27 February ‘09

Friday

Last Monday, Louise and I went back to NAS Pensacola to see the air museum.  We heard so much about this museum and how good it was, we just had to make a day of it.  Unbelievable, but the admission is FREE…  Not only is the admission free, so are the guided tours.  We joined in with about 20 others and thoroughly enjoyed the stories and knowledge that our guide passed on to us over the 2 hours we were with him.  Pat was a retired Navy aviator and flew a number of the airplanes on display during his career.  Not only did he know the museum well, he knew the planes that were there and their stories as well.  As you might know, NAS Pensacola is the summer Home Base for the Blue Angles.  As you drive through Pensacola you couldn't miss the fact that the Blue Angles are loved here.  They have schools, streets, and shops throughout town named after them.  I must admit, they deserve it...

Obviously we had a great time and we look forward to going back sometime this week.  I also came across the Heavy One patch that we wore on our jackets and flight suits while we were at NAS Sanford, Florida.  Unfortunately they didn't have one for sale...so I took this picture instead. 

Leaving the NAS (Naval Air Station), we tried hard to remember things about Pensacola from 1960, but absolutely nothing was familiar.  We even tried to find the apartment that we lived in, but to no avail…    It would have been nice, but it was just an apartment… 

Tuesday and Wednesday we just stayed close to the coach.  Louise wasn’t feeling well and I was getting tired of seeing a dirty coach.  I pulled out my ladder, buffer, cleaner, wax, and got busy. 

Thursday we drove into Pensacola to see a doctor and today we saw another and received the results.  All is well. 

22 January ‘09

Sunday

Louise and I were on the road a little earlier than normal…we’ve been invited to church.  Bo and Jeannie asked us to join them this morning to enjoy a service at their church.  We met Bo and Jeannie about 10am and joined them in their car as we drove down to Josephine Baptist Church.  Josephine Baptist is beautifully landscaped with a massive area of green grass, Live Oak, and Pine trees.   As soon as we opened the doors of Bo’s car we were met by a lot of their friends and neighbors.  Pastor Dr Ted Mashburn met us at the entry into the church and made us feel like we had known him for ever.  Bo had told us that he has this quality and also that he gives one heck of a good service.  It didn’t take long and we were sitting in our pew and meeting the whole congregation as each and every person made sure that they came up and welcomed us in.  Bo was right, Ted’s service was very good and one that we will take with us. 

Following church, Jeannie had invited Louise and me and another 6 to join them for lunch at the house.  As I had mentioned in one of my earlier postings, Jeannie is a great hostess and produces a wonderful meal.  I hate to say that it was “just soup”, but that is what it was…SOUP !!!  This soup was sooo good that everyone there was hoping that they would be able to get the secret recipe.  I’ve been looking forward to eating the “local” foods and Jeannie has gone out of her way to make me happy.  Today’s soup was “Collards Greens” and sausage and…. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD !!!  Oh yes, there was also cornbread and an open bar…  Bo was in charge of the open bar, and he did a great job too. 

21 February ‘09

Saturday

By 11am this morning we were looking for the best parking spot in Mobile, Alabama.  We were in town to see 3 different Mardi Gras parades, and it was going to take all day to do it.  We happened down this very narrow one-way road and saw this little vacant lot.  Noticing that they had some parking lines faintly painted on the broken up blacktop, and there were already 2 other cars parked, we jumped the curb and parked between the other cars already there.  I was hoping that if there was a problem with us parking there, they wouldn’t notice us cuddled in-between.  Pulling our beach chairs out of the back of the car, putting our coats on to ward off the cold wind, we head off to find “our” place along the parade route.  A short block away we found what seemed to be the center of town.  There was a large park located there that was having entertainment going on all day and we thought that setting up “camp” across the street would work.  This way, we would be entertained while we’re waiting for the parades and far enough away from the speaker system that we’ll be leaving with our ear drum still intact.  The first two parades came through one after another, so it really felt like there was only one. 

 That was OK, as we caught enough beads and Moon Pies to last us a long time.  With the next Mardi Gras parade not starting for about 4 hours, we pull the chairs and take them back to the car.  Now we’re off for a walk around Mobile.  I’m not sure of the population of Mobile but over-all the city it’s self can be walked easily.  There are many homes and commercial buildings that mirror the designs and age of New Orleans.  We noticed quite a large number of church steeples though out town but one set of two really stood out.  The dome of both steeples were covered in gold leaf and with the sun setting on them, it made a beautiful site.  These domes top the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. 

