Day 2-July 7, 2014-To New Orleans, LA
Drove 295 miles in 8-1/2 hours. Hot again, 94.
Started out on I-10 west, got 80 miles in 1-1/2 hours and got a blowout! Waited two hours for Good Sam service, then went to a Discount Tire in Pensacola (as luck would have it, only 10 minutes from where we were) and got a new tire. Last year we bought a protection plan for four tires (at $17.50 a tire) and this is the second time we’ve used it. It’s paid for itself already. So, after a four hour delay we got back on the road to New Orleans.
Ponchartrain Landing RV Resort and Marina is gorgeous-it’s the “newest (built about 2 years after Katrina) and largest RV resort in New Orleans”-a hundred times better than where we stayed a few years ago. It’s right on a navigational canal, with big oleanders and palms at every site-big sites too. It’s immaculately kept up with a pool, boat launch, rec room, restaurants, stores and I don’t know what else because we haven’t checked anything out yet. They even have rental floating villas. Nice breeze here too. There’s a Trinity Yacht manufacturer down the street and all kinds of boating equipment places. Good security, the gates are closed at night which is good because the area outside the campground is really sketchy, as is most of New Orleans. They have an all-night security guard who drives around in a golf cart making sure everything is as it should be. They have a shuttle that goes to the French Quarter and tomorrow we’re planning on spending the day there.
After we hooked up and had dinner (and a well deserved drink) we went out again to get gas and rode around a bit. Most of where we were was down-trodden with the streets still under construction and run down, burned down and torn down buildings all over town. Sadly, I don’t think it will every recover from Hurricane Katrina. I hope the tourist area has recovered better.