Baker, Louisiana – Day 1

Yesterday we drove the motorhome the about 75 miles from Duson to Baker, about 5 miles north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The journey, mostly on Interstate Highway 10,  was a difficult one with strong gusty winds from the south hitting the motorhome broadside on the passenger side. Along the way we crossed the Atchafalaya Swamp…the largest river swamp in the United States. The bridge across the swamp is 18.2 miles long. You can read about the Atchafalaya Swamp by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchafalaya_Basin

The X in the below Google Earth image marks the tourist information center in the middle of the swamp where we stopped to empty our waste tanks and fill our fresh water tank. The V locates where we are currently parked at VFW Post #4224. The reason we are parked here is because Mary flies from Baton Rouge Airport to return to her home in California tomorrow morning.

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…

Here are some photos that I took at the tourist information center…

You can see some beautiful photos the Atchafalaya Swamp by clicking this link…
http://www.kuriositas.com/2010/09/atchafalaya-biggest-swamp-in-states.html

You can read about the swamp people by clicking this link…
http://www.history.com/shows/swamp-people/articles/the-atchafalaya-swamp

Here’s where we are parked at VFW Post #4224. They have graciously provided an electrical hookup. As I write this morning it is raining heavily. It’s supposed to clear later today with a very pleasant weather forecast for the next week…

And the usual dinette photo…

I hope to get Mary back by mid-April…right after tax time is done. 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!

Enjoying the Atchafalaya Swamp 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

Vermillion Ville, Lafayette, Louisiana

The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #9822 in Duson, Louisiana. We’ll depart later this morning.

Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about eight miles and spent four hours visiting Vermillion Ville in Lafayette, Louisiana. You can read all about this Cajun/Creole heritage and Folklife Park by clicking on their official website link…
http://www.bayouvermiliondistrict.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…

After touring the grounds we enjoyed a delightful chicken and sausage gumbo for lunch. Then we attended a great Cajun Music jam session which I’ll tell you about soon.

Enjoying Acadian villages 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

Nolan Barras – St. Martinsville, Louisiana

The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #9822 in Duson, Louisiana. It’s been such a pleasant and quiet place to stay along with conveniently located to things we’ve wanted to see. We now are planning to depart here tomorrow.

Lisa Coldwell from Vivian Alexander Gallery and Museum told us of Nolan Barras. Yesterday we drove the Bronco about 25 miles to St. Martinsville to visit this 86-year-old craftsman. He lives alone in a house in which he keeps all of the curtains closed which made the inside of the house quite dark…and his work clutter is everywhere. Since I do not like flash photography…both conditions made the photography difficult for me. He told me he once was a machinist. He has been doing this wood crafting for the last 36 years. In addition he is an accomplished painter.

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…

The day started with an unusual sky caused by airplane contrails…

Here’s Mary getting down a painting that she bought…

He lost his wife six years ago. He said she would be appalled that he has moved to working in the kitchen area where it is warmer than his workshop…

He also told us he has no children interested in continuing his work. Kind of sad his skills will not be carried on into the future.

Enjoying meeting master craftsmen is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

Since Mary will fly back to her home in California this coming Tuesday…in the afternoon we went to the local UPS store so she could have some of the things she has bought along the way sent to her home rather than trying to carry them on the airplane.

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

Maurice, Louisiana – Day 2

The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #9822 in Duson, Louisiana. It’s been such a pleasant and quiet place to stay along with conveniently located to things we;ve wanted to see. We now are planning to depart here on Sunday.

Mary was so enthralled by the Vivian Alexander Gallery and Museum…she needed a second visit. If you missed yesterday’s Blog entry…here’s the link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-7hq

So, yesterday we drove the Bronco the about 10 miles south to visit the Vivian Alexander Gallery and Museum once again.. Here is their official website link…
http://www.vivianalexander.com/

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…

More examples of their work…

I spent some time with Alex Coldwell who told me of some of the procedures involved in the process. He buys the eggs already cleaned and sterilized…ready to be worked on. Here’s a photo of a large Rhea Egg…

Here’s an oven he designed for part of the process…

Here…his daughter Liza is working on an egg…

Linda..an artist/apprentice works on her design…

Enjoying unusual local galleries is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

Since Mary will fly back to her home in California this coming Tuesday…in the afternoon we went to the local UPS store so she could have some of the things she has bought along the way sent to her home rather than trying to carry them on the airplane.

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

Maurice, Louisiana

The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #9822 in Duson, Louisiana.

Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about 10 miles south to visit the Town of Maurice, Louisiana…home of the Vivian Alexander Gallery and Museum.

