Hugging the Gulf Coast

As predicted we had a pretty low key morning hanging around the campsite. I really appreciated having this time with Megan before she starts her new job on Monday. I expect she's going to be pretty busy and not have much to hang out with her mama. Our destination restaurant for our final meal was Willie Mae's Scotch House which is famous for its fried chicken. Willie Mae is in her 90's and the fried chicken is rumored to be stuff that legends are made from. We drove thru a residential section of a really depressed part of town where most of the houses looked as if they've never recovered from Katrina. Unfortunately, when we arrived the restaurant was closed up, with no explanation. Another person who had arrived as well told us about Little Dizzy's and said it also had great fried chicken. We were a little disappointed to find that it was in downtown New Orleans and didn't have nearly the character of Willie's Mae's ramshackle little home. We were even more disappointed in the fried chicken after eating it. Meh...I could do better. Nonetheless, it was a fun experience to try out all the different spots in The Big Easy and quite a gastronomical 3 day affair! We took Megan to the airport about 3, said our goodbyes, and once more were just the two of us traveling down the highway. We decided rather than stay another night in New Orleans, we would just continue to follow the coast until we were tired. We were really curious to explore the beaches of the Gulf Coast. We traveled along the coastal road hugging the Gulf of Mexico and were surprised at how empty it was, but were pleased to see pristine sugar white beaches. This area was where the eye of Katrina came thru and six years later not much has been rebuilt. We stopped to pick up some roadside peaches and the vendor said the place looks completely different and will never be the same. As you drive along there are miles and miles of beach front property for sale. The upside is that you feel as if you have the place to yourself. We decided to stop at one of the beaches and get our feet wet. Well, after Mr. Ned put his feet in the water, he looked at me and said, "Wanna go for a swim"? The great thing about being on vacation is that there's always time for a swim! We switched into our suits in the van and then swam in the Gulf for the first time. The water was the perfect temperature, a little greener than we expected and a heck of a lot shallower. p.s. There were no tar balls. We went out about 50 yards or so and the water never got deeper than about 2 1/2 feet. We also noted that it wasn't very salty. It still felt pretty darn good to swim and play around in the water. When we got back to the van we were able to take advantage of our mini shower...really mini shower. Sure does feel good tho to clean off the sand before getting in the car. As we continued to drive down the coast we were amazed at the lack of people. Here it was a Saturday afternoon around 4 or 5 o'clock and we practically had the place to ourselves. Weird. We found a state park in Gautier, Mississippi that was pretty empty, much to our delight. Even tho we are close to the coast, this little campground is in a thick woods and the insects sound like the jungle ride in Disneyland! There's a persistent buzz and the air is thick with humidity and no-see-ums. We ain't in Kansas any more. See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Shepard State Park, Gautier, Mississippi

Bayous and Bourbon

We had a lazy morning around the campsite, sleeping in and playing Angry Birds on the iPad. In a matter of a day, the weather went from spring like to humid summer which definitely contributed to us kicking it down a notch. We were also still recovering from our crawfish & shrimpfest at the campsite last night. Our big event for the day was to take a swamp tour. The tour we chose was very low key, in fact we met the guide at a shrimp market, where all the local fisherman have stalls selling their live shrimp, crab, crawfish, etc. Our guide, "Captain James"' was a real character and certainly had the gift of gab. He kept up a nonstop banter, in his Louisiana drawl, telling many stories that were a little off color. We saw probably 20 gators, herons and turtles, and several critters that are indigenous to the swamp. I really enjoyed Captain James stories about how his family has lived off the swamp for generations, from tagging alligators to eating mushrooms that grow on Willow Trees. The breeze on the boat as we were tootling around the swamps was also much appreciated. After the tour we decided to take a detour into New Orleans and check out the Lower Ninth Ward to see what progress has been made since Katrina. Ever so slowly the area is rebuilding, but quite honestly it is still really poor and depressed. The biggest and most delightful surprise of the day was connecting with Becca, one of Megan's best friends. Just as pure coincidence it turns out that Becca is moving to New Orleans. In fact tonight is her second night in New Orleans and the Uhaul was still parked in front of the building. So, Becca, her boyfriend Jared, and all of us met up at Mother's for a jumbalaya and gumbo dinner then walked to the French Quarter and strolled Bourbon Street. Oh, how different this place is on a Friday night than on a Thursday morning!! We took in the sites, aka strip joints and noisy bars with people spilling out onto the streets and an awesome brass jazz band. Oh yes, we partook in the festivities, some of it captured on film, but I'll be discreet in what I post...haha you owe me Becca & Megan! We didn't return to the campsite until close to midnight, so I'm pretty sure tomorrow is going to be another lazy morning. See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Another day of debauchery in New Orleans

