May 13, 2010

For those wondering why your comments weren't showing up it is because I have to approve them before they are posted.  I didn't realize I had clicked that option when I set up the blog.  I thought that best as the blog is open to anyone.  So as soon as I see a comment has been posted I will approve it and you will see it then.  Thanks for pointing it out to us.


1:10 PM
After driving in a hot RV a good share of the day yesterday, we turned the roof air down real low last night and enjoyed getting a chill.  When I got up this morning all the windows on the RV were steamed up.  We had it pretty frosty inside.  I figured that way it would take an hour or two on the road before we got thawed out.

I went online last night to the RV Net website blog.  I asked other RVers in this area where we should go to have our air repaired.  A guy from Lafayette got right back to me and recommended Service Auto Air in Scott, LA.  They are located just of I-10 west of Lafayette.

I gave them a call and told them we were about an hour and a half away and asked if they could take a look at it for us.  They told us to come on.  So as I write this I am sitting in their waiting room.  They have had it in the garage for a couple of hours and I haven’t heard any word yet.  I guess they have to work it in so we will be patient.

I asked the employees here if they knew of a good cajun restaurant in the area.  They suggested PreJean’s which is just off I-49 north of here.  So when we get done here I think we will treat ourselves to a good cajun meal.

We crossed the 17 mile long Basin bridge this morning.  It crosses the bayou.  There were areas of cypress swamp that were very picturesque.  I could only imagine all the delicious crawdads crawling around out there.  Hopefully I will get some later at PreJean’s.

At this point we are planning to stop at Chipote State Park later today.  It is not far off from I-49.  So far we have been really impressed with the state parks.  They are clean, scenic and the price is right.

2:25 PM
Plans changed.  They came out and told us that we needed a bunch of things done to the air.  It was going to take a minimum of the rest of the day and possibly even until morning to get this done.  I guess I will miss out on that meal at PreJean’s.

One of the nice young ladies at the repair place asked if we would like to go to Cracker Barrel while we were waiting.  We thought that was real nice of them.  She drove us over and told us to call when we wanted to come back.  This isn’t the cajun meal I was looking forward to but the only difference between a good meal and a bad one is about two hours.  We will be grateful for the experience and relish every minute as unique to the trip.

We finished our lunch and went out front and sat in the rocking chairs for awhile watching the traffic zoom by on the interstate.  I was actually happy I wasn't out there with them.  We called Marla around 3:45 PM and she came back and got us.

Marla is a native of Louisiana.  She has done a short stint in Orlando but couldn't handle the fast pace of the city.  She says she is a country girl at heart.

Shortly after arriving back at Service Auto Air we were informed that the air was fixed.  However, the repairman discovered that one of our cooling fans wasn't working up to par.  He said we could get by with it the way it was.  Heading into the mountains I didn't think that was a good idea.  We could overheat climbing a long hill without it.  I asked if they could replace it.  They could but not until the morning.

Marla got on the phone and started trying to track down the part.  Easier said than done.  She called all over Louisiana and couldn't find one anywhere.  She did find a place that could get one to her by Monday.  I told her to go ahead and get it and we would come back.  I am very pleased with the shop and the quality of work so I can't think of better people to do the job for me.

They told me there was a KOA nearby.  I told them I would drive up to Chicot State Park for the weekend.  They thought that was a long way to go.  I told them how much I have enjoyed staying at the state parks.  You have the sense of actually camping in the woods instead of a worked over cow pasture.

Now you won't believe this.  I pulled out my credit card to pay them for the work they had done today.  They said, "No, that's ok.  Wait until you come back on Monday."  Now that is what I call small town hospitality.  You won't find any place in Florida that would trust you to come back even if they do have your address and phone number.

The trip out to Chicot (ch like chuck, long i, cot like a little bed) was uneventful.  It turned out to be about 45 miles from the repair place.  It is a huge campground way back in the woods with 208 sites. The sites aren't as nice as Tickfaw but they are still very good.  There seems to be lots of things to explore around here for the next few days so we won't be idle.

Our neighbors stopped over for a chat.  They have a brand new 38 foot 5th wheel.  Boy it makes us look like the Clampets.  They gave us the tour.  They are from Texas and are on their way to a wedding near New Orleans.

We are settled in for the night.  We didn't take any photos today.  Sorry.