Morgan City, Natchez, Vicksburg, and More Bayou

Haven't had the inclination nor bandwidth for an update since Sunday, but thought we better say something soon ;-)

So, here's a bare-bones catch-up post, with photos to be posted when we get a better connection.

Monday: NOLA to Houma for shopping and errands. What a great Rouse's (Louisiana small grocery chain) we found. Tons of local yummies to stock the fridge with. Wished we could've fit all the great chopped frozen veggies (gumbo mixes, etc.) in our freezer, but we did buy some boudin, smoked turkey sausage, and spices. We also stopped at a "Louisiana Culinary Trail"-recommended lunch place-- A-Bear's -- for catfish, shrimp, red beans and rice. Chatted with the waitress throughout the entire meal. This isn't the first time that's happened in Lousiana. Wish I could capture that accent; it's so wonderful.


Then on to Morgan City for birthday dinner with family for Amy's bday.

Lake End Park--a very great RV park near their house


Tuesday: Laundry (and an unfortunate kerfuffle with the CVS over refilling Lisa's Rx. Boy, would electronic health records help travelers) and then we hit the road for Mississippi.

Took forever to get to Natchez--and we had intended to make it close to Vicksburg--so we pulled off and stayed at a really great little state park--Natchez SP.

Wednesday: Got to remove a tick from Lisa in the morning--a souvenir from the really great little state park. Have to remember not to pull THAT baggie out of the freezer.... Headed up to Vicksburg, past Port Gibson's great little churches that we saw last summer, and past Lorman with its worlds' best fried chicken, and into Vicksburg Military Park, which we missed last year. Wow. A pretty amazing story and grounds. We got glazed over pretty quickly with the THOUSANDS of monuments, but were pretty moved by the scenery and ruggedness of the terrain. More than 20,000 soldiers from both sides died during this epic seige, which restored Grant's reputation and helped turn the tide of the war in 1863.


My favorite monument--to the African American soldiers who joined the Union side. The symbolism is moving; this statue represents looking to a future with freedom earned by taking up arms, remembering the slave past, with support for all. So sad that it took another 100 years past Emancipation for the Civil Rights Act and then many years and struggles since then....


Made it to northern Louisiana and another great little state park (Bayou D'Arbonne Lake), where we thoroughly enjoyed a "parting gift" from Donald--seasoned deer and wild hog burgers, expertly grilled by Lisa.



And do check out the meat market's motto. (Double-clicking on the photo ought to show it larger.)


We are now officially headed westward, towards home....

Feed Me (R)

Sunday was another lovely day in NOLA--just stunning to be here in late spring with flowering trees (about 6-8 weeks behind schedule due to long winter), sunshine, but cooling breezes. Perfect weather!

We took several walks--one with dog, one without--and saw some of our favorite haunts and some new ones (the new "Waldorf collection" Hotel Roosevelt and the Ritz--had to stroll through). We then went back to the Roadfood festival to watch the fire dept. best the police dept. in a beignet eating contest. We had a light nibble of a lunch--we split a crawfish cake from Royal House (wow!) and an oyster po-boy from Antoine's (so-so)--because we had found our dinner adventure and wanted to "save up." (Oh, the irony of that in this city.)

Louisiana Bistro--we had walked right past it after checking out Bayona, one of the trendy restaurants. We had called NOLA (an Emeril restaurant)--no openings till 9:30. Then chatted with some knowledgeable local fellows about Bayona (they highly recommended but there was no answer on their reservations line) and Upperline (a few miles away). But then we walked by Louisiana Bistro, which looked completely charming and had an option called "Feed Me" (yes, registered trademark). After checking out Yelp and Urbanspoon, we became convinced that this was THE place for us--an evening's sustenance and entertainment. The chef (CIA trained, then Biba in Boston, and Emeril in New Orleans, among others) really likes to be hands on, so this small restaurant is his baby--only a sous chef in back with him. If you order the Feed Me option, he comes out to discuss any allergies or aversions you have and then he gets your permission to run with whatever he'd like to. Each dish is presented by the waiter, and the chef is right on his heels to explain each dish. What a treat. (Note that the other diners having the Feed Me option got different dishes than we did. Amazing....)

I only had my iPhone in pretty poor light, but I took the pix to remember the details. Some of these dishes were just THE best of that category we've ever had--especially the oysters. Oo la la.

1st: cornmeal crusted flash fried oysters on a Cajun pepper brown sauce



2nd: melaton (aka chayote squash) stuffed with crawfish on top of buerre blanc


3rd: quail over Southern style bacon stewed greens with jalapeno hollandaise. (Oops, forgot to take the picture right away!)

