ELIZABETH CITY FREE DOCK, ELIZABETH CITY, NC

23 to 26 November, 2004. I crashed right into dock here even though I was just coasting in with the engine off. The other sailboaters there and the dockmaster, Sam, helped us tie off. This is the place we've been reading about since before we left Harbour North Marina in Maryland. Fred Fearing and his friend Joe began offering a wine and cheese party for the visiting boaters here 22 years ago. Joe passed away about 15 years ago but Fred, now 90 years old, carries on the tradition. He drives around in a golf cart donated by Willard Scott, who visited here some years ago. Another man named John arrived 16 years ago to help Fred with the tradition. The day after we arrived, the wine and cheese party ensued at precisely 4 pm. Fred doesn't like you to be late. Fred made a brief speech about 4:30 pm, telling us about the tradition of the "Rosebuddies" of which he is the original member. Joe would clip roses for the ladies on board the visiting boats, which had become cotton buds for this time of year, picked from a plantation nearby.

We met Gary and Mary on their 44 foot sailboat. Gary would mix mudslides (made from rum, not vodka because sailors drink rum) in a blender that ran on a weedeater engine. It was pretty funny to watch him pull-start it. We spent a few evenings on their boat with some of the other people we met there, having drinks and plotting courses beyond the Albemarle Sound. Gary and Mary are hoping to be in Key West, FL for New Years Eve. We'd love to meet up with them there but that looks doubtful. We also met Richard and Frances on their 50 foot sailboat. Rocky was very impressed with Richard because he thoroughly explained the reasons for the advice that he gave. We also met Lisa and Joyce who were traveling on their 36 foot sailboat. I spent a lot of time talking with Lisa who also had some great advice. Sam and Charles were another couple who we met there. All ten of us got together and had Thanksgiving dinner at The Golden Corral.

Rocky moved us over to the $15/night docks next door one night (managed by The Thornton Development Corp., behind a lawyers office) because the restaurant (Grouper's) was blasting music so loud that the bass was pounding through the hull of our boat. When he went over to ask them to turn it down, they were less than kind and even less accomodating. The following morning was a Saturday so there was noone to take our money. We got some free elctricity out of that one. Other than that, everyone we met in Elizabeth City was totally cool. Everyone wants to give you a ride since they know you came in on a boat and have no car, especially Sam, the dockmaster. The "Harbor of Hospitality" is supposed to limit your stay here for 48 hours but they've never enforced it. We were waiting out the weather in the Albemarle Sound so they were happy to accommodate us for several days. The Riverwind Health Club here offers a full days use of their shower, hot tub, sauna, steam room and indoor heated pool for $5. We took advantage of that. This might just be the friendliest place on the eastern seaboard.

DEEP CREEK FREE DOCK, CHESAPEAKE, VA

22 November, 2004. This dock was directly behind a mexican restaurant and there was a Food Lion grocery store right across the street. We got full bars here for internet access and so were able to get some work done. I went a few blocks to fill one of the 6-gallon gas cans and some guy saw me struggling with the heavy gas can and gave me a ride back to the boat. We discovered that ebay decided to change their billing schedule, which they informed us of via an email sent at 1 am, indicating that a timely reply was required. At 4 am, which was apparently their definition of timely, they wanted $900 instead of the $450 which we always paid after the first of the month. If we paid them the $900, we would be broke so we decided to let the auctions run out and take care of the bill when we could. Ebay always finds a way to screw us just when things are going good. But we knew that we were heading into several hundred miles without internet access so maybe it was for the better. Besides, we're getting sick of selling the CD's even though it's relatively easy money. We had an old friend stop by and had a great time. When we left here to continue south, we crossed into North Carolina and stopped at the North Carolina Welcome Center. We had our first fire here. The rain had gotten into the cigarette lighter adapter that transferred battery power to our inverter and on to our laptop. We used up most of our aft fire extinguisher so we now need to replace that. The welcome center offers a Florida Cruising Guide which I highly recommend to anyone who stops there. A little boy there asked us if we had to jump in the water to get a shower. We should think harder about doing that after anchoring for days on end with no shower. It was much easier to find showers when we were traveling in the microbus.

GREAT BRIDGE FREE DOCK, NORFOLK, VA

21 November, 2004. We proceeded up the Virginia Cut Route of the ICW to the free dock at the Great Bridge. The Skipper Book told us that there was a Mal-Mart two miles north but we discovered that it was actually four miles with our hand-held GPS. After spending nearly $300 on a new marine battery, a low-end 1.3 megapixel digital camera, an LED headlamp and some other necessities, we decided to cab back. The battery alone was probably 40 or 50 pounds. I met Tyler and his best friend who liked to hang out at the bench right next to our boat. We had a few beers and they eventually went out to get pizza and brought it back. This was going to be our only excursion into the Virginia Cut Route of the ICW. We planned on back-tracking and taking the Dismal Swamp Route because it was more scenic, quicker and attracted less traffic.

JORDAN BRIDGE FREE DOCK, NORFOLK, VA

20 November, 2004. We crossed the mouth of Mobjack Bay for our final day of roughing it out in the Chesapeake Bay waves. Just as we passed above the Interstate 60 Bridge Tunnel, we looked back to see a huge cargo ship coming right up on us. By this time, we were already trying to stay far outside the buoys that marked the Norfolk Naval Air Station. We didn't want to get too close to the military installation for obvious reasons but I turned toward it anyway to avoid being plowed over by the ship. In all the excitement, we forgot to turn our marine radio on which the captain of the ship, and possibly even the Naval Base was probably trying to contact us on. The ship veered starboard and we were able to put some more distance between us and the naval vessels. We counted five aircraft carriers there. It was pretty cool to see them from below. We also saw a Princess Cruise Lines Ship in dry dock.

It was very empowering when I called the bridge to request an opening and the bridge tender proceeded to lift hundreds of tons of steel just for me. All the landlubbers had to wait while I pleasure-cruised on through. You don't even need a license to drive a boat if you were born after 1972 (or something like that). We tied up at the free dock and immediately went down the street for chinese food (which we knew was nearby from the Skipper Bob book). Although there was development and docked ships right there, it was a very peaceful spot. There was a small boat ramp there that fishing boats used throughout the night and a large pavillion. We were happy to finally be out of the bay.

HORN HARBOR, NEAR NEW POINT COMFORT LIGHTHOUSE, VA

19 November, 2004. The longitudinal coordinates in the Skipper Bob Book for Horn Harbor were wrong but we found it easily with our chartbook and GPS. We plan to email Skipper Bob with the coorect coordinates. We anchored. The next morning, we went to a nearby marina to get gas. A very nice lady suggested that next time we stay there, they have a courtesy truck you can take into town for dinner.

SANDY POINT, WHERE INGRAM BAY MEETS THE GREAT WICOMICO RIVER, VA

18 November, 2004. The waves and rain were a bear all day, especially as we crossed the mouth of the Potomac River. We were finally out of Maryland and into Virginia. I couldn't wait to get out of the bay. Sandy Point was easy to get to with plenty of water and just a few other boats anchored a good distance away. The boat rocked all night but in a good way which offered us a good night's sleep. It was uneventful and that was good.

SPRING COVE MARINA, SOLOMANS ISLAND AREA, MD

17 November, 2004. This marina was just a few hundred feet from our last anchorage. We got gas before renting the slip. The guy that pumped the gas didn't seem very happy but when we met his boss later in the day, we understood why. The facilities were great but the people here were pretty dry. This was my first experience backing into a slip and I think I did ok. They accidently cut power to our slip as I was printing invoices and weren't very apologetic about it. But we didn't mind much because we were able to take showers, do laundry, get gas and plug in to process orders. Our Skipper Bob Book indicated that there were other Skipper Bob Books available here so we bought "Marinas Along The Intracoastal Waterway." They didn't have "Cruising Comfortably On a Budget" which we also wanted.

SOLOMANS ISLAND AREA, ON THE PATUXENT RIVER, MD

16 November, 2004. I fought the waves all day today and couldn't see the shore for most of it. II was a nervous wreck. We arrived in the main harbor after dark but there was plenty of light coming from the businesses and marinas onshore. We dropped anchor alongside several other boats. There were several large swans swimming in the harbor and I saw a few shooting stars. Just before dawn, we realized that we had drifted a bit so we reset the anchor and watched closely from that point on. It was time to process orders and we needed to do laundry, take showers and get gas so we decided to find a nearby marina to spend the day and night at.

CANTLER'S RIVERSIDE INN, WHITEHALL BAY, ANNAPOLIS, MD

15 November, 2004. We decided on Rideout Creek in Whitehall Bay (on the western shore) as our next stop. The Skipper Bob Book rates each stop by Holding (for an anchor), Wind Protection, Current Flow, Wake Protection, Scenic Beauty and Ease of Shopping. This place was rated very high for everything except Scenic Beauty and Ease of Shopping. We were far more concerned with safety than scenery and shopping at this point. The current was fierce as we passed under the William Preston Lane Memorial Bridge in Annapolis on our way to Whitehall Bay. We went from 7 mph to 9.5 mph in short, harrowing bursts. We missed the turn into Rideout Creek after entering the bay so we turned around and headed back. It was already getting dark. We remembered passing a bar and restaurant with a dock so we decided stop there and get some hot food instead of searching out the anchorage in the dark. We were hoping that if we spent some money there, they might let us dock there overnight.