Ever since Mary ran across the brochure more than a month ago…she has been reminding me regularly that we needed to visit this place. I must be honest and say that if Mary were not with me at this time…I most likely would not have stopped here on my own. I will confess that I found it to be an unusual and interesting museum. Here is their official website link…
http://www.vivianalexander.com/

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…

The workshop, gallery and museum are within this building…

81 year-old Alex Caldwell told us of his unique only-one-in-the-world operation…

Creating pieces following a Faberge’ design…

Among his clients are Joan Rivers…

And Farrah Fawcett…

Here are examples of some of his work…

Mary bought these last four pieces…

Enjoying unusual local museums 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

ERATH, LOUISIANA

Yesterday, we drove to the small town of Erath, pronounced ee-rath, to visit their museum. A wonderful website intrigued us and off we went. We had an amusing introduction because the museum wasn’t open. We called all of the volunteers listed on a bronze plaque, obviously printed with high hopes, and only one was a working number with a message machine.  The City Hall claimed they had nothing to do with it. The cafe number was good, and an employee pointed to a paper-sign as the right number to call, and it, too, was disconnected. We kind of chomped at the bit and Jim called back to City Hall and asked to speak to the Mayor. The secretary there finally located someone to come and open the doors. I KNOW what it is like in a small town where the barber puts a “gone fishing” sign on his door, or the little museum run by volunteers has a sign, “Sorry, Gerta is sick today.”

Erath is the home of D.L. Menard, the musician we had just seen in concert at Eunice (back a few blogs).

There were a lot of pictures of Menard and this tapestry of Hank Williams, obviously a very popular figure in the South Land.

Other notable characters from Erath?  Several jockeys. I managed to get pictures of pictures of two of them.

In fact, there are some really great things in this museum, but it is so poorly presented, one cannot hope to find it without help. Volunteers uneducated in acessioning and display can’t be faulted. Putting it kindly, it is a mess. They are funded by the University and someone should have helped them put it together.

Artifacts are jumbled together. Hundreds of pictures, 3 X 5,’s are framed and you can’t possibly make sense of them or read what is written beneath them unless they are on a table or low on the walls. The walls are literally wallpapered with these photos.

Artifacts cover other artifacts until confusion reigns. The best pictures should have been blown up. Small ones filed in a rolodex fashion for people to read through or not. Well, now that I’ve complained, I must get to the meat of why this museum is worth visiting, if you are in the area.

Warren A Perrin, a local attorney, made a petition to Queen Elizabeth to apologize to the Acadian People for running them off their land and forcing them to move from Canada. Many people died as a result.  To everyone’s surprise, the queen agreed. A copy of the proclamation in English and French is above. Double click it to view what is written.

The ceremony and deliverance of the proclamation was held in Nova Scotia, where the Acadians had settled. On the right is the Queen’s Representative, dressed in clothing similar in style to clothing Queen Elizabeth wears. A very proud moment for Perrin and his delegation and a very important document for the Acadian population of Southern Louisiana.

I always look for an item I’ve never seen before and I found it. But, it is unidentified, the black studded tool at the bottom of the picture. If anyone out there knows what it is, let me know.

This case was for a storekeeper selling needles. The type of needle is described and pictured on the lid. The customer could then choose a small tube of needles with a wooden “thimble” cap. Something else I’d never seen before.

I remember buying needles in packages like this. Even those are a thing of the past.

An interesting weapons case. Notice the skull on the pistol upper left corner. And the jawbone of an animal knife-front

This carving depicting the Acadians gathering together to leave their chosen homeland in Nova Scotia was given to the museum by Evangeline Parrish.

And as usual in this country, the ravages of hurricanes and flooding. The museum had to toss 3,000 artifacts damaged by Ike.

There is much to see here if you have the time and a ladder. Here, a 1930′s photo men taking bets on a cockfight.  I love the hats. Almost every man wore a hat in those days. We headed home and watched the sunset. I watched it while riding my bike.

Erath, Louisiana

The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #9822 in Duson, Louisiana.

Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about 20 miles south to visit the Town of Erath (population 2,187) which you can read about by clicking this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erath,_Louisiana

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…

Here are two murals of the side of the bank…

The main intersection in town…

Our primary purpose was to visit the Acadian Museum which is located in the old bank building which you can read about by clicking this link…
http://www.acadianmuseum.com/museum.html

A fun aside. We arrived at 1:17 PM and no one was there. After calling all five numbers (some had been disconnected and the others we left messages) volunteer Ramona showed up about 2:00 PM…

If you remember my Blog of a couple of days ago of 81 year-old D.L. Menard singing at the Liberty Theater…this is a photo of him as a younger man…Erath is his hometown…

Click on the next photo to read it…

This section of the museum was devoted to D.L.  Menard…

This photo describes the next photo…

Filed by a local attorney…it demands an apology from the Queen of England. It was received from the Queen’s representative…

As you can see from the above photos…this museum was crammed full of local history and made for an enjoyable visit. It was worth the wait to get in. 

