A Louisiana Casino Tour

2-9 Mar. After having spent most of last year building the house, and then waiting an insufferable amount of time waiting on the rig to be serviced and repaired, we finally found ourselves in a position to get away for a short trip. The trip ended up being a mini "Shakedown Cruise" (old Navy term) to get some of the bugs out from having sat so long and for us to re-learn some essentials for RV travelling (such as proper stowage of stuff and what all switches need to be turned on or off). However, all that said, we were able to get on the road and head for the Louisiana Casinos. First stop is Roger and Jeanne's in Stagecoach (just north of Houston). Always a good stop to see our travelling friends. We spent the night and enjoyed a terrific meal and fellowship.

Next day we were on our way to Lake Charles. I did not take any photos while here (out of practice with packing the camera around all the time), but we did enjoy ourselves. We stayed at the Whispering Meadows RV park in Westlake. A new and small park run by Bob Woodward (a retired swabby as well). A good, clean, and simple park. Sites are level and concrete. Bob and crew were friendly and helpful. This park was within 6 miles of both functioning casinos, Isle of Capri and Lauberge. They were nice and we donated sufficiently to there operating costs. While in Lake Charles we toured the coastline and viewed the continuing effort to rebuild. One thing for fellow campers: it would seem that a new RV park is looking to build on the beach off of Hwy 27. 2 nights in Westlake was enough though and we were ready to move onto Kinder and the Coushata Casino.

We stayed 2 nights at Coushata and enjoyed our time there. The RV Resort at Red Shoes was, as usual, a pleasant camp site. Large level concrete sites with full amenities and shuttles to the casino every 15 minutes make this a very enjoyable stay. There is not much else to do in the area except visit the casino, but if this is your objective, I haven't come across a better set up. We did manage to squeeze in a lunch at Fausto's in Kinder. This is a cajun eatery with a little fame in the area. My crawfish po'boy was excellent.

Our final casino stop was in Shreveport. While here we stayed at the Diamond Jacks Casino RV resort. Small but well appointed, the park is within walking distance to the casino and a short drive to the rest of the casinos in the area. We stayed here for 3 nights and met up with my Aunts from Tyler, TX, who came to see us (and the casinos). We had a great time while here, Christa and I even took the time to visit Barksdale Air Force Base - Home of the B-52. Nice base. Tomorrow we head to Crockett, TX, for a short stay.

Crockett, TX

9-11 Mar. We have arrived at Crockett Family Camping Resort. Following a week at the casinos of Louisiana, a break in the country seemed in order. This park located just outside Crockett, TX is a great little family park for bringing the kids (or grandkids), or just go fishing. Sitting on Lake Houston, there are a lot of activities for the chidren as there is a well equipped playground and a beach to let them burn off that energy. For the older crowd there is a pear and a small boat launch (do not bring your 30' open water cruiser though, I mean a small launch). For big rig RVers this may or may not be your cup of tea. The sites aren't level and are dirt, maneuvering can get tight, "deluxe" pull thrus are limited. This is an older park, but has a lot to offer the family or the small boater. We were here to attend the "Ancesters" and so did not take advantage of the amenities. I should have brought the kayaks though.

Back Home

12 March finds us back home safely after having been deluged with rain in east Texas. Good to be back after the "Shake Down" trip. This sunset was a welcome sight shuning from behind our house that evening.

Xmas Eve 2006. My daughter-in-law, Sam, and my grandson, Asher. He's already getting tired of the paparazzi.

Xmas Eve 2006. The gathering of the family for dinner and the passing out of gifts to the families. We opted a long time ago to do our family get together on Christams Eve because there is always a bunch of visiting that goes on Christmas Day as well as the gift giving within the families themselves. We're just waiting for all the rest to show. A good time was had.

Xmas Eve 2006. Here's Christa with our new Grandson. Man is he going to be a monster, he's growing leaps and bounds. At 2 months he is holding his head up well and trying to talk.