We both ordered the jumbo shrimp When we asked if it was possible for us to dock there overnight, they told us that it was no problem, as long as we were out of there by mid-December. The food was great and it was happy hour at the bar, with $1.63 (half price) domestic beers. Apparently, Cantler's serves the best crabs in the whole of Chesapeake Bay and is famous nationwide, winning many awards for their food and service. After dinner, Rocky had one drink at the bar with me and then went back to the boat for bed. I stayed awhile and met some of the locals. In the morning, Mr. Cantler invited us up for coffee before opening and gave us the grand tour. There were many photos on the wall of famous people who had eaten there and even more of the Cantler's Family History. There was even a world record pink spotted fish (I can't remeber what type of fish) mounted on the wall. Mr. Cantler showed us photos of his father and grandfather who had been fishing and crabbing on the bay for over 100 years. Everyone there was extremely friendly. Rocky and I were very happy that we missed Rideout Creek and ended up here. If you're interested, they have a website at www.cantlers.com.

STILL POND CREEK, BETTERTON, MD

14 November, 2004. We were monitoring the radio and learned that there was a small craft advisory for the waters ahead so we decided to end our day early and find an anchorage. Explosions from the Aberdeen Proving Ground carried across the bay all morning. A week or so earlier, Rocky had bought a book online called "Skipper Bob's Anchorages Along The Intracoastal Waterway" which provided some great information on free places to anchor and dock. We decided on Still Pond Creek, an anchorage on the eastern shore, near Betterton, MD. It was about 2 pm when we arrived. Our first 16 miles was behind us. Rocky dropped anchor and we had officially arrived at our first of many stops on our journey south to Florida. The water was very still, hence the name, and that pleased us to no end. We saw a bald eagle and a Blue Heron and there was a crescent moon in the sky. I was a little freaked out that we would be spending the night in the water with no access to shore. Of course, we had the dinghy but there was no place to dock it even if we decided to go ashore. A few beers calmed me down and we were quite pleased to be where we were. We woke up around dawn and there was a very cool mist on the water which we admired over coffee. We set out around 9:30 am.

OUR MAIDEN VOYAGE (TO THE GAS DOCK)

13 November, 2004. It was pretty scary to untie the dock lines and leave the relative safety of land for the first time. We started the engine. Rocky took the tiller and we let go of land. Almost immediately after inching away from the dock, the boat started to turn sharply in the wrong direction. The water was calm and we were at about half throttle so we immediately concluded that our 9.9 HP engine wasn't going to provide enough power to control this boat. After a short burst of panic and folly, we discovered that we were stuck in the mud. Rocky got us moving in the right direction and we rounded the corners toward the gas dock. We got stuck in the mud again but managed to power our way free and secure ourselves to the gas dock. The plan was to get gas and head out.

Jason also pumps the gas for the marina so we headed to the office to get him. He had been following the weather and convinced us that we should wait another day to leave. His houseboat had been pulled out of the water a few days earlier and he was now staying at his house in MIddletown, Delaware a few miles away. He invited us to sleep there in comfort for our last night as terrans (dirt dwellers) and we graciously accepted. We went back to the marina the following morning, got gas and headed out at about 9 am. I had learned the most important lesson of boating when Jason and I went to pick up a boat in Dundalk, near Baltimore- "Red Right Return, Red Left Leaving." I took the tiller this time and guided us away from the marina and southwest into the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal. I was pretty comfortable at the stick and we began to put some miles behind us. There was no chance of us raising sails until we were out of the bay and into warmer weather.

THE DINGHY

12 November, 2004. We bought a dinghy today. There was this very nice inflatable dinghy with a hard wood bottom and motor mount that had been in the back of the office for awhile. Jason pulled it out and assembled it. It was still brand new but it was missing the front florboard. Its retail value was $1,200 but we picked it up for $500 because of the missing floorboard. It was the perfect match for the 6 HP engine, now that we had the 9.9 HP engine for the boat. So it turns out that we paid over four times as much for the dinghy as we did for the sailboat. The dinghy serves the dual purpose of getting us to shore when we're anchored and serving as a lifeboat if the need arises. We stocked up with food and water, got a small propane stove, a compass, a depth finder, bought a $100 hand-held GPS and a $100 marine radio. We've got charts and maps and our Wilson trucker antenna is secured to the spreaders on the mast, about 30 feet above the water for our wireless internet. We're ready to untie from the dock and make our maiden voyage to the gas dock, a few hundred feet away and around a few corners.

RAISING THE MAST

11 November, 2004. We raised the mast today with the help of Jason and one of the marina crew, Brian. Bryan, the marina owner's son, who was working nearby, said we looked like the guys at Iwo Jima raising the flag. I thought we looked more like the 4 Stooges. We finally got all the rigging secured and the boat took on a whole new look. And up until that point, we had been working around the mast because it was lying across the entire length of the boat and then some. When we traded the Tidewater for the Buccaneer, we were told that there were sails for it. None could be found. Jason contacted another marina in Annapolis, MD where we were able to pick up some sails that might fit our boat. We lifted a few mainsails and found one that fit and also kept a jib that we hadn't tried because it was too cold and rainy. Jason had given us everything from life preservers and raincoats to nautical charts. He saved us tons of money on necessities and we are eternally grateful to him for everything he's done for us. We were also given a 9.9 HP outboard by Bill, another sailboater at the marina. The gears were tore up but Rocky fixed it in a day. We were dreading the thought of throwing $1,500 at an outboard engine because we knew the 6 HP that we had wasn't going to cut it. Without Jason and Bill, we probably wouldn't have what we needed to set out. If you ever want a good deal on a boat, call Jason at 1-800-262-8004. Bill's website is www.bluehenvinyl.com.

SPLASHING THE BOAT

9 November, 2004. We splashed the boat today (put it in the water). It was very exciting to finally get it out of the mud and weeds and into its intended environment. We were quite pleased that it didn't begin filling with water and sink. We kept it tied up to the floating dock even though we had already paid for a week in a slip. The floating dock had electricity and water nearby so we didn't feel the need to move it. Balance is very important in a boat which we soon found out. It was a little aft-heavy, which put the through-hole where the bilge pumps out, too close to the waterline. Water would splash up into the hole and into the bilge. Rocky angled the bilge hose upward and helped to solve that problem. We also shifted more weight to the front. It was still a mess, needing paint, carpet, etc. but it was finally in the water.

FROM VW MICROBUS TO SAILBOAT

15 October to 21 October, 2004. Everything from the bus is now in the boat. It's a mess. A 40-50 mph gust of wind ripped the awning off the van but we got it back on. We're selling the van to pay our way south. We got the basics of the kitchen re-installed in the boat and as soon as we can pay our tab, we'll put it in the water (and pray for no bottom leaks). We've been fighting topside leaks against the rain but we've pretty much got them under control. It rains constantly and we've been living in the mud for weeks while fixing the boat. We're now sleeping in it but the power goes out at some point every night so we wake up freezing most of the time. We can't wait to get back to Florida. The spiders here are huge! And I saw a snake the other day near the burn pile, where we're collecting some of the wood and other stuff to get the boat ready. There's an Army Corps of Engineers campground near Ft. Pierce, FL that we can dock at for $8/day (with our Golden Access Pass) for up to 30 days. Everyone here at the marina is very cool but we still can't wait to get out of here. There's supposed to be a sail for the boat on the premises but we haven't verified that yet. The mast and boom are laying across the top and they look to be in pretty good shape. Hopefully, we'll have some photos to post soon.

HARBOUR NORTH MARINA, CHESAPEAKE CITY, MD (PART 2)

17 September to 14 October, 2004. We ordered the adapter to connect our wireless internet card to our Wilson trucker antenna and it works so we've got internet access now. We completed the 24 foot Tidewater sailboat and traded it for a 27 foot Bayliner Buccaneer which is nearly ready to go into the water. It was literally rotten to the core. We had to remove the core and replace most of the wood as well as some of the portals. We painted the boat after repairing some fiberglass damage and also applied a fresh coat of bottom paint. There's still much work to be done but it's getting cold here and we want to head south. We've got a 6 horsepower engine that still needs some work ($41 on ebay) and it just might be enough to move us against the tides when necessary. We're eyeing a 30 foot Seidelmann sailboat that's been filled with water for over a year but we're not holding our breath that we'll be able to trade for it. Hopefully, we'll get some pictures posted before too long.

HARBOUR NORTH MARINA, CHESAPEAKE CITY, MD (PART 1)

16 September, 2004. We stayed at a dive motel the night before arriving back in Chesapeake City, MD. Nothing to report there. Jason, the boat salesman here at Harbour North Marina, had found us a 6 horsepower outboard motor for $41 on ebay which he was going to pick up in Philadelphia a few hours after we arrived. Rocky went with him and it looks like it's going to work just fine after some basic maintenance. We've been having dinner with Jason and he's been letting us sleep on his houseboat. We love this place. The owner, Paul, has been very accommodating and we're hoping to repay his hospitality by fixing up and selling some of the boats that are just taking up space here. We still need to apply bottom paint to our 24 foot Tidewater sailboat, patch the sail and string the mast but we hope to get it in the water soon so we can learn to sail and then re-sell it in Annapolis. We're eyeing some 25 and 27 foot sailboats for our next project. We can't get internet access yet.

NORTH BEND PARK, JOHN H. KERR DAM AND RESERVOIR, NC / VA BORDER

14 September, 2004. We saw wild peacocks before arriving at the lake. And as we entered, we saw a fox run across the road. The parking pad here is split into an upper and lower section. Although it places the firepit away from the vehicle, it also places the tables away from the vehicle. This place is very quiet.

