Mexico Beach

We left Mobile by 9:30 which is unbelievably early for us and drove to Pensacola on I-10, turned off towards the beach and followed 98 along the Forgotten Coast to Mexico Beach. The Time Zone runs right through town so we got here at 3:00 or 4:00 depending which side of 15th Street we are on.

We checked into the Rustic Sands RV Park and paid $22 per night (Passport America rate) for the week, There is a light rain falling but it is supposed to be clear and 70F tomorrow (according to the guy who checked us in). There is cable here so I will not set up the Starchoice until tomorrow.

Thinking About Moving On

We got a call from the Honda dealer at about 11:00 telling us the car was ready. We returned the rental and they drove us to AutoNation Honda. I like Enterprise, they have nice vehicles for a reasonable price ($21 per day) and are happy to pick you up and deliver you. It helps that our BCAA Auto Club is picking up the tab for the car and our Gold Visa card covered the insurance.

The Honda was $375 for the new ignition switch and they had done a safety inspection on it as well. Everything passed. We drove downtown, had lunch and walked a bit but had to quit because it is just too bloody cold! We went into the historic Battle Hotel which Stonewall Jackson once made his headquarters. I think the hotel was rebuilt since then but it still looked very old but elegant with many of the original dishes and ornaments on display.

Photos from Google Images. It was too cold to take photos.

We are heading out on Thursday morning. It is just not that much fun when it is this cold. We have seen only about half of what we planned here.

20F, -7C

Norma called from the bathroom this morning, "There's no water"! We were frozen. She turned on the pump and it worked. Phew, dodged that bullet. The hose is frozen solid. My choices are, 1) go outside and freeze my hands while I undo the hose and try to stuff it in the cab to thaw and then clean up the mess after it does or, 2) pour another coffee and wait for the temperature to rise a bit. I am tending towards #2.

And we came south for the winter because.......?

I just called Honda and the part is not in yet. She is sure it will be on the truck this morning and will be installed by noon. We will see. The rental has to be returned by 1:00 or rented for another day.

Dauphin Island

Yesterday found us and our rented Ford Escape on a road trip to Dauphin Island at the entrance to Mobile Bay. This Island and it's fort played an important part in the Battle Of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. The Confederate held fort fell to Union forces allowing Union warships access to the important Southern shipping port. It was on Dauphin Island where Union Admiral David Farragut shouted the words, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" during the attack. Well, he may or may not have shouted this. History is vague, it may have been a case of, "I wish I had said....".

There really is not much to see on the island. It is a seasonal destination and winter is not the preferred season so many things were closed. The shores on both sides of the island are dotted with houses, most on stilts to protect against Gulf storms and hurricanes. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan covered the island in two to four feet of water, destroying many ground level homes.

We stopped at a beachfront "Gourmet Restaurant, flip-flops allowed" for a late lunch / early dinner. Norma had spicy Asian shrimp (not too spicy) on a bed of cole slaw and I had seafood gumbo. Her shrimp were good (as usual, she could not finish them so I helped) but my gumbo was seriously lacking after tasting true Cajun gumbo as they tried to make up for the lack of flavor with spicy heat, not a normal ingredient for gumbo. Here are a couple of shots.

Dauphin Island is at the blue pin, not the red (which I can't get rid of)

Short Term Plans

We are in search of warmer weather! Another Blogger was on Florida's "Forgotten Coast" around Panama City and Mexico Beach and his description of the area sounded good. We called Rustic Sands RV Park in Mexico Beach and booked for a week starting on the 9th. We hate reservations but it is Florida and they are almost full. It is about a five hour drive (for us) which is more than we normally do. Stay tuned! Life Is Good and getting better!

 

Mobile

Enterprise Auto Rentals picked up at around one and drove us down to pick up the rental, a new Ford Escape SUV. We will have it for three or four days while the Honda dealer orders and installs the new ignition switch. We stopped for lunch and carried on for our first look at downtown Mobile. It is a beautiful city with oak tree lined streets and friendly people. There is a big college football game in town tomorrow (The GoDaddy Bowl) so there are thousands of visitors in town. We will be back in town but here is a sample:

 

 

 

 

 

Good deal on a suit! Not bad looking suits either.