Taking it easy in The Big Easy

It felt really great to sleep in this morning after the long ride yesterday. We lucked out on the perfect time to visit New Orleans, not too humid during the day and breezy, cool evenings. The first stop today was picking up Megan at the airport. What a treat to meet up with her in The Big Easy. Megan took a red eye flight so we promised her cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde first thing. They were served piping hot with powdered sugar on top. I wouldn't exactly say the sugar was sprinkled on top, more like an avalanche was dumped on them. They were light, fluffy, chewy and yeah even tasted better than what is in the photo. After that little jaunt we strolled the riverwalk, meandered thru the streets of the French Quarter taking in the flower strewn balconies, musicians, horse drawn carriages and eccentric characters hawking every ware. We eventually made our way to Bourbon Street where daiquiris are king. Ned and Megan tasted a couple of flavors, before Ned chose a white Russian daiquiri and Megan settled on "White Girl Trouble", which she thought was only fitting. The bartender took a liking to those two, and before you knew it, they got free shots to chase down the daiquiris. Well, you can imagine how all this imbibing can make a fella hungry, so next up was a muffalleta at the Central Grocery, of course! Delish!! This is definitely one of my New Orlean's favorites and is going to be hard to beat. We figure there are about 12 different local favorite dishes we gotta taste before leaving. Our only challenge is how to fit that into 3 days! (Hope, if you are reading this blog, you know I'm counting on you to whip me back into shape after this trip! I promise to hit the gym everyday, but for now a Girl's gotta do ...) After an afternoon nap at the campground we went looking for a local place to by some hot boiled crawfish and shrimp. Oh and local it was...let's just say there was a card game going on, people hanging out on crates and lots of drinking. We took the sacks of crawfish and shrimp back to the campsite and dug in. While we were enjoying the local fare, the mosquitos were enjoying us. We are thinking about doing a swamp tour tomorrow and eating good knows what. Today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:New Orleans, LA

Louisiana, they're trying to wash us away

We had a long haul today traveling from Austin to New Orleans. Of course, we could have made it a bit shorter by going a straighter route, but I was much more interested in exploring Cajun Country. Like I'm sure all of you have been doing, we've been following the high levels of the Mississippi River and the potential flooding in the Atchafalaya Basin and the possible submersion of Morgan City. As we crossed into Louisiana at noon, we thought this song, playing on the iPod, was only fitting. (Sorry Josh for subjecting you to this song one more time! I know you heard it growing up too many times). Louisiana 1927 click here to watch We drove the swampy back roads passing sugar cane fields and crawfish pods, eventually stopping for a late lunch in New Iberia. Keeping in line with our desire to only eat local we stopped at a nondescript, windowless cinder block building that actually looked abandoned from the outside. It was recommended for one of the best ever Po'boy Sandwiches. We hadn't eaten since an early morning breakfast at 5:30, so decided to go all out. We had a combo crawfish & shrimp Po'boy with a side order of chicken sausage gumbo. Delish!! After this wonderful gastronomical fare, we then decided to further explore the Cajun region and were particularly interested in how far the bayous have risen and how well the towns have held up. After watching or listening to the media, one would think that everyone was in a panic, boarding up their homes and leaving en mass. Au contraire! Kids were playing, people were hanging out and there was a general laid back vibe everywhere. We eventually made it to Morgan City and were able to walk up on the concrete walls that were holding back the river and have a first hand look. It was pretty amazing! The water had completely swallowed up the wharf and a sign showed it was 8 ft. high. Parts of the concrete wall from 1973 were still there and if this current flood occurred back then, the city would have been under water. Interestingly enough, nothing in the town was boarded up, businesses were still open and life was going on as usual. As we continued our drive into New Orleans, we could see the high level of the bayous next to the road, but nothing was flooded. As I sit here drinking a glass of wine, I want to make an official toast to the engineers who've designed and built the levees and concrete walls. So far, job well done! We are camped in a sweet state park, close enough to the city for day trips yet still able to enjoy nature. I'm sitting here watching bunnies and armadillos running around the grounds. Mmm, a thought just occurred to me. Do you think the high bayou levels will bring alligators into the campground at night?! Kinda makes me think twice if I decide to make a midnight bathroom run. Geez, I hope Megan isn't reading this. We pick her up tomorrow morning. We have 3 days of playing in New Orleans together. It'll be good to share some time with her and be in one place for awhile! Until later..." coooh luk at da size o dat crawfish!". Click here for today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Bayou Segnette State Park, LA

