New Orleans, 1

We have visited New Orleans many times in the past, several times for vacation get-aways--we lived in "nearby" Dallas for 13 years. One of Vicki's fond memories is of the Christmas open houses in the Garden District we must have visited in the 80s. When I was in the higher ed biz, and later in the humanities biz, I went to New Orleans on several occasions, for conferences and meetings and such. I can't say we've seen it all: I still want to visit the WWII museum, for example. But that will have to wait until COVID-19 is over. On this visit we just walked around, looking at the architecture and flora and fauna and overall weirdness, not going inside anything that wasn't completely open-air. By and large, people were masked and staying apart, that is, until Saturday night on Bourbon St. We left about that time.

In le quartier francais, a residential bit

Not a residential bit; excellent signage though

Dorsal view of cathedral

Assorted iconic stuff...

Afternoon snack at the Cafe du Monde; reminding me that chicory
is to coffee as hamburger helper is to hamburger...

Excellent signage though

Jackson Square and cathedral from the artillery park

Thus

The Great River

Us, there

The band playing on

Not this day

"Now go do that voodoo that you do so well..."

Late afternoon Bourbon St.

Remains of the shrimp and grits at Cafe Amelie on Royal St;
their large courtyard seemed designed for COVID-19 dining;
the cherry/almond bread pudding was super; as was the Sazerac

Rue de Bourbon as we left

Camping In The Big Easy

We've done our share of urban camping...Copenhagen, Oslo, Paris, Berlin, London, Madrid, Istanbul, Wellington...come to mind. But we've never been in a resort-like RV park so close to the action. The French Quarter RV Park in New Orleans is two blocks from the French Quarter. Five minutes a pied. Pricey, but how else you gonna' see the Big Easy from an RV?

The usual amenities and much, much more, at no extra charge

Reception and club house lounge

Many sites have their own gazebos (note 8 foot wall with razor
wire)

Pool, hot tub, BBQ...

Even an ice machine...top that, Walmart!

But our passage south is bring watched...Crebain from Dunland...
Spies of Saruman!

Strafing The Boll Weevils

As we drove back toward I-10, we were treated to an air show, a crop duster (a Kruk model? Air Tractor?), making apparently dry runs over the field we were passing. I stopped for some pix and to marvel at the speed and maneuverabilty of the craft; and the daring of these pilots.

Thought-provoking question: is anybody making crop-dusting drones?

Answer: just google "crop dusting drones," or go to https://hse-uav.com/product-category/commercial-drones/agriculture-and-crop-spraying-drones/

Our other thrill of the day, still in Alabama, was finding diesel for $1.64/gallon

And yet another thrill was wallydocking right across from the beach in
Long Beach, AL

Cote d'Alabama

We left Knoxville November 16th, amid worsening COVID-19 reports everywhere, some state closures already, and some thousands of miles to go back to California. We'd thought of pressing further east and seeing Charleston and the Sherouse ancestral home of Ebeneezer, near Savannah, and then maybe even further into Florida. But reason prevailed and we decided that we had pressed our luck about as far east and south as we should. Besides, temperatures in Knoxville were falling below freezing, not good for RV water tanks and plumbing. Our plan was to head south from Knoxville and then ride I-10 all the way back to CA, stopping here and there to rest, resupply, and refit. 

I was excited to think we might get to the Redneck Riviera, but then deflated to learn that said "Riviera" occurs just on the Florida panhandle coast. Stops at Pensacola. So instead we found the Cote d'Alabama, Gulf Shores and such, and Mobile. We spent a few nights at the Escapees Rainbow Plantation campground, repairing and refitting, and seeing friends and fellow travelers Kathy and Rick...whom we've met on a variety of occasions before...in Kissimmee, Amsterdam, Chianti, Mantua, Mountain View, and Fremont...to name a few. It was good to see them again, to catch up, commiserate, and reflect on our great fortune in having traveled so widely the past decade and more.

We've been there before department: Marie and Vicki at the USS
Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, 1976; Norm was an instructor
at Pensacola in those days

USS Drum, SS-228, a Gato class sub, same as my favorite, 
USS Wahoo, SS-238, sunk departing the Sea of Japan in 1943;
after hurricane damage in the years following 1976, the Drum
is now on display on shore

From the bridge of the Alabama

Now at Gulf Shores, 2020

Yours truly; the beach is beautiful, the water
not so much, the place developed here and
there, pretty much deserted the day we passed
through

Looking east

And west

Excellent signage

Our encampment at Rainbow Plantation; perhaps they'll be
changing the name soon (yeah, sure)

Hurricane Sally had passed through some weeks before, and the
devastation, particularly in the pine forests, was still visible;
trash-hauling, logging, roof-repairs, etc., are probably good
trades to practice in this region, with serial hurricanes coming
through almost annually

Despite the devastation, the fields of cotton seemed to be
doing just fine; we hadn't seen cotton since Turkey in 2010

Ascent Of Look Rock

So on November 10th, Vicki and I, our hosts, Norm and Marie, and their daughter, Stacey, set forth on the drive via the Foothills Parkway to Look Rock. The Foothills Parkway is part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: a beautiful scenic drive in the foothills, now just past the fall foliage peak, but impressive nonetheless, not least in that it is rarely as crowded as other highways in the Park. Look Rock is a knob (elevation 2,650) on Chilhowie Mountain, with nearly 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains and valley. From the parking lot there is a paved trail to the summit. Signs say it is 1/2 mile round-trip. We five-some hiked up, had a pique-nique lunch, looked around, took pix, and then drove back to Knoxville. A fine outing.

Along the way, by Calderwood dam, on the Little Tennessee River

You have been warned

Checking air quality at the Air Quality Checking Station on the ridge
leading to Look Rock; seemed kind of smoky to me

Look! Rock!

Climbing the ramp up to the observation deck

View from the heights, toward the valley

Looking toward the bigger mountains

(Not) why they're called the Smokies; actually, it's all the stills

Actual natural summit 

Closer up

Summit ascent team