This just happens to be the first Catholic parish on the Gulf Coast and was established at Mobile in 1703.  In 1835 the cornerstone for this cathedral was laid on the current site.  As we passed through the huge doors and into the nave and looked forward to the sanctuary and apse, we were reminded of so many times that we had the opportunity to witness such beauty as we have re-found here in Mobile. 

 In Europe we admired so many absolutely beautiful cathedrals and now in Mobile, we’ve found another. 

Time for the 6pm parade was getting close so we started back to the car to gather our chairs and position ourselves once again for a Mardi Gras Parade. 

As we sat low to the ground, feet on the barricade, eating a sausage and onion sandwich roll, we were visited by some parade “officials”.  These 4 guys made such an impression on us that I just had to include them in my journal… 

Well tonight’s parade is going to be our last for this year, but we will be back. 

20 February ‘09

Friday

Last Monday, Bo and Jeannie invited us down to their home in Julian, which is about a mile off the white sandy shores of the Gulf of Mexico.  Their home sits on one of the many inlets off of the coastal waterways, which gives them quick access to the Gulf for a quick sail or cruise in the beautiful aqua blue waters.  The view from the deck at sunset is amazing,

 and it also gives them a great place to enjoy a quiet breakfast in the early morning, or entertain many of their closest guests for an incredible dinner that “Chef” Jeannie continues to produce with ease. 

Well this morning we drove the ¾ hour drive to their home.  After a  little (a lot…) of catching up conversation, and a tour of their home, we were off to see the “local” sites and grab lunch at Pirates Cove, one of the local eateries at the marina. 

Unfortunately it seemed to take forever to get our food, but on the other side, lunch was really good, I’d go back anytime.  Bo then drove us around for the next 3 hours to see all the sites of the area.  We drove down to Gulf Shores, made a left hand turn, and then followed the white sands along the coast highway to Pensacola.  Again we saw some of the damage that occurred from the last hurricane that hit this area, Ivan.  Driving across a beautiful arching bridge we found ourselves on the roadways leading into Pensacola, Florida.  Bo was going to see if I could remember anything about the base…our barracks, the photo school, BRIG ?, or…  Well once he got us to the area of the photo school, I did recognize it, closed but the building was still there.   Bo thought our barracks had disappeared and become another parade field and that was probably the only answer as there was nothing there any longer. 

Did I mention Chef Jeannie ??? 

Well Chef Jeannie asked us to stay for dinner and she was making us some “Southern Fried Chicken”….  Let me tell you something, her Southern Fried Chicken was sooo tasty.  I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed chicken as much as that.  It was complimented with rice, gravy, broccoli, and Jeannie’s chicken.  Thanks Jeannie… Oh yes, thanks to Bo as well, we had a great time today…

18 February ‘09

Wednesday

As Louise and I passed through Mobile the other day, we passed by the Battleship Memorial Park, which was set up to display the USS Alabama, an aircraft pavilion, and the submarine USS Drum.  We knew that visiting the memorial was a must while here in the area so we chose this afternoon to do it.  We drove into Mobile about noon, so before we went over to the Alabama, we stopped off for lunch.  Close by, we found Felix’s Fish House.

  It has survived a number of Hurricanes and it still sits overlooking the bay.  With a cement foundation, walls and roofing of steel sheeting, it will most likely stay through a few more.  We found the service at Felix OUTSTANDING !!!  I can’t remember having better service and knowledge of foods being served.  It was so good (oysters and catfish, and incredible shrimp), I went to great length to let everyone that worked with us know how much we appreciated their service.  The food was also way above average…this was a great experience.  Following lunch, we drove the mile over to the memorial.  Once into the grounds, we were blown away by the size and stature of the Battleship USS Alabama.  It is an amazing ship…  We purchased our tickets and headed for the gang plank.  Over the next 2 hours we walked most of the passageways, and levels of the Alabama examining everything closely.  I even tried out one of the bunks. 