BBQ, Bikes & Hanging Out in Austin

Last night we were expecting to camp on a lake. Well, not so much. The drought in West Texas dried up the lake until all that was left was a small puddle a good 1/2 mile from our site. However, the warm breeze and brightly lit moon more than made up for any disappointment. We even took a bike ride in the evening under the full moon and saw the most spectacular sunrise this morning. After a few hours driving, we finally left the dusty plains of West Texas and ventured into Central Texas where we were greeted by gentle rolling green hills and an abundance of spring wildflowers. What a beautiful drive! Early afternoon we arrived in Austin, headed for McKinney Falls State Park to secure a campsite then hightailed it to The Green Mesquite which been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The place has a great relaxing chill factor, which we further enjoyed on the back patio. We had the ribs, brisket, coleslaw, beans and hush puppies. Dang, I've sure missed the South. Check out today's lunch here. We needed to work off this amazing feast so next we hit the Lady Bird Trail and biked along the tree covered path next to the river. What a great way to see Austin. The temp was about 90 deg., but dry. Just the way I like it. We also took a quick drive by the State Capital and checked out the famous 6th Street. We decided rather than doing more sightseeing we would rather return to the campground and maybe get in a swim. We took a short hike to the lower falls, but found nothing falling! Instead we were greeted by a stagnant lagoon and a couple of hot puddles in the rock. Hard to believe that Texas is having such a drought when just one state away Louisiana is drowning. Looks like a lazy night in the hammocks are in order. Tomorrow we venture into Louisiana and possibly drive thru Cajun Country on the way to New Orleans. This should be interesting. Click here for today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Open Road

I don't know what it is about taking to the open road, but I always seem to sleep better in the Winniemobile. I woke up this morning to clear blue skies, in some Godforsaken place in New Mexico and couldn't be happier. Another long drive stretched before us, most of it thru parched land, red dirt and the robotic drinking birds of oil wells that seems to be the speciality of West Texas. When I was a kid, we had an old blue Rambler station wagon. When we'd go on long road trips Dad would strap a canvas water bag to the front radiator. You could just feel it down to your toes that you were going on an adventure and the summer seemed endless. It was that kind of day. As we drove this morning all Ned and I saw were miles and miles of foot high blackened sticks poking up from fields. We couldn't for the life of us figure out what crop this was. Ned finally surmised that it was harvested cotton fields, but nothing like the California Central Valley. (To my brother in law, Eric, are we on the right track?) We zigzagged the county roads of West Texas for most of the afternoon driving thru sleepy dusty towns that were few and far between. Occasionally we'd see a red swirling dust devil twisting its way across an open field. We had several state parks to chose from and finally decided on San Angelo State Park, not because it had anything great going for it, but because it would mean a shorter drive tomorrow to Austin. We are taking care of business tonight, which means handling incidentals on the road. I'm writing this as we sit in a laundry mat in a very interesting part of town, lots of body shops and drive thru beer barns surround us. Oh wait, I forgot we are in Texas where drive thru beer barns are considered essential; why put up with the heat when you can pop a cold one in the car? Enjoy today's bleak pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:San Angelo State Park, TX

Taking it Easy on Route 66

There was a hubbub of activity this morning as both camps reconnoitered and planned their strategy for tackling today's road trips. Sadly, we left our buddies, as we journeyed eastward, and the Cohen's headed north toward Monument Valley. How fun to share the first week of our road trip with such good friends. Ned and I hit the road pretty early, for us, at around 7. We had a long day ahead of us and a lot of distance to cover. Megan has some time off before she starts her new job at Google and has decided to join us in New Orleans. How fun!! In order to time it right, Ned and I will be speeding up the next couple of days instead of our usual slower pace. Thus, today's destination is Roswell, New Mexico a mere 525 miles away! Oh don't worry we still planned in lots of arbitrary stops for wacky roadside attractions and even some history. We back tracked thru Sedona and the mountains into Flagstaff and made a right turn. It sure felt good knowing I would be reading signs that said "East" for the next several weeks. It was a cool, clear morning and it felt great to have the windows down and the music blasting to The Eagles which only seemed fitting since our first stop was Winslow, Arizona. We had a hoot "standing on the corner, in Winslow, Arizona I was a mighty fine sight to see." There was even a flatbed Ford on the corner! Listening to The Eagles reminded me of my older brother and how I'd be holding on tight as I caught a ride on the back of his motorcycle when we were teenagers. Sending him a postcard from Winslow seemed the right thing to do. Next up was a visit to the Petrified Forest National Park. We didn't spend a lot of time in the park, but did get a chance to stop by the Visitor's Center, peruse some displays and catch the movie. We took several more detours visiting the forgotten towns along Route 66. It sure is fun to see the old motels, novelty shops, and kitschy tourist attraction such as the Wig Wam Motel and the El Rancho, where movie stars stayed. And by movie stars I'm talking W.C. Fields, John Wayne and The Marx Brothers. After a long drive we finally arrived in Roswell about 7ish. Since it was a Sunday night the town was really deserted, which made it feel a little creepy, especially with all the tacky aliens staring at us. We've settled in at Bottomless Lakes State Park a typical New Mexico campground, scrubby and desertlike, but with a gorgeous sunset over the lake. See today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Bottomless Lake State Park, New Mexico