On The Road Again...At Last!

It's been awhile...but we are finally back on the road again!  Yea! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we bought a new home, but I'm just not ready to quit traveling...and I was really getting antsy to get back in the passenger seat again!  

This will be a short trip for us...only a little over 3 months.  We have a flight to Maui in late October that we need to be back in Arizona for, and we got such a late start (because of my broken tooth and work on the rig)...but, some travel is better than no travel!

Our first leg is to my son's in Texas, partly to get some love'n and partly to drop off a bunch of "stuff" that I unpacked as we moved in (yea).  We will spend the 4th of July with him and his family, visit a bit then move on...into Louisiana, then north where hopefully it will be a bit cooler.  We will let the weather be our guide this trip.  We really don't have much of an agenda with such a short amount of time.  I'd like to round out the trip in Washington, to visit with my family there, so that kind of makes an odd circle, so to speak.  We shall see.  We have friends from Hawaii who are also on a journey through some of the western states during this time, so we shall see if our paths can cross each other...it would be wonderful if they could...one never knows...

We did manage to break away from all the unpacking for a few days to Sedona before we left.  We'd been there before, but it had been a few years, and we really needed a break.  It was about 10-15 degrees cooler too, which was nice.  We took advantage of our time-share and stayed there and swam in the pool, had a massage, ate out, read a book, layed around and relaxed.  It was great.  The area's red rocks are just so lovely, really peaceful.  I love walking through Tlaquepaque Plaza, it's such a picturesque place, even if you don't want to buy a thing!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to new adventures, and even re-seeing places we've been before...bring it on, bring it all on, I'm ready world, here we come!  Yahoo!


...on the road to Texas,  Marie

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

New Orleans Part 2: Music, Music, Music!

Jack and I both love music, and live music is the best! So, when people said to us "you ARE staying for the Festival, aren't you?" We decided we should, if we could. When the small FQ RV Park we were staying in actually had an available space for us, we took it as a good omen and booked it. And we're glad we did!

French Quarter Festival celebrated it's 29th year as the largest free music festival in the South. A record 22 music stages throughout the French Quarter presented the best in New Orleans music, representing every genre from traditional and contemporary jazz to R & B and New Orleans funk, brass bands, folk, gospel, classical, cabaret, opera, Cajun Zydeco, Latin World, International, as well as a musical stage for children. They had over 800 local musicians, over 250 hours of free music and over 500,000 festival goers. Of course, throughout all these areas were food & beverage vendors (very good & very reasonable too) to keep everyone healthy. Did I say this was big? You bet! And FUN!!

We mostly like Cajun/Zydeco and traditional Jazz. The first two days were from 11-6 with only 5 stages having 5 groups at each stage. The weekend they expanded to their full hours of 11-9 with the 22 stages and varying the number of groups playing at each stage. All in all, we managed to listen to about 20 groups that we actually stayed and enjoyed (not counting the ones we stopped, listened to and said "not our taste" & moved on). Of course, the street performers were out in full force and of course, people watching was at an all time high in entertainment!

Here's just a few pictures of our many favorites, all the rest are in my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band














Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys















Charmaine Neville
















































The Festival ended our two week visit to New Orleans and we left the following morning. It felt kind of like one does right after you finished your Thanksgiving dinner, it was wonderful, but your to full to eat any more, and you have to back off from the table and just go rest. That's what we did when we drove to Natchez. It poured down rain (just like when we arrived in NOLA) for two days which gave us just the down time we needed before we began our "next adventure" - the Natchez Trace...

...on the road, Marie

New Orleans Part 1 Continued: Elaborate Homes for the Living and the Dead

New Orleans is unique in so many ways...one day Jack and I decided to tour the elaborate homes of the Garden District (the wealthy living), and the elaborate crypts of the dead at the most famous cemetery, St. Louis Cemetery #1.