 Man did that take me back.  My bunk on the USS Independence was the top of two.  I had a vent cover on the air-conditioning system that I could take down and store some of my “goodies” (food), and I shared the room with 9 others.  Here’s a little information on the Alabama that I thought I would post:

Commissioned in August ’42, fought the Germans in the North Sea area until being transferred over to the Pacific Fleet in August 1943. Because of her advanced radar systems, she was able to detect enemy planes, alerting fleet gunners with enough advanced warning that they were able to knock down 476 enemy planes, including Alabama’s guns were able to stop the Japanese “Kamikaze” pilots that were bent on crashing their aircraft into our warships.  It was also sent to Japan in 1945 and struck with devastating results using its big 16” projectiles.  Following the surrender of Japan, and moving around the Pacific Ocean to make sure that the world was now safe from war, the Alabama was sent to Bremerton, Washington in 1947 and decommissioned and put into “moth balled” fleet. 

16 February ‘09

Monday

We’ve moved on again…  Yesterday morning we pulled out of Martin Lake / Ocean Springs and headed east on Hwy-90.  We drove through Pascagoula and up to Moss Point where we crossed into Alabama.  Just prior to Pascagoula we passed over the Pascagoula River.  The river spreads out for well over a mile wide and looks more like a large bayou filled with reeds that happens to have a river running through it.  It’s known to be a wonderful place to do some kayaking…  Oh the temptation…  We have now added one more state to our growing list…Alabama.  Our new site is located at the Styx River Resort, in Robertsdale, Alabama.   In November of 1958 I joined the Navy.  I went to boot camp in San Diego, was sent to a 2 month school in Norman, Oklahoma, and then sent to my first duty station at Pensacola Naval Air Station.  That is where I met Bo Benedict.  Bo was from Birmingham, Alabama and had arrived in Pensacola with his Austin Healey sports car. A car like that was the envy of every sailor on base, and I just happened to have the bunk right next to “this guy with the sports car”…just a little kidding, but true.  Anyway, Bo and I had a good friendship that seems to have lasted 48 years.  Just last month, as Louise and I were getting closer to Pensacola, I got thinking that I Just might get lucky and find Bo.  As luck would have it, I did a short search on the internet and found a phone number for a Bo Benedict.  After picking up my cell phone and dialing the found phone number, I found myself talking once again with Bo.  I could tell immediately that he hadn’t changed one bit, he was still the Bo Benedict that I had known years ago.  This afternoon Bo and his lovely bride Jeannie came by for a couple of hours here at the coach.  Unfortunately time flew by on us today but we’ll be getting together again this week as Louise and I have been invited down to their house in Gulf Shores.  We really enjoyed having them come by and see us, but there is one thing that I totally regret….I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE !!!   I’ll do better, I promise. 

14 February ‘09

Saturday

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY to everybody !!! 

The Valentine Baby above is :  Austin, Phil and Kathy’s grandson

Louise and I are enjoying our Valentine Day here in Gulf Springs, Mississippi.  We went back to the casino this morning.  When we signed up for our “Gaming Card” they told us that if we were to come back this morning, we would receive up to $25 credit each, for the losses we might have incurred yesterday.  Well we parlayed that credit into a plus for me of $28 before I cashed in and Louise took it to $80 before she cashed in…  that was a nice Valentine gift for both of us. 

 “ Friday “  13 February ‘09

A little cloudy with the sun poking out now and then and a forecast of rain…a perfect day to do the laundry.  We just filled a couple of machines and will patiently await the finished product.  Today will also give me the needed time to continue working on our web-pages.  I’ve been working on adding pictures and correcting some of the postings to Egypt, Austria, and now Hungary.  I’ve found it to be harder to do than I originally thought to complete this project and I just hope it’s worth the time…  I’ll try and keep you updated as I go. 

Unfortunately with the weather threatening heavy rain and thunder tonight, the Mardi Gras parade marshals are letting us know that they just might have to cancel tonight’s events in New Orleans.  They are telling us (those that weren’t around ) that it very well could be like last year’s schedule, off, on, and off again to finally be rescheduled. 

Noon quickly arrived and Louise went to the pantry to find the pick-ins for lunch.  As she put the can of tuna on the counter to make us a couple of tuna sandwiches, she said “I guess we could go over to the Hard Rock Casino. 

