We just finished up a week of work-camping with our friends at Lutherhill, a Lutheran Youth Camp in the summer season. Our friends, Arnie and Mem, care for the grounds during the winter season. We did a few handyman tasks to justify our stay, but mostly we hung out with friends and went to the Opry in La Grange. (See our blog for Feb 20, 2007,(Under construction, link to come) for our last visit to the Opry)

The really nifty part of this location is that we dodged the latest freeze cycle a little further north of here. We woke up to 61 degrees this morning. We rushed out to get in a bicycle ride this morning before the predicted noontime rain. The rain squall caught us about five miles away in Indianola, Texas, a couple hours before predicted. Oh well, We won’t complain, Texas is a couple buckets short for the last two years.

Another advantage for this area is the abundance of birds. We have been logging gulls and terns, shore birds and Sandhill Cranes. We have spotted egrets, herons, pelicans, kingfishers and hawks.

Finally the camping here is free. Now you would think that the place would be overrun, but quite the contrary, it is only sparsely populated. We are “dry camping.” That means no electricity, no water, no wi-fi or cable T.V. There are a few fishermen and also a few full time travelers like us here too. We just met a couple from the Netherlands. They shipped their little European compatible camper over on a ship and they are touring our country for a full year. Just a couple weeks ago we met a family from New Zealand who were doing the same thing.

Meeting interesting new people is one of the rewards of our nomadic style of life. In fact as I sit here humming a few bars of Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville,” I find it hard to even remember what it was like “Workin’ nine to five,” with Dolly.

So Long from South Texas…now where did I put that salt shaker?

Gary and Judy

Today Judy looked at the map and highlighted something called the Creole Trail National Scenic Byway. Now doesn’t that have a romantic ring to it? This byway takes you directly south to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. The clincher was it takes you to Holly Beach, LA. Now in December of 2005 we met a refugee from the Hurricane Rita in South Toledo Bend State Park. His tale of woe was that his house in Holly Beach was swept away by the high winds and tidal surge of Rita. All he had left was his RV. He had been fighting with his insurance company about whether the winds destroyed his home or the storm surge washed it away. Of course the insurance company was taking the stand that was favorable to them because his insurance didn’t cover both of these possibilities. (I think it only covered wind damage.) He showed photos of his house perched on 12 foot pilings and a second photo of just six of the pilings left on a sandy lot.

On our tour today we stopped in Holly Beach. A dozen new houses perched on their 12 foot pilings were scattered around a development that would have originally had a hundred or more houses. Some lots held battered debris where a house once stood, most of the lots were simply bulldozed flat. The streets were partially engulfed with drifted sand. Judy and I could see nothing that would attract people to want to rebuild here. We drove on down the coastline toward Port Arthur Texas. We could see drilling platforms out in the Gulf. Much of the road had been rebuilt, but where it hadn’t there were stretches where the pavement ended abruptly at the white line and jagged gullies gaped at you alongside. I nervously took my half of the road astraddle the center stripe.

There are businesses in this area. Mostly outfits that deal with the drilling platforms or the oil pipelines. Many places alongside the road there were newly created RV parks filled with trailers and fifth wheelers. The houses were mostly wrecked; I suspect the workers live in these parks. We did see some houses that survived the storms. They were newer construction and even then there were patches of siding missing. When we drove through Port Arthur we saw that many of the houses are patched with the famous “FEMA blue tarps.”

This is beautiful country with its swamps and marshes and the picturesque bayou’s meandering through. I can understand how the people can continue to rebuild over and over again. This is home and they have to come back and pick up the pieces after each storm. Even the RV’s make sense, they can pack up and leave until the storm has passed.

I will include a couple photos on the web site at www.disnmore-enterprises,com/20090128.html Also you can review the December 9, 2005 blog called “Random Thoughts” at this link, (under construction, Link to come later)

I will close with a famous quote from Dorothy. “There’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home.”

Gary and Judy

Rebuilt Houses in Holly Beach LA

Example of Damaged Home on Gulf Coast of Louisiana

Louisiana Swamp in January, with Water Tupelo and Bald Cypress

We stopped in a small town, Thibodaux, LA specifically to visit the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center. We have run into this cultural group twice before in our travels. Once in Nova Scotia, where the Acadian people were expelled by the British at the end of the seven years’ war with France in 1763; (We call it the French and Indian War on this side of the pond.) and again in Maine when we toured Acadia National Park near Bar harbor.

When we toured the Cultural Center we met an enthusiastic lady ranger who took us step by step through the expulsion of the Acadians and their disbursement around the world. Some of them made it back to Nova Scotia, others into Maine and still others became the Cajun people of Louisiana. While we were trying to follow all the details of this lecture a little old gentleman came into the museum. Our ranger greeted him by name and he stood quietly by until the end of the talk. At that point she introduced Hamlin Landry, an 84 year old Cajun. Once introduced Hamlin became a fountain of information. He had to learn English to go to school as a boy. We learned of his World War II experiences and his Real-Estate career. He joined us as we toured the museum and explained all of the Cajun artifacts from first hand experience. We got to visit the pirogue Hamlin had built and was now on permanent exhibit in the museum. I will include a photo of Judy and Hamlin below.

Last evening we went for a short ride into Westwego, LA just to see if it were practical to ride over to New Orleans from our campground, Bayou Segnette State Park. When we returned we made a circuit of the campground to see how many sites were full. A car pulled out as we passed and followed us all the way around to our site. They stopped by our site and visited with us for half an hour. They are from Wisconsin and they also ride a recumbent tandem. They thought about riding with us today, but when they found out it was about ten miles they decided the car was a better choice. We did exchange cards and may ride later.

Today we did ride the ten miles through the suburbs of New Orleans, take the ferry across the Mississippi river and rode right through the heart of the Garden District to the French Quarter of New Orleans. A local bicyclist adopted us at the first ferry landing and showed us how to load onto the ferry. He then gave us detailed instructions on getting to the French Quarter and made sure we took the right turns as we disembarked.

This happened again in the afternoon when we got to the return ferry. A young lady showed us the proper lane to get in so the deck hands wouldn’t reprimand us when embarking on the ferry. Once on the ferry she showed us the way to the warm cabin deck.

On practically every street corner we had people admire our bicycle, give us the thumbs up, or call out to us as we rode by. We certainly felt welcome in New Orleans. Yes there are lots of buildings still in the stages of being repaired, but the city is alive and thriving. At least the areas we toured. Tourists are still a little scarce, and remember we are leading up to Mardi Gras. We even have seen a couple floats being built.

Many of the people use the bicycle to commute in this area. The streets in the
French Quarter, however, are narrow and not well adapted to the bicycle. Drivers and riders seem to share the streets reasonable well.

If our weary legs will stand it we will be off for another adventure tomorrow, (today was 26 miles.) Meanwhile Judy and I send our love to all from Cajun country.

Hamlin Shows Judy His Pirogue