February 15, 2010


Bright and early on Monday morning, we were on our way to St. Bernard State Park, south of New Orleans. When we were checking in, we noticed a sign on the wall that said, “Katrina High Water Mark” and it was 2 feet over my head. I cannot even begin to imagine what is was like to experience Katrina.

It did not take long before we were driving through the Ninth Ward on our way to St. Charles in downtown New Orleans or as the locals call it, N’Awlins. As we looked for a place to park, a guy pulled out of a great spot right on the parade route. We could hardly believe our good fortune. We staked our spot with our cooler near the curb and went for a walk down St. Charles, finding a great restaurant for dinner. Many families had tents and tables set up on the trolley tracks and spend the night to be there for the big Krewe of Zulu parade that starts at 8 am on Fat Tuesday. People had tall ladders set up with a box on top for their little kids so they could see.

As we found our way back to our spot, we could see the NOPD motorcycle cops leading the parade, hear the marching bands, and see the elaborate floats of the Krewe of Proteus, the Sheppard of the Sea.

 It is second oldest Krewe and began parading in 1882. Most of the Krewes make their own floats, costumes and have a unique theme each year. It is amazing the number of parades that are scheduled from January 6th to Fat Tuesday on February 16th.

We had heard that the Krewes will toss you beads if you hold up a sign saying where you are from. I remembered that we had an extra Alaska license plate with us and that did the trick. I felt like a 10 year old little kid, collecting as many beads, cups, and baubles as possible. Sometimes a Krewe member would call me over to give me some special beads. We were so impressed with the size and detail of the floats. Next time we will make a point of seeing some parades in the daylight.

The next parade was the Krewe of Orpheus, based on a character in Greek mythology that illustrates the power of music. This is one of the larger parades and was started by Harry Connick, Jr., among others.

 In fact, he was on one of the floats, as well as Sean Payton, head coach of the Saints. When the Coach passed by, the crowds went wild, yelling and flashing their “Who Dat” signs. After 30 floats and almost as many marching bands, the parade came to an end. As we were getting ready to leave, one little girl from a group of kids that I had been sharing my beads with and giving them the stuffed animals that I caught, gave me a headband with little bouncing balls on it. She was so sweet and it touched my heart. I hauled my full bag of beads back to the truck and we were on our way to the campsite. We were talking about the parade and did not notice that our“Garmin” was taking us on a different route home. Suddenly, she said, “board ferry”. Of course, I immediately got on Google Maps to see that we were crossing the Mississippi River on a ferry that cost $1 and the other side, to our relief, was close to St. Bernard State Park.

On Fat Tuesday, we woke to sunshine and to the lovely melodies of several cardinal songbirds. We would have loved to relax at the campsite, but Bourbon Street was calling.

 As we got close, we found a secure parking place for $20 and walked a couple of blocks enjoying the costumed revelers along the way.

 As we turned the corner onto Bourbon Street, we could see the crowds and knew that it was going to be wild. The streets were packed with people celebrating, buying “huge ass beers” from the outside bars, and of course, "flashing".

 All of the balconies were full of partying people throwing beads, especially if those down below would flash and show a little flesh.

We walked the length of Bourbon and saw some unbelievable sights…unique and sometimes outrageous costumes, music playing at all the bars, and lots of happy Saints fans.

 At the intersection of each block, there were groups of men with signs and megaphones telling everyone that they are evil and going to hell. Talk about a dichotomy!

 Mardi Gras is something that everyone should do at least once!

Wednesday, was a day to relax, read, hike, and enjoy the sunshine. We met two young couples from London driving a 1964 red double-decker bus, towing an old London taxi. They had it shipped over to the east coast and will be spending the next year touring the US. Unfortunately for them, they can only go 35 mph! That evening before we built our campfire, we spotted an armadillo and about 40 wild rabbits.

Since we were in the relaxing groove, we decided to stay another day. Late on Thursday afternoon, we went to Jackson Square, walked around, and made our way back over to Bourbon Street to listen to a little jazz, some blues, and some Zydeco at the Opera House. It was fast, wild, and unique, especially the rub-board or vest frottoir, from the Cajun-Creole French meaning ,“vest to be rubbed”. To listen to the Zydeco band that we heard, click here.
We left energized and thrilled that we decided to stay one more night. We made our way back to Jackson Square stopping occasionally to listen to a street musician.

