Meaher State Park

We stayed at Meaher State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A delightful state park with spacious sites and lots of wildlife. The I-10 freeway across the water isn’t ideal, but not too bad.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-12-03
  • Check out: 2023-12-17
  • 14 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, some rain
  • High temps ranging between 57-72°F, lows around 39-59°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 28 MPH

Noise:

  • Freeway noise across the bay
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise, other than kids on weekends

Site:

  • #54, back in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Fairly level; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 55 feet long by about 12 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 52 feet wide
  • Picnic table on asphalt patio about 18 by 14 feet
  • No fire pit
  • Clean site
  • Waterfront, though with the back of our coach facing the water

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 25 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 4-9 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • AT&T: 180-395 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 22 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 9-12 Mbps up, 120 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster
  • Waterfront (bay)
  • Walking paths

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Gorgeous sunsets, distant hum of I-10

This is a lovely state park along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Gorgeous views of the water, and various shorebirds. I-10 is visible, but the hum is distant and pretty much just background white noise. There are many nice walking trails in the park, including a boardwalk through the wetlands. Sites were large and nicely spread out. We’d definitely stay here again. We camped at Meaher State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site, backing onto the water:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Shortly before we left, I got out my telescoping ladder to clear off a bunch of large pinecones that had fallen on our coach:

Ladder on our coach

Pinecones

Not too bad, though (a rare look at our roof; I’ve still never been on it, and this was only the second time I’ve used the ladder to clear stuff off it):

Roof

Behind our site:

Behind our site

Behind our site

“Do not feed or harass the alligators” — we didn’t see any, but they’re probably all brumating by this time:

Behind our site

We were warned that there were invasive ants in the area, and advised to sprinkle borax around the coach (which we did). We saw some ants, but none near our coach:

Ants

Ants

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabins

Tents:

Tents

The entrance station:

Entrance

Baby turtle crossing:

Baby turtle crossing

Fungus:

Mushrooms

Fungus

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Other bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Bathrooms

Picnic shelter:

Picnic shelter

Boat ramp area:

Boat ramp area

Kayaks etc:

Kayaks etc

Boat ramps and dock:

Boat ramps and dock

Dock

Kayak dock:

Kayak dock

Kayak dock

There were lots of birds in the area:

Bird

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Some bees:

Bees

Bees

A small beach, popular for fishing:

Beach

Beach

A nice delta boardwalk:

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

A fishing pier:

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

One evening I went for a walk to the fishing pier shortly before the sun set, and enjoyed watching the sunset and hundreds of birds:

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Back to our coach:

Sunset from fishing pier

Another day, another sunset behind our site:

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

A very nice state park. We’d definitely stay here again.

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:

Route

An interactive map with potential stops; we actually only stopped at the Flying J:

Preparing to leave our site:

Preparing to leave our site

Hooking up our truck, with the City of New Orleans paddleboat in the background:

Hooking up our truck

Rail crossing and onramp:

Rail crossing and onramp

Drawbridge:

Drawbridge

Bridge:

Bridge

Another drawbridge:

Drawbridge

I-10:

I-10

“Welcome to Mississippi”:

Welcome to Mississippi

We stopped at a Flying J truck stop for lunch:

Flying J

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:

Parking between trucks

Parked between trucks

Parked with trucks

This Flying J has a Denny’s restaurant, so we had lunch there:

Denny's menu

Denny's menu

I tried a rather decadent “choconana pancake slam”, just to be different:

Breakfast for lunch

Jenn’s was a bit more conventional:

Breakfast for lunch

Back to our coach:

Back to our coach

“I love the way you look at me” Buc-ee’s billboard… a little creepy, perhaps:

I love the way you look at me

I had fun spotting our coach passing by on traffic cameras:

Our coach via traffic camera

Our coach via traffic camera

Bridge:

Bridge

An amusing info sign: “Cats have 9 lives. You are not a cat. Buckle up”:

Cats have 9 lives, you are not a cat. Buckle up

Another traffic camera:

Our coach via traffic camera

Alabama state line:

Alabama state line

“Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama”:

Welcome to Sweet Home Alabama

I think these are electrical transformers:

Transformers on a truck

Another couple of glimpses of our coach on Alabama traffic cameras:

Our coach via traffic camera

Our coach via traffic camera

Mobile, Alabama:

Mobile, Alabama

A tunnel under the Mobile River:

Tunnel

You can see it curving downward as it goes under the river:

Tunnel

Tunnel

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park:

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park

USS Alabama Battleship

Our destination for the next two weeks, Meaher State Park:

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.