They’re having their $4.99 buffet…”  Yep, you guessed it, we went for the buffet.  We’re really not into buffets but with it dark and raining, and Louise really liking the fun at the casinos, it just made sense to make her happy.  Of course we received our gaming card which gave us the $4.99 price for the buffet.  Fortunately for me, my buffet was free because of my birthday this month.  I’ll take “Free” anytime…  Following lunch, Louise took $20 and headed over to the penny machines.  By the time I found her she had already won about $10 on top of her investment.  I put in $20 twice and lost it quickly…I love gambling.  A couple of hours later we were heading out to the car and as we passed a couple of machines at the entrance, Louise asked if I might have a couple of one dollar bills.  It didn’t take but a couple of minutes and she was already up to $26 on a penny machine so I pulled up next to her and put in $3 more dollars.  For some reason I got lucky and had my $3 up to $130 in about 15 minutes.  We didn’t pull out right away, but we did after I dropped down to $80.  OK, I’ll take the $40 profit and let’s head home… 

12 February ‘09

Thursday

A couple of days have gone by without getting to the journal, so I’ve got a little bit of catching up.  Tuesday morning we awoke to a very windy and cloudy day.  Fact is, while we were still lying in bed, it started to rain like hell.  Thank God it only lasted about an hour, but the amount of rain that fell left enough water on the grassy areas to be one big sponge.  This was not going to be a day for sightseeing so we went to the computer and checked for show times at one of the local theaters.  Our choice turned out to be Slum Dog Millionaire.  With all the positive reviews we’ve heard about this movie, we just had to see it.  It was noon when we walked in and just after 2 when we found ourselves ready to head back out into the bad weather…not a thing we really wanted to do. Sooo…  We went back in and took in a second movie.  “He’s Just Not That Into You” was our choice for the second movie.  This was a “girls flick” that I found to be just OK.  It’s not that “girl’s flick’s” are not entertaining, it’s just that this one was just not going to rate high on my list.  Wednesday turned out to be a great day with lots of sun and a noon time temperature in the mid 70’s.  Maybe not a great day to go shopping at the mall but that was something that Louise wanted to do.  Louise wanted to pick up a few new pieces of clothing but it just wasn’t going to happen.  We’ll have to look again somewhere down the road. 

Today was another great day.  We know we’ve got some crummy weather coming and it’s going to last past the weekend.  For that reason I wanted to push forward to do some kayaking.  Last week we drove out to the Gulf Island National Seashore Area and the Davis Bayou.  The Davis Bayou was just too much to leave behind without putting into the waters so today was the day…  By the time we entered the water, we found we had a light breeze coming off of the Gulf.  That wasn’t going to bother us abit, as our plans were to stay in close and paddle the many little pathways through the reeds and trees.  After filling the kayak with air, donning our jackets, and slipping into the water, we now had a chance to explore.  It was an easy paddle as we followed one passageway after another.  The large and small birds were everywhere.  At one point we saw a huge Osprey nest that was still under construction and the Osprey .  As we were rounding a corner through the maze of reeds, Louise almost came out of the kayak.  A HUGE Gator jumped out of the reeds and dove under water 15 yards in front of us.  I only saw and heard the splash of the water but Louise saw “THE GIANT” in action.  We’ve seen a few alligators since we’ve been here in the south,

but this one was by far the largest.  We were in pretty shallow waters at the time so I really didn’t want to go any further into the path the gator had taken, so we slowly made a turn-around and paddled back out.  I don’t think we would have been in any danger but I didn’t want to push it.  We had a lot of different areas to explore and explore we did.   Another smaller alligator come out of the reeds in front of us but much before we were close enough to get a good look but we were happy enough with that. 

8 February ‘09

Sunday

Well this is what we did today (went to learn about Jefferson Davis and Beauvoir), what did you do ???

Beauvoir…(BOV-WAH)…”Beautiful view”.  Beauvoir was developed by a wealthy Mississippi planter in 1848.  The land is fronting the Mississippi Sound (the Mississippi Sound is the waters that front the Biloxi area and is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the thin strip of the Gulf Islands) and took 4 years to complete.  Beauvoir is a single story raised building

that sat in a complex of 51 acres that included two pavilions, kitchen, carpenter’s shop and residence, foreman’s house, maids quarters, chicken coop, barn, carriage house and harness shop.  By 1877, Beauvoir had sold twice and the new owner a wealthy intellectual, Sarah Dorsey, invited Jefferson Davis to move into the estate and write his memoirs.  By year’s end, Varina Howell Davis joined her husband at Beauvoir after returning from Europe.  The following year Jefferson Davis became the 4^th owner of Beauvoir for $5,500.  By 1881 Jefferson Davis had published his memoirs The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government and A Short History of the Confederate States of America.  After Jefferson’s death, Mrs. Davis and daughter were asked to move to New York and write for Joseph Pulitzer and the New York Times.  In leaving Beauvoir, Mrs. Davis knew that she would never come back but wanted Beauvoir to remain as a memorial to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States. 