4th: 12-hour braised buffalo rib over delicate garlic mashed potatoes with a mixture of Midwestern BBQ sauce (tomato based) and South Carolina BBQ sauce (vinegar based), which turned out more like an Asian sweet-and-sour sauce. Lisa loved it. This was the only sauce I didn't sop up with the bread, but the meat was soooo tender.


Accompanied by the chef-recommended Tempranillo Grand Reserve from Rioja, Spain, which was a perfect accompaniment to the delicate spicy heat of the Creole cooking

Dessert: We split an order of Creole ice cream (ice cream mixed with a ricotta cheese--very different) with strawberries, chocolate, and balsamic. And they even had decaf chicory coffee for Lisa.

We highly recommend this restaurant if you're in the area--it's actually quite reasonable compared to the other chef-y places, and it has a reasonably priced wine list. I'd like to see this place have lines outside, but perhaps not everyone is up for the adventure of Feed Me?!? But we're not the only ones who loved it: Yelp and Urbanspoon

We are packing up at last (what a treat not to move the vehicle for 3 days!) this morning and heading out of our "resort." We enjoyed the hot tub and pool yesterday, but we won't miss sleeping next to the freeway. Off to Morgan City to celebrate Lisa's sister's birthday!

A Day in the Quarter

French Quarter RV Resort
Our RV park, day and night (um, yes, it's convenient to the freeway)


The young gals run out to meet you when you first check in. Good security, too.Pool, hot tub, exercise room, laundry, bathrooms and showers

The next-door new visitor center--gorgeous renovation (since Katrina)
St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
A visit to the oldest cemetery in NOLA, which is right by our RV park (quiet neighbors on at least ONE side)



Supposedly the newest crypt in the graveyard--for Nicholas Cage

Marie Levaux, voodoo priestess' crypt. Mark 3 Xs, knock 3 times, turn around 3 times....
Fun in the Quarter
The actual Roadfood festival. (We couldn't make ourselves go to the World's Longest Oyster Po-Boy in the morning....)


We munched our way down Royal Street, sampling Uggi Shrimp, meat pies from Natchitoches, brisket from Taylor Texas, and Amy tried some of the pie we had had last night. All around tasty.

Donald steered us into an antique store, the likes of which I have never seen. There were precious antiques from France and England, 200 years old. $50,000 chairs, an unbelievably ornate 10'+ tall grandfather clock for $1.2 million, etc., etc. And some of the most gorgeous jewelry (pink and yellow diamonds, cultured pearls the size of pearl onions, and more!) that puts Tiffany's on 5th Avenue to shame. A ton of fun.

We also introduced Don and Amy to geocaching, locating a tiny cache on Dauphine Street.

And Lisa tried another first--she ordered and drank most of (Don helped) a real absinthe cocktail. Here's the time lapse....

Roadfood Opening Party

Just so we can remember the details, here's the "official" description of the event we attended last night, with [comments].

The New Orleans Roadfood Festival kicks off with a true Roadfood party featuring the best barbecue from Alabama [pretty good], Camp Washington Cincinnati chili [out of this world good--allspice and chocolate with onions, cheese, beans, spaghetti], cracklin's from Cajun country [unfortunately not hot], all the shrimp [and crawfish] and oysters you can eat [yum!], an open bar [bad idea], KJoe's celebrated Creole bread pudding [with bananas foster on top!], and pralines made on the spot [oy, too sweet!].

They neglected to list the pies from Royers Round Top Cafe--out of this world pecan, chocolate chip, and buttermilk. Not too sweet--just right. And available for mail order. These go on our list for that Roadfood party we want to have this year....

It all takes place in a French Quarter setting outsiders rarely get to experience: the historic Boucvalt House, a three-story Greek Revival home built in 1841, now meticulously restored to antebellum grandeur.

Next to the food, the best part was the people--such a convivial group from all over the U.S. Fellow travelers, open to new experiences off the beaten path. Our kinda folks.

Forgot my good camera and the courtyard setting was a bit too dark for the iPhone, but here are the photos anyway:

Rouse's ran out of plates, but the box worked just great for the crawfish and shrimp boil, complete with potatoes, sausage, and corn.

Jane and Michael Stern, the hosts and founders of Roadfood.com (and authors of the Roadfood column in Gourmet magazine till it folded this year--30 years).

This is the "official cake"--yes, they sliced and served it at the end of the evening. Unbelievable!

We ended up strolling the Quarter afterwards, finding our way to Cafe du Monde for some cafe au lait. (The Tums didn't come till about 3AM....)

Having a slow morning today, resting up to hit the streets again this afternoon with Lisa's sister and her husband. Moderation, moderation, moderation....

