What a wild and wacky day.  We drove to Point Church with friends and fellow RVers Jim and Cheryl to see the “Going Out”.  This is a reenactment of an old Acadian cultural event where riders would go out to farms in the area collecting chickens, vegetables, rice, money, and whatever else they could get for bringing back to town to make a gumbo.  Often, they would have to chase the chickens in order to catch them.  The modern “Going Out” began in Point Church in 1961, celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.  We arrived for the 8 AM “Going Out” and never in my life have I seen so many riders in costume on horseback; nearly all had already started drinking beer, and the riders were followed by several wagons containing cases of beer, with some water and a few soft drinks.  You had to be there to really appreciate (I use this word lightly) the weirdness of this event.

After the riders and wagons left, we departed for Eunice for the boucherie, or slaughtering of a hog.  Of course, the hog had already been slaughtered, and 3 butchers were on standby to cut it up, and several booths in the area stood by to use ALL the parts.  There were two pots cooking fresh cracklin’s, one pot making backbone stew, another making pork steak sandwiches, a booth selling head cheese, and another making boudin.  We sampled everything but the boudin, and we didn’t sample it because it wasn’t ready.  After seeing some of this stuff made, I’ll have a hard time eating it again!   While in Eunice, we toured the Cajun’ music museum, the old depot museum, and the National Park Service’s Jean Lafitte Acadian Cultural Center.

Following the boucherie, we returned to Church Point to see the riders come back into town with their chickens; really, they come into town in the form of a Mardi Gras parade.  The parade came into town after 2 PM; remember, these folks had been parading all day since 8 AM, and it was wild.  I have never seen such a spectacle in my life.  Horse after horse, and float after float came by.

We returned to the campground to freshen up and then we were off again, this time to meet Kay’s friend, Donna, and her husband at Pat’s at Henderson for dinner, Cajun music, and dancing.  Pat’s is, in my opinion, the best Cajun restaurant in the area, and we were not disappointed.  Kay and I had etouffee and fried crawfish, and the two dishes were wonderful.  The music was great as well; we were able to hear two of the area’s best bands.  The large dance floor was packed, and dancing was much like bumper bodies.  We did not know how to do the Cajun 2-Step because it’s really a 3-Step, but they played some waltzes, some Texas 2-step, and some Swing.  We tired pretty early and returned home about 9 PM, too tired to even watch the news.

If you don’t like the weather in southern Louisiana, wait a few minutes and it will change.  Well, it hasn’t changed as it’s still raining, and we had a lot planned for today.  Our first stop was Martin’s Accordion Factory about 9 AM.  Martin’s makes the small Cajun’ accordian, more properly called melodian, so popular with Cajun’ and Zydeco musicians.  We were under the impression the tour would be a “factory” tour, but were surprised to be entertained with a 1 1/2 hour Cajun music concert, and it was awesome!  Mr. Martin played the steel guitar, his daughter played the guitar, and his grandson played the melodian and sang.  The quality of the music just blew us away.

During the course of the concert, we learned that Martin’s is a regular stop on the Elderhostel, now Roads Scholars, tour, and that’s a big deal.  Also during the concert, a couple walked into the shop for repair of a melodian, and Kay immediately recognized her as an old friend and fellow educator from Pulaski County. She joined Mr. Martin and his daughter in a couple of songs; she is very talented.  She and Kay conversed and made plans for later in the weekend.  It is truly a small world.

After the concert we had planned to go to the flea market, but the rain thankfully discouraged us.  Severe storms occurred throughout the area, and even a tornado touched down just west of us.  We departed the campground for the Saturday night Mardi Gras parade at 4:30 PM with scattered rain.  As evening approached the rain finally subsided just in time for the parade.  We were stationed near the start, and caught lots of beads.  It’s amazing what “old” people will do for beads.  Until tomorrow, let the good times roll.

The only planned activity today is a Mardi Gras Parade in Lafayette, freeing us for some personal activities. Knowing this, earlier in the week we phoned friends Joey and Robin in Metairie to arrange a lunch date for today.  We departed Lafayette with clear skies and sun, but enroute to Baton Rouge experienced a drenching rain—no umbrella, no raincoats.  Just west of the Mississippi River bridge, traffic slowed to a creep, and we experienced our first major traffic jam since leaving central Arkansas over 6 years ago.  It took us over 30 minutes to cross the bridge and exit off Interstate 10.  As luck would have it, Joey and Robin were caught in west bound traffic, and arrived at our restaurant just before we did.  The restaurant, Chimes, is on the edge of the LSU (geaux Tigers) campus, and is quite popular.  The nearest parking was a couple hundred yards away, and the rain was pouring; Kay and I both got soaking wet, meeting Joey, who did have an umbrella, near the restaurant.  It was so good renewing our friendship after 30 years and occasional conversations.  (Joey was kind enough to phone every few days with encouragement during my recent convalescence, and it was greatly appreciated.)  We had a great lunch, and conversed about trips, kids, and life during retirement.  Life is definitely too short for such infrequent visits.