We started out with the living, driving over to the Garden District ourselves, "not needing a tour guide/book". Well, as usual, after just a few houses of "OMG!!" Jack pulled over and I just started walking the streets, camera in hand, snapping away. I have no idea "who lived where" except where there were signs to say so. I know that in amongst them several movie stars are suppose to own homes (current or past) there, (Sandra Bullock, Nicholas Cage, Archie Manning & Anne Rice). The only one I found was Anne Rice's. That aside, they were breathtaking. This area is full of huge houses with big gardens from the 1840s when cotton and sugar were booming, and they wanted to show they were successful. The area is spotted with big mansions of every style, from the Victorian mansion to the Italian villa, passing through Greek colonnades adorned houses or Normandy farms. . .
But after 150 years, many of them have real charm, and the colorful gardens with their big trees, hiding a bit the mansions are the real charm of the area. Here's a small sampling, plenty in my Flicker account if your a glutton!






















































Leaving the Garden District and all it's charm, we headed over to the largest, most "famous" of New Orleans Cemeteries, St. Louis Cemetery #1. Because the city is built on a swamp, the deceased have to be buried above ground, many in elaborate stone crypts and mausoleums. One of the reasons this particular cemetery is so famous is because it has several famous people buried here, one of which is Marie Laveau, the legendary “voodoo queen.” Believers and non-believers alike make pilgrimages to her tomb to make offerings to her spirit in return for what they hope will be blessings. A number of notable musicians as well as the Musicians Tomb that was set aside by the Barbarin Family to provide free burial to any musician. I found several crypts with my Mother's family name (Rousseau)...guess there's a little bit of New Orleans in me somewhere down the line...


















































































...kicking back in Louisiana, Marie

New Orleans Part 1 Continued: Food, Southern Style!

One of the things you have to embrace when you come to Louisiana, is the food; there's nothing else like it anywhere else! New Orleans is known for their wonderfully warm, smothered in powdered sugar Beignets, Crawfish cooked every which way, spicy Gumbo, and the traditional New Orleans sandwich, the Muffaletta.

Everywhere you turn the smells joined the sounds coming from every cafe & restaurant along every street in and out of the Quarter. I couldn't get enough. Even Jack, who is the pickiest eater ever, found wonderful dishes to savour. So, when we found a brochure for a cooking class, I nabbed it and read on. Seems that lots of us would love to learn "how they do it" enough to at least make a dish or two after we leave this wonderful city. The New Orleans School of Cooking offers morning and afternoon demonstration classes every day of the week, and...you get to eat what is made! Yum, count me in!

My class was on Corn & Crab Bisque; Chicken Etouffee (means to "smother"); and Pralines. All dishes that I knew Jack would eat (no crawfish for that boy!). The school and General Store (all the spices and supplies you will want to add for your new found skills) are located in a renovated molasses warehouse built in the early 1800s in the heart of the French Quarter. Chef Michael was a delight, entertaining, educating (did you know that if your dish got a little to spicy or to salty, you could just add cream sherry to counter it? I didn't) and a great chef! All the dishes prepared were outstanding, full of flavor without being to "hot" or spicy, easily explained and with just enough history and comic additions to make it really fun. Since I'm "known" for my soups, and will definitely add this one to my menu, let me share it with you.

CHEF MICHAEL'S CORN AND CRAB BISQUE

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Flour
1/2 lb Butter
1 Quart heavy cream
Enough stock to cover corn (and a little extra)
1 lb Crab meat (claw)
1/2 Cup Chopped garlic
1 Cup Chopped green onion
2 lb Whole Corn Frozen
1 Cup chopped parsley (for garnish)
Joe's seasoning to taste (this is their Seasoning Mix - you can use any special mix that you like, or go on line and order from their store)
Shrimp and Crab Boil to taste (this is also a product they sell, but you might be able to find it in specialty stores. It's a mild hot sauce)

PROCEDURE:
Put corn in pot and cover with stock. Bring to a boil and add garlic, Joe's stuff, and 1/4 Cup of the green onions. Reduce to simmer for about 30 min. Cut corn from cobs. (you can use already cut corn, he just felt it was more flavorful this way)

Make a roux with equal parts of butter and flour to desired color (his note on site: it will smell like cooked dough); add in your simmering pot. Adjust thickness with stock. Add cream and heat to almost a boil. Add Crab and cook about 5 min. Add crab boil to taste.

