|
|
We returned from San Jose on December 27th. On the 29th we said goodbye to our good friends the BNFs and headed South. We arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana the same day.
We found a great camping site at Acadiana Campsites City Park.
It was filled with brand new FEMA trailers...empty FEMA trailers. As we traveled through Louisiana, we saw many more.
Jim's "must-do" on this trip was a swamp tour. On December 31st, we toured the Atchafalaya Basin. We had never even heard of it.
It is North America's largest river swamp.
The photos cannot do justice to the immensity of this place.
Here is our first alligator in the wild.
After the tour, we went had an early dinner at famous Prejean's Cajun Restaurant and Matthew ordered alligator!! We all tried some and it tasted like....CHICKEN, no really...it did... really tasty chicken.
When we returned to the RV we were invited to have some drinks with the neighbors. This was an extended Cajun family that camps out there every New Year. We had bought fireworks earlier so we shared them and had a great time with some really nice folks! Before we turned in, they invited us back the next afternoon for a traditional Cajun New Year's Day meal. We were treated to black eye beans representing good luck, cabbage representing money, ham representing...well, ham and 'Turdurken' which was a turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken!! We had bread pudding for dessert...yum.
These were real, hardworking people who were happy to share a meal and pass the time with strangers. Very, very cool.
No trip to Louisiana is complete without visiting...
the Tabasco factory! Unfortunately, it was the Monday after New Year's so the bottling line was shut down. We still learned a lot and left with all sorts of tasty Tabasco products (the bloody mary mix is the best).
Then it was on to Natchez, Mississippi.
Where we found a house to buy.
It came fully furnished, who could resist?
Sadly, these were the toilets, so we backed out of the deal.
CAUTION !!!!
THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL CONTAINS
EDUCATIONAL CONTENT!!!!!
On the way to Vicksburg, we followed part of the Natchez Trace.
It began as a trail traveled by Indians and wild animals almost 8,000 years ago and was later used by Spanish explorers, British troops and Southern frontier settlers. Then from 1785 to 1820 boatmen would float the Ohio and Miss. rivers with their goods to sell at markets in Natchez and New Orleans. They would then sell their boats and begin the trek back north on foot to Nashville and points beyond on the Natchez Trace. Because there were so many travelers with money on this route, it was also very dangerous! Is it just me or were people just way more hearty back then?
Vicksburg National Militay Park
Vicksburg National Military Park was established in 1899 to commemorate one of the most decisive battles of the American Civil War, the campaign, siege and defense of Vicksburg.
Okay, I'm not going to go into all the gory details (if you want them go to http://www.nps.gov/vick/index.html) but this is a 16 mile driving tour through a pivotal civil war campaign.
We saw trenches, cannons and strongholds. There were monuments everywhere with info on positions, skirmishes, killed, wounded and captured.
This is the Illinois State Memorial which honors the 36,325 Illinois soldiers who participated in the Vicksburg Campaign.
USS Cairo, an iron clad gunboat was sunk in 1862 and raised in 1964.
Vicksburg National Cemetery
At 116 acres, this is the final resting place for 17,000 Union Soldiers...
75% are listed as unidentified.
OK, HISTORY'S OVER
We feel the need to brace our West Coast friends and loved ones here.
No matter what ignorant pre-conceived perceptions we Californians may have,
Arkansas is a beautiful, beautiful place! Yes, I know what you're thinking, "Maddie can legally marry out there!", whatever! But we gotta tell it like it is, and it is really beautiful!
Hot Springs, Arkansas
The entire downtown area of Hot Springs is a National Park and they have preserved most of the Victorian Bath Houses.
It wasn't long before Maddie and Cindy noticed a glaring inequity. Let's see if you can spot it.
The ladies facilities.
The men's.
Matthew thought it was funny, so we beat him up and locked him in a steam cabinet!
1900's version of 24 Hour Fitness.
One of the coolest things about this town were the mineral water spigots in several locations. People would just walk up and fill their water jugs!
We wanted to see where the one and only Original Bluebird of Happiness lived, so we went to Fayetteville, Arkansas.
When you arrive, you can see them blowing glass and making bluebirds, then there is a clay studio where they give classes and sell clay pieces. There is a cave in the clay showroom, and the bathroom is to die for! There is an RV park and they also rent cabins to artists for the summer, kind of an artist's colony.
Bear with me, this was one of my favorite places. How cool would it be to have a place like this??
In the garden, you are greeted by friendly trolls.
Then your adventure begins...
several creatures inhabit the woods...
there are murals...and we even discovered...
a labyrinth!
If this isn't enough, they have a beautiful restaurant, where they also do weddings and have live music!
There is nothing here that hasn't been touched artistically.
In case you can't read it, the sign says, "In honor of the Bluebirds of Happiness. They made everything possible." Pretty cool, huh? It only takes one good idea to change your life!
This little guy (a foundling) followed us home.
Memphis, Tennessee
Can you guess who lived here?
The Gibson Guitar Factory, by far the best tour we have taken to date!
Now we understand the price tag that accompanies these babies.
We were excited to try some good ole' Memphis BBQ...until halfway through our meal...
we noticed the health inspector. He didn't look happy.
Matt reminding Madeleine of the time they saw Elvis in the Petco parking lot.
Darn, just when you need a big ass beer...they're closed!
HELLO NASHVILLE
I knew these guys were country....
but these guys, who knew?!
Okay, who as a kid was mystified about the price tag on Minnie's hat? I always wondered why no one told her so she could cut it off.
Maddie gives a command performance.
"Hmmm....I see your Schwartz is as big as mine".
(If you get that, sign the guestbook)
Waynesville, North Carolina
The Smokey Mountains are beautiful, hmmm we might consider living here.
Lucky for us we found another house to buy....
but Maddie and Cindy are wise and decided it would take too long to clean.
The greenhouse had us drooling...
sooo pretty!
A rare Meat-Eating Orchid!! It's true ask Maddie.
The best part was meeting yet another cool family traveling around. They too have lived lives of intrigue, so we'll keep this on the lowdown. No really, they were great company and shared some killer coffee with us (which everyone knows is the way to our hearts).
We had to hurry to Charlotte to see the Arthur Family before they moved to England. Nancy is my (Cindy) best friend from high school. We don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, but even if we haven't talked in ages, we can pick up like we never left off. We are also godparents to her son Jack and had never been able to spend any real time with him. We couldn't wait to get there and found a great state park not far from their house.
Nancy with her husband Rick and Jack on the right.
We got to enjoy Jack for an afternoon back at our campsite.
Madeleine and Matthew showed him the way of the monkey!
Weird homeschool kids, always building forts.
Seven great kids having a blast.
Nancy, Rick, Nick, Jack, Scotty, Holly and Mary, thanks for a great time!
Hey Nance or Nick, let's have that new e-mail address already!!
Could we have done anymore in January?!!!!