A Carthago in Texas, Florida and the Southern States

In their last report, our customers Hartmut and Marion told us about their trip through Mexico. In their new travel report, you can find out how the journey continued and what exciting things they experienced with their chic c-line "Herr Geheimrat".

In New Mexico and Texas we felt like we were in a western. In Phoenix, Tucson and Tombstone we admired the remains of Indian buildings and learned a lot about their history. But there was also plenty of fun to be had in the reenacted wild shootouts between good sheriffs and evil bank robbers.

While at the beginning the weather was almost summery during the day and cold but quite pleasant at night, this has changed quite dramatically.

We have never experienced such violent sandstorms in Morocco before. They not only shook us up, but also prevented us from driving on some days. When visibility is almost zero and it's difficult to keep on track on the highway, it's better to look for a safe place. We had also never seen sparking power lines before, so it's better to stay away from them.

But it got even better: in Alamo, the heavy storm during the night was joined by quite large hailstones. A bit of adventure is part of travelling and Mr. Geheimrat and we survived everything well, that's the main thing.

But back to the pleasant aspects of our trip.

In the German-sounding Carlsbad we visited a fantastic huge cave. In the alien-crazy town of Roswell, we were on the trail of UFOs.

What would Texas be without a rodeo and where is the best place to see one?

We chose Fort Worth because there are not only the big arenas, but also lots of shops for "cowboy needs", great saloons and every day longhorn cattle with really gigantic long horns are driven through the main street.

After a tornado warning, we had a blast at the rodeo spectacle and were full of admiration for the professionals, most of whom could only hold onto the wildly struggling bull for a few seconds.

In Houston, a visit to the Nasa Control Centre is a must and, as always, there was much new for us to discover.

In New Orleans, the cradle of jazz, our "little" music tour through the southern states began. There we left the Gulf Coast and drove a loop through the interior of the country via Memphis, the home of the blues and not to forget the great Elvis Presley. Nashville, which is a household name for every country music fan, was also on the programme. Last but not least, we visited a small museum dedicated to Tina Turner near her birthplace.

At the Georgia Aquarium, which is one of the largest aquariums in the world, we could admire whale sharks, dolphins, sharks and practically everything that lives under water.

Back in the Gulf, a special underwater show awaited us in Weeki Wachee. There, the mermaids have been performing various shows since 1947. In our case, a slightly modified version of the fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" was shown, with the acrobats performing elegantly at a depth of 6 metres in front of the spectators sitting in an underwater theatre.

Twice we have already made the wonderful drive across the Florida Keys in a rental car. The route, which passes over 200 coral islands and separates the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, is over 290 kilometres long and we just had to drive it once with Mr. Geheimrat.

For us, it was a matter of the heart and the trip across the sea will remain an unforgettable experience. From the westernmost point of the continental USA in Key West, from where it is only 90 miles to Cuba, we then headed roughly north.

In Houston (Texas) we had visited the Nasa control centre and so it was obvious to visit the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

To cut a long story short: if you have the opportunity to see this, you should take it, you won't be disappointed. A rocket launch and a flight in the simulator, the real space shuttle Atlantis, informative films, everything from the history of space travel and its future can be experienced there up close and professionally presented. Our trip to the Epcot Center at Disney Worlds in Orlando was also great, but the day at Cape Canaveral can't be topped for those interested in technology and the Disney prices are really utopian.

Perhaps our mood in Orlando was also dampened by our first technical problem after 39,000 kilometres of travel: “Herr Geheimrat” was difficult to start and eventually could no longer be started.

In the last 10 months we have only had maintenance work, such as oil and filter changes, and in Mexico we had to put on two new front tyres.

The remote diagnosis of our good friend Claus was correct: a new starter battery was needed. The battery, which was at least 6 years old and had always shown good values during regular checks, was at its end. Getting this in the USA for a European vehicle took several attempts and during this time the engine was not turned off. Finally, we found what we were looking for and installing it ourselves in 33° Celsius was a sweaty affair.

But the action was successful and the Carthago starts like on the first day at the first turn of the ignition key.

We are looking forward to the adventures still to come and thus want to conclude the report on this part of the journey.

If you want to know more about our year in a motorhome in North America, you are invited to visit our page: www.herr-geheimrat.de.
You can also send us a message there if you have any special questions that we will be happy to answer in our final report "One year in a Carthago through North America".