Sprint’s mobile broadband was great in New York. I’m pretty sure we were getting 3g speeds. Even on our trip down to Atlanta we got great speeds. Once we started heading west, everything went downhill in a big way. Internet coverage, even at dial-up speeds, has been very spotty.

In an effort to reduce the number of hard drives we carry, I signed up for a Flickr Pro account to archive my photos. However, it was only after paying the fee that I discovered I cannot upload anything! I’ve tried to upload photos as small as 1.2MB, but the server still drops the connection.

CM tried to download the iphone 2.0 software which was 200MB and he kept losing his connection too. Eventually we had to park in El Paso, TX which supposedly has 3g coverage so that he could finish the download.

No uploading no downloading!!! AAAGgggghhh. This experience has been VERY painful. At this point we don’t have any alternatives though, so I don’t know what we’re going to do.

Any suggestions???

No post for a few days. Sorry it has just been really busy. So here is a long update.

We went to the lower ninth ward and then on to the French quarter while in New Orleans. There was a very stark contrast between the two areas. I am sure this has been true throughout most of New Orleans history, but today it is extreme.

The lower ninth is in shambles. Overgrowth covers many streets, and there are not that many signs that it is inhabited. As you have probably seen on TV there is an x in spray paint telling the story of what the rescuers found in the house 3 years ago. There are a few people there getting on with their life. I think they are very resilient to get through a disaster like this and come back to live. Their condition is not the greatest, it seems a poor existence, but they should be proud for not giving up on a part of the city that many would like to forget.

From there we went to the French quarter. There where tourist, hipsters, and other people all milling around. It seems to have recovered well; business is open and the trolley whizzes by Canal street. I would not have known about the destruction in N.O. if I had only visited there.

From there it was a trip to Dallas. The night before we tried to boondock on the Texas Louisiana border. Not a great idea. The night was like spending a night in a sauna. The air was so thick with humidity that it was very difficult to get comfortable. As soon as we woke up we turned on the RV and the AC. I am so spoiled by AC and I can’t imagine what it was like for people in this part of the country to grow up with no AC only a generation ago. Another thing about the border; It is not nice to give miles on a sign post saying that there is a city in the same state that is 890 miles away if you stay on this road. Seeing that it seems as if it will take forever to get through Texas.

The kids got to see their grandparents in Dallas. That was great for them, they really enjoyed it and now they keep playing monster with the new monster teeth they acquired. . We had dinner there and talked. The next morning we got up early to continue our journey.

We made it to the desert yesterday. What a difference. The trees are gone and there is sand and small bushes everywhere. In some places you can see so far it looks like you can see the curve of the Earth. The desert takes a toll on everything made by man. Anything more than a year old is sun-bleached. Everything looks worn and old. There are new things of course, but anything more than a few years old shows it’s age. The desert is so quiet, all you hear is the wind. It is both spooky and spiritual at the same time. The desert here is more green than I have seen desert in the past. I guess that it must be the time of year for this part of the desert to get rain.

We stopped in Midland Odessa Texas to camp. We stopped at a place with a pool so the kids could swim. They loved it; It was a great day for them. Swimming is great when it is over 100 degrees. It was a great time to rest for us while they played. They also enjoyed eating dinner outside. Us not so much because the flies attacked our food at every opportunity. I probably would do the same if food was as scarce as they have to deal with, but it was a lesson in why we will be eating inside while in the desert. I guess there is a trick to keep them at bay, but I don’t know it.

Next we are off to see White Sands New Mexico. I have never seen it and I think it will make for a great place to stop. The desert seems like an endless places to see. There is route 66, the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Monument Valley, and the list just goes on and on. There are just too many places for us to visit in a few months that we have before we have to be back in the city. What would you see?

Maybe boondocking (camping without electricity) isn’t as awesome as I originally thought it was. It was a long night and it made today more difficult. After leaving the truck stop we drove to Dallas to have dinner with CM’s family. It was short notice but everyone came to his dad’s house and they made a big dinner for us.

Tomorrow we are heading for White Sands, New Mexico. I promise to fill you in on what I saw at New Orleans tomorrow. For now I’m going to get some rest.

A lot of times I feel like CM’s being homeless when he was younger has made our marriage more difficult. However, today wasn’t one of those times. I was ready to shell out $40 plus insurance to rent a car, but he was more enterprising. He just walked up to strangers and asked for help. It freaked me out, but I guess he had done that so many times before when he was homeless. You never know what somebody has been through just by looking at them.

It’s days like this that I really start to think about all that he must have went through when he was homeless. It made him who he is today. One of the things that I really love about him is that he helps me find things that I’ve accidentally thrown in the trash. He has no problem just reaching in and looking for what I’ve lost. It doesn’t matter if it’s our trash can at home or one on the street corner. He’s crazy!

On a more serious note, even here in Mississippi we are seeing that people are still in the process of rebuilding. As we drove through the town we could see the ruins of old buildings that were lost in the hurricane. It looks this bad and it’s been almost 3 years!! I can’t imagine the destruction people faced when they walked out of their shelters right after Katrina hit.

Picture: Midget sat in the front seat next to me while we waited for CM to return with the fuel. Sometimes she just looks so serious.

CM just pulled up in the passenger of a stranger’s car!! They have agreed to take him to the nearest gas station that sells diesel so that he can fill up one of those gas cans. AAAgggghhhhh!!! Was that poor planning or what??

New rule: Never ever let the gas get below one quarter of a tank!!

Oh man! Oh man! Oh man! What if they kidnap CM and use him as a sex slave?

To be continued…..

Luckily, I have until tomorrow to figure it out.

We went to Camping World today to buy some new sewer hose. We also ended up buying some fold up chairs for the kids. The had so much stuff there. It was really hard not to spend a lot of money.

Tomorrow we plan to spend the day with my grandmother, then it’s off to California.

How often do you see your extended family?

Anyhoo, it wasn’t any fun driving separately. I was stressed trying to stay awake and CM was stressed because he couldn’t hear the kids from the driver’s seat of the RV. We stopped a few times to give the kids some exercise, but overall I think the pace was too fast.

I know, I know, I’m behind on my finances. I have all of the receipts next to the computer and I promise to post them first thing in the morning.

Picture: Widget & Midget at the pool.