A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 146 miles from New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama, including a picture-in-picture from the 360 camera on the truck being towed behind the coach.
Month: February 2024
Travel from New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama
We drove our coach 146 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from New Orleans, Louisiana to Spanish Fort, Alabama.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading northeast:
An interactive map with potential stops; we actually only stopped at the Flying J:
Preparing to leave our site:
Hooking up our truck, with the City of New Orleans paddleboat in the background:
Rail crossing and onramp:
Drawbridge:
Bridge:
Another drawbridge:
I-10:
“Welcome to Mississippi”:
We stopped at a Flying J truck stop for lunch:
The truck parking was rather full. With our toad attached we can’t back up, and this parking area has back-to-back spots, so we could only park where there was two adjacent ones empty so we could pull through. It was a difficult turn and tight squeeze, but Jenn’s driving skills got it done:
This Flying J has a Denny’s restaurant, so we had lunch there:
I tried a rather decadent “choconana pancake slam”, just to be different:
Jenn’s was a bit more conventional:
Back to our coach:
“I love the way you look at me” Buc-ee’s billboard… a little creepy, perhaps:
I had fun spotting our coach passing by on traffic cameras:
Bridge:
An amusing info sign: “Cats have 9 lives. You are not a cat. Buckle up”:
Another traffic camera:
Alabama state line:
“Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama”:
I think these are electrical transformers:
Another couple of glimpses of our coach on Alabama traffic cameras:
Mobile, Alabama:
A tunnel under the Mobile River:
You can see it curving downward as it goes under the river:
USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park:
Our destination for the next two weeks, Meaher State Park:
Check out the video from this drive, which includes a picture-in-picture of the view from the truck behind our coach.
Cockpit carpet
Another little project while at Davidson RV was to add some custom-fit carpeting in the cockpit area:
Much better. That helps catch dirt coming into the coach, and is more comfortable, instead of walking on cold tile on cold mornings; the heated tile doesn’t extend into the cockpit area.
New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Sunday Brunch Jazz Cruise
We did a brunch cruise on the Natchez, the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River.
Live steam calliope playing:
A video:
Lunch boarding info:
Dining room:
Our table:
Gumbo and salad:
Buffet:
Brunch:
Dessert:
Bow:
Gift shop:
Paddle wheel:
A video:
Life vests in the ceiling:
Boiler room:
Engine room:
Three short video clips:
Bar:
Near the waterline:
New Orleans:
Sister ship City of New Orleans:
Ferry:
Creole Queen:
Cruise ship:
Throwing a leader line:
Pulling the line:
On the winch:
Disembarking:
Posed photo (I really need to learn how to smile in a way that’s visible behind my mustache in such photos):
Natchez info:
A fun brunch cruise.
New Orleans St Louis Cemetery Number 1
We did a guided tour of the historic tombs in St Louis Cemetery Number 1 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
An interactive map:
We checked in for the tour at the visitor info building across the road:
It has train exhibits:
A map with the area of the city that was flooded highlighted in red:
Then on to our guided tour of St Louis Cemetery Number 1:
Fascinating stuff.
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve
White in New Orleans, we visited a couple of units of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve.
The first unit was the French Quarter visitor center in downtown New Orleans, Louisiana.
Another unit was Chalmette Battlefield, site of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815:
The National WWII Museum
We explored The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Replacing window valances
Our coach came with fabric valances above the windows, which we didn’t like… and Paladin liked scratching. So while in Red Bay, another project we got Davidson RV to do was to replace the fabric portions with wood.
Here’s an example of the old valance, in the bedroom:
They removed the whole window surround:
Then they replaced the fabric portion with wood, stained to a similar color:
The improved version re-installed:
Another example, the window above the TV lift:
Much nicer.
New Orleans Oak Alley Plantation
We visited Oak Alley Plantation, a historic sugar plantation west of New Orleans, Louisiana.
Map:
One reason we chose to tour this plantation was that they acknowledged the history of slavery as part of the establishment:
They had exhibits on the slave quarters, work, and other conditions:
Some nice gardens:
The big house:
Sugarcane theater, with a video on sugarcane harvesting:
We had a guided tour of inside the big house. Unfortunately they don’t allow photos inside:
A view of the oak trees from the second floor balcony:
The wrap-around balcony:
After the tour inside, we walked around the gardens some more:
Then went to the cafe for lunch, followed by the gift store:
Fascinating history.
Video: New Orleans airboat swamp tour
A timelapse from my 360 camera of an airboat swamp tour near New Orleans.