Baker, Louisiana – Day 6
March 16, 2013
Note: Mary flew from Baton Rouge Airport, Louisiana on March 12 to her home in California. I’m hoping to get her back with me by mid-April. My current plans are to stay here for a few days and then start SLOWLY drifting north along the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tennessee where I’ll then turn northeast heading for New England. Can’t go north too fast because it’s still cold up there! I now expect to leave on Monday.
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The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #4224 in Baker, a few miles north of Baton Rouge.
Yesterday was another interesting day. I drove the Bronco the about 10 miles to the African-American Museum in Baton Rouge. They are located at 528 South Boulevard and have no website that I could find. Located adjacent to the New St. Luke’s Baptist Church and partially under the overhead of Interstate Highway 10, Founder-Curator Sadie Roberts-Joseph provided a most interesting visit. She has been dedicated to this labor of love for 12 years.
The official name of the museum is the Odell S. Williams Now & Then Museum of African-American History. Odell S. Williams taught African-American History to elementary school children in Baton Rouge. She passed away in 2009.
Here are some of the photos that I took…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
69-year-old Sadie Roberts-Joseph is an intelligent, knowledgeable and well-spoken individual. She exhumes compassion, love, consideration and giving to all human beings. After my one hour there, I felt that my life had been enriched by my visit with her…
On the way back to the motorhome I had another nice experience. I stopped by American Legion Post #502. The American Legion is currently celebrating its 94th birthday and this post has been in existence for 85 years. Other than the bar tender, the only person there was Mr. Bell, an 88-year-old World War II Veteran. He told me the post has less than one-half dozen World War II Veterans left. We spoke for about 45 minutes and he related some of his war stories with me. Another enriching experience!
Enjoying interesting local museums and meeting World War II Veterans are more joys in the life of a full-time RVer!
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
Baker, Louisiana – Day 3
March 13, 2013
Note: Mary flew from Baton Rouge Airport, Louisiana yesterday to her home in California. I’m hoping to get her back with me by mid-April. My current plans are to stay here for a few days and then start SLOWLY drifting north along the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tennessee where I’ll then turn northeast heading for New England. Can’t go north too fast because it’s still cold up there!
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The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #4224 in Baker, a few miles north of Baton Rouge.
Yesterday I drove the Bronco the about five miles to the Baton Rouge Airport…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
On the way back to the motorhome, I stopped by to visit American Legion Post #503…
During my one hour visit I enjoyed meeting and talking with Steve, Duke, Al and Commander Robert. A great bunch of fun guys…
They gave me a souvenir license plate…
Enjoying meeting fellow veterans is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
Lake Arthur, Louisiana – Day 3
February 22, 2013
The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #403 in Lake Arthur, Louisiana.
You can read about Lake Arthur, Louisiana by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Arthur,_Louisiana
Yesterday we waited out the weather forecast of severe thunderstorms with large hail and significant risk of tornadoes. Fortunately, the tornado warnings ended at 7:00 PM with none occurring. We did receive some heavy rain squalls and some wind.
Every Thursday the American Legion members go into the post kitchen and cook up a meal. Yesterday it was Jambalaya and yummy…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
Lake Arthur is located along Louisiana Highway 14…we’re still in French-speaking country…
This is Main Street Lake Arthur…
We were told not to leave Lake Arthur until we experienced a Bloody Mary at the LA Bar. Mary drinks them, I do not. She said it was unusual and tasty…
We started to stroll along the waterfront…got as far as the old Oak tree before a rain squall drove us back to the Bronco…
A good portion of our day was spent reading our books. Our departure plans remain undecided at this time. Another enjoyable day in Louisiana!
Enjoying Louisiana is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
Lake Arthur, Louisiana – Day 2
February 21, 2013
The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #403 in Lake Arthur, Louisiana.
We had planned to depart today…but the weather forecast is terrible…severe thunderstorms with large hail and significant risk of tornadoes. Since we are safe here we’ve decided to stay. Then the locals keep on inviting us to see activities here, so I expect we’ll be here another two-three days.
Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about 15 miles southeast to the small town of Gueydan which claims the motto…Duck Capital of America. You can read about Gueydan by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gueydan,_Louisiana
First stop was at the museum…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
Next to the Ellis Stansel Rice Mill. To help you understand how rice and crawfish grow in the same fields at the same time, you can read this New York Times link…
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/us/in-louisiana-farmers-use-rice-fields-as-crayfish-ponds.html
The mud buggy used to work the fields…
The orange top devices are the crawfish traps…
This company bought the daily production of about 1,000 pounds…
The final rice product…
The local brochure tells us to head south on Highway 91 to see waterfowl. Here’s a link about the birds…
http://www.gueydan.org/About_Waterfow.html
Another enjoyable day in Louisiana!
Enjoying Louisiana is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
Sulphur, Louisana
February 6, 2013
Yesterday we drove the motorhome the about 45 miles from Port Arthur, Texas to Sulphur, Louisiana. As you might have guessed, Sulphur got its name because of the sulphur mines in the area.
The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #179 because it was a convenient place to spend the night before checking into Sam Houston Jones State Park later this morning. We’ll be in the Lake Charles, Louisiana for the next week while we do Mardi Gras!
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
And the view from the dinette window…
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Louisiana. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
Port Arthur, Texas – Day 5
February 5, 2013
The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #7 in Port Arthur, Texas. We expect to depart from here and cross into Louisiana later this morning
Note: Our Internet account started a new cycle today and so we can end the “photo diet” we’ve been on for the last few days. If you care and are interested, you can see the photos you missed by clicking the following four Picasa Website links…
17 photos from Wadsworth, Texas https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/WadsworthTexas?authkey=Gv1sRgCIj27-uG9tj_4AE
21 photos from Freeport, Texas https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/FreeportTexas02?authkey=Gv1sRgCPSur8vYpez7aw
40 photos from Galveston, Texas https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/GalvestonTexas
123 photos from Port Arthur, Texas https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/PortArthurTexas
Here are a few photos from Port Arthur that I took a couple of days ago…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
We don’t often see a Buddhist Temple…
You can read about this place by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chua_Buu_Mon
Just two blocks away the 3,000 mile Intracostal Waterway passes by…
You can read about this waterway by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracoastal_Waterway
Enjoying interesting area sites is another joy of the full-time RVing life style!
Today I thought I would share with you the route taken so far on our two-year circumnavigation that began in November, 2011. This is my sixth and Mary’s second circumnavigation…
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
Port Arthur, Texas – Day 3
February 3, 2013
The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #7 in Port Arthur, Texas. We expect to depart on Tuesday.
Note: Our Internet account starts a new cycle on February 5th, We are currently approaching our maximum allowable usage. Consequently we’ll be on a “photo diet”…posting fewer pictures than usual until then.
Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about four miles to the Museum of the Gulf Coast where we spent an enjoyable two hours. It was a much larger and nicer museum than I expected for a city with a population of only 53,000. As mentioned yesterday, Janis Joplin is the city’s most famous ex-citizen. The museum highlights many other famous area musicians, sports and political people. Here’s the official museum website link…
http://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/
Here are some photos that I took…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
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Enjoying interesting area museums is another joy of the full-time RVing life style!
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…(look closely on the Texas coast right next to Louisiana…)
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
Port Arthur, Texas – Day 2
February 2, 2013
The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #7 in Port Arthur, Texas. We expect to depart on Tuesday.
Note: Our Internet account starts a new cycle on February 5th, We are currently approaching our maximum allowable usage. Consequently we’ll be on a “photo diet”…posting fewer pictures than usual until then.
