Lake Charles, Louisiana – Day 3

The motorhome is parked at the 1,086 acre Sam Houston Jones State Park about 12 miles north of the city. We are here to enjoy Mardi Gras and will depart on February 13th.

You can read about Lake Charles by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Charles,_Louisiana

You can read all about the history of Mardi Gras in Southwest Louisiana by clicking this link…
http://www.swlamardigras.com/about/history.cfm

Yesterday we started out to explore the historical area of Lake Charles and take photos of some of the old mansions. We didn’t make it. Since her arrival in Harlingen, Texas about five weeks ago she has been wanting to buy a painting…she’s an art buff and collector. She’s been complaining…”I should have bought that one in Port Isabel…I should have bought that one in Galveston”. She made up for it yesterday…the day was spent looking for a painting to buy and she ended up buying three!

I’m not allowed to show you a photo of the paintings she bought because she wants to keep them a secret until they are hanging in her home. I’m also not allowed to tell you what she paid for them.

So here are some of the photos that I took yesterday while painting shopping. I won’t tell you which one it is…but one of the photos is of one of the paintings she bought. Since I’m not telling you which one…I’m not really telling, am I? 

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’s a mural on the side of a building commemorating 2012′s two-hundred year celebration…

After an exhausting day of painting shopping we ended our day ay Steamboat Bill’s Rated by USA Today as one of the top 10 eating places in the nation. I had the shrimp plate and Mary had the Gumbo.

Moire Mardi Gras stuff on tap for today!

Enjoying beautiful area paintings 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

WE CROSSED INTO LOUISIANA

The sun has set on Texas for us. This picture of sunset was taken at Brownsville, Texas. We crossed into Louisiana yesterday with a light rain and woke this morning to rain and fog.

Another sunset at Port Lavaca.

Port Aransas.

South Padre Island.

Wadsworth.

Port Arthur.

When I’m in Murphys, I rarely go outside and watch the sunset. But, on the road, the sunset is a treat as close as your table. Beautiful sunrises, too.

Today is a bad weather day and we will do the laundry and move to Sam Houston Jones State Park, named for a former Louisiana Governor. And then…Mardi Gras Lake Charles style, which is to say, old-fashioned Mardi Gras. Less commercial than New Orleans. Probably not as exciting, but unique.

 

LOOKING BACK

We like it here in Port Arthur at the American Legion so much, we stayed an extra day and just lazed around. I’m reading a Mary Higgins Clark mystery and played with picture files most of the day. I have to qualify my book. I enjoyed her early books and then at some point she got sloppy and so formulaic you could guess the ending in the first five chapters. I quit reading her books.Recently,  I picked up another, Night Time Is My Time and hey, she has redeemed herself. I get in the mood for mystery and true crime books. But, so far, Ann Rule is the best true crime writer. My recent favorite books? None are genre books. Night Whispers by Judith McNaught, Before Women Had Wings, by Connie May Fowler, Fortune’s Rocks, by Anita Shreve.

Looking back at pictures over the past few weeks, I’ll just post them willy- nilly. But first, let me warn you :

I KNOW YOU wouldn’t.

A beautiful sculpture of a local hero at Rockport.

Jim taking pictures on the streets of Galveston.

Remember the Naked Mermaid store?  Well, they weren’t ALL naked.

I think this mermaid is drunk. I call her the floozie mermaid.

Getting ready for Mardi Gras in Galveston.

Quite a catch. These were caught with a rod and reel, when sport fishing was really a sport. It isn’t against the law here in Texas to pull your pick-up truck next to the river, turn on a big spotlight and shine it into the water, and net the fish up that are attracted to the light. Night fishing or frogging in every state I’ve lived in is not allowed, it puts the critter at such a disadvantage. Can’t call it sportsman-like. It is slaughter.

Another photo of the great Miss Joplin from The Gulf Coast Museum.

And exquisite glass pieces too.

Beautiful, aren’t they?

The way I look at it is this:   I can’t afford beautiful glass like this. But, I can collect pictures of beautiful objects and keep them forever to look at and enjoy again and again.

I have a hard time to fathom the skill and technique it must take to create these pieces. There is a need for those of us who can only appreciate such beauty.

These tiny birds are not magnificent long-billed water birds, but cute little common street birds. I think I must like all birds, even the pesty jays, woodpeckers and crows.

Indelible impressions of the Texas Gulf Coast are the many boats at many marinas. The shimmering shadows in water, the blue, white, and gray colors.  Lovely.

The black gold that put Texas on forefront of the economy.

This is a common practice to honor an artist who has died. Her paint brushes in the back of a turtle sculpture.

So, this is Texas. This morning, the Commander of the American Legion Post we are about to leave, invited us in for omelets with he and his wife and dog. Bar none. The friendliest post we’ve ever been to. What a way to end our stay here. Unforgettable. We will unload in Louisiana by the end of the day. Goodbye Texas, for now.

Port Arthur, Texas – Day 5

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 4

The motorhome is parked at American Legion Post #7 in Port Arthur, Texas. We expect to depart tomorrow.

Note: Our Internet account starts a new cycle tomorrow, 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 about 12 miles to the Spindletop Museum. This is the location of the first oil gusher in Texas which on January 10, 1901 led to the beginning to such companies as Gulf, Texaco, Exxon, Mobil ans Sunoco. Here’s the museum’s official website link…
http://www.spindletop.org/

Here’s more information by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindletop

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…

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

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

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

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

Galveston, Texas – Day 4

We are still parked at VFW Post #8248 just north of Galveston, Texas.

We expected to leave yesterday but strong winds held us over for an extra day…so we did laundry, grocery shopping and other odds and ends. The winds have subsided so we now expect to depart later this morning.

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.

Here are some other photos I took over the last couple of days which did not get published because of our “photo diet”…

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…

Enjoying the histories of the places we visit 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…)

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

Galveston, Texas – Day 3

Yesterday we drove the Bronco the about 15 miles from our parking spot at VFW Post #8248 to downtown Galveston, Texas.

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 went to visit the tall ship Elissa and then wandered around the area known as The Strand. Lunch at the Gumbo Bar where Mary had the Seafood Gumbo and I had the Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. Galveston has numerous attractions which fall into the “Touristy” category for which there is no appeal for Mary or myself. So…later this morning we’ll be moving on.

About one week ago the electric window on the passenger side of the Bronco quit working. I bought a replacement motor at Napa and first thing yesterday morning I had it installed by a body shop next to the VFW.

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…

The old electric window motor…

You can read about the tall ship Elissa by clicking this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elissa_%28ship%29

New deck planks for the Elissa…

Enjoying the histories of the places we visit 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…)

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