Sprinty’s Adventuring to Texas Again

Thursday, 31 October

After four whole weeks at home, Sprinty started off on his next adventure. The four weeks were filled with various appointments - new struts and alignment for Sprinty, doctors and dentists for Kris and Darrell, and several home projects. Of course, golf was involved as was catching up with Soleil and Canton friends.

With two days of rain moving in with an approaching cold front, followed by chilly temperatures, we decided to head out a day earlier than originally planned. If you can't play outside, may as well spend the day driving. And if you are going to be driving, may as well put aside the 330 rule (no more than 330 miles/day, arrive at campground by 3:30pm) and position ourselves for the best possible weather we can, one of the many advantages of traveling with your house and very limited plans.

Avoiding Atlanta traffic on a rainy day (Atlanta traffic seems to always be a challenge, made more so in bad weather), Sprinty headed west via blue highways through Cartersville and Cedartown, past Talledega, AL to Montgomery, AL. A welcome stop after over four hours of driving was a Starbucks on the outskirts of Montgomery where Kris paid up for her most excellent golf game last Monday. After Montgomery, Sprinty decided to stretch his legs on the Interstate for the rest of the day.

We assessed how we were doing, the weather and various options, and decided to push a bit today to spend the night at Davis Bayou Campground at the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Ocean Springs, MS. At least in Ocean Springs the forecast low temperature was 38 degrees, which was better than the weather along the original route we contemplated.

We finally broke out of the rain just before getting to Mobile, AL. When we arrived at the Gulf Islands National Seashore, we made a pass through the campground to see what the available sites looked like. The sign said to check in at the Visitor Center, so we went on down there. The person who handled the campground was out, so our only option was to register/reserve via the recreation.gov web site. Not too difficult, and we even got to apply our senior pass for 50% off. $11 for an electric site.

While we were at the Visitor Center, we watched the park video about the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It is a large park as it encompasses seven barrier islands from Mississippi to the panhandle of Florida, and 80% of the park is underwater. The Davis Bayou is on the mainland and protects the area where salt water and fresh water meet (brackish water).

The Ranger also told us that they had five to seven juvenile alligators that reside in a nearby pond, so we did the short hike on the trail to see if we could see any. They must have headed home as the temperatures were already in the upper 50s, and the sun was low enough that the pond was not getting much sun.

Sprinty made himself at home in site 46, a long paved site what was the flattest of the ones available. The others had slight slopes such that if we backed in, we would need leveling blocks to try and get more comfortable for sleeping, or we would have pulled straight in as we have sometimes done.

Being close to Ocean Springs, MS, we enjoyed good internet connectivity (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile) which enabled us to make an online tee time for tomorrow, and start planning the next few days. Kris and Darrell were joking last night with friends at the concert in Soleil that neither of us knew where we were spending tonight. Or the next night. We left home this morning with a goal of getting far enough south that the cold temperatures rolling in would not be as cold as other places. Mission accomplished.

Friday, 1 November

Today marks a special anniversary for Kris and Darrell. Eight years ago today, Darrell talked with the real estate agent in Canton about putting in a backup offer on the house (which was already under contract) that we now live in. That phone call set in motion Kris driving down to see the house and writing the offer later that week. One of many pivot points in our life.

As forecast, it got downright cold last night - 36 degrees this morning. Golf today was at the Bay Breeze Golf Course at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, MS. We selected it for ease of making a tee time via the GolfNow app and being nearby. The price was also appealing, even though the reviews suggested the greens were not in good shape. We selected a tee time of 10:45 to give the day a bit of an opportunity to warm up some before we played. The forecast was for sun, with a strong wind from the north.

On the way to the golf course, we made a stop at the Commissary on Kessler AFB for a couple of grocery items. Although we arrived at the golf course about an hour before our tee time, it was just too raw to hit balls on the range. As Sprinty was parked in the sun, we enjoyed a warm home until closer to tee time.

When we checked in at the pro shop, we found that it was cart path only (they got 7 inches of rain) and the front nine holes was closed. They said they might open the front nine later. And the price we were charged was less than what we booked the round for on GolfNow - maybe because the front nine was closed. Being a cold, windy day, we both had low expectations and Kris even remarked about not keeping score. Ha ha. That lasted all of two shots, then it was game on.