Note: Use the other half of your green onions and the parsley for garnish

Makes 6-8 Servings

Bon Appetite!













































...kicking back in Louisiana, Marie

A hop, skip and a jump!

From Louisiana to Mississippi to Alabama to Florida, it was just a hop, skip and a jump...or so it seemed!

Times crunching on us, trying to get to Sarasota for our first big RV Rally before March 1st, so not much time to dilly-dally now...and as the crow flies, not much to want to either, really. As we waved goodbye to Poche's RV (pronounced "pow-shey", like low, which took me days to get the hang of), it just seemed like we were heading down one long highway, one bridge after another...a few swamps to look at along the way...some rivers here and there and some "Welcome" signs!
























































































































We ended up in Milton Florida for a few days waiting on mail. We drove around to see what there was to see, disappointed, came back and caught up on some reading and housecleaning and laundry. That put us behind on our schedule, so now we have to really jam through the top of Florida to Sarasota to arrive on time for Friday morning's check in! Oh well, best laid plans...and all that...

If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...On the road in Florida, Marie

C'est en Louisiane que mon coeur chante...

I am aware every day how blessed we are to be on this adventure and what great things we are experiencing. Spirit has led us to "the right place at the right time" again and again. This time was the best, so far. (I say so far, because I never know with Spirit what's next!)

As most people know, I love music. But what only a few know, is that both Jack and I, really like Cajun music.

When we had stopped at the Louisiana Visitor's Center and talked with that very nice lady, she casually mentioned that since we were staying at a place not far from Scott, we might want to pop into their visitor center on Friday, as they have a local musician's jam session then.

So, after our full day of sightseeing, we decided to check out this center and see what she was talking about, maybe it would be worth sitting in on for awhile...

La Maison de Begnaud, City of Scott's Heritage Visitors Center is run by a warm, wonderful woman named "Mama" Reddell Miller (Tourism Coordinator). She greeted us and said "yes, they do have a jam session on Fridays, that the musicians usually start showing up around 6pm and things get started around 6:30". It was about 5:30; we decided to stay and see what it was like. We then met Lucy, who is college student from Canada doing her doctorate on the Cajun culture. She was not only delightful, but filled us in on all kinds of wonderful tidbits surrounding the Mardi Gras traditions that just had taken place, etc.

By 6:30 things were in full swing. Tables were moved out, chairs set up and musicians were arriving and getting their instruments ready. At any given time during the night, there were more than 20 players, with only a very few of us "non-players" in the room. They ranged in age from about 10 years to 90, playing fiddle, guitar, Cajun accordion, triangle, spoons and wonderful, wonderful music all through the night. Toes were tapping, hands were clapping, the place was alive with their energy! Several of the young boys, ages 14 & 15 were self taught, playing tough instruments, superbly and with great joy. It was so wonderful to see these people of all ages, mixing together, keeping their music culture alive, willingly. One of the parents told us his son goes to several of these jam sessions a week!

I never understood a word they sang, but my heart sang with every beat of their music...



































































If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...kicking back in Louisiana, Marie

The varied history of Louisiana...

Our first stop, Avery Island, where Tabasco Sauce is made! Avery Island is actually an Island, and is owned and operated by the same family who owns and operates the Tabasco Pepper Sauce factory, along with Jungle Gardens and Bird City. All of this has been in the McIlhenny family for generations.

