We spent the night outside of Pensacola, Florida with temperatures dipping down to 27 degrees! Yes, below freezing! We avoided hooking up any water, afraid it might freeze the lines. Scrapped off ice from the windshield, frost covered the ground, and the furnace ran all night. We heard that 49 states had snow on Friday. So, we have changed our itinerary and are headed to that one state with no snow....Hawaii. Trying to figure out how to get the RV there????

The goal today was to zip thru the rest of the Florida panhandle, thru Alabama and into Mississippi. Stopped early in Biloxi, around 11:00am (central time) to be able to set up the camper and TV to watch the Daytona 500. We could have made it to New Orleans, only another 80 miles, just in time for Mardi Gras celebration!

The Deep South doesn't get any deeper than Alabama. This is where cotton was king and the Confederacy was born. The heart of Dixie beats strong here in addition to the antebellum homes and moss-draped oaks. Mississippi has sugar-white sand along the Gulf coast with the surrounding countryside know as the Delta, where once rang with woeful tunes of African slaves in the cotton fields; this soulful music is known as the Delta blues. Without the blues there would be no rock 'n' roll, and without Mississippi there would be no "King of Rock 'n' Roll". Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, in the northern part of the state.

Biloxi, an American Indian word for "first people" has been govern by six different regions. The area was badly damaged by Katrina in 2005. Most of the coastal casinos have already been rebuilt and opened, but many vacant land remains with planning for rebuilding in the future. Our RV camp site is right across the street from the Gulf. Actually, this park was hit by the storm.

Back to Mardi Gras....

This is a Catholic holiday originated as a final farewell to food and drink before fasting of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday (this year Lent is February 17th). For two weeks prior, parties and parades take place with the peak being on Fat Tuesday. Although, this celebration isn't just in New Orleans but stretches all over the southern states. We saw gathering of RVs and tailgaters along I-10 in Mobile, Alabama. Many dressed in traditional Mardi Gras garb. There is a Mardi Gras parade today in Biloxi, too . Crazy!