Mid-Dec 2006. We fially have managed to get away for a little trip. Sadly it is without the RV as it is in the shop for repairs. However, as we already had our tickets for the Cowboys/Falcons football game, we were not going to let a broken RV interupt our game plans. So we packed up the jeep drove to Atlanta staying in the Omni Hotel adjoining the CNN center. I have to say, this was pretty neat. We were able to walk to the Georgia Dome for the game on game night. The rest of the time we were able to walk to a local MARTA station for all the other places we visited while in town. One of those other places was the Atlanta Museum of High Arts where a gift presentation of art was on loan from the Louvre in Paris. Scupltures, paintings and some never before displayed drawings by the masters. Unfortunatly, my small camera blitzed out me for this trip so all pics were from the big Olympus. Great shots but bulky to carry around. Bottom line very few shots of this trip, big, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the museum anyway. This shot was taken from the open air hallway toour room. The globe depicts the entrance to the tourist walk around the CNN newsroom. The bottom floor is a food court/gift shop area. We stayed on the 14th floor. Pretty nice hotel.

Entrance to the downtown Atlanta Centennial Park. Yea, the lights are a little shaky, but I didnt have anything to steady my shot with while shooting this picture. Christa and I took strolls through this park every night (except football night) while we were here. Beautiful with a lot of people taking advantage of the Christmas feeling presented by the well lit park. This park had received a major remodel for the '96 Olympics and the influence is everywhere in the park. This is a must see place if your in the area. One thing that encouraged us to get out for the walk was that the park is directly across the street from the hotel we stayed in. Great way to kill a couple hours in the evening.

Some of the Christmas lights in the park.

Another of the reflecting ponds in the Atlanta Centennial Park.

The Christmas tree in Centennial Park, downtown Atlanta.

A night shot of the entrance to the Georgia Aquarium. As has been stated earlier in my blogs, this is a really great place to explore. However, this trip was for the game and the Louvre Exhibit at the Museum of High Arts.

One little attraction that was brought into the park for the holiday season was this relocatable/tent type ice rink. People were really lined up for this venue and really enjoyed themselves. We had a good time watching everyone from the viewers gallery as well.

This ice rink was a major attraction during our 3 day stay in Atlanta. We really enjoyed walking the park at night, especially with all the Christmas lights up. This rink was fun even for us non-skating types, but the people inside were having a ball.

Reflecting ponds in the Centennial Park of Atlanta.

Mid-Dec 2006. Young folks hanging out by one of the many statuaries in Centennial Park, downntown Atlanta.

Here is the post-landscaping picture Uncle Ray and I accomplished. This is actually the foundation of an exrensive naturescaping effort that will begin with the new year. Also to be finished will be patios, walkways and drives.

Dec 2006. When we got back from Thanksgiving, it was time to get back to work. Here Uncle Ray (down from Colorado) helps me with some landscaping work on the front yard. My Unc has a better hand with the tractor and blade than I do. He's on his way down to his winter fishing grounds, but stops by for a month or so, and is always a welcome hand. Aunt BJ is a great cook and is also a welcome treat for the visit.

Nov 2006. Well, I'm back. Sorry about not having made an entry lately, but haven't been traveling much. The new house build took (takes) up a lot of time. We did however have a chance to breakaway for a trip to East Texas for Thanksgiving with the extended family. Here are all of this year's players (except for Aunt Nancy, I didn't realize that she wasn't in the shot until I processed the photo-sorry). Anyway great time had by all with lots of food (aarrgghhh-too much - almost).See y'all down the road.

On the 17th of October, 2006, I became a first time Grandpop at age 51. Here Samantha holds Asher up for me to get a picture. Yes, my camera is acting up and needs a little maintenance (hence the fuzzyness). At 8 lb 11 oz and 21.5", he is a good sized young fellow. He is a looker too and I'm not just saying that because I'm a bit biased in my appraisal.