Enjoying local museums 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

Abbeville, Louisiana

The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #9822 in Duson, Louisiana.

Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about 15 miles south to visit the Town of Abbeville which you can read about by clicking this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbeville,_Louisiana

First stop was in the central square where there are some beautiful huge old Oak trees. I would say without a doubt that these Oak trees are the largest we have seen during this current visit to Louisiana. Several of the branches are so long and heavy they have to be supported by metal poles…

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…

Then we crossed the street into the Abbeville Museum in which the docent Cheryl was very knowledgeable and helpful by describing all of the artifacts. You can read about the museum by clicking their official website link…
http://www.abbevillemuseum.org/

In early November, Abbeville has a giant 5,000 egg omelet festival which you can read about by clicking this link…
http://www.giantomelette.org/

After Hurricane Rita in 2005, Abbeville was under water…

A short walk to the nearby church…

Around the side of the church we saw these huge Steen’s syrup cans. We didn’t stop in, but here’s their website link…
http://www.steensyrup.com/

To the cemetery in the back of the church…

Back at the motorhome later in the afternoon I shot these two photos of the sunset which I decided to do in black and white…

All in all…another nice day.

Enjoying historical towns 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

Duson, Louisiana

If you remember yesterday’s Blog entry http://wp.me/pDCku-7ea

we were parked in Eunice, Louisiana. We were here in 2010 and had such a good time at the Liberty Theater…we just had to come back since we were in the area.

Normally it’s two-hours of great Cajun Music and dancing. When we put it on our schedule…we had no idea this weekend’s program was a tribute to Hank Williams, Sr. which you can read all about by clicking this link…
http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20130301/LIFESTYLE/303010308/Tribute-keeps-legacy-Hank-Williams-alive

Much to our pleasant surprise three of our new friends from Lake Charles were also there. Ranola, Sue and Cliff…

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…

I just love the delightful Cajun accent. You can hear Ranola’s by clicking this link…
http://youtu.be/N6hyWDW6zSU

The program featured the Jambalaya Cajun Band with four performers doing Hank Williams songs.

The program opened with Hugh Harris…the youngest of the four…and closest to Hank’s death age…29…

To see a brief video of Hugh Harris’s imitation…clicking this link…
http://youtu.be/mAOZU9sj6i8

Other performers included…Pope Huval…

Steel guitar player Terry Huval…

And 81 year-old D.L. Menard…

To see a short video of all four performers closing the show…click this link…
http://youtu.be/p2plXgBBQwc

It ended up being a great program which we all  enjoyed!

Yesterday we drove the motorhome the about 40 miles southeast to Duson only a few miles from Lafayette, Louisiana.

Along the way we passed through the City of Rayne…Frog Capital of the World! To read why Rayne claims this title, click this link…
http://www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/rayne/index.html

Here’s a photo of Mary standing next to a 12 foot-high frog seen as you enter the city…

They have frogs all around the city. Here are a few…

In Duson we ended up parking at VFW Post #9822 where we expect to stay while we explore the nearby area for the next 2-3 days. Sunday Bingo draws a big crowd…

As usual, here’s the dinette window shot…

After a long, full day on Saturday we enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing Sunday afternoon. Back to work today…seeing the sights!

Enjoying musical concerts 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

Chicot State Park, Louisiana – Day 5

The motorhome is parked at Chicot State Park near Ville Platte, Louisiana. We are scheduled to depart here today.

Yesterday we took the Bronco and drove around some area back roads and because we need to do some grocery shopping, we ended up back in Ville Platte about 10 miles south of our parking location.

One of the places we ended up visiting is Teet’s Food Store which enjoys a reputation for the best smoked meats in the area.

Lawrence “Teet” DeVille founded the business in 1995. We had the pleasure of meeting him. He speaks with a heavy French accent when he told us about his business. The business is now under the ownership of son Chris who has worked there for over 25 years. Third generation Luke also works there but was not there when we visited. You can buy their products from their official website link…
http://stores.teetsfoodstore.com/StoreFront.bok

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…

Lawrence and Ruby DeVille a long tie ago…

Lawrence and Chris…

They took us out back and showed us the smokehouse that has been in operation since 1974…

They use oak wood to start a fire in this container, then wheel it into the smokehouse.,,

Depending on how much meat is in the smokehouse, the process takes 6-8 hours…

The finished products…

A photo of the original store that was across the street…

An award from a 2012 professional competition…

Mary bought several smoked meats that we will be soon enjoying.

Ville Platte also has a couple of other signs that lots of other places should have…

Enjoying local authentic foods 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