Maurice, Louisiana Day 2 (GA421)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.

Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

---

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort in La Conner, Washington. I’ll depart here August 13th.

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted March 8, 2013…

 

 

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/

 

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/return-to-vivian-alexander/

 

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Forecast for today is mostly cloudy and 69 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

 

 

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

 

 

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

 

 

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

Maurice, Louisiana Day 1 (GA420)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.

Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

---

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort in La Conner, Washington. I’ll depart here August 13th.

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted March 7, 2013…

 

 

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/

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/a-master-craftsman-faberge/

 

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Forecast for today is partly sunny and 67 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

 

 

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

 

 

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

 

 

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

COUSINS AND COUSINS-A REUNION

Toni Moore is my cousin by marriage. Her husband of 26 years, Commander James Moore of the Sheriff’s Department (deceased) is my first cousin. Our fathers were brothers.  But, our relationship goes deeper than that. I attended High School with Toni and introduced her to Jim. While visiting the archive, I discovered she was planning a family reunion and she asked me to join them. The afternoon of the Archive meeting, March 16th, I went with her to Costco to shop. Toni is handicapped and can’t drive. On the 17th, it was St. Patrick’s Day, she took me out to dinner for corned beef and cabbage. I think we licked the plates clean.

Her oldest son is Kurt Moore. He and my son Ken are close in age. We raised our kids together, often camping since no one had any money in those days. We all lived on tight budgets.

Her middle son, Todd, was closest to my son Doug’s age, and the two of them were pals growing up. Toni’s youngest son, Barry recently died and everyone is still trying to heal from loss. Todd lives nearby and is indispensable, taking Toni to her appointments, shopping and helping Todd keep up the place. He has one daughter, Briana, and I somehow failed to get a picture of her and her boyfriend.

The relationships get complicated for me to keep straight. Kurt’s youngest children Teddy and Alex, with Gramma Toni are the reason for the reunion. They live on the East coast with their mother and visit twice a year. They normally come for Easter vacation and this year came early. So, Toni planned an early Easter.

Always smiling, Leslie Nolan, is Bob Moore’s partner, who is a brother to Jim.  He doesn’t like having his picture taken and ruins your picture, if he has a chance to.  You have to get one surreptitiously.

Here he is with his nephew, Teddy.

Kurt’s oldest daughter, Sandy arrived with her husband Josh.  Kurt’s son, John is serving in the Army and couldn’t attend.

Now, this is Grandpa Kurt, hauling Sandy’s two newest members of the family over his shoulder into the back yard. He knows a little about how to handle young boys. They are Caleb and Jacob ages six and four, recently adopted.

It rained off and on all day, but no one melted. The kids played bean bag toss. Emma, Sandy’s daughter teamed with Teddy and Alexandria, Sandy’s half-brother and sister, and her father Josh.

Emma gets a big jump closer because she is the shortest and youngest in the game. Cousin works as well as any moniker, and “cousin” Teddy doesn’t mind.

As the day went on, the kids turned to hunting for treasure. Caleb is trying to figure out how to get up in the tree holding an egg.

An egg hiding in plain sight, up high, gives the older kids a shot at the eggs. Some contain money, some contain candy or little toys.

Heavy competition comes with a smile as Bob and Josh pair up with…

…Todd and Kurt.

Looks like Josh nailed it. The rules are much like horseshoes.

The kids enjoyed their treasures. Emma, in Easter finery, with a full bag.

Jacob enjoyed a green chick that is special because it has a squeaker inside.

Caleb liked his rubber Easter chick, too.

After dinner, everyone enjoyed dessert. Emma looking sweet 16 instead of 12 with frosting pink lipstick.

Alexandria, kissable in blue, is a freshman in High School.

Emma with her frosting lipstick plants one on cousin Alexandria.

Caleb wanted to try my camera. A quick learner, he took a bunch of pictures and did quite well.

 

This picture by Caleb is a tad blurry. But, not bad for a six year old’s first time with a sizable camera.

This one was my favorite, where he caught his little brother taking pictures with my phone.  Maybe photography in his future, but without a doubt, a good time was had by all. HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE.

 

 

HANGTOWN FRY.

Blogging about Jackson history yesterday put me in mind of Placerville, which was known as Hangtown in the old days. And, I had a visual reminder as well, this coin.