New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Sunday Brunch Jazz Cruise

We did a brunch cruise on the Natchez, the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River.

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Live steam calliope playing:

Live calliope playing

A video:

Lunch boarding info:

Lunch boarding info

Dining room:

Dining room

Dining room

Our table:

Our table

Gumbo and salad:

Soup and salad

Buffet:

Buffet

Brunch:

Brunch

Dining room

Dessert:

Dessert

Bow:

Bow

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Gift shop:

Gift shop

Steamboat Natchez

Paddle wheel:

Paddlewheel

Paddlewheel

A video:

Selfie

Paddlewheel

Paddlewheel

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Life vests in the ceiling:

Life vests in the ceiling

Boiler room:

Boiler room

Boiler room

Boiler room

Boiler room

Engine room:

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Three short video clips:

Paddlewheel

Engine room louver

Info

Bar:

Bar

Ship

Near the waterline:

Near the waterline

Bow

New Orleans:

New Orleans

Bridge

Bridge

Church

City

Sister ship City of New Orleans:

City of New Orleans

City of New Orleans

Ferry:

Ferry

Creole Queen:

Creole Queen

Cruise ship:

Cruise ship

Bridge

Bridge

Lines

Throwing a leader line:

Throwing a line

Pulling the line:

Pulling line

On the winch:

Line

Disembarking:

Disembarking

Steamboat Natchez

Posed photo (I really need to learn how to smile in a way that’s visible behind my mustache in such photos):

Posed photo

Natchez info:

Natchez info

Steamboat Natchez

A fun brunch cruise.

New Orleans Oak Alley Plantation

We visited Oak Alley Plantation, a historic sugar plantation west of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Sign

Entrance drive

Map:

Map

Trees

One reason we chose to tour this plantation was that they acknowledged the history of slavery as part of the establishment:

Info sign

They had exhibits on the slave quarters, work, and other conditions:

Slave quarters

Slave quarters

Slave quarters

Slave quarters

Slave quarters

Slave quarters

Slave quarters

Slave quarters

Slave exhibits

Slave exhibits

Slave exhibits

Slave exhibits

Slave exhibits

Slave exhibits

Some nice gardens:

Gardens

Gardens

Gardens

The big house:

Big house

Big house

Sugarcane theater, with a video on sugarcane harvesting:

Sugarcane theater

Sugarcane theater

Big house

Big house

Gardens

Big house

Big house

Big house

Big house

Big house

Gardens

Gardens

Gardens

Big house

We had a guided tour of inside the big house. Unfortunately they don’t allow photos inside:

Ticket

A view of the oak trees from the second floor balcony:

Oak trees

Oak trees

Oak trees

The wrap-around balcony:

Porch

Porch

Porch

Gardens

Gardens

Gardens

After the tour inside, we walked around the gardens some more:

Gardens

Oak trees

Big house

Oak trees

Oak trees

Then went to the cafe for lunch, followed by the gift store:

Restaurant and gift store

Cafe

Menu

Menu

Beverages

Food

Food

Food

Slave quarters and big house

Fascinating history.

New Orleans airboat swamp tour

We took a swamp tour on an airboat, via LaBiche Swamp Tours. Though more of a bayou tour, with a brief trip through a swamp.

We saw a bunch of birds, and some alligators, on a small six-passenger airboat.

A map of the area:

We booked via Mona Lisa Lounge, a nearby dive bar, who provided a bonus pre-tour beverage, some beads, and conversation with the very drunk wife of the owner:

Mona Lisa Lounge

Mona Lisa Lounge

We then proceeded to the tour dock:

LaBiche Swamp Tours

The waiting area:

Waiting area

Our airboat:

Airboat

A larger airboat:

Larger airboat

Larger airboat

Heading out through the bayou:

Bayou

Bird

Bird

Bayou

Bayou

Bird

Bird

Swamp

Swamp

Swamp

Swamp

Swamp

Airboat

The alligators were starting brumation, so were less common, but we did see a few. Here’s our first alligator sighting:

Alligator

Alligator

Alligator

Alligator

A video of a swimming gator:

Alligator

Alligator

Alligator

A video of airboat travel:

Alligator

Alligator

Alligator

Another video of a swimming gator:

Our airboat:

Our airboat

Another airboat:

Another airboat

Bird

Bald eagle

A rescued gator back at the dock:

Alligator

A fun experience.

