Tuesday, March 24, 2009
BruuuumBruuumBruuum...still movin' !!
Lucky us! We arrived on the Louisiana/N’awlins scene in time for all the pre-Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras celebrations. Almost every township in LA has a Mardi Gras parade presented by a “Krewe” which is a group of rowdy party people who put on a parade. We spent three hours, and collected a million beads (now strung all over the RV), at the Krewe of Dionysus in Slidell, LA. The floats were unbelievable for a relatively small town endeavor and, of course, everyone – on or off the floats – is drinking so the atmosphere is very celebratory and “easy”….which is probably where the “big easy” term comes from……see pix! We also went on a bayou boat trip and did manage to see 3 alligators….one was about 10 feet long…….see pix. Unlike crocodiles and contrary to the bad rap they get, alligators are somewhat frightened of big things, like big people. So adults are somewhat safe; cats, dogs, and small children are not. We also saw several tree snakes, turtles, herons and egrets. The bayou waters are very muddy until summer when they turn almost black from the leaves and detritus that drop into the water. Lots of people live along the bayous….some in million dollar homes, others in beat-up hunting cabins. Many of these dwellings were torn apart by Katrina....see pix. Speaking of Katrina, we took a N’awlins city tour and saw some ot the Katrina devastation……see pix. Rescue boats went around making homes as to height of water & occupants found……see pix. Another highlight was the cemeteries….everybody is buried above ground within family mausoleums/tombs in pine coffins and as the coffins and bodies deteriorate they drop to the bottom. As more people in the family die, the tomb is opened and yet another coffin/body is inserted. If there is not “room” in the tomb upon a death, then the body is put into “waiting” caskets along the perimeter of the cemetery….see pix and note all the names on the tomb!
Anyway, we still survive, together and intact.…..however, we have had a few narrow escapes thus far! We took small (and beat-up) country roads on the way to New Orleans and decided to visit the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island, which is kinda fun but not worth bottoming out the rear of the coach, tow bar, and front bumper of the Jeep. “We’ll just go right up over that little hill back to the road”; you know, the one that goes steeply downhill on the other side……we were fine until we got to the bottom! We ended up blocking the road but a very patient and nice truck driver helped us get ourselves together again. We’re learning that whatever you get yourself into, it’s very nice to be able to get yourself out of………without having to unhook the Jeep while blocking the road. Anyway, not much harm done other than a bruised ego or two.
A notable comment about the major highways around New Orleans…..they simply assume all residents know where they are going so there are no postings on the freeways. Now, our RV park was on the north shore of Lake Ponchetrain about 20 crow-fly miles from the French Quarter – and, there is this wonderful toll causeway that splits the lake in half conveniently near the RV park on the north side and New Orleans proper on the south. It was a straight shot onto the causeway from the RV park but not so from the NO side. I can’t tell you how joyful it was to realize we missed it each time. The first time arriving in the rain with the RV, adding approximately 50 miles ($15 in gas miles) to the trip around the east side of the lake to get to the RV park. The second time at 1:30AM after a rousing good time in the French Quarter when we had to drive an extra 70 miles around the west side of the lake because we missed again, the damn causeway!
Gee, how much can one run on about N’awlins? Such a diverse city…..in customs, nightlife, culture and - despite of Katrina – architecture. We ate good food, drank good beer and went to several bars to listen to music. A 50 year+ gentleman in a hat, zoot suit and orange/white shoes who has been leader of the R&B/blues band at the Blues Club for 31 years sang Sybil a love song……see pix with Peter. If you want to hear it give her a call, 520-603-4330, it’s too dirty bad to print here!
We traveled on to Hattiesburg and stayed over night at a real classy place, the Grapes of Wrath Trailer Park (Sybil named it…..what a dump!) on our way to Pensacola/Panama City in the FL panhandle where we stayed for 8 days in a beautiful state park, Topsail Preserve/Gregory E. Moore RV Park near Destin. We toured the area and were able to bike or walk to the white, white sand beaches everyday. We spent a day at the Pensacola Naval Air Museum….fascinating history of naval flight but no Blue Angel practices….alas, they don’t start the public viewing until April. We drove on to Natchez, MS and stayed in an RV park across the river in Vidalia, LA and although it is rather nice (right on the Mississippi with a great long river walk), it had a sign welcoming the Red Neck Adventure Squirrel Hunt……we saw lots of rednecks but not one squirrel…….see pix!
We drove across the river to Natchez, MS and guess what we witnessed……yet another Mardi Gras, this time from the second floor of Blues & Biscuits Restaurant……..see pix. Natchez has many stately antebellum mansions and we toured “Melrose”. We were surprised to see how elaborate the interior and exterior were, but how modest the furnishings. Natchez is also the location of one of the largest slave trading sites before the war, referred to then and now as “Forks of The Road”. When the slaves were emancipated, many of them stayed on right at the site and built homes. The area is still a black community with government project-type brick houses….see pix. Matter of fact, there are still many shanty-like homes in the poorer areas…….see pix. A big highlight was our 50 mile drive to Vicksburg where we toured the site of the June 1865 Civil War Battle with Grant being commander in chief of the Union army, and Pemberton being that for the Confederates, just weeks before the end of the war………see pix.
Then we were off to Montgomery, AL. via the famous Natchez Trace which we talked about in a previous blog……….see pix of Sybil and how fierce the conditions were for the foot and horse travelers, both white traders and Indians. Montgomery is only about 170 miles from Destin but it was one of longest and more expensive days of the trip. Sybil didn’t get the ignition key in the Jeep quite into “accessory” so the steering locked the front tires into a slight right turn position. Peter kept saying the RV was pulling to the left but it was very windy so nothing was really wrong, right? We stopped after about 100 miles to stretch and found we had literally dragged the poor Jeep so the left front tire was totally bald and the left side and rear of the Jeep covered with smelly little black specks….ooooops…..a $230 mistake…new tire and alignment……….proving yet again that RVing is not for the faint of heart or money!
More later, of course….the saga continues!
Best,
Peter & Sybil
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