BANDITS ROOST, W. KERR SCOTT LAKE, WILKESBORO, NC

13 September, 2004. Rocky spends a lot of time working on the bus but it's getting more sluggish every day. We've put probably 10,000 miles on her in the last 6 months and she's getting tired. Once we get a decent live-aboard sailboat, we may sell her. We arrived here just before dark and so didn't do much at this campground either. We should be back in Chesapeake City, Maryland after 2 more campgrounds. Our plan is to finish off our 24 foot sailboat, learn to sail and then sell it in Annapolis, Maryland. After that, we're going to start on our 2nd boat, sell it and work our way up to a comfortable live-aboard. The extra battery in the bus is almost fully charged after a few days of electricity. We plugged in the air conditioner again even though it was cool outside and were able to use our electric coffe maker again. We just now heard a pack of coyotes howling in the near distance. Everything we own is in the bus with us, except our microwave/convection oven which we loaned to Natalie, our scanner, which we loaned to Gail and a monitor which we left for Gail to sell at her yard sale before moving from Zephyrhills to Tampa. All things considered, we have plenty of room to function in here.

PETERSBURG CAMPGROUND, J. STROM THURMOND LAKE, GA

12 September, 2004.This place gets very high marks, even if it is one of the many campgrounds surrounding J. Strom Thurmond Lake. Yes, the racist politician J. STROM THURMOND has a lake named after him! We didn't see any fire or brimstone but we steered clear of the water anyway. The trees are very tall here. The bathrooms here are nice, with hot and cold controls for the showers, which is uncommon for Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds (Usually there is just the one setting for the showers- scalding hot). The parking pad is very level and flat, coated with crushed lime that also keeps the bugs away from your feet and legs. The electric and water hookups are set next to the flat wooden wall that borders one side of the site so we were able to plug in the electric coffee maker without an extension cord. In addition to the picnic table, fire ring and hanging, hooked post for a lantern, there is an extra table that was very useful. It's nice to know that our favorite campgrounds (Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds) always take our Golden Access Pass for half price ($9 per night for us to camp here). We even plugged in the air conditioner and slept in cool, white noise comfort again. We're right on the Georgia-South Carolina border so we may even make it to North Carolina by tonight. We'll see. On the way out, we stopped at the South Carolina Welcome Center and they had a goldmine of pamphlets identifying Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds all across the country. We also picked up a pair of cell phones from Verizon with a $50 rebate. We hardly ever get our rebates back from anything (after sending in all the necessary paperwork and information) so we're not holding our breath.

GENERAL COFFEE STATE PARK, GA

11 September, 2004. State Parks are oftentimes nicer than federal campgrounds but on the east coast, they rarely offer any significant discount with the Golden Access Pass (if any). This place cost us the full $20 but it was worth it. It was nice to feel safe after staying in the Oceola National Forest. An armadillo scurried past our site- I almost forgot how many armadillos there are across the country. They are so much more welcome than raccoons, bears or snakes. We got a full internet signal here so I was able to do email. We plugged in the air conditioner and both of us got our first good night's sleep in weeks. There were no barking dogs or screaming people (the adults can scream just as much as the kids at some of these places). It was uneventful but we enjoyed the quiet.

LAKE DELANCEY, OCEOLA NATIONAL FOREST, FL

10 September, 2004. We didn't get out of Zephyrhills until the 9th. All campgrounds in the Oceola National Forest were closed due to hurricane Frances but we parked and popped up there anyway. Trees were down and branches made access into the campground difficult but we put our $2.50 in the slot (half of the $5 fee since it is federal and all federal campgrounds accept the Golden Access Pass for half price). There were lots of signs indicating that bears were prevalent and with everything all stirred up by the hurricane, we feared for snakes as well. We were really on edge there since we weren't supposed to be there in the first place and the Bush brothers had turned Florida into a police state in the wake of hurrican Frances. The bugs were unbearable. There was an outhouse and no clean water. We were planning on staying at a campground in the Ocala National Forest with water and electricity but they were also closed so we headed north to the Oceola National Forest, unsure if they would be open. Electric lines were down all over the area and ice was nowhere to be found. I didn't realize how far north hurricane Frances had tore up Florida. Sometimes it's good to get the blood pumping with a little fear. The bugs sure noticed our increased heart rates.

BACK TO GAIL'S HOUSE AGAIN, ZEPHYRHILLS, FL

1 to 9 September, 2004. We made it in time to attempt our third hurricane party as “Frances” crept toward the Atlantic coast. Many coastal areas were evacuated, including Ft. Pierce (specifically South Hutchinson Island), where Michael, Natalie and Roxanne were still living. Their car was in the shop so Rocky drove over to pick them up and bring them to Gail’s. We bought 20 lbs. of chicken, 10 lbs. of ribs, a whole ham, lots of hot dogs and lots of Coca Cola, beer and ice. Of course, we forgot buy any candles or batteries but we had some on hand. The hurricane showed up this time and brought about 10 inches of rain. Ft. Pierce got pounded and Natalie feared the worst. It turned out that despite all the destruction there, there place was spared any real damage. Rocky brought them back to the island on 7 September and got stuck due to a curfew until 5 am the following day. There were lots of heavily armed National Guardsmen patrolling the island. Rocky made it back to Zephyrhills on Wednesday morning and we’re planning on heading back to Maryland soon with all of our stuff in the bus.

HARBOUR NORTH MARINA, CHESAPEAKE CITY, MD

28 to 31 August, 2004. We made pretty good time since we were able to take I-95 in the Cadillac through the DC area. We arrived at the Marina and paid for the boat. We got to know Jason, the boat salesman there, who let us sleep on his houseboat a couple of nights. Rocky sanded the barnacles off the bottom of the boat and I cleaned the inside. Bees love to build their hives in these boats that constantly fill up with rainwater so we battled them for most of the first day. We may be able to patch the sail but we’ll probably just replace it completely. We figure that we can invest a few hundred dollars and then sell the boat for up to $1,500. This Marina is great, with over 500 boats, many of them stripped out and just taking up space. We’ve already picked out our next 25 foot sailboat. This one has some living amenities, such as a sink and tables. The Tidewater has only just enough room to squeeze in and sleep. We were just about to apply the bottom paint when it started raining. We spoke to Gail on the Phone and she told us how much she missed the Cadillac. Also, Bob had sold the house and the house that Gail’s new boyfriend was living in also sold so she needed to move soon. We needed to get the bus up there eventually anyway, so we headed back down to Florida.

LUMS POND STATE PARK, DE

26 to 27 August, 2004. This is a State Park but we did get a small discount with our Golden Access Pass. We set up Gail's tent and bought an air mattress. The weather was awesome and so was the moon. Some woman had a 3-legged frog that she reported to the rangers. It was a genetic defect, not an amputee. indicating that there might be toxins in the area. She dropped it so many times as she showed it to everyone that I thought it had a rougher time with her than with it's own handicap. Even though this campground is in Delaware, it's just a few miles from Harbour North Marina in Chesapeake City, MD. Pennsylvania is only a few miles away too. In fact, we can buy a tax-free carton of cigarettes in Delaware for $25.99 as opposed to $32 plus tax in Maryland. We plan to order more $13.95 cartons online soon.

GREENBELT PARK, GREENBELT MD

25 AUGUST, 2004. This place is a federal campground so we were able to use our Golden Access Pass. There were some nice trails and the showers were good but other than that, it was pretty average. It's located about 12 miles from downtown Washington DC. The traffic around here is a nightmare so the campground was a welcome sanctuary. From here, we'll travel into Chesapeake City, MD at the top of Chesapeake Bay where our 24 foot sailboat awaits.

BACK TO GAIL'S HOUSE, ZEPHYRHILLS, FL

11 August to 24 August, 2004. We managed to get everything we owned into the bus and drive it over to Gail’s. We moved in, temporarily, at $300 / month. We had another hurricane party as “Charlie” approached from the Gulf. It was supposed to hit Tampa directly but took a turn and battered the Ft. Myers area instead. This was our second hurricane party that included Rocky, myself, Gail and Timmy, a friend from when we first moved to Tampa in 1997. The hurricane failed to show up again. On August 20, Rocky and I placed a bid on a boat that was ready to end at $118 on ebay. We got the boat for $122.50. It’s a 24 foot Tidewater Rainbow Knockabout Sailboat. The boat was in Maryland so we needed to get up there to check it out. We decided to take Gail’s Cadillac instead of the bus so we could make the trip in a day or so. Gail knew how to drive the bus so we switched vehicles and were on our way.

BACK TO MICHAEL, NATALIE’S AND ROXANNE’S, FT. PIERCE, FL

16 July to 10 August, 2004. We moved into one of the apartments at the Sea Caps Motel that Michael is managing at $225 / week, electric included. It was nice to be back on the beach. We picked up the pallet that contained everything else we owned, aside from what was in the bus. We had even been given a satellite dish by Bob, the owner of Gail’s house, so that we could finally get some decent TV. Rocky spent most of the time painting and fixing up what he could in some of the apartments. I began posting early century postcards on ebay and spent lots of time at the beach. We spent a lot of time with Michael, Natalie and Roxanne, cooking for each other and getting out once in awhile. It rained nearly every day and there were many rainbows over the ocean. It was nice to spend some more time with them.

