New Orleans, Louisiana
We left Meridian, Mississippi on our way to Robert, Louisiana and our first experience with a Jellystone Park campground. John was concerned about pulling the TT into New Orleans to the KOA there, so we opted for the Jellystone park. Wouldn’t you know that our planned trip would coincide with Boo Boo’s Birthday & Block Party Blast! There are 345 RV sites in this park, and just about every one of them is occupied by families with at least 15 kids each. Oh, all right, maybe only one or two, but it feels like 15. Some groups have decorated their sites for a birthday. There are children running everywhere! The site next to ours has a Chihuahua who NEVER stops barking. Then there is the site across the road from us with a bull dog that isn’t on a leash, contrary to park rules. We almost had to referee a dogfight when he saw Skooter. We’ve worked really hard over the past month to teach Skooter not to bark at other dogs and he was doing really well, but another dog entering his territory wasn’t to be borne. The bulldog’s owners got the hint and quickly put him on a leash.
We had picked up some fresh vegetables on the way from a roadside vegetable stand run by two little old ladies in Mississippi. So, dinner tonight included summer squash, red potatoes, salad of red, ripe tomatoes and cucumbers, and grilled chicken. How much more healthy can you get! Josh wasn’t sure he wanted to try the squash, but that’s one of Grandma’s rules - you’ve got to try new things just once. I don’t let any of them get away with saying they don’t like something unless they’ve given it a chance. I learned that as a young bride a few years ago (snicker) when John’s response to something new that I would suggest was that he didn’t like it. When I finally got tired of serving about three total vegetables, I'd ask him if he’d ever tried whatever new (to him) item I wanted to cook. Usually his answer was that it didn’t sound good or look like something he’d like. That was the end of my asking him if he liked something. I just fixed dinner, and he’d eat whatever it was. That opened up a whole new world of interesting foods to him.
Once dinner was finished and cleaned up, it was time to go across the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway into New Orleans to give Josh his first taste of beignets. The twin spans of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway are the world’s longest bridges. The longer of the twin bridges is 23.87 miles long. Crossing Lake Pontchartrain in southern Louisiana, the Causeway’s prestressed panels are supported by more than 9,000 concrete pilings. The northern end of the bridges is at Mandeville in Louisiana, while the southern end is in Metairie in a suburb of New Orleans. We drove down into the French Quarter and parked on top of the levee, then walked down the steps and right into Cafe Du Monde. John had been looking forward to his cafe au lait.
The Original Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stand was opened in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and closes only on Christmas Day and on the day an occasional hurricane passes too close to New Orleans. The menu consists primarily of dark roasted coffee and chicory, beignets, white and chocolate milk, and fresh squeezed orange juice. The coffee is served black or au lait. Au lait means that it is mixed half and half with hot milk. Beignets are square French-style doughnuts, lavishly covered with powdered sugar.
Then it was back to the TT to sleep off those yummy confections and decide what to do tomorrow.
We all slept late and got up to hot temperatures and empty stomachs. John said he was ready to go back to NO for some Cajun food, so we all piled back into the truck and started south.
We parked in the same area as last night on top of the levee and went across the railroad tracks so Josh could see the Mississippi River up close. We’d seen clouds over the Quarter, so when it started to rain, we weren’t surprised. We gathered up umbrellas and climbed down the stairs in search of FOOD. By the time we got down in front of the Cafe Du Monde, it was pouring. We raced across the street and went into the Riverside Restaurant. There we ordered an appetizer - crawfish pie. It’s a pastry with spicy crawfish inside, then deep fried. It’s served with a topping of etouffee.
Dad's etouffee too hot, Debbie? |
Once lunch was over, we went back down the street through some of the souvenir shops looking for something to bring back. Josh had his heart set on a t-shirt he’d seen last night, so Grandpa took him down the street to get it.
But, is it the real me? |
We raced back across the street through the rain to the praline shop. We stopped for a minute to see if they were making any, but it was too humid from the heavy rain for them to set up. I got my box of pralines, then John said we needed to go back to Cafe Du Monde for dessert! How he could think of that is beyond me.
We were right there, so back we went for more beignets and milk or coffee. Josh managed to wrap himself around a full order of beignets and hot chocolate (we were all a little chilled from being wet again). Debbie, John, and I shared two orders between us.
Then it was back to the truck and across the causeway to the RV park. Amazingly, it hadn’t rained a drop there - apparently all of the rain was in NO and hadn’t crossed I-10.
Texas - Here We Come
Home Again!
Today we leave for Houston and the end of our Summer Odyssey. We’ve had a great time and seen lots of our great country. I estimated we’d travel around 4900 miles on this trip, but we had passed 5,000 way before we got to Mississippi. Our final miles driven was 5,775.
We packed up early and gladly waved good-bye to all of the kids as we drove out of the campground. It was a relief to know we'd be home today. At the end of the driveway, John and I swapped places so I could drive for a while. I'd left the driving to John for the rest of the trip, but today was going to be a really long one and he needed to conserve his strength for the Beaumont to Houston leg of the journey. It's very wearing on the driver because you have to watch all of the idiots driving around you who don't have a clue that you're not going to be able to stop on a dime when they swing in front of you and slow down suddenly. By the time John had spent four hours behind the wheel on other days, I could see how tired he was - thus the need for a rest day on a regular basis!
We stopped at the visitor center just inside the Texas border, YEAH!, to pick up new Texas road maps and rest our legs. We've been here before when we returned from trips to Louisiana. They have made some changes and updated the grounds. Very nice! Then it was time for John to get back behind the wheel. It was lunch time, and I'm not about to try to find a place to park 45 feet of truck and trailer at a restaurant.
We stopped in Orange, Texas for lunch. There was a little restaurant that served a Cajun buffet - all you can eat for $7.99. Josh may be able to fill up here! The food was actually pretty good. We asked for the recipe or ingredients for the new potatoes they served. We all went back for seconds - they were better than dessert! I'm going to try them later to see if I can come close.
Then it was time to pile back in the truck for the final leg of our journey. Home never looked so good!
Let's recap:
5,775 miles
34 days
22 States
Average cost of gasoline: $2.60/gal. (simply amazing)
Temperature ranges: 45 degrees F to 105 degrees F
Rainy days - 15
Campfires - 8
Marshmallows dropped into campfire - 7
Diamonds mined - 5
Photos taken - 978 (Yeah, digital!)
Deepest descent: 175 feet (Cave of the Winds)
Highest ascent: 1,050 feet (82nd floor Empire State Building)
Major purchases:
4 Tires - truck
4 Tires - TT
Brakes - TT
Cover for truck bed
TV antenna (for local channels)
Roof vent cover for refrigerator
Airfare for Debbie to join us
Stabilizer bar to replace one lost somewhere in Virginia
Portable tank to empty holding tanks - DC and Staunton didn't have sewer connections for us