pricy at 26.00 a night. After Katrina and with the park being full of construction workers I understand the premium pricing. But by the time I got there after riding in the hot southern sun all day I didn’t care I just wanted a shower and a nap. It’s hell to be old! So now I pack it all up and head on to Biloxi, MS where I will get to meet Dolores’ aunt Mary Ellen, and some other cousins that we never had the chance to visit before she died. More soon so keep tuned in!

From somewhere on the backroads,

The Demonmaster