BACK TO GAIL'S HOUSE, ZEPHYRHILLS, FL

9 to 15 July, 2004. We drove over 300 miles to get here. We were originally planning to spend the night somewhere between Whitetail Ridge and Gail's house. It was already dark when we arrived and we were glad that Gail was home when we got here. The kitty that was only a few weeks old when we arrived the first time (on 8 May, 2004), was a little older but still as frisky as ever. Gail jad just gotten two hamsters that love to roll around the house in their little plastic balls. Rocky redesigned their little plastic home and they seemed to love it. Sasha, our friend Bob's dog, was staying the night and was very happy to see us again. Our timing was perfect because Gail was having her annual "Christmas in July" party the day after we arrived. It was lots of fun, with a "white elephant" gift exchange and another pool party next door. We spent a night at Bob's house, about 25 miles away, after skinny dipping in the pool all day. We're planning on grilling steaks and spending the night of July 14 at Bob's again. This will be our last stop before traveling back to Michael, Natalie and Roxanne's home in Fort Pierce, where we will be staying in one of the apartments that Michael is managing there. We don't know how long we'll be staying there. The apartments are weekly rentals and we simply need to stop and take a break from the road, and the bugs. We've also got a pallet of stuff at Michael's sister's warehouse in Fort Lauderdale, that we can get out of storage, including our convection-microwave oven that cooks a frozen turkey to perfection with one button. Rocky found a wireless network on ebay that we can use to share Michael's high speed internet access. We'll also have cable, maybe even satellite TV there. We are really starting to miss TV. The time has come for us to get serious about finding a sailboat.

WHITETAIL RIDGE CAMPGROUND, WEST POINT LAKE, GA

8 July, 2004. This is another Army Corps of Engineers campground. We got a full Verizon internet signal here- IT'S ABOUT TIME! Our campsite was right on the lake and you could see the tower across the water. At first, we went to another Army Corps of Engineers campground, Horace King Park, a few miles down the road but it was privately run and the woman there was downright rude and they didn't accept the Golden Access Pass for half price. We have never been to a privately run campground (except The Pit) that we liked. We ran the air conditioner here and stayed comfortable most of the night. We didn't unpack the back and both slept up in the pop-top (penthouse) again since we were basically making a straight run for Florida. We didn't do much here and didn't get out until about noon the following morning.

HENRY HORTON STATE RESORT PARK, CHAPEL HILL, TN

7 July, 2004. We were planning on going farther today, but I just got tired of driving. We need new seats for the bus! We did pick up the flooring for the van and put it in when we arrived. I love the new look, and it will be much more sanitary. This place is nice though. We pulled in and set up when I saw a sign for the restaurant. It was buffet for $7.95, so why not. The food was pretty good, and the service was great. The park is set in the rolling hills of the Nashville basin along the Duck River in mid-Tennessee. There is a golf course, a hotel, restaurant, an Olympic swimming pool, a skeet range and lots of trails. Without knowing what we were going to pay, we were happy to discover that Tennessee accepts the National Parks Golden Access, and Age Passes. The regular fee for camping with electric is $17.00 and we got half price, hooray!

HURRICANE CREEK CAMPGROUND, LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES, KY

6 July, 2004. This is another Army Corps of Engineers campground. Unlike any of the others that we have stayed in, this one has people violating just about every rule in the book. There are kids on mopeds, without the mufflers. People driving 45 mph through the place, and noone around to take payment! With all this in mind, the place is nice. The lake is filled with boaters, jet skiers, and people fishing. Our camping neighbors were very pleasant, their thick Kentuky accents were just a hoot! The foot still is swollen, but getting better. Thunderstorms raged throughout the night and we got a little wet, but all in all it was OK. I could no longer stand the nasty carpet in the bus, so I tore it out. We saw some cool flooring at Freds that I want to pick up and soon! No internet signal.

GIANT CITY STATE PARK CAMPGROUND, NEAR CARBONDALE, IL

5 July, 2004. Yes, we returned to Giant City. What can we say, it was on the way. We stopped at my brother's and picked up the new Sierra Wireless Aircard 555 that I bought on ebay for $80 and had shipped there, then to Carbondale to return the one I purchased for $430.00. Still looking for the adapter for the Wilson antenna though. We got there and plugged in the AC right away. My foot still is swollen, but after a few pain killers, I was feeling no pain!

THE PIT, NEAR ELKVILLE, IL

2 to 4 July, 2004. This is quite possibly the funnest place on earth. It is a clothing-optional gay campground with a very clean lake that used to be a strip mine pit (hence the name). The water gets 100 feet deep at the bend. Hal and Billy, the owners, are good friends of ours and some of the greatest guys in the world. I used to come here when I was at SIU from 1991-1995. It was incredible how many familiar faces were here- people that I knew when I lived in the area 9 to 14 years ago. We camped here the entire 4th of July weekend for $5 each. Hal and Billy are not in it for the money, they're in it for the fun and they do a fantastic job! There's a very nice pavillion near the water and they have a very nice house here. When the guys next to us were discussing where to hang the disco ball, I thought they were joking. They weren't. They even had a karaoke machine with them. I was so happy to have a place to swim and fun people to party with. We sang songs to guitars and bongos, cooked and grilled decadent amounts of food and consumed obscene quantities of our favorite beverages. It got pretty wild at times. The women usually won the volleyball games. These are some of the most helpful, generous, considerate and all-around cool people you're ever likely to meet. We even had a delegate of The Democratic National Committee here and she's sharp as a tack. Thanks to "Peanut" and "John Boy" for a very cool fireworks display on Sunday night. There is no place I'd rather be on the 4th of July, 2004 than right here with these people. True high quality human beings who know how to party hard. We had an absolute blast! Not only did we have fun, but we were able to connect! All this and internet access too! I did get bit by a horse fly on my heel, wich swelled my foot up like a balloon.

ROCKY'S COUSIN MICHELLE'S (AND LYNN'S) HOUSE, HERRIN, IL

30 June to 1 July, 2004. We parked in the back driveway again (see 25 May, 2004) with electricity from the house. Lynn had surgery a few dyas earlier and was home now. She couldn't move around too much but the 4 of us went to St. Louis in Cousin Kathys van, had some fast food and then went to see Fahrenheit 9/11. I am Very Excited about this movie. Every person in America should see it. It was pretty funny that the movie ended with one of Rocky and I's favorite Bush boggles- the one where G.W. doesn't know the saying "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." It was great that Michelle had some time to spend with us since she gets up before dawn every day for work, takes care of her mother and is now taking care of Lynn in a house that sees dozens of people come and go every day. Lynn's 2 sons are 18 and 21 so that should explain all the house traffic. We had a great visit.

GIANT CITY STATE PARK CAMPGROUND, NEAR CARBONDALE, IL

29 June, 2004. There are very nice showers here- you can actually adjust the temperature! Cold showers haven't been the problem, scalding hot showers that can't be adjusted have become the problem (mostly at Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds). We also have internet access here. Very few people camping. We got a $5 / night rate for having an Illinois address and Disabled Veteran card. The ranger was very cool and admitted that the Veteran / Illinois Resident discount is very vague so he gave us the discount. We also had an old friend visit and had a great time. Internet access was shaky, but we were able to get some work done.

PINE HILLS CAMPGROUND, WOLF CREEK, IL

28 June, 2004. This place has no water or electricity. Only outhouses here. No internet access. It cost $5.00 to camp here and $2.50 with the Golden Age or Access Pass. I built a fire, of course. We heard several loud explosions in the area. There are lots and lots of bullets and hand-grenades being produced down here but it is not widely known. During WWII, this area was one of the main production centers of both chemical and conventional weapons. A rogue butterfly put on quite a display for us- circling our heads and the bus for several minutes. We didn't do much here except sweat and add another showerless day. We were also running out of power from our extra marine battery. From here, we're going to Giant City State Park campground. There will be showers and electricity there- maybe even internet access.

GRAPEVINE TRAIL CAMP AND PICNIC GROUNDS, SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST, Mc CLURE, IL

27 June, 2004. We started the day by visiting our good friend, Robbie Sanders in Cape Girardeau, MO. Robbie was one of my best frinds while I was in college at SIU (Carbondale, IL) from 1991 to 1995. Robbie is in a wheelchair and is one of the most capable people I know. He's an international tennis champion as well as great basketball player. He just graduated from college in Missouri and is moving to Texas next month. We watched "Underworld" on DVD while we were at his apartment. It was great to see him. Grapevine Trail was only a few miles from his place and it was free so we camped there for the night. No water or electricity but the price was right. And we were the only ones there. There were huge logs waiting for me at the tiny campround so I burned several of them and was even able to leave 4 logs for the next person.

LITTLE GRASSY LAKE CAMPGROUND AND MARINA, CARBONDALE, IL

26 June, 2004. This is a private campground on Federal Land. Hmmm. $15 / night. We started off in Crab Orchard Lake Campground and Marina in Carterville, IL. There was only one electric site left so we registered for it. When we got to the site, there was a camper parked on it with noone around. Then the campground owner found out that the previous campers were in St. Louis. They own this campground too so they called here and faxed over our registration. We had to buy a 30 amp adapter so our 110 cord would plug into the electric post. People are packed in here pretty tight. "This aint no federal run facility." We just listened to a domestic screaming match right across the street. Our water spigot is pretty pathetic. Our van is getting much attention here. Aside from the screamers, the people here are really nice. This is our first private campground (second, if you include Crab Orchard Lake, which sent us here) and we won't make this mistake again. We bought Wal-Mart's new $20 digital camera but we haven't uploaded any pictures yet. We've only been here for a few hours so I may add more later.

SOUTH SANDUSKY, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, ON REND LAKE, REND CITY, IL

24 to 25 June, 2004. This place is loaded with wood and I sure burned some. It's also loaded with daddy long legs spiders. A racoon almost jumped into the bus again. The first night, we ran the air conditioner. Very on-off internet connection. The second night was our first test of our new Verizon 555 wireless internet card. We had it Fed-Exed to Rocky's brother, Jody. The connection held while we drove about 15 miles vack to the campground. We're very happy with the result. Once we get the adapter for our Wilson trucker antenna, we should be able to hold a great connection in places we couldn't even connect at before. Joe, Roman, Sammy, Jessie and Megan showed up in the site next to us. I brought over the rest of my wood. We partied til late. Joe is going into the Army on August 18 as an Airborne Ranger. He's ready to go to Iraq. Their site was already reserved by someone else so in the morning, the Ranger told them they had to leave the site. We just dragged everything over to our site. Rocky and I duplicated some CD's for them (Metallica, Metal Church, Pink Floyd and a combo CD I made in 2001). They were a lot of fun.

