Baker, Louisiana – Day 8

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 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’ll be departing from here later this morning.
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The motorhome is currently parked at VFW Post #4224 in Baker, a few miles north of Baton Rouge.

I’m finishing up an eight-day visit at “the friendliest VFW Post in the United States”. No offense meant to other VFW Posts…but if there is a friendlier post…I haven’t been there. Here’s some photos of the bar area…

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…

Some of the ceiling panels were painted by a lady who is no longer in the area. They identify and honor important items/events and people such as James Ewell Brown, aka JEB, Stuart for whom the post is named. If you’ve forgotten or do not know who he was, clicking this Wikipedia link will cure that problem…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.E.B._Stuart

Missing in action prisoners of war…

The Purple Heart. Chartered by Congress in 1958, The Military Order of the Purple Heart is composed of military men and women who received the Purple Heart Medal for wounds suffered in combat…

Post members…some who are deceased. Wayne and I became good friends during my eight-day visit…

And, of course, the winning of the Super Bowl by the New Orleans Saints in 2010…

Ever present past Commander Mark. He’s always there and everywhere…like preparing to cook yesterday’s corned beef meal. He usually cooks something every Sunday…except during the Summer when he plays golf.  Sill in the Air Force Reserve…he has 29 years of service…

It was Mark who welcomed me upon my arrival a week ago Sunday and got me setup in to my parking place and offered an electrical hookup.

This VFW Post has a unique gesture which I’ve really not seen at other posts. Pretty near everyone, when arriving or departing, will take the time to stop, say hello and shake hands with everyone in the bar. They even did it for newly arrived me. This membership uniqueness moved me so that I have decided to transfer my membership to this post and become a VFW Life Member as well.  My transfer application is in process and I’ll soon be a member of “The Friendliest VFW Post In The United States”. Thank you to all the members for your friendship…I’m proud to be affiliated with you!

Here’s a photo of my new post…

Enjoying friendly VFW Posts 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

Oh When The Saint, Came Marching Down The Street…

Yesterday was laundry day for us and it was also the day Opelousas, Louisiana celebrated its hometown hero, Devery Henderson, #19 who plays for the World Champion New Orleans Saints Football Team. No other members of the New Orleans Saints were in attendance the best we could tell.

As luck would have it, our laundromat was along the parade route so we planned the timing of our laundry so that we would be finished with that chore and we could set-up our folding chairs and have a front road seat. It was a perfect day for a parade with bright sun and a temperature of about 69 degrees.

It was like deja vue Mardi Gras complete with beads, candy, plastic cups and tiny football-throwings to the crowd lining the parade route! Leading the parade was Devery Henderson, #19, himself throwing beads to the crowd. He was followed by about a one-hour parade of marching bands, etc…

We were told he lives in a very nearby neighborhood not far from our campsite. Last evening in the lower part of our campground they held a party to celebrate their local hero. There was quite a crowd, but as always in our Southern Louisiana experiences, they were well behaved.

As an outsider looking in, it must be quite an achievement for a young man from a small Southern town to play for a World Champion ball team.

To top off the day, Mary ended up with more beads to add to her 25 pounds of beads she collected from our New Orleans Mardi Gras experience about four weeks ago. Just what she needed was more beads!

To see the other 30 photos I took, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/OpelousasLA031310

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com