The South

In our last post we left off with the tornado warning in Mobile, Alabama. Janine and Chris did not get much sleep that night. The people at the RV park who told us about the tornado said we would know when it is coming as it would sound like a freight train. The RV park we were at was close to an airport and railway line so everytime a plane took off or a train went by we thought is this it coming down the side of our RV? Anyway, there was lots of heavy rain and violent wind, and then it stopped all of a sudden around 4am.

Tuesday morning we went to the USS Alabama in Mobile (http://www.ussalabama.com/). This was wicked. It is a historic park for a massive battleship and submarine. We spent the morning here touring on these vessels. The missiles on the ship weighed over 2,000 LBS. The turrets on the cannons were huge. We then tried the flight simulator. Chris first went with the kids and nearly hurled. Janine then went with the kids.

In the afternoon we travelled to New Orleans crossing from Alabama through Mississippi to Louisiana (the land is flat and swampy through these states). Upon arriving at the RV park we went into the French Quarter until evening. We bought some candy, toured the streets, were approached by homeless people, went to the markets and tried some southern food (eg. gumbo, jimalaya, red beans, etofay - I have probably mispelt these food items).

One thing we noticed on the road to and from New Orleans is the swamp and length of bridges crossing these swamps. One bridge seemed to go for 10 miles (two lanes, both sides). That would have taken some building! We also noticed the devastation left from Hurricane Katrina. Lots of houses are still inhabitable. Some people have parked a caravan (travel trailer) next to their house to live in. Shopping malls are vacant as they were ruined. The RV park we stayed at had a waterline on the wall across the road which would have meant our RV was submerged.

Wednesday morning we travelled west to Breaux Bridge in Louisiana and stayed until Sunday. The weather has been temperamental. On Wednesday and Thursday it was warm (but cool in the morning). On Friday it rained and was around 5 degrees celsius (40 F?)

We are currently at a MX track and have met Mike and Pam. Mike and Pam are involved in arenacross in the USA (smaller version of supercross) along with promoting MX races at different tracks. They (along with their "adopted" MX sons, Corey and Brock) have been most hospitable to us (I watched these guys race on the track today and they can haul). Mike and Pam have been so helpful with different things (including arranging the delivery of a motocross bike, shopping at Walmart) and we are very appreciative. Plus, Mike introduced Chris to a southern delicacy called crawfish (fresh water crayfish). It is boiled in a pot and then spices are added. Everyone eats them including young kids. Pull off the tail, take off the shell and eat the meat, then suck out the other end of the crawfish (the brains?).

Josiah rode his motocross bike at a race at Breaux Bridge and did well. The track was short but extremely rough compared to NZ standards. The track owner had mixed in some mulch (rice and corn?) which made it like sawdust so it whooped out alot (big braking and acceleration bumps. Josiah competed in stock and modified classes. One thing I noticed about the modified class was the amount of $$ spent on the bikes. There is some serious bling on these things. The other thing that I noticed was the quarantine of the parents to the pit area and the heat coming from the parents when their child didn't do as well as they thought. These parents could outdo a trooper in a swearing contest.

We are now in the middle of Texas near Waco (Monday night) having left Breaux Bridge and gone through Houston last night. Last night we stayed at a RV park just outside of Houston which Chris selected as it was 2 miles from the interstate highway into the city. Turned out when we pulled off the highway and turned left to go back under the highway we then had to turn left immediately again and travel the two miles back up along side the highway. So we stayed right beside the interstate highway with heavy traffic all throgh the night.

In the morning we showered and then hit the road for the Johnson Space Center in Houston (www.spacecenter.org). This was a quick trip and we didn't really do it justice. We also got caught in a storm on the outside tram tour. And then we had to hit the road again, in the storm travelling through busy Houston traffic.

I am hoping for Sarah, Josiah and Joel to add their comments to the blog in the next few days.