 Today things have changed considerably because of one huge hurricane…Hurricane Katrina.  Of the original buildings, five of seven were destroyed.  Beauvoir is still going through rebuilding, but is complete enough to have tours pass through on a daily basis.

  As of this month, they have spent $4.5 million dollars toward rebuilding Beauvoir by itself…it was a terrific storm that took it down, and the damage was staggering.  The interior painting project is going very slow because of all the detail that they are bringing back.  For instance the details on the walls and ceilings,

and painting the “oak wood” designs on all the woodwork.  Because of the original woods for the doors not having any natural “grain”, they have diligently painted each and every grain to represent oak on all the natural wood stained doors (this was also done originally). 

7 February ‘09

Saturday

This morning we drove up to the farmers market to see just what we might be missing.  Sure as heck we did find something.   We found some incredible fresh bread that we couldn’t leave behind and we found Loren…  Loren is an African that had a table filled with string beans, Habanera peppers, okra, and a large container of TARO…  Yep, Taro.  Now what do you do with Taro?  That’s all Loren had to hear.  She not only gave us a step by step instruction of how to prepare taro, she gave us a recipe for a dish that she said would tempt us to eat too soon just by anticipating the taste by the smell.  I won’t go into the details of the recipe but it involves pork, okra, a Habanera pepper, turmeric, garlic, onion, fingerling potatoes, zucchini , bell pepper, lemon pepper, and TARO…I can just about smell it now…  Gathering all of our “goodies” and storing them in the car, we pulled the beach chairs and headed down to the parade route.  We weren’t by ourselves, even though we were about an hour and a half ahead of parade time, but they are always telling us that “the early bird gets all the best of the BEADS !!!”.  Yep, we’re really into the beads now.  I’ll fight any little kid on the block to get that small necklace… 

Well the Mardi Gras Parade started at 1 and by the time it got to us it was about 1:30.  The crowd that was out for today’s parade was much heavier than that of last week’s parade, and thus we didn’t get near as many necklaces. 

The fun was still there and we will be back for more, whether it’s here or Mobile, we will be back.    

6 February ‘09

Friday

The first day after arriving in Ocean Springs (Biloxi), we headed out to find the Visitors Center.  It turned out to be in the old train station and right at the beginning of town.  After getting all the usual maps, magazines, and brochures, we also got a listing of our host’s favorite restaurants.  I asked for those that would offer us some of the” local fare”, you know, catfish, shrimp, oysters, and….  Our host also told us about the Farmers Market and the Mardi Gras parade that is set for Saturday.  Well it looks like we are going to have some fun here…  We left the Visitors Center and walked the sidewalks of town to check things out and look for the best location to setup for tomorrows Mardi Gras parade.  Another location that we asked about took us to the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area.  We were looking for another place to put our kayak in and we found one.  We also found another great campground.  The National Park Service has put together a great visitor’s center that manages numerous hiking trails, bayous, a boat ramp, and a 60 site campground that would rate a 9+ in anybody’s book.  As we were passing over a small bridge, I just happened to look down into the water.  Floating not 10 yards away was an alligator. 

 He was just sunning him/herself and not bothering anyone.  Fact is, he had company… sitting on a branch coming out of the water were 5 turtles and they also found the sun very warming. 

A little further down the road we found the boat ramp.  After checking out of the ramp and the waterways around it we decided that this would be a great place to come back too and do a little paddling.  We noticed a smaller motor home sitting about 50 yards away and it looked like some of those that we saw around us during our time camping in Europe.  Sure enough, upon closer examination, we found that they were from The Netherlands.  Well that’s all it took, we had to meet the Dutch couple that found themselves at the waterfront site here in Biloxi.  Leen and Hanny Struik have been traveling North America (USA & Canada) for some months now.  It is their 2^nd time to camp their way through the states in the last few years.  The first time they did it in their son’s minivan and this time they wanted to do it with a little more comfort so they shipped their motor home over.  Speaking of shipping a motor home.. In May of 2005 Louise and I met Bob and Helen Grimm/Winkler at a campground in Larne, Ireland.  We were having a problem with our van and they just happened to be parked at a site 2 over from ours.  I remember that just after we had met, Bob asked if we were "Escapees"...well hell yes, we've kind of "escaped"...  At that time he jumped forward and gave me a big hug.  Catching me completely off guard at the time, I was wondering just what I had gotten myself into...  Anyway, we just (not too long ago) received an email from them and Helen was describing their adventures that they have recently been enjoying.  One of them was camping South Africa, and another was were they had taken a grandson to Japan

and also Bob and his son had taken another trip back to Africa and camped while visiting the wildebeest migration in Tanzania and seeing the mountain gorillas in Uganda...Now that is camping !!! 

