Rainy Sunday morning greetings from Twelve Oaks RV Park near Lake Charles in southwestern Louisiana. Yesterday was a four state day. I left the panhandle of Florida and drove across the narrow southern tips of Alabama and Mississippi and on past New Orleans, through Baton Rouge across the mighty Mississippi River near its end at the Gulf of Mexico and on to this park 33 miles from the Texas border. I doubt this 2017 road trip will have any other days where I am in four states. Only a half hour from Texas, I could have easily made it five states, but my next destination is Sea Rim State Park. It lies on the Gulf coast in extreme southeastern Texas about 100 miles from here.
The freedom to choose destinations on a momentary whim is a wonderful part of this experience. As I drove along the Gulf of Mexico through four states I didn’t really consider spending any time oceanside until I stopped for a picnic lunch with Jesse at the Mississippi Welcome Center along Interstate 10. As she ate her apple and I had a can of tuna and crackers, I looked at my Texas Gazetteer and 2017 Road Atlas. I looked at the path I had driven and the stretches of ocean I had passed. State and National Parks are my sites of choice, and I spied Sea Rim State Park. I looked at its website on my iPhone and became intrigued. It has RV sites along the beach and a boardwalk that takes you along a path above the brackish marshes. It also said there were wildlife observation blinds. I decided I had to go. Unfortunately, a website glitch didn’t allow booking a campsite for the same day, so I was only able to reserve a site for the following day – today. I booked two nights, but if it is what I hope I likely will ask for another two during check in.
Since I couldn’t get into Sea Rim last night, I had two choices: crash for free in a truck stop or Wal-Mart parking lot, or find an inexpensive RV park somewhere along the interstate in Louisiana. After the picnic ended I sat in my truck and thumbed through my giant RV campground directory and chose one. It was three hours farther along the interstate. I read the guide’s brief description and three ratings system and then visit the park’s website to check out photos and more info. I’m not too choosy for only one night’s stay, but I certainly don’t want to pay $ to stay in a shithole. Twelve Oaks was certainly reasonable at the Good Sam Club discount price and I wasn’t disappointed upon arrival.
I only have two hours to go so I’ll have a leisurely morning here and am now making eggs and coffee. I plan to get a few more images up on Instagram and write a few postcards. Then I’ll break camp and drive a short distance west before heading south to explore the gulf coast for a few days.
Cheers, MJ
The freedom to choose destinations on a momentary whim is a wonderful part of this experience. As I drove along the Gulf of Mexico through four states I didn’t really consider spending any time oceanside until I stopped for a picnic lunch with Jesse at the Mississippi Welcome Center along Interstate 10. As she ate her apple and I had a can of tuna and crackers, I looked at my Texas Gazetteer and 2017 Road Atlas. I looked at the path I had driven and the stretches of ocean I had passed. State and National Parks are my sites of choice, and I spied Sea Rim State Park. I looked at its website on my iPhone and became intrigued. It has RV sites along the beach and a boardwalk that takes you along a path above the brackish marshes. It also said there were wildlife observation blinds. I decided I had to go. Unfortunately, a website glitch didn’t allow booking a campsite for the same day, so I was only able to reserve a site for the following day – today. I booked two nights, but if it is what I hope I likely will ask for another two during check in.
Since I couldn’t get into Sea Rim last night, I had two choices: crash for free in a truck stop or Wal-Mart parking lot, or find an inexpensive RV park somewhere along the interstate in Louisiana. After the picnic ended I sat in my truck and thumbed through my giant RV campground directory and chose one. It was three hours farther along the interstate. I read the guide’s brief description and three ratings system and then visit the park’s website to check out photos and more info. I’m not too choosy for only one night’s stay, but I certainly don’t want to pay $ to stay in a shithole. Twelve Oaks was certainly reasonable at the Good Sam Club discount price and I wasn’t disappointed upon arrival.
I only have two hours to go so I’ll have a leisurely morning here and am now making eggs and coffee. I plan to get a few more images up on Instagram and write a few postcards. Then I’ll break camp and drive a short distance west before heading south to explore the gulf coast for a few days.
Cheers, MJ
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