 It was a great evening, but we had to head to the 5th wheel to pack up for our early morning departure to Palatka, Florida.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

We have a lovely, sunny day for our drive to Creole country in Lafayette, LA, making our way over miles of mossed draped bayous and swamps. We arrived at the Frog City RV Park in the early afternoon. How lucky were we ending up in the Frog Capital of the world (so they say)? I never saw any frogs except on my plate and they were delicious, I must say! As soon as we unhooked and got settled, we were on our way into Lafayette to find the parade route for our first Mardi Gras. We easily found a good spot for our chairs and walked around taking in all of the local sights. We met a friendly family next to us who filled us in on all the local traditions. The Grandmother, in her eighties, was born and raised in New Orleans. She told us where to go and not to go when we go to N’Awlins for Mardi Gras. She whispered to me that this parade is “rinky-dink” compared to the parades in New Orleans. We were thrilled to see the floats come rolling by and the beads being thrown our way.

We realized quickly that we had better keep our heads up or we might get whacked in the head; some of the beads are honkin’ huge. When the parade is over, our new friend and very sweet lady gave me her prized beads: the Bonaparte Krewe medallion because it was my first Mardi Gras. We haul a hefty bag back to the car and make our way back to the RV Park.

On Sunday, we relaxed in the sun in the morning and checked out the Mardi Gras Festival at the Cajun Dome. Along the way, we spotted a little market selling crawfish. We bought 3 pounds and had a feast on their picnic table. They had a little cajun bite but were delicious. We decided to take in an afternoon movie, Dear John, at the local theater. After the movie, we did a search for the famous Mulate’s restaurant in Breaux Bridge, LA featuring Cajun cuisine and Zydeco music. It was packed and the dance floor was full of smiling people doing the two-step. Picture the jitterbug with a bit of a bounce, but only faster. These old folks had to be in good shape to move like they did. It was fun to watch and listen to the music. Many of the locals were speaking Cajun French, an integral part of the local Acadian culture. Of course, we had to sample the specialties of the area: catfish, gumbo, and frog legs. Yum! It amazed us how you can travel a few hundred miles into a new state and become immersed into unique and different culture. We truly were able to experience what they call the “joie de vie”( joy of life) and loved it.

February 6, 2010

On Saturday, we left for North Padre Island. We decided to stay at the Ransom Road RV Park in Aransas Pass to give us some time to check out the area. On Sunday, we took a free 5 minute ferry ride to Aransas Port. Along the way, we stopped to check out Mustang Island State Park and then continue on to Padre Island National Seashore.

 It is the longest undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. We see endless grasslands and tidal pools as we make our way to the Malaquite Visitor Center and the campground.

There are plenty of RV sites overlooking the dunes and ocean. The Seashore offers 70 miles of beaches and you can boondock for free right on the beach. We stopped at the Visitor Center in time to hear a deck talk on sea shells, sea beans, and other things found on the seashore. We also learned that this is a critical nesting beach for the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle.

We are anxious to get down to the beach and get a walk in and hunt for sea shells. It was fun driving 10 miles down the beach and going for a long walk and enjoying all of the shorebirds.

Even though it was windy, it was warm and it felt good to walk barefooted in the surf as I looked for treasures. While beachcombing, I found the prized Lightening Whelk, the official sea shell of Texas, some sand dollars, and star fish.

The next morning, we hooked up the 5th wheel and head back to Padre Island. Unfortunately, between the wind and high tides, the beach was closed to camping so we settled in at the campground tucked in the dunes with a great view of the Gulf of Mexico. As we sat out enjoying the sea breeze, we were rewarded with the sight of a great blue heron perched in front of us looking for his supper, along with brown pelicans
diving for theirs.

 For the next few days, we endured wild surf and high winds but it did not keep us off the beach.

On Wednesday, Bob’s brother Dan and his wife, Gail joined us at the campground. It is always fun spending time with them and we enjoyed several walks beachcombing, driving on the beach, and sharing gulf shrimp dinners. On Friday, we all went bird watching. It felt like we had our own personal guides as Dan and Gail pointed out a crested karakara, a long billed curlew and the many shorebirds, including the royal terns seen below.

 At 6 am on Saturday morning, we all were on the road as the sun came up over the Gulf. They headed to Florida and we went to Louisiana for Mardi Gras.

January 24

On Sunday, we left for Las Cruces, NM. We took Rik and Val’s suggestion and stopped at the Karchner Caverns in Benson, Arizona.

