Mt. Pleasant to San Antonio

We departed home on Saturday to give Julia a lift back to Tampa . Hopefully it won't be too far down the road before they move back to the Holy City. A day and a half in Tampa with the Paynes was delightful, but we had to officially launch the trip on Monday. Sadly their dog, Goose, is in a bad way and may face life threatening surgery. If Julia and Robert are as successful in raising children as they have been with 'Goose', we will have outstanding grandchildren.

Monday and Tuesday we were guests of the Island View Casino in Biloxi. I use the term guests loosely as they recover many times the cost of the room in our 'play' at the slots. We enjoy our visits to the Gulf Coast, but find the slow post-Katrina progress troubling. At the present rate it will take Biloxi ten years to accomplish what the Low Country did the three years after Hurricane Hugo. Between Gulfport and Biloxi (about 12 miles) only one fast food restaurant, three Waffle Houses and one convenient store w/gas has reopened. A large number of new condos has sprung up and seven casinos are doing record-breaking business. Unfortunately, the citizens that work at those businesses will not have affordable housing and the wherewithal to reside on the coast.

While driving along the coastal highway we discovered an old wreck that survived Hurricane Camille. Ironically the next day the town fathers had taken the wrecking ball to this old vessel. At the same time we also discovered 'tree sculptures' along the coastal highway. Several of these tree sculptures were sprouting new growth to the utter amazement of the locals. Hopefully I'll soon figure out how to post the pictures that Pat and I shot of the ship and the tree scultures.

Wednesday we stayed in New Orleans and made a contribution to the local economy. Thursday we arrived in San Antonio after a long drive. Friday we officially launch the tour with a visit to the Alamo, the Riverwalk and the Alamodome.

Standby for more updates............