Many stories exist on how this name was acquired, the most famous story involved a colorful event that occurred in January of 1849. A gambler named Lopez gained a lot of attention for his big winnings at a local saloon. After he retired for the evening, several men tried to overpower him. Lopez fought back, and with the help of others, the robbers were captured. During their “flogging”, three of the robbers were also accused of being wanted for a murder and robbery.

With no more evidence than that, a short 30 minute trial took place and a unanimous “guilty” verdict was given. The crowd demanded that the men be sentenced to “death by hanging” and the rest was history. The famous hanging tree once stood in Elstner’s Hay Yard, next to the Jackass Inn. Today, the original stump from the old tree remains in the cellar of “The Hangman’s Tree” tavern on Historic Main Street.  (Information from Placerville Historical So.)

By other accounts, there were plenty of hangings in Hangtown over gold disputes and disreputable characters, gamblers, con men taking advantage of local miners claims.

  By 1850, the temperance league and a few local churches had begun to request that a more friendly name be bestowed upon the town. The name was changed in 1854 when the City of Placerville was incorporated. At its incorporation Placerville was the third largest town in California. In 1857 the county seat was then moved from Coloma to Placerville, where it remains today.

There you have it, but my own memories of moving to the Mother Lode was eating my first Hangtown Fry. It was a delightfully, greasy sandwich filled with fried onions, green peppers and oysters to which you could add steak sauce or Worcestershire and lettuce on a hard french roll. Yum. I’ve made them at home. The key is not to overcook the oysters.

But, I’ve learned since there is a legend behind the Hangtown Fry.

Legend has it that a 49’er hit a glory hole, an incredibly rich pocket of gold nuggets. He walked into the El Dorado Hotel restaurant in Hangtown, now Placerville California, and asked the waiter what was the most expensive item on the menu. The waiter answered that would be one of three things, oysters, which were tinned and shipped all the way from Boston, Bacon, which was scarce, and Eggs, which were also scarce and hard to get to the Motherlode without breaking in a bumpy stage-coach ride.  The prospector answered, fix them all on one plate and bring it to me.

Another story claims it was a prisoners last dinner and he chose items hard to get to delay his hanging because it took several weeks to get oysters. Though available in San Francisco bay, they would spoil and had to come around the horn in cans.  So was born the ‘Hangtown Fry’.

It was a San Francisco Restaurant that named it and kept it on their menu for 160 years. I don’t even know if you can buy one in Placerville. But, there are many variations on that dish, as omelet and a sandwich. Keeping the oysters tender. Coat them in flour, saute in butter, then pour the eggs over last. All manner of herbs can be added. And, restaurants continually refine and add to the Hangtown Fry.

There you have it folks. Enjoy.

 

VEGAN AND CARNIVORES UNITE.

I stole this photo by Ross McDonald from Mother Jones Magazine.

And this quote from Josh Tetrick a vegan and founder of Hampton Foods Company:

United States’ eggs are produced by birds pumped full of corn, soy, and antibiotics in giant rows of cages. “Female birds are packed body to body in tiny cages so small they can’t flap their wings, They never see the sunlight. They never touch the soil.”

Tetrick has two engineers, six biochemists, and 11 food scientists  on a single-minded quest to hack the egg and its 22 functional properties.  The goal is to replace all factory farmed eggs in the US market. The team has looked at nearly 1,000 plant proteins.

These entrepreneurs are determined to realign plant proteins into tasting and feeling exactly like meat. After the egg, the chicken, pork, beef.

He asks, when you eat a muffin, do you know, or think about the fact you are contributing to the way animals on megafarms are treated? Since a third of US eggs are used in prepared foods, muffins, pasta, dressings, breads, mayonnaise, that is their first market goal. Then, egg-beaters style eggs that people will use in their omelets.

He attracted venture capital from Bill Gates ,Twitter founder and other rich guys because they tasted and believe in the product. They also believe that most Americans do not like the corporate megafarm way their food is raised. And if they can realign molecules in plant DNA to mimic animal DNA, it won’t taste like tofurkey, it will taste like the real thing. Getting it to mimic hard muscle is still difficult, but, they are betting on it. There are many companies who have tried beyond eggs and beyond meat, some failed, but many are improving the quality of fake meat. China is highly invested in creating vegetarian meat. It is only a matter of time.  In 2014, whole foods will begin selling meatless chicken strips. It is 55% more economical to produce vegetarian meat than the megafarm way.

Not everyone will give up muscle meat. It is a choice. But, vegans and carnivores can shake hands on some things and share the progress toward a better planet.

Now,  if I can find the company on the Stock exchange? I’m ready.

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