One New Ignition Switch Please

The Honda needs a new ignition switch. They have to order the part and it will be here Monday or Tuesday. The job will cost $379. They wanted to do a timing belt kit on it as well, something it should have but would be another $699 so we said no thanks. I should have done that done in Mexico for about $300. I thought of it but didn't do it. Maybe next time, if we still have the car. I can't complain, the Honda has not cost us anything above regular maintenance in 25 years and 300,000 KM other than the $300 Mexican paint job last year and shocks, brakes, mufflers, etc.

One problem is I will have different keys for the ignition and the doors. Something else to confuse me.

I called Enterprise Auto Rentals and they promised to be here by noon and it is now one. Hurry up and wait... At least my BCAA Road Service will pay for the rental.

Joe Btfsplk

Remember him?

"Joe Btfsplk was a character in the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner by cartoonist Al Capp (1909–1979). He's well-meaning, but is the world's worst jinx, bringing disastrous misfortune to everyone around him. A small, dark rain cloud perpetually hovers over his head to symbolize his bad luck. Hapless Btfsplk and his ever-present cloud became one of the most iconic images in Li'l Abner". - Wiki

Well Lately it seems I must be related to him. First it was the motorhome troubles that required two tows and the $1800 repair and now it is the Honda!

For a while now I have had a problem with the engine shutting down immediately after starting. It has always continued to run after two or three tries. Last night at the grocery store I thought the battery might go dead from all the attempts I had to make but it did eventually keep running. Now this morning I turned the key, it started but turned off as soon as I let go of the key. I tried many times and same thing. I suspect the ignition switch.

I called the local Honda dealer and they are convinced they can fix it so I called AAA for a free tow and they are on their way. It is Friday so I doubt it will be done before Monday. This is the first time in it's 25 years the Honda has been towed! AAA offered me a discount on a rental from Enterprise which we might take them up on.

Stay tuned.

Problem Solved

We started fresh with the Starchoice this morning. We found that the skew settings given by the DishPointer site were WAY off. they called for 112 while other sites called for 123. This is a huge difference. We reset the skew, moved the dish a few feet, re-leveled and started again. It took a few minutes but suddenly we had a decent signal of 51. It was still in the "yellow" range but good enough. We even get the HD channels which we were not getting in NOLA where the skew was also set wrong.

It is bright and sunny today but COLD with a high of 43F forcast. We may put our city exploration off until tomorrow which is going to be a little warmer.

Well, I am off to make banana pancakes. Want some?

Mobile in Mobile

We added a day to our New Orleans stay because we just did not feel like packing up on New Years Day plus it was raining on and off all day. This morning was clear so we headed out, taking US 90, a far more interesting road than I-10. It was a leisurely drive along the coast to Bay St. Louis, MS where we stopped for lunch and groceries. I like this town and would liked to have been able to spend a day there but we pushed on.

We drove past the Cajun RV Park in Biloxi where we stayed for a week a few years ago and considered stopping again. The last time we were here we saw pretty much all there was to see with the exception of "Beauvoir", the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library. Jefferson Davis was President of The Confederate States Of America throughout the entire Civil War. The last time we were here the Library was closed for renovations. 

We followed US 90 for a while longer before switching over to I-10 near Mobile, Alabama, We checked into the Shady Acres RV Park at $130 for the week. There is lots to see in and around Mobile so we will keep busy.

We spent a while attempting to find the StarChoice signal before giving up for the night. All the RV parks down here brag about the shade they provide guests but the trees providing this shade block out the view to the satellite in most spots, ours included. The only possible spot for a signal was right on the edge of the paved driveway in front of us and the yelling back and forth method of finding the signal was not working so I drove down to Walmart and bought a cheap $99 TV so I could look at the setup screen as I was tweaking the dish. It did not work, the signal still eluded me. I am not sure what I will do. Maybe I will walk around the park tomorrow and see if there is an empty spot with a clear view to the West. 

We will drive into town tomorrow. The adventure continues.