Greetings from Louisiana !

Hi All,

Today we spent in the city where Offshore Oil Rigs began. We got to visit

the very first oil rig ever built in 1954. It is now retired as a museum in Morgan City,

Louisiana. However it is still used as a training rig. The Diamond Offshore Roustabout

Training Program teaches new recruits here. New recruits spend two weeks isolated on the rig

to simulate two weeks at sea. This platform is a semi-submersible. That is it can be floated out to where it's needed, then  flooded to a depth of 40 feet. It was used up to 1985 in the shallow portions of the Gulf of Mexico.

   The first picture shows the Spirit of Morgan City on permanent display as you enter town.

The second photo shows the first oil rig “Mr Charlie”.

   The third picture shows the drilling gear which is still used to train crews.

The fourth shows the production platform which is moved over the well head after the oil has been found so the rig can move and drill another well.

The fifth and final photo shows two submersibles used by the oil rig and the “man lift” to

lift people from a boat up onto the rig.

Take care and talk to you soon!

Greetings from New Orleans!

Hi All

   We arrived in New Orleans and headed directly to the French Quarter. In spite of the

teaming rain, we found the famous restaurant / pub Pat O'Briens on Bourbon Street.

   We had a cajun meal and enjoyed their famous “Hurricane” rum drinks. Even got a souvenir

glass. The next two days we spent sightseeing including the Mardi Gras float museum. They make

over 600 floats every year for the Mardi Gras parades. A city tour also took us to areas still

devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

   Upon preparing to leave New Orleans, disaster struck – almost. I took the car in for an

oil change – no big deal. We had reached our first 5000km / 3000mile marker. I took it in

to the recommended spot. Waited there and the car was ready in an hour. Drove back to the

campsite, picked up the trailer and departed. First stop was for gas which by coincidence was

right across from the oil change place. When I came out from paying for the gas, there was

over a quart of oil on the road under the car! Turns out they installed the wrong oil filter!

That got changed in a hurry!

Now to the pictures:

We'll start off in Jackson Square. One of the main squares in New Orleans. In the Number

two position is Santa's Reindeer. Some of the decorations around town from Christmas. Notice

the colours of purple, gold and green. The colours of Mardi Gras which is coming this year

in early March.

   Pictures 3 & 4 show Wendy on a float for a past Mardi Gras and some other floats at the

Mardi Gras Museum. They build over 600 floats EACH YEAR for a total of 52 parades.

   Pictures 5 & 6 show street performers plying their trade on one of many streets.

Picture 7 is one of the famous above ground cemetaries. Built this way because the

ground is below sea level.

   Picture 8 shows a tug pushing barges on the Mississippi River. New Orleans is the

second busiest port after New York in terms of volume of traffic.

Pictures 9 to 11 are all about the Hurricane Katrina. Katrina did not hit New Orleans,

but weakened the Levees (or dams). Picture 9 shows where the main break happened in the

9^th Ward of New Orleans. In the picture there are two levees. One on the left and one on the right. The left one shows a large section with fresh cement. That was where the main break happened.

   Picture 10 shows a typical bungalow in New Orleans. However the yellow line

two thirds of the way up the brick was the hi-water mark. This picture was taken

three blocks from the previous picture. If anyone was in this house when the break

happened they had 4 (FOUR) minutes to get out or to climb on the roof !

   Picture 11 shows some vacant lots. All of these lots previously had houses on

them. The house on the left with the solar panels is a “Brad Pitt” house. He raised

money to build houses for the city.

  Take care and we'll talk to you soon.

Greetings from Florida's Panhandle!

   Hi All! Our first picture today shows a brand new boardwalk leading to the Gulf of Mexico.

We're camping in the Fort Pickens Campground of the Gulf Islands State Park located just

outside Pensacola, Florida. For those without a map that's as far west as you can go and still

be called Florida.

   The second picture shows our “Road Cruiser” set up in the campground. Notice the brand

new asphalt pads and connecting roads.

   Our third picture shows our trailer “Stuck in the SNOW”! Just Kidding! The sand around

here is so white it looks just like snow, especially when it's drifting across the highway.

   The fourth picture shows a crew dredging the sandy beach. What do they need a dredger

for you ask? Why the Oil Company British Petroleum had a “little” oil spill last April.

The brand new boardwalk, asphalt roads and the dredging crews are all part of the cleanup

which BP is paying for. Makes for a really nice campground though!

   The fifth and last picture shows the Battleship USS Alabama (BB-60) on permanent

display in Mobile, Alabama harbour. The ship has been here since being retired in the early

1960's.

So long for now.

Greetings from Universal Studios Orlando!

   Hi All
 As I said on our last update from NASA, I've had plenty of internet problems. So please check out the previous entry which was also sent tonight.
  Here we are at Universal Studios "Islands of Adventure". My wife & I are both big Harry Potter fans.
So when we heard that "Hogwarts" (the name of the Wizarding School" was opening, we knew we just had to go.
  The Second Pic shows Hogarts School. Quite impressive mounted atop a hill. There are all kinds of "special effects" inside plus two rollercoasters which we went on. Very well done.

