Over night, a friend posted a photo of his Airstream with a sign that said “COVID CONTAINMENT VESSEL” on it. I commented that I needed that sign, as I was was planning on practicing social distancing in my T@b.
He fixed my photo to match my intentions.
I got going, after I dewinterized and dumped and flushed my tanks. RV travel is not necessarily glamorous. But, every now and then, you find a lovely site with full hook ups and pleasant neighbors. (We chatted from at least six feet away.)
I left Mississippi and crossed into Louisiana. The Welcome Center was virtually empty. On a trip in normal times, I would have asked someone to take a photo of me. I wasn’t about to hand my phone to anyone, even if there had been someone nearby to ask. Social distancing, donchaknow?
I was impressed with the door pull on the rest room. The American Alligator is Louisiana’s state reptile, after all.
After a bunch more driving, much of it in stop-and-go traffic after I got off I-10, I arrived at Bayou Segnette State Park, in Westwego, right across the river from New Orleans.
This park seems to have it all! Camping, swimming, picnicking, cabins, boat launch, fishing. No wonder Pat and Shelly wanted to return to this park – location and amenities!
The landscaping was quite lovely, too.
I passed my friends’ campsite and got to mine, just a few spots away. I got set up – leveled (of course) with water and electricity hooked up.
After that, I went over to Pat and Shelly’s trailer to discuss what we might be able to do in New Orleans and still maintain social distancing.
The Mardi Gras Indians’ Super Sunday was definitely out. We thought we might be able to visit the New Orleans Museum of Art. There was an exhibit of Gee’s Bend quilts that was scheduled to close soon.
If you are unfamiliar with Gee’s Bend quilts, click on the link above.
If you are only mildly curious, here are some samples of the work the women of Gee’s Bend have created.
They use the materials they have available to create these functional yet beautiful quilts.
This seemed like a reasonable activity. The museum’s website said they were still open. I called Lisa, the woman I visited back in 2016, to get her take on the idea.
I called Lisa, and chatted with her a bit. She was en route to pick up her son at college, which was being closed because of…well, you know. She said that the museum was still open, as far as she knew, and said that the Gee’s Bend exhibit was wonderful. She also recommended walking through the sculpture garden, which had a six acre expansion since my last visit. The sculpture garden seemed like a good option for some socially distanced culture.
We agreed to touch base on Monday and maybe get together for coffee or lunch.
Pat and Shelly were in the middle of making dinner, and invited me to join them. Of course, I gladly accepted. They were making rice and beans – my favorite. Rice and beans and friends, what could be better?
There is a photo, so there is proof it happened.
The next morning at 8:00, I was working on breakfast, when there was a knock at my door. I opened the door to be greeted by a park employee that said, “Good morning. I have a prepared statement I have to read.”
He proceeded to tell me that the campground was closed and that we had to leave by 2:00.
I texted Pat with the news. The workers hadn’t made it to them yet. I proceeded with preparations to hit the road. I tried to figure out where to head. I checked with Campendium.com and found a Louisiana state park that looked like it was about four hours away. I called, and they were still open, so I made a reservation for two nights. I wanted to give myself a little breather to figure out what I was going to do and to create a plan.
A while later, another worker came by and told us that they wanted to let us know that there was no immediate problem at the park. There was no illness detected. They were closing the park to prepare it for staging emergency responders.
In essence, we were vacating for the common good.
He also told us that our fees would be refunded and they would give us a credit for a return visit. I thought that was a thoughtful gesture.
So, I hooked up and joined the queue to exit the park.
Unfortunately, the road out of the park ran right by the dump station. That kind of slowed things down a bit. If I had known the terrain, I would have driven around the roadblock. But, I had time.
I guess I was just about the last one out. This was my view as I looked back at the park. Just yesterday, they park was completely full and each site was occupied.
When I could finally get past the trailers that needed to dump, I made my way to the exit. At the gate, I was met by a man who introduced himself as the Superintendent of State Parks, if I remember correctly. He thanked me for my cooperation and said that we would be getting a full refund as well as a gift card for as many as days as we had booked, because he hoped we would come back and visit later. He said that he had been called to a meeting at the capitol at 10:30, last night, and this all came together in a matter of hours.
I thought it was thoughtful of them to keep us informed.
I headed out, stopped at the nearest gas station and hit the road.
But, not before engaging in a little “panic shopping” – which seemed to be the latest national pastime. I bought a four pack of the flimsy toilet paper that breaks down easily in trailer holding tanks, Clorox, and two pounds of rice.
Hey! Isn’t Baton Rouge the state capital? Hmm…it IS on the way…
More to come.