SOUTH MARCUM, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, ON REND LAKE, BENTON, IL

22 to 23 June, 2004. We like to call this place South Marklar. Rocky's cousin, Michelle, visited us at the site. The next day, Rocky's brother, Jody, his wife, Becky and their 2 daughters got a nearby site with their boat. They went jugging with some luck. Rocky's mom and Joe also came up for an hour or two. We had a lot of fun here. Rocky mounted the samll speakers that have been sitting loose (hooked up) in the dashboard to the rear ceiling. He then installed two new speakers in the doors where there have been open holes since day 1. We also picked up some walkie talkies with a 2 mile range.

GUN CREEK, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, ON REND LAKE, WHITTINGTON, IL

20 to 21 June, 2004. We found a site near the end of a road that looped into a small circle on the water's edge. We were pretty close to the water here and saw lots of boats driving by. This place was pretty quiet and peaceful. We did get a kick out of the poor weiner dog that struggled to throw its little body forward with such tiny little legs in order to keep up with the various family members who walked it. This was relax time so we did very little here that is noteworthy.

COLES CREEIK, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, CARLYLE, IL

18 to 19 June, 2004. . We found the showers and chose site 64 right next to them. We arrived here just as a potent thunderstorm rolled in. The hardest rainfall ocurred as I was standing outside the Entrance Station to pay (after choosing our site). I got completely soaked. It's a real drag having soaking wet shoes. This place is very active. There is a wide variety of motorhomes, 5th wheels, campers, pop-ups, trailers and tents here. Lots of kids, bicycles, scooters and roller blades. Two guys were riding around on minibikes with Harley Davidson gas tanks and cut-off Harley handlebars. Sailboats, pontoon boats and jet skis. There's a beach on the other end of the campground, playground equipment, even a small basketball court. It was interesting to watch the 16 year old kid across from us arrive at his family's trailer with a severe limp and then walk away with no limp at all. It's funny to observe how people try to illicit pity in others. Many owls can be hard here at night. Internet access is extremely bad hee, although we were able to get a poor signal at least some of the time. Our Verizon flip-phone works here for the first time in several weeks. Rocky painted (white) the propane tank and the guard beneath the valves. It looks a hundred times better. The main bathroom has push-button sinks, same as the place before. They are not very user-friendly.

FORREST W. BO WOOD, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, ON SHELBYVILLE LAKE, SHELBYVILLE, IL

17 June, 2004. The campsites are really packed together here. There were decent showers but the bathroom next to our site had no mirror and the sink was a push-button that you had to hold in to keep the water flowing. It was very poorly designed, considering it had actual plumbing in it. I spent most of the night with Jeremy and Katie. Katie drank several bottles of wine. Jeremy and I put away quite a few beers. I think we all drank more than we should have but we had a great time. Our internet access was on and off but we managed to get orders processed and packaged. The campground is right on the lake with boat access. We didn't spend much time here but we enjoyed it.

STARVED ROCK STATE PARK, UTICA, IL

16 June, 2004. Our site was littered with cut firewood, which I burned along with most of the wood from my parent's house. I ended up leaving a few large pieces for the nighboring family. We met Doug, a Canadian.who was running a Macintosh operating system on his 10 year old Newton hand-held computer. Very nice guy. He was camping with his family in a limited edition, pop-up, stretch campmobile (not Volkswagon). He said they got 30 miles to the gallon but we listened when he started it up and drove away and we have our dobts about its gas mileage. It may have gotten 30 miles to the gallon when it was new, 30 years ago. Our bus needs some work so we're limping our way back down to Southern Illinois. It seems to be a compression problem or something like that. Rocky replaced the spark plugs but we had to return the spark plug wires because they weren't long enough. The NAPA Supercomputer had made a mistake.

JOHNNY B'S PARENTS' HOUSE, MT. PROSPECT, IL

11 to 15 June, 2004. We simply couldn't handle the bugs along the Mississippi so we decided to head to my paren't house even though all of our supplies hadn't arrived yet. Mt dad grilled the most awesome steaks I've had ina long time. Then he made some of the best Jumbo Tempura Shrimp that I've ever had. My mom made her famous dumplings with chicken gravy to go along with the homemade chickem pot pies that Rocky made the night before. I defrosted the garage freezer and super-cleaned the refrigerator. Rocky cut a high, dead branch off the backyard tree. I took some of the larger wood for my next campfire. My brother, Matt came by for a visit with his new wife, Mary. Everyone likes Mary. Rocky took my mom to the flower shop in the bus. She loved it and was giving peace signs out the window. Rocky and I then visited my grandma just a few miles away. I'm glad we got a chance to show her the bus. I was also able to visit the Martin family, who I've been friends with since high school. The neighborhood looks great and everyone is fixing up the houses there. it was nice to spend some time there. We had a great visit and a great time.

ANDALUSIA SLOUGH, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, ANDALUSIA, IL

10 June, 2004. Total white trash here. This place is 16 campsites just off the main road. There is no electricity and one outhouse. At half price, the cost was $2. A few of the sites were totally flooded. We bought a 20 lb. bag of ice and turned on the swamp cooler. That lasted about an hour. We were so hot and miserable and getting eaten alive by mosquitos that we left after two hours. We went back into Moline and bought an air conditioner at Wal-Mart, along with a button kit so we could attach a piece of tarp to direct the cold air into the bus.

LOUD TUNDER FOREST PRESERVE CAMPGROUND, NEAR ANDALUSIA, IL

10 June, 2004. This place is just down the road from Andalusia Slough. We heard about it from a bartender in Rock Island (near Moline). It is a County Campground and they accepted The Golden Access Pass. I don't remember what it cost. We got an electric site and hooked up the air conditioner in the luggage rack. Worth every penny! We now carry around the air conditioner in the luggage rack, wrapped in the tarp that directs the air into the bus, and secured by bungee cords. This place was fun.

FISHERMAN'S CORNER, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, HAMPTON, IL

9 June, 2004. Immediately after we arrived, Rocky cut holes in the top of the our cooler, screwed in a computer fan that we bought at Radio Shack and a small vent and we had a swamp cooler 20 minutes later. It worked pretty good. We arrived here just before a huge storm came in. There was even a Tornado Warning at the campground and the Ranger advised everyone to seek shelter in the main brick bathroom. The tornado never came but it rained quite a bit. One of the neighbors left and gave me his firewood, which we burned, along with the 6 pieces of wood that I bought for $2. We watched some of the tug boats carry barges to Lock and Dam #14. There is also a neat little amphitheater here.

THOMPSON CAUSWAY, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, THOMPSON, IL

June 6 to 8, 2004. It was a nice drive south along Hwy 84. We saw the little town of Hanover and got some groceries. We passed the Mississippi Palisades SP near Savanna, IL. Thomson Causeway is on Spring Lake just north of Lock and Dam #13. Some of the campsites are on the island and some are on the edge of the river. We stayed in the Riverbirch loop, on the edge of the Mississippi. Our Verizon internet access is shakey to say the least. It seems we are connecting to a US Cellular tower sometimes, to Verizon's tower other times. The loop we are in only have vault toilets, but off on the island are showers and flush toilets. The showers are pushbutton and very hot. One of the nighbors left and gave me about 150-200 lbs. of some great firewood. Some of the pieces were huge, un-split logs. I spent a whole day burning it all away. It was about 92 degrees that day. We met Craig and Susan who had 2 dachsunds named Rocky and Nicky, that loved their Radio Flyer Wagon, sheltered by 2 watermelon-pattern umbrellas. Craig was embarrassed to pull them around. It was pretty funny. They had just bought a collapsible boat (collapses into 4 inches wide, full boat length) that was designed to handle a 3 to 4 HP engine. Thjey had a 5 HP engine and it worked fine on their maiden voyage.

BLANDING LANDING, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, BLANDING, IL

3 to 5 June, 2004. We took Highway 11 across Wisconsin and then dipped back into Illinois near the Mississippi River. It was a very nice drive. We had no problem getting an electric site here because, apparently, none ever comes here. Our site overlooks the Mississippi River, across a well manicured field of freshly cut grass. We saw a wild turkey, deer, an injured turtle and a cool frog in the area. Long, speeding freight trains constantly barrel past the campground- some of the sites are right next to the tracks. We're about 100 yards away. The birds have been very aggressive in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin, nearly attacking us on several occasions. Also, the bees and wasps are still attracted the our bright orange home on wheels. The showers are pretty good here but no internet access. The campground host was planting flowers when we arrived and then we met Moon, the maintenance man, who also wants to travel the country.

Rocky painted the bumpers and is currently fixing the wheel well with fiberglass bondo. We may end up trading the bus for a boat. We went into Dubuque, Iowa to answer email and get laundry done. We also bought a new $20 Vivitar digital camera to add to the old $20 digital camera that was half the resolution. We lost many pictures on the other camera- it would reset itself before we had a chance to upload the pictures. Just crossing over the river renewed my desire to get a boat. We could literally float all the way down to New Orleans with little or no power. We ordered more CD mailers, CD sleeves, cigarettes (link at bottom of page for cheap cigarettes) and a external hard drive adapter which is all being sent to my parent's house in Mt. Prospect. With the adapter, we can hook up a 40 GB hard drive that we've been carrying around for the past three months. We're planning on staying at a campground in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where my grandmother and dad grew up. We'll probably head east once we re-supply, perhaps taking the ferry across Lake Michigan and then heading to Maine. We'll see.