  The Third Pic shows Hogsmeade Village where Students could socialize and down some pints etc......
They better be RICH Students!

  The Fourth Pic shows the Three Broomsticks Pub. We "Downed a Few" here ourselves! The big favourite here is butterbeer. Very frothy. Not alcoholic but you just have to try some.

  The Fifth and last Pic shows the Steam Locomotive which pulls the Hogwarts Express train to and from
the School. We got along famously with the Stationmaster!

  So there you have it. As we approach the 3000 km mark (1800 miles), things are going really really well.
The weather is "wonderful" after the slow start getting here. It was 30 degrees C (82 degrees F) when we visited Universal yesterday. A little cooler today as it's been pooring rain all day. Sunday we start the next leg of our trip as we head west.
  Take care and we'll talk soon. Hope the snow's not toooooo deep!

Greetings from Cape Canaveral !

  Hi All

     We're having a great trip but internet access has been anything from fair to poor to none existent.

So I'll make this as short as I can. This past Tuesday, Wendy & I spent at the Kennedy Space Centre.

The Second Pic shows a picture of the International Space Station now served by the American Space Shuttles and the Russian Soyuz program. There are only two more Shuttle launches. The last in April 2011.

After that the Russians will maintain and service the Space Station exclusively.

The Third Pic shows Launch Pad 39A where most of the Apollo (except Apollo 10) and most of the Shuttles were launched from. We also saw Launch Pad 39B (Apollo 10 and the rest of the Shuttles). 39B

is presently being dismantled.

The Fourth Pic shows Yours Truly and the Vehicle Assembly Building where all the Apollos and the Shuttles

were assembled prior to launch.

The Fifth Pic shows the Lunar Module used on Apollo's 11 to 17. There were scheduled to be 20 Apollo missions but the last 3 were cancelled. This and the Apollo Command Module plus the SaturnV rocket and booster are displayed in a special building. You can see a portion of the Saturn V rocket booster to the left of the Lunar Module. It shows the immensity of the building.

The Sixth and last Pic shows the Space Shuttle Explorer now retired and on display with ramps so you can look in, take pictures, etc...

   I will attempt to send another entry ASAP. Take care for now!

Greetings from Northern Florida !

 We're having a great trip! Sorry for missing two days but there was no WIFI in our area. We have now "summarized" the trailer (which involves flushing the water system and testing all other operations). The first picture was taken in St Augustine Marina. The bridge in the background is the Bridge of Lions. The Second picture shows the Alcazare Hotel (now the Lightner Musem). Catch you next time!

Greetings From Savannah, Georgia !

This is a picture of the City Hall in Savannah. As you can see, it's quite unique.
The dome I'm told is made of real gold plate. There are over 400 historically significant buildings such as this in the downtown area.

Greetings fron Georgia!
    Well we finally beat the snow! Left Northern South Carolina this morning
with slick, icy roads and below zero temperatures. Pulled into Georgia at +6C
and beautiful sunshine! Hopefully that's the end of this "cold snap" as the locals call it. They're complaining of too cold winters and too hot summers.
Unfortunately we've had to cut out Kitty Hawk and Charleston, SC from our trip due to the weather so we may stay longer in Florida simply because it's warmer. We haven't even "started" camping as the nights are still well below freezing.

Greetings from South Carolina
     The news today is THE WEATHER -IT'S TERRIBLE.
Freezing rain this morning so bad the Governor declared a State of Emergency.
So we left late morning heading south. Now we're in South Carolina and there's 5 to 7 inches of snow! The temperature is around zero. I thought it was supposed to be warm down here!

Greetings from North Carolina!

Hi Everyone
     We've made it into the Carolinas. Having a great time! The Highlight today was crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel into Norfolk! One of the Seven Wonders of the Engineering World. 15 miles of bridges and two tunnels.
     Good trip but VERY COLD. Below 0 C ( 29 or 30 F) which is unseasonably cold for this area. In fact the weather forecast is for freezing rain tonight and all the School Boards have already closed the schools tomorrow!
Not camping weather anyways. I think we'll head a lot farther south tomorrow.
I'm also having some picture issues with my camera which I hope to correct tomorrow and then hopefully I can show off some pictures.
Cheers!

Greetings From Delaware

  We have arrived in the State of Delaware. Mostly uneventful however we had
snow through most of New York State and part of Pennsylvania. The trailer very badly needs a bath (which it will get as soon as we hit the warmth). No trouble at the border. We sailed right through.
Temp: -3 to -6C / 25 to 28F.

Greetings All! Here's a short note. We're Off!!!!! The:

Round the World* Tour 2011 has Offically Begun! More Soon!