We played neck and neck throughout the first nine holes, with Darrell making the turn up by only one stroke. After the back nine, we learned the front nine was now open. And the four-some we had been following for six holes let us play through. The second nine started off similar to the first nine - neck and neck until Darrell made a birdie on the 15th hole to get ahead. In the end, Darrell had honors on the day.

Despite being cart path only, we played pretty fast and finished in about 3 hours. While at Starbucks, where Darrell paid up, we tossed out the plans Darrell worked so hard on last night, and made new plans. We called and made a tee time for tomorrow in Slidell, LA. Although the weather forecast was for another chilly night, our hopes for a late morning tee time did not work out as there was a tournament. We were offered a 8:20 tee time, which we took. Then looked for a place to camp as close to the golf course as possible.

Using the AllStays app, we picked Pine Crest RV Park in Slidell which was about a mile from the golf course. The reviews in AllStays were pretty positive, although the reviews on Campendium suggested it might be a disappointment. As it was a Friday night, we called to verify they had a site available and made a reservation. And as Good Sam members, we saved 10%.

Slidell was an hour away by interstate, or an hour and fifteen minutes via US Highway 90. Sprinty picked US 90, which runs right along the beach. As we drove west on US 90, we tried to recognize things from when we were stationed in Gulfport 1990-1992. Neither of us recognized much - a combination of things missing due to hurricane damage, the new construction (especially the casinos), and being over 25 years ago.

A pleasant drive, we checked into the campground just after 4pm. Almost all the sites were pull-through, making setup a breeze. They also have the short term stay sites clustered together from the long term stays. The bathhouse was quite nice.

Saturday, 2 November

Another chilly morning - 41 degrees when we woke up. With an early tee time, we used an alarm to make sure we did not oversleep. We are both sleeping well in Sprinty.

Golf today was at Oak Harbor Golf Club, Slidell, LA. When we called for a tee time yesterday, they said there was a tournament today, which was why they only offered us an early tee time, and we took it. Again, we did an abbreviated warmup as it was just too cold to hit balls on the range. We were the second group out this morning, following another two-some. The fairway were sopping wet from the recent rain and dew, so there was no rollout. Balls came or rets within inches of where they landed. The greens were quite nice - very consistent in speed and texture, which helped out putting. Darrell opened with a par, then Kris tied it up on the next hole. The course had a lot more character then the one yesterday, with ponds along most of the holes, mounds, bunkers, and bunkers which were filled with water from the recent rains. Darrell managed to have the lead at the turn despite losing two balls. On the back nine, we both played better. Darrell had honors on the day again.

Once again, we finished in about 3 hours. As we left Slidell, we stopped for Darrell to pay up. Again. With sketchy plans, we committed to a plan for tomorrow making a tee time in New Iberia, LA at a golf course we tried to play last year, only to find they were closed on Mondays. We then checked to see if a Harvest Hosts place north of Lafayette was available for tonight. It was, and their website indicated lots of goings on on Saturdays.

Harvest Hosts is a RV Club where members get to stay at vineyards, farms, museums and golf courses at no cost. There is an expectation that you support the business by purchasing their goods in the amount you would have paid for a campground.

The Harvest Host near Lafayette was Bayou Teche Brewing, a craft brewery. They also had live music from 3pm-6pm, music trivia at 6:30pm, and a DJ after that. Their wood-fired pizza is what cinched the deal for us.

We arrived just in time for the live music. The music and tables were outside, and at 60 degrees, it was a bit chilly. We hung out for an hour until we retreated to the warmth of Sprinty. The music was plenty loud enough to listen from inside Sprinty.

When we arrived, there was one other RV in the parking lot, a Class A, and by the time we retreated to Sprinty, there were five RVs - two Class Bs, two Class Cs, and the Class A.

For dinner, we enjoyed a pepperoni pizza from the Cajun Saucer wood fired pizza.