RL. So I called AT&T because they messaged me that my account was low, after only using the phone for about 25 min., total. I spoke on a payphone here at the campground to at least three different customer service persons. Since I could not understand any of their middle eastern accents, and their refusal to let me speak to someone in the US, I will take my losses and move on to another company.

AT&T Prepaid Cellular
BAD

I do like the whole prepaid services the cellular telephone companies have been coming out with. We still have our Verizon Prepaid, but it only works in non pcs areas.

June 6, 2004, RL 7:30am, Woke up, made some coffee, I think I will wait untill the sun is completely up before I remove the tarp (Living Room). Its a pretty day. We will be heading to Thomson Causeway today........

PATTY' B'S GRADUATION PARTY, PEWAUKEE, WI and RICHARD BONG RECREATION AREA, SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN

29 May to 2 June, 2004. We drove from Johnny B's parent's house to Richard Bong Recreation Area. Got a primitive site for the night (all the electric sites were reserved), and then drove to Johnny B's sister, Patty's house. Patty, and her husband, Dave, have three great kids. Dave's sister, Nancy, was also there who Johnny B knew from his Air Force days. Nancy was also in the Air Force. Everyone, save a couple, loved the bus! Johnny B's goal, to show the family the bus, had been met! There was tons of beer and great food, especially the bratwurst. We ended up taking a few brats back to the campground with some other goodies. I met Ron and his wife Jan, both who had been neighbors of Johnny B's family growing up. Ron owns a 36' powerboat, and since we are looking to get a boat, we had lots of quesitons. Ron also guilt tripped me into waxing the van, which I did the next day. It looks a hundred times better now. They also own a very cool van which we sat around in and had a great conversation. The whole thing was very surreal, suburbia at its climax. Chuck and Matt showed up, Mary Jane stayed home a little ill. Patty, Dave and the kids moved back to Georgia a couple of days after the party.

We finally left about 10:30 and went back to Bong. As we pulled up to our site, we were pleasantly surprised at our new neighbors. There were three guys and a girl who were out camping for the weekend. PARTIERS! Johnny B stayed up and drank with them as they piled wood on the fire. We did some bartering and even had a little fun. After two nights, we got an electric site for the next three nights. We had some more fun with a local there. Lots of playful chipmunks here and apparently, no dangerous animals at all (although there are poisonous snakes evrywhere). The campground is very nice, with extrememly hot showers (the push-button type) and lots of water surrounding the area. We also got internet access there. The prinitive site cost $10 / night, the electric site was $15 / night- a little pricey compared to what we're used to. Also, we had to buy a sticker for $20 and attach it to the windshield to camp in any Wisconsin State Park. Bong cost us $85 for five nights but it was lots of fun.

Both of our cell phones are now roaming! Whats the deal? We are supposed to have service with both AT&T and Verizon.

JOHNNY B's FAMILY, MT. PROSPECT, IL

27 to 28 May, 2004. We spent all day driving, arriving just before dark at Johnny B's parents' house. The Des Plaines River had just crested and there was a lot of flood damage in the area but Johnny B's parents were spared of any damage. They have done a lot of work on the house recently- a new deck out back, new carpet, flower gardens, a newly sealcoated driveway, ect. I always like visiting with Chuck and Mary Jane. Johnny B's mom and dad are always very generous. Everyone has always liked Chuck and Mary Jane. Johnny B's dad also surprised us with Brown's Chicken, which Johnny B was hoping for. Maggie, Mary Jane's King Charles Cocker Spaniel still fetches the frisbee and fills the inside of it with her toys. This dog should be on America's Funniest Animals.

The next day, we got some work done, then spent the evening with Matt, Johnny B's brother, and his new wife, Mary. We stayed untill 1am, and had a blast. Matt gave us the heavy leather jacket that saved his life when he wiped out on a motorcycle many years ago, a hemp hoodie, which we use frequently, a rain jacket that we also use and a Brita pitcher that filters water which we now use every day. Rocky has started a photo study of the Brita filter (since what is deemed acceptable drinking water varies from campground to campground)- so far so good. EPA standards have lowered considerably during the current administration so there is more cause to be concerned with the water. They were all very useful and thoughtful gifts. Thanks Matt.

Matt and Mary had slipped into Vegas to get married by Elvis shortly after we left Nevada back in March.

SOUTH SANDUSKY, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, REND LAKE, IL

26 May, 2004. There are many large flying insects here but they don't seem to interested in our blood. We're camping in the Redbud Loop and there's only one other camper in this section got the whole place to ourselves. We arrived just before dark and another round of thunderstorms. Rocky went to sleep shortly after we arrived and I decided to catch up on the blogs. The showers here are the push-button type but quite nice. Didn't do much here, just needed to rest before the drive to the Chicago area.

ROCKY'S FAMILY, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

25 May, 2004. We took the ferry across from Tennessee to Cave-in-Rock, Illinois and proceeded toward Herrin. We met up with Rocky's cousin, Michelle, her best friend, Lynn (both of who I knew and liked from years past), Lynn's 2 boys and the other 2 people living in their house. We parked the bus in the back just before a severe thunderstorm, complete with hail, dangerously close lightning and very high winds.. Lynn brought us out a pot of coffee at about 6:30 am and we were able to get showers in the house. We then went and visited Rocky's brother, Jody and his wife, Becky. We all stopped at The Polar Whip (it's been there forever) for cheap soy burgers on our way to Rocky's mom's house. She lives on 80 acres with a 10-acre pasture for 4 horses. She showed us her vehicles and we showed her ours. Joe came home and the 6 of us hung out for awhile. Jody and Becky had to go because their kids were getting off school soon and we left a little while after that. We then visited Rocky's dad at the house where Rocky lived as a kid. He offered to buy us dinner but we were still full on burgers. We hung out for awhile and then he gave us some very cool Teamster shirts. We eventually had to head toward Rend Lake before it got dark and also to beat the next round of thunderstorms.

LONG BRANCH, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS CAMPGROUND, CENTERHILL DAM, TN

24 May, 2004. If the dam breaks, we are the first to go. The guy in the entrance both selected our site and put us right next to the showers, within watching distance of the entrance booth and away from all the other campers. I think he thought we might be trouble. But it was an arrangement we were happy with. There was even some leftover wood for me to burn. The pad we parked on was nice- large and smooth. But you had to cross through long grass to get to the bathroom- no walkway at all, just a parking lot on the opposite side that was a long walk around. We snapped a few pictures but our crappy little $20 digital camera reset itself and we lost them. We met up with Rocky's cousin, Monica, in Clarksville, Tennessee. We hung out with her in the parking lot at McDonald's for nearly an hour before moving on. It just so happened that she was taking the afternoon off from work. I'd never met her before. Rocky tried to talk her into meeting up with us in Chicago and going to Canada with us since her Canada vacation got canceled. The timing is actually feasible. She's getting married soon.

MCKASKEY CREEK CAMPGROUND, ALLATOONA LAKE, GA

23 May, 2004. I turned 38 today (Johnny B). When the six pack of beer came up within the groceries, the very nice woman at the register told me "Sorry suga, no beer on Sundays. This ain't South Carolina you know?" So the state of Georgia denied me beer on my birthday- oh well. Although I won't forget the Sunday liquor law, we probably won't be back in Georgia any time soon anyway. We came across whole towns throughout Georgia that seemed to be deserted- big towns. It was a first hand look at our wonderful economy. We picked a great site, right on the lake, with firewood that was left there. The crickets, locusts, birds and kids were pretty loud but the $4.99 electric fan from Big Lots also serves to provide some white noise for sleeping. The showers here are pretty good.

GEORGIA VETERANS MEMORIAL CAMPGROUND, GA

22 May, 2004. Ther are many sites here and we got the last one avalable. There are large guns, armored vehicles and aircraft on display. Also, it's right on a lake. A 39 year old man drowned in the lake 2 hours before we arrived. There are lakeside sites which you can launch a boat from and many families here. There are also lots of young people. If we had more time, this place could be a lot of fun. Here we paid full price $20+.

CLEARWATER LAKE RECREATION AREA, OCALA NATIONAL FOREST, FL

21 May, 2004. There was a husband, wife and son running this campground. The husband squeezed between the bus and the entrance booth as the wife was checking us in. It was difficult to understand him while the wife struggled with the computer and her eyes. I thought we were foing to crush his toes as we slowly crept forward after finalizing the check-in. We met a couple of guys from a nearby town who we partied with. They rode their bicycles into town and only Kurt came back. He had been at the campground for a few weeks and was basically getting away from the two women, and their kids, in his life. The reason he rode his bike into town every day was to see a third woman. I tried to wake him up for work the next morning while his alarm was beeping away but he still hadn't gotten up by the time we left.

BACK TO MICHAEL, NATALIE AND ROXANNE'S HOUSE, FORT PIERCE, FL

19-20 May, 2004. Michael made jerked chicken on the barbeque. It was awesome. I spent more time at the beach and collected a bag of shells for my mom. I literally stumbled across one really good whelk shell that nearly cut my foot open. Rocky helped Michael with some computer stuff and we watched Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets on DVD. It was nice to see them again on our way back up Florida. We regret that Gail was too far off-course for us to re-visit as we bagun our beeline to the Chicago area.