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

After spending a nice day touring Acadiana (including the national monument and museum in Lafayette) and tasting a to-go lunch plate from Earl's (recommended by Roadfood but unfortunately sold out of the top-rated boudin by 12:15!), we camped in a spectacular state park--Tickfaw. HUGE sites, tons of wildlife (and a nature center to tell you that the unworldly screams you heard at night was a particularly large flock of barn owls), and grass a-plenty for Nick, who is in 7th heaven here.

After a great walk this morning on boardwalks over the prodigious swamps...


...we will be heading to the Camping World in Hammond and then over the Causeway (a first! 24 miles long) into NOLA.

Back to the Bayou

Can skin have whiplash? Over the last few days we've gone from Big Bend (10% humidity and severe fire danger) to green Hill Country (70% and wildflowers starting) to Louisiana (100% humidity and severe thunderstorms). Wow! What a difference a few days make.

We detoured through Austin yesterday to have coffee with our college friend, John. That almost didn't happen because we agreed to meet at the Central Market near his house (where we shopped last year when we visited). Too bad I didn't remember which Central Market was near his house. Turns out he was at the North Lamar location and we were at the South Lamar location. Thank goodness he was willing to trek south ;-)

Then we had a slog of a drive through Houston (hideous traffic) in drizzly rain and dark skies all day till we crossed over into Louisiana. Given the storm forecast, we forewent (?) the TX state park and returned to a friendly, tidy RV Park in Westlake, LA (see November 2009 post). Having a concrete pad in the rain helps alot with the dog paws. Doing a bit of laundry this morning, as the puddles start to dry and the birds sing.

The best part of the morning was finding the Lafayette NPR station. Before 7AM and Morning Edition, they play local Cajun music and speak in French. Love it. Think we'll detour into Lafayette today to do some sightseeing on our way to a state park near Hammond, LA before we hit NOLA tomorrow.

Hill Country

OK, so extended writing isn't going to happen, but here are the Cliff's Notes for the last few days.

Monday: Driving day, capped off with a dinner of TX BBQ in a lovely state park along the Blanco River

Tuesday: Tooling around Hill Country, poking around galleries and wineries, finding some geocaches, and generally having a lovely, low mileage day. The Sculpture Park was closed, but we saw a little bit of it. Every time we visit Hill Country, I want to buy property....

The real thing:

The sculpture:

The Big Bend of Texas

Outside Marfa, TX
The coolest permanent art exhibit anywhere. In the middle of the Chihuahuan desert: a Prada store.


Marfa, TX
A very cool little town in the middle of, seriously, nowhere. Full of artists and art coops, organic/local/sustainable food (who'd a'-thunk it?), and really neat architecture.



Stillwell Ranch and RV Park
(just outside northern entrance to Big Bend NP)

Can you say, funky? Sure you can, sure.



We stayed on "The Strip," a wide-open area with horse corrals, water and electric hookups, and not much else but space. (The other area was cheek-to-jowl Class As because it offered a sewer connection and cost $2.50/night more.) We preferred the space, and boy did we have some.





Not exactly the perfect place to ride out a windstorm (40mph), but it was better than driving!

Sunrise over Stillwell Ranch Campground--our patriotic neighbor's flag is even appropriately lit at night.



Big Bend National Park
Here is Lisa with a geocache "travel bug" that a new friend asked us to take to any national parks on our route. We plan to take it to Hot Springs NP and bury it there for someone else to find. (Big Bend seemed just too remote.)


The Window, up in Chisos Basin


The yucca plants were in full bloom


This rock formation is called "Mule Ears" but it is incorrectly named. That is our German shepherd's ears (with one bitten off a bit) and his long snout snoozing on the back of the dinette seat as we tool down the road.



One of my many ocotillo plant studies: in context and up close. These things are so weird in general but even stranger when blooming.




Things grow wherever they can in the desert


These folks were living right back in the early 20th century: this was once a 1200 square foot house, on a hill overlooking what used to be fertile farm land, with a double-sided fireplace made of really cool petrified wood. Can't imagine what that'd cost to build today!




Going into Santa Elena Canyon on the Rio Grande


The scale of the canyon


View as you climb up the steep trail. That's Rocksie Candu in the lower left quadrant. And those specks are people walking on the sand....


Lisa contemplating the muddy Rio Grande, from the U.S. side of the border, of course! Rest assured that the U.S. Border Patrol was out in force along the entire area. We were good and safe, although it does feel a bit odd to be asked one's citizenship inside of one's own country.


And a final shot: the long and winding road. Man, everything IS bigger in Texas.