5 February ‘09

Thursday

This morning we left Louisiana and slowly made our way into Mississippi.  We followed the lesser traveled roads all the way.  First we took LA-36 to Slidell, found a tire shop to top off the air in our rear tires, and then headed east on LA-90 on our way to Ocean Springs (which is just outside of Biloxi).  Just as we were to cross into Mississippi on I-90, we found ourselves detoured.  The detour took us onto a very narrow secondary road that had some really old Oak trees that over hung the roadway and made us duck our heads each and every time we came upon one.  After about 10 miles on our detour we ended up coming out to I-607. 607 they took us back to I-90 and we continued our drive down to the blue waters and the white sand of the Gulf Coast.  I-90 travels right at the edge of the white sand as far as we were to travel today.  Just as we saw Biloxi in the distance we pulled into a pull-off and enjoyed a seaside lunch from the dining room of our coach.  One thing about driving the Gulf of Mexico coastline is being able to see the total disaster remains of the past 3 major hurricanes.  From the moment we arrived by ferry onto Galveston Island until now we have seen total destruction all along the coastline.  Everything from trees blown over or torn completely out, to boats that were thrown hundreds of yards inland, houses and commercial buildings leaning or just plain gone, and hundreds of foundations sitting there wondering if there would ever be another home constructed on top.  Finished with lunch we continue on to Biloxi.  As we traveled this coast road through town, we were blown away by all the casinos we had on each side of us.  Now these were more like the casinos of Las Vegas than those that we see alongside the highways we’ve traveled the last few years.  We just were not aware of the interest for major casinos that we found here, but one thing’s for sure, they’re first class establishments and apparently very busy as they are building at least 3 more that is posted to be opening by the end of 2010. 

4 February ‘09

Wednesday

The day before moving on, we try to clean up around the site by picking up our patio carpet and drying it out, putting the bikes back on the bike rack, and dumping the tanks.  I’m trying to get this and more done today because the weather forecast for the morning is REALLY COLD !!!  Fact is, they are telling us it will be in the low to mid 20’s…that’s the coldest we’ve been in for a long time. 

One of the destinations that we’ve had on our books to see is going to happen this afternoon.  Abita Springs has its own brewery, Abita Springs Brew House, and it seems to be making its self quite a reputation for great beers.  They started brewing in a small store front in the middle of town and after a year of success they had to move a mile down the road.  Now after 23 years and 7 major renovations and still putting out one hell beer, they find that every Wednesday through Saturday at 2pm people start lining up for the tour through their plant.  Of course having an “Open Bar” might have something to do with it.  As you walk in the fancy doors of the tasting room, the management is there to meet.  You are handed an empty glass and instructed to go to the pull tabs at the bar and pull hard… 

 There is a little chit / chat among all the beer drinkers for the first half hour and then we are asked to find a seat in front of any of the huge flat screen TV’s.  We watched a 15 minute introduction and explanation on brewing before we were led into the brewing areas to see just how this fine brew was brewed. 

Hell, I knew all there is to know about brewing, I just wanted the free beers…(not true, but I did enjoy the free beers…). 

By the way, I have found the raised homes here to be very interesting, so I wanted to put a couple more pictures here for you to see and me to remember: 

3 February ‘09

Tuesday

Monday’s seem to be the perfect wash day (clothes that is…).  I don’t have an idea as to why, but it does, and besides, yesterday was Groundhogs Day.   What does Groundhogs Day have to do with anything…well it’s my birthday that’s what.  Actually it goes like this…  We woke to heavy rain and didn’t have any additional plans for the day.  Sooo with the laundry bag getting close to full, we decided to get the laundry done.  Once that was done we were open to do what we wanted, rain or shine.  Well we ended up just staying home and staying warm and cozy.  Louise made a wonderful stew for dinner and the only thing I can say about that is, it smelled so damn good for so long that it was hard to hold myself from eating before it was done. 