JOHN'S HOUSE, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

16-19 May, 2004. John is also a very good friend of ours who was our business partner when we first started selling on ebay. Ed joined us early in the process and is still working with John. They sell on ebay, have a website and go to many (retail seller) shows in Las Vegas, Chicago and other cities. They visited us in Las Vegas while we were living there. It was nice to sit on John's couch all day, in the air conditioning, for "Stargate Monday" on the Sci-Fi Channel and eat real food. John and Ed are great friends and would sell the shirts off their back for us. John is also a great bartender- well known and well liked in the Fort Lauderdale area. We have many great friends in Florida. We may go out to dinner tonight. We're planning on heading north tomorrow, towards my sister's house in Wisconsin for her graduation party on the 29th, and visiting the rest of my family in the Chicago area as well as Rocky's family in Southern Illinois. We're looking forward to visting Michael, Natalie, Roxanne and Gail on our way north, as well as camping in some more State Parks we haven't visited yet.

(Next Day) We ate at home and had parmesan chicken, fresh butter-garlic spinach, stuffing and garlic bread. We were perectly happy to watch TV all day and stay at home instead of going out. Rocky and I used to live here. I stayed in the bus most of the afternoon working and we talked a little politics with John's computer guy. We even went to the DMV to get my driver's license renewed but the line was simply too long so we turned around and left.

RL.. So I got this Nokia phone at Johns. I called verizon, they were a no-go on the model. I called Cingular, they said I would have to come into one of there stores. I called AT&T, they turned me on for $25 with $.25 a min. So now we have two phones and two cell providers...p>

MICHAEL, NATALIE AND ROXANNE'S HOME, FORT PIERCE, FL

11-15 May, 2004. Rocky has known Michael and Natalie since he grew up in Southern Illinois. Roxanne is their daughter, who is now 12 years old. They've become very good friends of mine over the years. Shortly after we first moved to Florida (arriving on Christmas Morning, 1997), Michael donated 3 trucks for the Florida Red Ribbon (bicycle) Ride to support HIV / AIDS research. Rocky, Michael and I also donated 3 days of our time to drive the trucks. Also, when Rocky and I moved to Northern California, Michael, Natalie and Roxanne moved to Southern Oregon, just a short drive away. Rocky and I saw a UFO one evening during the drive to visit them in Medford, Oregon. They are now managing the White Caps Motel / Apartment complex on Fort Pierce Beach. There's a bar / restaurant right next door called Archies. We had fresh fish there one day and awesome barbeque ribs (cooked by Pete, one of the tenants at White Caps) another day. I spent every evening at the beach. I love the beach! We had a great time with them and hope to stop back by on our way out of Florida.

GAIL'S HOUSE, ZEPHYRHILLS, FL

8-10 May, 2004. We've known Gail since 1998, when we first moved from Denver, Colorado to Tampa, Florida. We arrived at noon and Gail handed me a beer right away. She has many great neighbors who we hung out with until about 1 a.m. that night. Our friends, Bob and Rich (who we also met in 1998) came over for a dinner party the next day and we had a great time talking about old times (relatively speaking). Gail's a great cook and we ate like kings for 2 days. Gail also lived with us in Fortuna and Crescent City, California. We're going to try our best to stop back by on our way back up Florida, after visiting with our friends in Fort Pierce and Fort Lauderdale. It's nice to have good friends to visit when you're traveling across the country.

MANATEE SPRINGS STATE PARK, CHIEFLAND, FL

7 May, 2004. We had to fight to get half price here too but they were much nicer. Deer and armadillo came right into the campsite- apparently, they get fed by the campers here. There were also very bold racoons. This place was like returning to the south (very heavy accents). The manatees come here in the winter and there is a crystal clear spring which we didn't visit. The showers were pretty good. No Verizon signal. This was another in-and-out campground, we're trying to make miles this week.

ST. ANDREWS STATE PARK, PANAMA CITY, FL

Rocky

6 May, 2004. We had to fight to get half price here too. These people act like they've never seen a Golden Access Pass. They were very disorganized and borderlined on rude. Apparently, this place has one of the best beaches in Florida but we were unimpressed. However, the bathroom here was one of the nicest and most modern. You could actually get dressed after a shower with very little acrobatics. Many showers we've encountered don't seem to accommodate actually getting dressed afterwards. There was a group of guys training for scuba diving who overran the bathroom at night and the next norning. They were going fresh wather diving the day we left and many of them were very nervous about it. We didn't spend much time here either.

GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE, FL

5 May, 2004. We traveled through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to get to Florida in one day.


Alabama

The beach here is awesome. The campground is strewn with trash. The bathrooms have showers but they're in pretty poor shape. We also had to fight to get half price, even with our Golden Access Pass and Florida drivers license's. Fort Pickens is here.



This is a fortress, begun in 1834 and built upon all the way through WWII. It is pretty impressive, with cannons positioned all around it. Troops trained here for all those years, awaiting attacks that never came. In other words, its historical significance is that nothing happened here. We didn't spend much time here because we're on a mission to get to Ft. Pierce, FL to resupply our CD mailers, sleeves and ink.

TRACY AND CLARICE'S HOUSE, SLIDELL, LA

3 to 4 May, 2004. We went back to Tracy and Clarice's house (the VW Van collectors) after leaving St. Bernard. We plugged in and slept in their driveway 2 more nights. We had 4 pounds of boiled and fried shrimp ($3.99 / lb.) for lunch. We built a bonfire in their backyard fire pit to celebrate Beltane (a May Day, full moon. fertility celebration). We also watched "Pirates of the Caribbean" on DVD. it was nice to sit in a living room and watch a movie. We've decided to head into Florida after we leave here (to visit our friend Gail in ZephyrHills, Michael, Natalie and Roxanne in Ft. Pierce and John in Ft. Lauderdale) and then head into Wisconsin by May 29 for my sister's graduation party. My whole family is apparently going to be there. I'll finally have a chance to distribute the "Burhop Family Photo CD" which I worked on for 3 months. I scanned in 1,050 family photos and slides from October through January.

ST. BERNARD STATE PARK, POYDRAS, LA

Kool Boat we saw between Slidell and St. Bernard

Melvin

27 April to 2 May, 2004. There are 12 foot alligators here! There are alligators at all the state parks in Louisiana but I hadn't seen any until today. Rocky saw a few the other day as we were driving. It blows my mind how close they are to the campsites. Melvin, who runs the maintenance crew gave me the grand tour.

I saw an 8 foot alligator but he assured me that there were 12 foot alligators here too. I got video of it coming across the water towards us but no still-shots to post (still working on that). We also found some perfectly ripe blackberries. My fingernail finally fell off today- I smashed it in the restroom door at Bog Springs around March 21. Jazzfest is going on in downtown New Orleans and many of the campers are here for just that. We're thinking real hard about heading into New Orleans for the fest on Saturday to see Santana but money and weather are major factors. I had a few beers around the bonfire with James (who races a VW beetle- apparently one of the fastest street-legal beetles in the U.S.), Todd, Dave (all 3 from Huntsville, Alabama), Manny, Lisa and "Mirror" and "Shilo" (Mirror and Shilo are modern day hippies).


Mirror

Mirror cuts coins into medallions and is extremely good at it, getting $45 for a silver dollar medallion.

Didn't make it to Jazz Fest. It poured rain on Saturday night. We had a bonfire until dawn at our site with James, Todd, Dave and Patrick (who is traveling on his Harley Davidson with his dog).

Patrick's dog has luxury accommodations in a sidecar-like trailer that hooks onto the Harley. Patrick also had a laptop with wireless internet. We copied some of Todd's CD's and made some copies of our CD's for Todd the next day. I thought the dragonflies were cool at St. Bernard. We also met Mary and her mother, Maria, wno were some fast-talking local women. mary offered to bring us a goose egg if we were still around the next day but we had checked out before she could bring it. The power was turned off just after we left St. Bernard to update the electric there and add more electric sites. The showers were adequate there but the pay phone had been removed by Bell South. Bell South is removing pay phone service from many of the Louisiana campgrounds, claiming that they're not profitable enough. We had lots of fun there.

FAIRVIEW-RIVERSIDE STATE PARK, MADISONVILLE, LA

Our Bus Behind Tracy and Clarice's Collection

Clarice, Tracy and Rocky at the Backyard Fire Pit

Tracy

Clarice, Tracy and Johny B

The Buses All Together

Clarice

Johnny B Through The Looking Glass

23 April to 25 April, 2004. This place has electricity, water, good showers and a lot of counter space around the sinks. We got an decent signal there. There are alligators there too. It rained several inches on Monday- some surrounding areas got as much as 10 inches of rain on Sunday alone! A nearby dam even broke.


We met Kathy who was a little down on her luck but was working and living at the campground. She brought over some crab from a nearby crawfish / crab boil and Rocky estimates that he ate $50 worth of crab (at restaurant prices). We also had an old friend stop by and had a great time. Early one evening, I walked less than a mile down the road to meet Kathy at a local bar but just as I got there, she was leaving for another job she got on the spot. It was nice to see her with renewed energy and income. I stayed at the bar (The Harbor?) anyway and had a great time.

26 April, 2004. We also met Tracy who was working in the entrance station. She collects VW buses with her roommate, Clarice. We totally hit it off with them. We went to their house on Monday afternoon, had some drinks and spent the night parked in their driveway. We ordered pizza and built a fire in their fire pit out back. We discovered that Clarice and Rocky have nearly the exact same idea- to open a VW bus oriented campground on the Mississippi River. We think they would be the perfect business partners. Tracy has administrative experience with the State Park system and both of them have construction, painting, and VW experience. Rocky and I are very excited about the new potential.