The below Google Earth image shows the area. A is the American Legion Post where we are parked and L shows the location of Larry’s French Market and Cajun Restaurant which I’ll discuss in a moment. The other pins help me find things in Port Arthur which is less than 10 miles from Louisiana…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
First stop of the day was at the Texas Artists Museum where local artists show their skills. Here’s their website link…
http://www.texasartistmuseum.com/
Next we stopped at the childhood home of Port Arthur’s most famous ex-citizen…Janis Joplin. If you are unfamiliar with who she was, you can read all about her by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janis_Joplin
Next we went to Larry’s French Market and Cajun Restaurant as recommended by our new friends at the American Legion. We arrived about 2:30 PM which is when I took the below photos while a CD of beautiful Cajun Music played in the background. This was only a scouting trip as we returned at 5:00 PM so that Mary could have the Cajun buffet. I had the Boiled Shrimp Lovers Special… 
Fortunately I took the above photos in mid-afternoon for when we returned at 5:00 PM the place was packed with people. The food was very good…
but unfortunately the band was terrible. They played rock music and very badly. When leaving I complained to the floor manager. He told me it was their first night and that they would not be back. ‘Nuff said. Here’s Larry’s website link…
http://www.larrysfrenchmarket.com/
Enjoying delicious area meals is another joy of the full-time RVing life style!
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…(look closely on the Texas coast right next to Louisiana…)
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
PORT ARTHUR AMERICAN LEGION
February 1, 2013
We left Galveston and took the Ferry over to Bolivar Island.
Gulls…
…and these sleek black birds follow the ferries and take a ride with the cars and trucks. These black birds resemble crows, but I don’t know what they are.
The Port is loaded with oil activity. This tanker, anchored off shore, showing empty. Others were full. Plenty of oil derricks and oil rigs working this area.
We didn’t find a suitable place to stay on Bolivar Island. We took a short causeway to the mainland on the way to Port Arthur and pulled in to American Legion Post #7.
We usually go in and socialize and have a drink in support of the post. I always hate to go in because my clothes end up smelling like smoke. I was glad I did. We had just come from a friendly post but this one was exceptional. A great bunch of people; everyone came over and included us and told a little about themselves. It is all because of “Tex”, the young commander showing Jim their wall of honor. He is 53 years old, and gung ho, energetic and organized. They have 221 members. They bought a former country club building with a swimming pool for their new post. Four years later, it is paid for. They have many family parties and support local soccer, football, baseball, swim teams, whatever. They attract new members by being big supporters of their community.
They have bingo nights, and special dinners frequently. Dinners are free to members. The aluminum beer cans pay for the dinners.
One of their members carved this cross. It represents 400 hours of work. We’ve been to so many American Legions and VFW’s that are struggling. Tex should be a veterans consultant and assist these groups to get back on their feet again. We’ve promised to bring ideas to other groups as we travel about the country. Post #7 is having a big Super Bowl Party and we’ve decided to stay for that on Sunday.
I got to talking to a guy by the name of Glyn Simmons. He played guitar with several bands, both western and rock and roll. He wrote songs that have been picked up by the pros. We sang one of them I’d heard, “Pearly Gates”, and a bunch of other songs from the 50′s. He told us about every musician from the area and where to find Janis Joplin’s house. I couldn’t believe the number of famous singers that hail from Port Arthur or nearby. When he was in service, he was getting his butch cut at the same time as Elvis. He told him, “Hey, if you can sing, you could sing your way out of here because you look so much like Elvis.” Elvis told him, “I am Elvis!” He played music during the service with Elvis. Elvis invited him to go to Germany with him but Glyn’s Momma wanted him close to home. He said he made the right decision. He was so interesting. He had a wallet full of photos. What a trip. I can tell I’m going to enjoy our stay here.
Port Arthur, Texas – Day 1
February 1, 2013
Yesterday we drove the motorhome the about 100 miles from La Marque to Port Arthur, Texas.
During our travels yesterday we had a twenty-minute ride on the ferry from Galveston Island to Bolivar Island then continued directly along the Gulf of Mexico almost all the way to Port Arthur.
The below Google Earth image shows the area. V is the VFW Post where we had been parked for four days and A shows our current location at the American Legion…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
The Gulf of Mexico was directly on our right for many miles…
American Legion Post #7…
And the view from the dinette window…
The folks at American Post #7 are VERY FRIENDLY! We expect to depart here on Monday.
Enjoying occasional ferry rides is another joy of the full-time RVing life style!
The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Texas. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…(look closely on the Texas coast right next to Louisiana…)
Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
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