We arrived back in Lafayette about 5 minutes too late to catch the convoy to the parade, but Kay opted to go solo.  She met some local folks, conversed about RV trips, stood with them, and had an overall great time, collecting lots of beads, while I enjoyed some quiet time in the RV. 

We boarded the bus at 8:15 AM for Avery Island and sights in New Iberia.  We arrived at Jungle Gardens on Avery Island mid-morning, and drove through the area, making several stops.  Avery Island is the home of the Tabasco pepper sauce factory, and Jungle Gardens was created by a 2nd generation McIlhenny family member, a noted naturalist, who used the area to help save the Snowy Egret from extinction.  Jungle Gardens was resplendent with huge live oaks draped with Spanish moss, bayous complete with alligators, azaleas, camellias, and other flowering shrubs.  It was a delightful area, but we would recommend walking or bicycling the roads, and making a good half day of it.

Our next stop was the Tabasco factory gift shop and tour.  The gift shop had samples of great Tabasco flavored ice cream and jalapeno flavored ice cream as well as many other Tabasco food products, and Tabasco branded paraphernalia.  The tour was a bit disappointing in that we just saw the bottling facility.  Of course, it would be difficult to see the peppers fermenting, etc.

Lunch was at the Little River Inn in New Iberia, where we enjoyed a great meal of shrimp au gratin and twice baked potato; in our opinions, this was the best meal yet.

Following lunch we toured Shadows-on-the-Teche, a National Trust historic site.  Shadows-on-the-Teche is among the oldest of Louisiana’s plantation houses, having been completed in early 1834.  It is unique in that all the furnishings are original to the family who built and occupied the house through 4 generations.  While I have not see a bunch of old plantation houses, this was by far the nicest.

Our final stop was the Konriko Rice Mill, America’s oldest.  I opted to stay on the bus, but Kay visited the company store, and toured the mill. While in the bus, I sneaked a peak at emails on the Droid, and my neighbor and close friend, Wayne, offered a solution to the refrigerator door; he had repaired one earlier for a friend.  Wayne can do anything, so we’ll wait until we return home to fix the door.

We really enjoyed the sights around New Iberia, an area neither of us had ever visited.  A quiet evening followed our long day.

Kay’s Take:  We chose to sit at the back of the tour bus when we boarded.  There are several older RVers in our group with a few physical challenges.  We noticed when we came back to our bus after lunch that Kay’s jacket was somewhat wet and we suspected that the air conditioner was leaking and we reported it to the driver. After the last stop, we loaded back on the bus and headed north toward Lafayette. The bus took a sharp right turn and all of a sudden water poured out of the condensation vents right above my head. Both of our seats were wet, but most of the water fell on my head and top. I don’t think I could have gotten any wetter if someone had poured a pitcher of water over me. I screamed, of course, and we both got up to shake off as much of the water as we could. I don’t think the driver even noticed what had happened. Another RVer made room for me to sit in another seat and we kept moving on down the road. Someone told us later the driver was either talking on his phone or listening to the dispatch conversations the entire time he was driving. I would say he was a ‘distracted driver’. When we got back to the campground, I had to rewash my hair and our clothes. Who knows what was in that ‘air condtioner condensation vent’ that dumped on us.

Our day began mid-morning with a carpool trip to Henderson, LA, to take an Atchafalaya Swamp tour.  The Atchafalaya Basin is America’s largest river swamp ecosystem.  I had the privilege of working on a US Army Corps of Engineers planning project dealing with the Atchafalaya Basin from April 1977 through March 1981.  It is still one of the highlights of my career.

We arrive at McGee’s Landing, and after bathroom stops, boarded a tour boat for a brief trip into the basin.  Actually, we didn’t get out of sight of I-10, and didn’t experience the semi-wilderness aspects of the Atchafalaya, but it was a nice tour.

We did see a number of water birds, and several alligators.

The tour guide, a dyed-in-the-wool Cajun, was entertaining, with a fairly accurate description of the swamp, and a large array of Cajun jokes.  After the brief tour, we returned to McGee’s for lunch, where we enjoyed a grilled shrimp salad or a fried shrimp po’boy. 

Late afternoon saw a couple of fellow RVers consulting about the refrigerator door problem.  There appears to be a good fix, but we don’t want to rush into things!

Dinner was at Mulate’s at Breaux Bridge.  Kay had fried catfish with an etouffee sauce on top, and I had a Cajun salad.  The food was okay, though Kay’s catfish was almost burned on the bottom.  Both of our dishes were grossly overpriced, but we had a coupon that helped reduce the cost.  The restaurant had a good authentic Cajun band, and Kay “encouraged” me to dance with her.  It took a minute or so to get the Texas 2 Step looking halfway decent, but we managed to make it around the floor a time or two. 