FONTAINEBLEAU STATE PARK, FONTAINEBLEAU, LA

Can You Believe We Found A Balcony To Hang On! JB and Homer

Rocky and Johnny B, Bourbon Street

Johnny B Near Bourbon Street Enjoying The Music

Homer and Lydia, Bourbon Street

Home

Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau Beach

Johnny B at Cafe Du Monde

Lydia and Homer Enjoying Beignets at Cafe Du Monde

16 April to 22 April, 2004. This place is on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain. Lake Pontchartrain Bridge is the longest bridge in the world (from what we've learned). This park has electric sites, showers, a pool that opens after Labor Day, a beach, and tall tall trees. It's a very nice place to camp. $12 with power and $10 without. We saw deer, mink, armadillos and lots of tree frogs. Homer (Ian) and Lydia showed up and we've been camping with them ever since. Racoons are everywhere and they really started freaking me out when they kept sneaking up to the campsite and surrounding us. When I think of racoons, I think of rabies. Lydia finally got her wish and sprayed one of them with the hose. The weather has been awesome here.

17 April, 2004
We went into New Orleans today with Homer and Lydia. Our first mission was to go find the MoveOn.org "Bake Back The White House" Bake Sale. We searched most of the Park area near Lake Pontchartrain, almost giving up a couple of times, but somehow we got Lydia on a mission! After having Ian check Yahoo Maps, we were able to make it. The sale consisted of a few people with their baked goods and great attitudes! And a great cause!

From the bake sale, we went to the French Quarter. We didn't know The French Quarter Fest was going on, but we went and there it was. We started at the Cafe Du Monde and had Coffee with Chicory and Beignets, Then shopping for those little Voodoo items you always somhow need, but can never find anywhere else. Then off we strolled to Bourbon St. to drink Hurricane after Hurricane....... We took lots of pics with our new $20 pen-sized digital camera!

Needless to say, the Fest was a blast!

We are still on the lookout for a houseboat and really liking Louisiana.

SAM HOUSTON JONES STATE PARK, LAKE CHARLES, LA

Lydia and Homer

Lydia

6 April to 15 April, 2004. It was nice to finally get across Texas into Louisiana. Every site here has electricity and clean water. There are also very hot showers here. Louisiana State Parks accept the National Parks Golden Access Pass so we're paying half price, $6 / night. You can collect dead and fallen wood here for bonfires. It was cold and rainy for the first week but the storms have passed and it's getting warmer. There are flocks of geese here that never shut up and will chase you and nip at you if you get too close. The geese even got one little boy on his...(well, you get the idea). There are also very bold squirrels here that have actually jumped in our van while we were in it. They, and the geese, are used to getting handouts here. The campground is surrounded by a pond / swamp and apparently, there are quite a few alligators lurking beneath it. We haven't seen any but other campers had. We keep expecting to hear a goose get pulled underwater by a hungry gator but from what we've learned, the gators are well fed on fish and don't bother with the very fat, very well fed geese or humans here. Most of the campers we've met here want to hunt and eat the squirrels (even more than eating the geese). There were many large crawfish boils going on during Easter weekend and everyone got their turn bringing us samples of their generations-old recipes. There are some true down home good old southern boys here.

We've met many cool people here, including Davie and Sandra who are in their 50's and members of a BDSM Club. They're actually some of the most normal people you'll ever meet. Davie's a wine drinker and Sandra doesn't drink alcohol at all. We hung out with them for the first few days and then moved to a tent site because all the developed sites were reserved for the Easter weekend. We were still camped near their RV and spent some more time with them. They just pulled out today but we may meet back up with them at Niblett's State Park a few miles west of here.

We also met James (Ol' Gator) and his girlfriend, Marie. They've got a rebel flag flying above their tiny tent but for them, it is merely a symbol of freedom and family history, nothing more. One of the geese got a good nip at James' four month old puppy. James was involved with Special Ops in the Army and did many undercover missions in Laos and Cambodia. He also did 7 years in prison for assaulting a Peace Officer but we won't go into that. We've spent several days with them and we're getting together for tacos and hamburgers later this afternoon. James is one of the most politically informed people I've met in the past year. He has many theories about the current state of our country, some of which we agree with. We also met Ian (Homer) and Lydia from Canada.

They've been on the road since August, 2001 in their Dodge Ram that they totally customized. We're going to meet them at Fountainebleau State Park on the other side of Louisiana and share a site with them. They're low on cash and we like to help whenever we can. We also had an old friend visit our site one evening and had a great time. We're having a lot of fun here.

RANCH MOTEL, DEL RIO, TX

4 April, 2004 (04/04/04). This place is a dump. $35 per night after taxes. There are other motels in town that look even worse. There are also more expensive motel chains in town that are probably a lot nicer but we're watching our money pretty closely. Rocky is fixing the shower with a pair of plyers like he does at practically every motel we stay at. They should pay us when we stay at these crappy motels. The cable has about 80 channels but the beds are hard and we had to get the owner to turn the heat back on. These motels never have remote controls for the TV- it makes clicking your way up to channel 60 or 70 a real hassle. I'm seeing weather reports of tornadoes in San Antonio so we definitely made the right decision to stay here tonight instead of heading into the San Antonio area. And we're getting orders processed here even though we don't have wireless internet service.

5 April, 2004. We slept at a rest stop... We are now just trying to cross Texas. Our attempts to find a campground here have been fruitless. They either don't have the envelopes to pay, or flooded so bad that they have no electric or water!

It's raining

Today, our goal is to make it across the Galveston Island Ferry! In the rain and high winds. The Bus catches a lot of wind under the luggage rack, the seal is missing. More rain. So we made it to the first island just west of Galveston, the van is all over the road. We stopped several times before to avoid the winds. Made it to the gulf and finally got to watch the waves again! Its been a long time in the desert.

The Galveston Island ferry was cool. There were rough seas, but we made it. We stayed at a Picnic Area just east of Galveston. Woke up and made our exit from Texas.

AMISTAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, TX

3 April, 2004. We never even found out if there were electrical sites at the Amistad National Recreation Area but we don't think so. Definitely no showers. Camping was $2 per night with our National Parks Pass (half price). We saw deer and jackelopes. No rattlesnakes, mountain lions or bears here. They had well constructed "developed" sites (cement picnic tables with an awning). We were cold all day driving to Amistad but it was warm when we got there just before sunset. This place is pretty far south, still near the Mexico border. We threw away lots of stuff and got more organized. It stormed pretty hard during the night and by 8 am, we were in a huge thunderstorm that blanketed nearly all of West Texas. The winds were gusting at 55 mph so we just got a hotel in Del Rio, 8 miles up highway 90, instead of battling the dangerous driving conditions.

MARFA, TX

2 April, 2004. If you ever find yourself in the middle of nowhere Texas, go see the Marfa Lights. They're focused, star-like lights that brighten and dim and sometimes even move past each other. Some of them are always in the same place. Apparently, researchers have gone to great lengths to associate the lights with traffic from highway 67 or the mica in the rocks but it just doesn't add up. Besides, the lights were first seen in rthe 1880's so traffic can be ruled out. We camped out at the Marfa Mystery Lights Viewing Area 9 miles east of town for free. One of the plaques informed us that it was local high school students who made the Viewing Area possible. it was well constructed with large bathrooms (no running water). The toilets were "recycling toilets" that composted the waste in the machinery below the building. There are also 3 mounted viewing binoculars set up for free. We're going to email someone there and recommend that they install a donation box. We would have donated a few bucks and I'm sure lots of other people would too.

Two beat-up buses packed with Mexican High School Students arrived. One bus was all boys and the other was all girls. We exchanged several "Buenos Noches" with some of the adult chaperones. I don't think any of them spoke any English. The kids were hootin' and hollerin' up a storm. It eventually drove all the other visitors away. They were having a riot, chanting what sounded like "Meeko, Meeko, Meeko" and then erupting into cheer. Flash cameras were going off like crazy whenever one of the lights would appear or brighten. They didn't stay very long. We saw lots of bikers (motorcyclists) pass through. It was very windy and cold. This is also where the movie "Giant" (starring James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson) was filmed. I think james Dean's fatal car accident happened here on highway 90 during the shooting of Giant. We also saw some Antelope. The area is surrounded by Antelope Valley. We had a blast there.

TRAVELODGE HOTEL, EL PASO, TX

1 April, 2004. We got a very nice room on the 7th floor for $45.99 (around $54 after an ouitrageous amount of taxes). There was coffee in the room, an ironing board, a hair dryer, a safe and very comfortable beds Oddly enough, the water in the our room (# 712) was too hot. It took several minutes, on full cold, for the showere to be bearable. Even the toilet water was uncomfortably hot. The room included a free 30-minute long distance phone call which I used to call my mom. It turns out that my brother went to Las Vegas, NV to get married less than a month after I left. Overall, we were pretty happy there. We also got a free shuttle to the walking bridge that leads in to Juarez, Mexico. 35 cents to cross the bridge. And the hotel will pick you up until Midnight. We took advantage of that too.

JUAREZ, MEXICO

1 April, 2004. We walked and walked and walked through Juarez. The Juarez Market was closed so we found a few bars and had a few beers. The 40 ouncers were $3, the 12 ouncers were $1.20 to $1.40 USD each. The traffic lights may as well not even exist there- no-one obeys them. People constantly run in front of cars and buses and the cars and buses are halfway into the intersection before the light changes. Lots of poeple missing limbs there. We got $16 dollar cartons of Marlboros (one per person with a $4.20 tax on each carton). Still a great deal (realtive to today's outrageous prices). After crossing back over the border, we went to a bar just a few blocks from our hotel. We had another old friend visit us at the hotel too and lots of fun again. We have plenty to smoke for the next week or two.