New Orleans

We did a bit of exploring of New Orleans, Louisiana, including walking around the French Quarter, a quick drive through the Garden District, and elsewhere. This post has an assortment of pictures from the city.

An interactive map:

Lots of pictures from the distinctive French Quarter:

French Quarter buildings

French Quarter buildings

French Quarter buildings

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

We had a jazz brunch at the Court of Two Sisters:

French Quarter

Court of the Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

Court of Two Sisters

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

A beignet and coffee snack:

French Quarter

French Quarter

Even the cops have swag:

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

We stopped at another Cafe Beignet for coffee beans (that were kinda gross), and also picked up some tasty pralines:

French Quarter buildings

French Quarter

French Quarter

French Quarter

A brief drive through the Garden District:

Garden District

Garden District

Garden District

Garden District

Garden District

Hale Boggs Bridge:

Hale Boggs Bridge

Veterans Memorial Bridge:

Veterans Memorial Bridge

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway holds the Guinness World Record for longest continuous span over water in the world, at 23.83 miles (38.35 km) long:

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

A couple more shots from the French Quarter to finish up:

French Quarter

French Quarter

The city certainly has a lot of character.

New Orleans RV Resort & Marina

We stayed at New Orleans RV Resort & Marina in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A canal-front site close to the attractions of NOLA.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-11-19
  • Check out: 2023-12-03
  • 14 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, some rain
  • High temps ranging between 54-77°F, lows around 50-62°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 24 MPH

Noise:

  • Some road noise
  • Distant train noise
  • Plane noise from local airport
  • Occasional boat and jetski noise in the canal
  • Little neighbor noise

Site:

  • #7, front in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
  • Fairly level; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 50 feet long by about 20 feet wide
  • Bark between sites about 6 feet wide
  • Picnic table on grass
  • No fire pit
  • A bunch of small garbage and dog poop
  • Waterfront!

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, very conveniently located
  • 35 PSI water, very conveniently located
  • Very loose sewer connection (the screw part wasn’t connected to the pipe), conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 55 Mbps down, 32 Mbps up, 54 ms ping
  • AT&T: 7 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 52 ms ping
  • Verizon: 9-13 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 135 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage pickup from site
  • Package delivery to office
  • Onsite restaurant
  • Waterfront (canal)

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Industrial shipyards and pelicans

Don’t let the sketchy-looking area fool you as you drive in. This is a very nice resort close to everything you’d want to do in NOLA. We had a waterfront site and loved watching the birds skimming over the water and the parade of fishing boats going between the lake and the river. Our site was pretty short, just long enough for our 40′ motorhome, with barely enough space to park our tow vehicle alongside, but being able to face over the water was very nice.

The resort has a nice restaurant and bar onsite for when you don’t feel like going into the city itself. All the touristy stuff you’d want to do is conveniently close and parking in the French Quarter was not as scary as I thought it would be. We camped at New Orleans RV Resort & Marina in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our canal-front site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Views from our site:

View

View

View

View

View

A rail drawbridge, sticking up in the open state:

View

And closed:

View

A barge waiting for the drawbridge to open:

View

View

View

Lots of pelicans:

View

View

View

View

View

Moon

The City of New Orleans arriving for servicing:

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

Some rainy days:

Rain

Rain

And thunderstorms:

Thunderstorms

The sewer connection was super loose:

Loose sewer

The site wasn’t very clean; this is the trash I picked up on arrival:

Trash

We could fill a gap in our states map (but yes, by the time you read this, Florida will also be there):

States map

We were sandwiched between two “Presidential” sites, with covered kitchens and hot tubs. We wouldn’t have preferred such a site, though, as the roof would have impeded our view:

Other sites

The neighboring hot tub kept blowing open in the wind:

Hot tub

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabin

Cabin

The office:

Office

Office

Office

They allowed package delivery for guests, with a large pile in the front of the office (not very secure; people just come grab their packages; I prefer it when they have a mail room to keep packages more secure, though of course that is more staff burden):

Packages

There is a shuttle to downtown, though we didn’t use it, preferring to drive and park; plenty of paid parking available:

Shuttle info

Pool:

Pool

Pool

Pool

Dog park:

Dog park

There are two marinas; this is the smaller one behind the office:

Marina

The larger one opposite a boat repair yard:

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

A nice thing about this resort is an onsite restaurant, The LightHouse Bar:

The LightHouse Bar

Menu:

Menu

Menu

Specials

The LightHouse Bar

The LightHouse Bar

We went there several evenings; here are a sampling of our food and beverages:

Drinks

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

A nice resort; we’d be happy to stay here again.

Travel from Toomsuba, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana

We drove our coach 208 miles, about 3 hours of driving, from Toomsuba, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading southwest:

Route

An interactive map:

Back along the narrow road from the campground:

Narrow road

We stopped at the Loves truck stop to use their CAT scale to weigh our coach and truck:

CAT scale

CAT scale

The results are much the same as previous times, though the truck is heavier, no doubt due to the addition of the canopy and slide; all still within the limits:

CAT scale results

Heading onto I-59 south:

I-59 south

The truck parking areas have totally reassuring signs saying “No Security Provided”; we have to wonder what incident caused them to add such signs:

No Security Provided

Lots of space in this parking area:

Parking area

Roadworks:

Roadworks

Another parking area stop; a little smaller and busier, but we found a spot:

Another parking area

“Welcome to Louisiana” sign:

Welcome to Louisiana

Twin span bridge over Lake Pontchartrain:

Twin span bridge over Lake Pontchartrain

Old bridge segment, I guess? Now a fishing pier:

Old bridge, I guess?

Twin span bridge over Lake Pontchartrain

Drawbridge:

Drawbridge

Chef Menteur Highway bridge:

Chef Menteur Highway bridge

Abandoned buildings on the road to our destination:

Abandoned buildings

Arriving at our destination:

Our destination

Our destination

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

We had a pull-in waterfront spot for two weeks:

Our site

Unfortunately no travel video again today; I didn’t notice that it had filled up and wasn’t recording until after this trip.

Meridian East / Toomsuba KOA Journey

We stayed at Meridian East / Toomsuba KOA Journey in Toomsuba, Mississippi. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Just a one night stay to break up an otherwise too-long drive.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-11-18
  • Check out: 2023-11-19
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy
  • High temp 70°F, low 42°F
  • Negligible wind

Noise:

  • A little local road noise, no freeway noise
  • Occasional train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise

Site:

  • #45, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t
  • Level; used air leveling, since only one night
  • Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by about 12 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 12 feet wide
  • Picnic table on grass
  • No fire pit
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • Didn’t use water or sewer, but conveniently located

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Campground Wi-Fi: 22-27 Mbps down, 11-23 Mbps up, 65 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 2-5 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 90 ms ping
  • AT&T: 16-20 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 50 ms ping
  • Verizon: 3-8 Mbps down, 0.5 Mbps up, 125 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster
  • Seasonally closed pool and water slide

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Sketchy road, nice trees

This campground is conveniently located off I-20, just far enough away that you don’t get road from the Interstate. Still, there are downsides: 1) the narrow country road to get there is very narrow with lots of low-hanging trees, 2) the “recycling” yard you drive by does not give a great impression, and 3) the local residents go way too fast down this road, and there is a lot of local road noise. The park roads are also a bit narrow, with some tight turns. We had a pull-through site that was just long enough for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle. We didn’t have to disconnect, but we took up pretty much the entire length. If the 5th wheel next to us hadn’t left before we did, I wasn’t sure if we would’ve had enough room to turn onto the road. But the site was clean and the trees were pleasant, so this was a good spot for a one-night stay. We camped at Meridian East / Toomsuba KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Other nearby sites:

Other sites

Other sites

The office:

Office

Inside, a piano:

Piano

This was a perfectly fine place to stay for a night, though the road to it was a bit narrow, so we’d probably look for somewhere more convenient if we come this way again in the future.