I spent the first 18 years of life living within 9 miles of US Highway 167, and for the next 42+ years haven’t given a thought about where it came from or where it went.  Yesterday, we turned on US Highway 167 at Batesville, like we’ve done hundreds of times before, but this time, we followed it all the way through southern Arkansas, then into central Louisiana where we departed the highway for I49.  It is a marvelous road, and is 4 lane practically all the way to Alexandria.  There was not a lot of development along the highway, particularly in Louisiana, and the surroundings were typically rural.  However, our journey was not without some excitement.  About 50 miles from our stopping point, we stopped for gasoline, and Kay opened the refrigerator door for lemonade.  The door kept opening and came completely apart from the rest of the refrigerator.  Kay was able to “stick” it back on and fasten it so it wouldn’t come undone again.  More about this later!

Our destination for this trip was Lafayette, Louisiana, joining the Ozark Ridge Runners for a Cajun Country Mardi Gras.  We arrived at our campground, Bayou Wilderness RV Resort, about noon, and after setting up, looked at the refrigerator door, and observed that the plastic hinge had broken.  We called Norcold, the manufacturer of the refrigerator.  Of course, the “voice” on the phone said to go to their website for the information needed.  Well, the RV park does not have WiFi, so thank goodness for the smart phone.  With a few button pushes using the Droid’s internet, a service company was found in Baton Rouge.  A call to them revealed that one cannot purchase just the hinge, but because it is part of a plastic frame around the entire door, we would have to purchase the entire refrigerator door; I didn’t even get upset or mad!  They also said it would take about 7 to 10 days to get it in, just about the time we’re leaving the area.  I looked up the location of a service center near where we live and found one at the local RV dealer.  The good ole boy verified the previous information, but said if we could wait, he might get in an inoperable refrigerator, and use the door off of it.  That’s customer service.  Meanwhile, we met other members of the RV club, and found 4 other couples from our home area.  One said he had had a similar problem, and pop riveted a piece of angle to the door, installed a nylon bushing, and it had worked just fine; sounds like a winner to me.  We will probably try that tomorrow afternoon.  One thing about RVing is you have to be flexible and a sense of humor helps.  The rest of the day was downhill.

We had a short club meeting, discussing the week’s activities.  For dinner, we opted for Prejeans, and it was very good, though a bit pricey.  We split the crawfish platter (what else!), and brought about half of it to the motor home.

Tomorrow, we travel to the Atchafalaya Basin for a swamp tour and crawfish lunch.  Gotta go and get some rest. 

After a 5 months absence, we’re back in the RV, this time headed to Lafayette, LA, for Cajun Country Mardi Gras.  This is our first trip in 2011.  This has seemingly been one of the longest winters we’ve experienced, as you will read in the following paragraph.
For those of you who may not be aware, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer on September 20, 2010.  We immediately made an appointment for the Mayo Clinic, and over the course of the next three months, made three 1400-mile round trips there and back, including one for a radical prostatectomy on December 15.  We arrived for the surgery a couple of days after a record December snowfall, and record low temperatures.  We rarely saw temps above “0”.  Thanks to God, the surgery was successful, and I’m pretty close to being back to normal.  Enough about that, let’s get back to RVing.
After the diagnosis, we sold the truck and our Saturn toad, and bought a Honda CR-V.  With a new toad, i.e. “towed” vehicle, pre-trip preparations included having a tow plate installed, having the lights wired to accommodate the motorhome, wiring the emergency break-away switch, and attaching eyehooks for the Protect-A-Tow; all was finished yesterday afternoon.  We welcomed spring-like weather three weeks ago after a large snow, and used the time to dewinterize and ready the motorhome for this trip.
Finally, we departed home this morning at 8:45 AM, towing the Honda for the first time; all went well.  We traveled through Melbourne, Batesville, Little Rock, Sheridan, Fordyce, and El Dorado, Arkansas, and into Louisiana.  Enroute, wild cherry trees were blooming, tulip trees were flowering, jonquils and forsythia were in full color, and Bradford pears were blooming.  Though the forests had not yet leafed out, the grass is already turning green.
At about 4 PM, we stopped to spend the evening at Lake D’Arbonne State Park.  Lake D’Arbonne State Park includes a 15,000+ acre cypress-studded lake surrounded by rolling, pine-covered hills.  One interesting note:  premium campsites were $18, BUT the State of Louisiana tags on a $6 processing fee.  Guess one has to pay for their thrills.  With states feeling the pinch on their economy, we expect to see more of this.