They give you a short history of "who, when & how" it all came about and how it's made. Then they show you the bottling plant and send you on your merry way to the "Tabasco Country Store" where everything, and I mean everything you could even begin to think of, has the logo Tabasco on it! Along with all their fun merchandise, they give you free samples of all their other products that they make...did you know they make things like Tabasco mayonnaise? Or Tabasco Chili Starter? They are actually quite good (I bought one of each!) Or ice cream? Yep, I tried that too! We got out of there with just a small bag of goodies, not to bad considering all the tempting doodads they had!! ;-)














































From there we dashed over to Vermilionville, as we knew this place would take up the whole rest of the day, and we were already getting hungry for lunch (hot samples only gets you so far, you know!). As soon as we paid our admission we went straight over to their restaurant (we had read great reviews) as I was ready for some good Cajun food! I'm not a big catfish fan, or fried okra, which was the "special of the day" so I settled for a brisket po'boy and wasn't disappointed. I got sweet potato fries and they covered them with sugar cinnamon, um mm good!

Tummies full, so off we went to see what this place was all about. Since it's "off season", it was pretty quiet - up side, not to many tourists to compete with, down side not as many costumed historical interpreters around to talk with, but the day was nice and we could take our time. The historic village contains 19 structures, including seven restored original historic homes which are filled with artifacts reflecting life in the Acadiana area between 1765 and 1890.

The place was very interesting and very beautiful. We met some fascinating people who shared their interests with us and Jack actually was able to share some insights with a couple of them as well! At the woodworker's home, he noticed a wheel measuring tool and commented on it to the gentleman. He hadn't known what it was used for, so Jack explained it to him. He was thrilled to learn about it! In turn, he took Jack into the Blacksmith's shop that isn't currently being used (they don't have a blacksmith) and invited him to browse as much as he liked.

Walking along the bayou, looking at all the beautiful trees full of hanging moss, small docks out onto the water, it's just as I imagined Louisiana would be...I just didn't know I was a hundred years to late...






































































If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/


...kicking back in Louisiana, Marie

Goodbye Texas, hello Louisiana!

Finally we leave Texas! Phew! That's one BIG state!! ;-) Our last night was in Beaumont. Didn't do much but spend the night, but we did make one small stop before we left...to the "largest fire hydrant"!! (You know we've just got to go see that sort of thing!) It's at the Fire Museum of Texas. It's 24 feet tall, and what a beauty it was too! Couldn't resist getting out and "posing" with it! ha ha Snapped one of Jack with the more somber Texas Firefighter Memorial. Then we hopped back in our rig and took off for Louisiana!




































Skies were gray and windy, but my "trusty driver" pushed on, undaunted! We sure spotted a number of rice fields along the way. I didn't know that was such a commodity around here, but quickly learned that it sure is. Guess they put all their water to good use!





























As soon as we entered LA, we stopped at their Visitor's Center to find out what we should see in the very short time we would have here (this trip). Very nice ladies there (and really good coffee!). It was decided that we would spend the rest of this day seeing Breaux Bridge, where we were staying, then all the next day seeing Avery Island where Tabasco is made, and Vermilionville which is a Cajun/Creole Heritage & Folklife Park.

So, off we went, with brochures in hand, to find our RV Park and get settled in, so we could go "sightseeing"!

...and went...and went...and went. Two phone calls, three maps and two very frustrated people, just about ready to "find another park" finally found the park! Ugh. This was definitely one of those times that GPS didn't help, and in fact, actually hindered the situation. Don't ask me how, but it did, that's all I know. Maybe the swamps confused it, who knows, but after an hour plus, we were about ready to throw it out the window. Oh well, you get the picture...

Once we settled in, we took the Toyota into town (brave, huh?) wandered around (all the shops were decorated so nice for Mardi Gras) and found a lovely French Cajun restaurant Cafe des Amis. Wonderful food and a much appreciated glass of good wine, and all was well with the world once again...































If you wish to view the rest of the photos from this trip, you can at my Flickr account at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74905158@N04/

...kicking back in Louisiana, Marie