This morning we decided to “take a ride”…  After dropping by the City Hall of Abita Springs to offer our LARGE supply of Mardi Gras beads (those that were tossed to us from the floats), we stopped by the Tourist Information office.  We were looking for a place to go that we might have overlooked this last week.  After going over some maps and additional literature we decided to see some of the “Plantations” around the area.  Following the map inside of the New Orleans Plantation Parade brochure, we headed out.  Our map lead us out towards the northwest of New Orleans by about 40 miles and then follow the Mississippi River levies.  Along the way we saw quite afew of the older homes that sit from 1 foot to as high as 20 feet above the ground.  This is to give a little air-conditioning during the summer time and a little relief from the flooding waters that seem to affect this area. 

There are 7 different Plantations on this route and try as we could, we were only able to see 4 of them.  Unfortunately, just about half of this route took us by so much heavy industrial that it about destroyed the impact of these beautiful pieces of history.  The San Francisco Plantation was totally surrounded by an 8’ cyclone fence that came as close to the mansion as 20 feet.  On one side and the back it is set against a huge industrial building, on the other side, a large parking lot.  The building and the grounds are in total disrepair and really didn’t beckon us to visit.  It’s really sad as this “Grand Mansion” was beautifully designed with elaborate Gingerbread work and was once known as the most opulent Plantation in the South.  It also had some of those "Ghost Trees" that we see here in the deep south. 

3 more miles further down the road we came upon Laura: A Creole Plantation.  This Plantation was named “Best History Tour in the US” by Lonely Planet…  Unfortunately we were so far by it before we realized it, we decided to continue on to the St Joseph Plantation.  All of the Plantations we visited were “sugar” plantations and spread out as far as you could see.  Heading towards our next plantation we found another building of high interest…a Cajun Restaurant.  Now we’re a long way from nowhere and we come across this little restaurant.  Of course we had to stop.  It is a seafood market that doubles as a Cajun restaurant at the same time.  The small restaurant is set-up off to one side as you walk into the market.  The moment the menu was presented we knew we had found “THE PLACE”.  Louise ordered a cup of rice/seafood gumbo while I ordered an appetizer of mixed seafood.  The mixed dish was battered in light and spicy flour and then deep fried.  It consisted of 6 crab/spears (the small claw with the meaty end), 4 catfish, 6 alligator chunks, hushpuppies, and something called Boudin Balls (rice, sausage, and..REALLY GOOD !!!).  All the food was really good, and there was plenty of it.  This was our first time to taste alligator and the Boudin Balls.  As I mentioned, the Boudin Balls were really good, but the alligator, well a little chewy and it kind of reminded me of chicken gizzards.  OK, back to our tour of plantations.   The St Joseph Plantation wasn’t my favorite, but it was in pretty good condition.  We only took the “grounds tour” which gave us the chance to visit the 2 desk schoolhouse,

the small slave quarters, and of course a walk-around of the mansion.  The large manor house was built by Louisiana Creoles of French descent in 1830.  Now with time getting really short we decide to make the next one our last.  About 3 miles further down the same road we’ve been on for the afternoon, we find an incredible mansion that was set way back off of the road.  Huge OLD Oak Trees lined the walk that took you to the front entrance of the Oak Alley Plantation. 

 This plantation was built sometime in the early 1700’s and then the “Big House” was completed sometime in the early 1800’s.  Jacques Telesphore Roman, a wealthy Creole sugar planter, and his wife became the original owners.  Unfortunately after a couple of years, the “Mrs.” wanted to move back home, so she left and became an absent wife.  Jacques sent for her many times but she didn’t budge until after his death.  Then after coming back and trying to run the plantation she took it into financial devastation.  Their son then took it and try as he might, his mother kept spending the monies until there was nothing…  This was a good stop as we were able to see, feel, and almost feel a part of Oak Alley (ya right…). 