After setting up, we opted to hike a short nature trail, still covered with debris from the winter.  First in line, Kay performed trail maintenance, while I took advantage of the many photographic opportunities.

All our bags are packed, we’re ready to go…

We awoke early, traveling up the Mississippi River towards New Orleans.  Breakfast included coffee and some cereal; neither of us wanted to partake of the buffet with a day’s worth of car travel awaiting.  By the time we returned to our cabin, we had docked in New Orleans, and people had begun lining up to disembark.  We joined them to avoid the elevator rush, and besides, it was more fun watching disembarkation from the railing.  The line moved quickly, including U.S. Customs, and we were in the parking lot loading our luggage, in just a few minutes.

We departed New Orleans for home at about 8:30 a.m. and made several requisite stops before arriving in Memphis at 2:45 p.m.  After dropping Jenny and Brian off at their house, we drove to our favorite box store, Costco, to shop for bulk items, then headed north and west for home.  We arrived home at 7:30 p.m., just 11 hours after leaving the parking lot at the Port of New Orleans.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY—This was our second cruise on Norwegian, and was much better than the first in almost all categories.  The entertainment was excellent, and the best we’ve seen on any of our 3 cruises.  The buffet was good, and the restaurant excellent; we should’ve eaten there more often.  The ship has seen a lot of use, but was well maintained.  We were surprised at the number of smokers, and unruly children.  In addition, some of the adults were not very polite, but were likely doing the best they knew how.  Norwegian offers free-style cruising, and many of the folks on our ship took it beyond the limits—coarse and a little rough around the edges—and were a little too informal, in both action and dress, for us.  Surely, some cruise line offers a middle-of-the-road alternative.  We’ll cruise again—but not in the near future—and will likely try another cruise line, though Norwegian has treated us very well; it wasn’t the cruise line as much as the passengers (Kay said I had to be tactful and diplomatic).

We’re really glad to be at our mountain home, with rivers, streams, woods, and animals—home, sweet home!

Another night of rockin’ and rollin’, with high seas once again—nothing a couple of seasick pills can’t solve.  We had no where to visit today, so sleeping in was the first order of the day, followed by a long and leisurely breakfast.

There were no activities on the ship in the morning that interested us so we walked to burn some of the calories taken in this week.  Four times around the ship’s 7th deck is equal to 1.4 miles, and we have been trying to walk an hour or so.  We walk one mile in about 20 minutes.  How long does it take us to walk one hour?  If you said about 60 minutes, you’re right!  Remember the “reading” problems in Algebra II?  Seriously, we have been trying to walk about 3 miles each day, same as home.

Lunch was great today with grilled ribs constituting our main course.  There were long lines at the outside grill, but the food was worth it.  Afterwards, an afternoon nap was in order and another hour of walking.  Both of us have been falling asleep at the drop of a hat, and finally concluded that the motion sickness pills were the cause.  However, only one of us was taking them.  Go figure.

We attended the early (7:15 p.m) show tonight, and it included several of the acts we had seen during the week:  singing and dancing, illusion and magic, and comedy.  The shows have been excellent, and were definitely the best of onboard activities.

Somehow, we managed to pack all of our things in one less bag than we used coming aboard, and that includes a few souvenirs.  We’re ready to head home tomorrow morning after breakfast.

The seas were rough last evening, but we did sleep okay.

Our last port of call before heading north to New Orleans was Cozumel, Mexico, near the top of the Yucatan Peninsula, and just south of Cancun.  We had expected a modern resort town, mostly oriented towards young partying crowds, but as with the other ports of call, we found shopping areas selling diamonds, gold, silver, liquor, restaurants, and some local clothes and souvenirs adjacent to where we deboarded the ship.There was a bit more hustle and bustle as four ships were docked at their waterfront, and most of the stores had people “hawking” the goods.We found the prices to be quite expensive compared to the Spirit, and especially expensive when compared to Costa Maya—if only we had known.  We walked most of the streets in the waterfront area, found their plaza and strolled around it, drank a light Coke at one of the local restaurants, and returned to the ship after about 3 hours.

For the first time, we ordered room service for lunch, and I eagerly ate a hamburger, while Kay ate half a BLT and a Greek salad.  We could get used to having our rooms made up twice a day, and room service, if we wanted it, for every meal.

The view from the 12th floor deck revealed a totally different Cozumel further north on the island, near the airport.  There, one sees many beachfront high-rise hotels catering more to the resort traveler.  Because we are sailing all day tomorrow, the crew was readying the pool area for some serious use.

Evening brought a lovely dinner with Jenny and Brian in one of the ship’s many restaurants.  We all enjoyed our 4-course meals immensely, as both food and service were good.

After dinner, we listened to music, and attended what may have been the best show yet, Elements, featuring magic and illusion, ballet, acrobatics, and extraordinary dancing and lighting.