Don and I left Nuevo, CA on January 1st and began our trip east. Our first stop was in Huachuca, AZ to meet up with friends, Dottie & Lew Anderson. We are the beginning of the "West Coast Gang" a group of Monaco coaches that are heading to Florida for several rallies. Along the way we will pick up more of our "gang", see some sites and enjoy some of the local fare! When we arrived in Huachuca, Dottie served us a great spaghetti dinner. It was so nice not to have to make dinner after a long day driving! Did I mention that the spaghetti was super as well?
While we were in Huachuca, we made a trip to Tombstone and walked along the shops there. Lew was hoping to take Don to a local saloon where they make their own "brew" but they were closed. We also made a trip to Fort Huachuca to see the museum there. Fort Huachuca had it's beginnings in 1877 and became an offical Army post in 1882. It has played a central role in the national defense picture ever since. In the latter part of the 20th century the fort has been a proving ground for electronic weaponry and most recently the center for all military intelligence training.
On another day we went into the town of Bisbee. In it's heyday, Bisbee was a booming mining community. There are lots of old houses built into the hillsides. Dottie and I took the opportunity to look around a few of the shops while Don and Lew managed to find a quaint old bar, called the Stock Exchange Brewery and Bar. The building that housed the bar was awesome to say the least. It was in the original Bisbee Stock Exchange building with the original tote board from the early days. The building has a lot of history and has
been refurbished into a bar. The bartender, Joe, was a wealth of information. We would go back, if just to hear more of Joe's stories!In Bisbee Don and I also toured the Queen Mine which was one of the most productive copper mines of the 20th century! The mine was opened in 1915! We wore slickers, hard hats and lights and rode into the mine on one of the same types of rail cars as the miners did.
On another day we drove into Benson to meet up with two guys that Don and Lew "knew" from their online Monaco group. We met Phil & Nancy Carroll, and Hal & Stephanie Woods at this local restaurant that someone had recommended. Lew and I both had this wonderful baked apple that was wrapped in a light crust and was then topped off with some vanilla ice cream! Yum Yum!
We left the Huachuca area and now we were two. In Deming, NM we met up with a third member of our "gang", Jean and Rod Bahnson. Now we were three! We traveled through Las Cruces and ended up in Vado, NM for the night. An early morning start stopping in Fort Stockton for the night! Another early morning and we ended up in Canyon Lake, Texas where we picked up three more gang members, Marlene and Bob Rea, Linda and Andy Clarkson and Maribel and Bob Clerc.Maribel and Bob live in Canyon Lake a few miles from the campground we stayed at. They had us all over to their house for happy hour before we went to the Gristmill, in historic Gruene (pronounced Green) for dinner. We all had great, authentic Texas barbeque for dinner! The next day several went off to do their own thing and Jean, Marlene and I went to San Marcos to the outlet center there. It has to be the BIGGEST outlet center that I've ever seen or even heard of! It would take DAYS to cover this thing! There are actually two different centers there! It was amazing! We all bought a few things and had a quick lunch at Johnny Rockets! It was in Canyon Lake that I learned how to play "Pegs and Jokers" with the Bahnson's and the Rea's.
The next morning everyone but the Clarkson's headed out for Montgomery, TX. It was a sight to see all of our motorhomes traveling down the highways through the small towns along the way. We opted to stay off major highways as we traveled around San Antonio and Houston. In Montgomery the women made a stop at Wal-Mart where we stocked up on groceries! After we all had dinner on our own we walked up to the club house and played another few rounds of "Pegs and Jokers"! I'll guarantee you that they don't give me too much leniency for being a new player! A quick fact about Montgomery...it's the birthplace of the Texas flag, designed in 1839!
We began to notice the humidity in Texas, but not nearly as much as we felt once we got into Louisiana! Our first stop in Louisiana was Duson! One of the things Don and I both noticed was all the water. It seems like there were pools of water just about everywhere! Something else Don and I noticed...a pickup truck traveling down the highway...with a deer tied to their "stuff" in the back! Not sure how good that meat would be after driving in the sun for a while! You could even see that rigor mortis had already set in! Yum! 
To be continued....