1 February ‘09

Sunday

The TV and all the radio stations that we’ve been listening to have been telling us over the last couple of weeks that today is…”SUPERBOWL SUNDAY” !!!  Well that it is, but for us and hundreds around us, it is also one of Slidell’s Mardi Gras parade days.  We were heading out the door by 10:30 this morning and on our search for the best seat on the parade route.  Slidell is about 35 minutes away and the parade wasn’t to start until 1 PM so getting there early paid off beautifully.  We found a place to park the car above the curb.  Leaving room between the car and the roadway, we placed our beach chairs for the best views and for our comfort.  While waiting for the parade to start, we walked around the parade route for about a mile and then headed back.  On our walk, we noticed a couple of businesses we’ve seen around as we arrived in Louisiana.  This business is called “Your Daiquiri Stop” (or similar name).  We weren’t too sure as to just what they sold so we went into one of them to investigate…sure enough, they sell DAIQUIRIS !!!  They have about 12 different daiquiris available and even offer added shots of rum, vodka, or just about any other liquor you might want.  They even offer drive-up service…Starbucks, you’ve got to look at expanding…  Of course business today was booming.  Finally parade time arrived and with the police escort leading, the bands, marching groups, and the large two-storied decorated trailers started flowing down main-street. 

With this being our first Mardi Gras parade, our goal was to catch as many beads as possible.  At the end of the hour, we had accumulated about 80 necklaces, 6 stuffed animals, a whistle, and a couple of furry neckpieces.  Not a bad haul, now what do we do with them???  Well we brought them all back with us, that is for now…  Last night we stopped by the little “fish market” in Abita Springs and purchased 3 pounds of Crawfish and a couple of pounds of shrimp to go along with our bottle of Champagne for tonight’s game dinner.  Well now that the game is over (sorry Arizona) and dinner is finished, I must say it was YUMMY…

29/30 January ‘09

What can you say about New Orleans that hasn’t already been said ???  If it involves having a great time, then New Orleans is the place…if its Mardi Gras time, then you are really going to have a blast.  Guess what…ITS MARDI GRAS time and we’re really having a blast!!!  We are camped on the opposite side of Lake Pontchartrain as New Orleans so that means we either take I-12 to Slidell and then I-10 into New Orleans or make the 24 mile drive across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.  That causeway is amazing.  Like I just wrote, it is 24 miles long, 4 lanes wide (2 & 2 with water dividing), 65 MPH (and everyone does it…), and a toll of $3 total.  It also saves us about 15-20 minutes travel time vs. I-10/I-12.  Our first drive into N.O. was no big deal.  We just plugged our destination into our GPS and drove directly into our parking lot.  For $16 we had a full day enjoying the town.  Our first destination was to the “French Quarter”, but especially to Café du Monde.  You all know how much I enjoy coffee, and you also know how much I enjoy my pastries,

well with Café du Monde specializes in both…  The trademark coffee with chicory and the delicious beignets are just more than I could ask for.  Fact is, we did this for two mornings in a row !!!  New Orleans also has something else that I’ve never seen in other cities.  They have two National Parks and they both are located in the French Quarter.  One of these is the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park.  We just happened to walk in just prior to some Jazz musicians holding a jam session.  Not only did they play their music, they explained the many different types of New Orleans jazz and how it developed.  It was very entertaining and interesting.  Over the last two days that we went into New Orleans we walked the French Quarter from one end to the other at least 3 times. 

 In 1962 Louise and I passed through New Orleans just after I was discharged from the Navy.  One of the restaurants that we enjoyed is still here...The Court of Two Sisters. 

Its amazing, it hasn't changed much.  We also took in an amazing IMAX presentation on New Orleans prior to and after Hurricane Katrina.  That was a terrible disaster to this area, and there is still a lot of evidence from the storm showing up constantly as we travel through the area.  Well we also found another “Free Ferry” to ride.  This one would take us across the Mississippi River to Algiers Point and back in about 10 minutes total…well, it’s free.  We just had two things we wanted…1) Take another Free Ferry.  2) Take a ride on the Mississippi. 

 Whenever you go to New Orleans, you’ve got to make it to Bourbon Street, and that’s what we did.  We haven’t been there at night yet, but the afternoon that we were there, we had a great time. 

We did a little people watching, stepping inside to listen to some music at different places, and enjoying the architecture of the old buildings (especially the wrought iron balconies).  One afternoon, with the sun warming us comfortably, we took a walk around Jackson Square

to listen to a “sidewalk jazz group” playing to the crowd.  It’s amazing just how good these kids are…they have great technique, and great sound, and they work the masses to perfection. 

The one disappointment was the French Market.  I don’t know, maybe it was the economy, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Pikes Place Market in Seattle.