It was quite tasty. Being it was chilly outside, we enjoyed the pizza at the dining table in Sprinty. Although the website said they closed at 9pm, the music continued for another 30 minutes. Then the place cleared out except for the RVs.

Sunday, 3 November

We woke up to a chilly 41 degrees, again. We took some comfort from the report from a neighbor in Soleil about frost on the ground, the weather report for Deep Creek calling for low temperatures of 24 degrees tonight, and thinking about the temperatures that all the regular readers of Sprinty Chronicles were having this morning.

Sprinty performed very well dry camping at the brewery. The Alde heating system worked like a champ, quietly providing heat. Our AGM battery bank had plenty of capacity for light, TV, refrigerator during the night, and coffee maker and toaster during breakfast this morning.

Golf today was at Squirrel Run Golf Course in New Iberia, LA, about 45 minutes from the brewery. It is the course we tried to play at least year but was closed on Mondays. When we arrived, we found out they were under new owners/management, making us glad we called for a tee time instead of using the GolfNow app. If we had used the GolfNow app, the tee time reservation would have gone off into the bit wilderness, and the course would have no record of our making a tee time.

The tee sheet was pretty empty, and we were the one of the first groups off. A sunny day with less wind, it felt warmer when we started, and warmed up nicely as we played. We followed another two-some, and they played as fast as we do. Kris opened up with a nice par on the first hole to take a two stroke lead. Darrell played catch up the rest of the round, tying it up, only to have Kris get ahead again. Darrell finally tied it up on the 16th hole, and held the tie into the the last hole. Kris made par, while Darrell's par putt missed dropping in by an inch. Kris had honors on the day, and she was skipping for joy to have to buy.

After a stop for Kris to buy and a quick visit to Target, we continued west to Sam Houston Jones State Park just north of Lake Charles, LA.

We stayed here last year as we were headed to Houston. The ReserveAmerica reservation system showed a number of available sites on a walk-up basis. ReserveAmerica does not let you make a reservation within 24 hours, so there is a bit of fingers crossed. Being a Sunday night, we were pretty confident we would be successful. And we were.

Monday, 4 November

We made an 8:30 tee time to get in front of the morning golf groups. A cool morning, but not as cold as the last few. And the forecast was for it to quickly warm up.

We picked The National Golf Club of Louisiana in Westlake, LA as being close to the state park and a great senior rate. We went off behind a four-some. Despite both hitting good tee shots, we struggled, with Kris taking a one shot lead and basically keeping it through the turn. Neither RLF us played well, each only making one par each on the first nine. We played the back nine a little better, but Darrell's golf balls kept going frustratingly astray. S Kris has honors on the day.

As we continued westerly, we stopped off in Sulphur, LA for a Kris to pay up. Then continued westerly the Gulf Coast RV Resort in Beaumont, TX. This is a campground we stayed at last year because it was five-star rated and with Passport America, it was half off. Nice level, concrete, full-hookup pull-through sites for $22.50 with the discount. Marginal WiFi and free breakfast included.

Tuesday, 5 November

Sprinty enjoyed his stay at the Gulf Coast RV Resort.  Some minor highway noise, but not too bad.  The free breakfast was a bit minimal, and served outside.  The RV park suffered flooding during Tropical Storm Esmeralda, and the room where breakfast is normally held was still under repair.

Sprinty continued west to the Red Wolf Golf Resort in Huffman, TX.  “Resort” was a bit of a stretch, but is was 18 holes, enroute to Atascocita, TX, and cheap.  And no tee times needed.  We played behind three groups, which made for a slower day than usual.  We just enjoyed the day, and the fact we were playing in shorts for the first time on this trip.

As we were getting Sprinty settled in the parking lot, at least seven out ten vehicles in the parking lot were pickup trucks.  Sprinty almost felt out of place.

The first hole started as seems to be usual, with Kris walking off the green with a one stroke lead.  Darrell made five pars and a birdie on the front nine to lead at the turn.  Then Darrell made several boo boos, and by hole 14, Kris was in the lead.  Darrell settled down, and finished the back nine better, taking the day.

This necessitated a stop to pay up on the way to Kris’ sister’s house where Sprinty will get some rest while Kris and Darrell spend time with the family.