Two amateur cavers discovered the living cave on private property in the Whetstone Mountains in 1974. They worked with the Kartchners and the State of Arizona for 14 years to protect it and keep it a secret until the state purchased it.

We decided to tour of the Big Room since it is only open to the public in the winter. It closes in the Spring when over 1,000 female common bats return to given birth to their pups. It is a wet cave and the temperature was 72 degrees with 99% humidity. The Big Room, the size of a football field, is a stunning limestone system. We could see the water percolating from above causing the carbonite features to grow over long periods of time.

The stalagmites and stalactites were amazing, including the longest known, “soda straw”. The Ranger was so excited to see the pools of water throughout the room and commented that it is likely that we would not see that for another 10 years. We definitely plan to come back and see the Rotunda and Throne Rooms the next time that we are in Arizona.

After the tour, we continued on to New Mexico, arriving tired and hungry in the late evening. We ate and crashed early. We had reservations at a campsite for the next two nights. However, we woke to 22 degrees and frost on the window. It was an easy decision to continue on to San Antonio, TX. We made reservations at Hidden Valley Campground in Van Ormby, TX, just a few miles from the city. It was a small, quiet park out in the country surrounded with live oaks and a creek. It was a sunny day and we decided to go for a hike and relax.

 On Monday, we drove into San Antonio to explore a chain of Catholic Missions established in the 18th century by Spain, along the San Antonio River.

The Franciscans’ goal was to spread the Catholic faith among the frontier Indians, but as an agent of Spain the Missions also, helped push the empire north. Many of the Coahuiltecan Indians took refuge in the missions from their enemies and were taught all of the skills of the Spanish colonial society. Much of the Spanish colonial architecture is intact and unique at each Mission. A highlight was seeing the famed Alamo, the oldest of the Missions.

 If you recall your history, the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In 1836, over 100 men, including Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, died defending the Alamo against General Santa Anna’s army over a 13 day period. Many followed into subsequent battles with the ever famous slogan, “Remember the Alamo”.


From the Alamo, we headed over a few blocks to the San Antonio River Walk with its many restaurants, cafes, and shops, along both sides of River.

After a mile or two of walking, we found Mi Casa, one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in San Antonio and had a delicious lunch as the mallard ducks waited for handouts and the river boats cruised by.

 We end the day with a cozy campfire, anticipating our next adventure in the Rio Grand Valley.

January 29, 2010

We got on the road after the rush hour traffic dies down. It seems like our travel days are usually gorgeous and sunny; today is no exception. We listened to one of our audio books and before we knew it we were in San Benito, TX at the Fun N Sun RV Park. It was in one of the largest RV parks that we have ever seen, complete with a huge dance hall, recreation building, wood shop, pool, Jacuzzi, exercise room, billiards, 30 shuffle board lanes, dance lessons, card and game rooms, plus an arts and crafts room. If a person gets bored here, something is wrong. We settle in and meet several friendly neighbors before going exploring. We met one colorful resident named Doc who lives here full time with his wife Beau and he invites us to the Country Dance to be held in the evening. Picture over 400 senior citizens dancing everything from the two step to the waltz. Another interesting couple at our table paints murals depicting local Texas history in many of the towns. They are excited to hear all about Alaska since they are planning a trip to celebrate their 50 wedding anniversary. Of course, we invited them to Sterling.

On Saturday, we drove over to South Padre Island, known as a Spring Break Mecca. As we drove down the island, we had the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Laguna Madre Bay on the other. After stopping at the visitor center, we head to the annual Kite Fest.

It was an amazing display of individual kites, as well as, team competitions and exhibitions, all choreographed to music. At times, there were 10 kites dancing in the skies at once.

 It was relaxing to watch, but there was a cold wind that required many layers to stay warm. When we returned the second day, we were smart enough to bring sleeping bags to curl up in. Needless to say, we did not mention that we were from Alaska, fearing that we would be labeled wimps! On our way back, we stopped in Port Isabel to get some fresh shrimp, see the Lighthouse and visit a few unique shops.

This was one of our many trips to South Padre, including attending the Winter Outdoor Wildlife Expo that featured an excellent exhibit on raptors, up close and personal. The Aplomado Falcon, Crested Caracara, and Broad Winged Hawk were particularly impressive,

Other interesting exhibits were the sea turtles, birding and shelling.


During our week in the Rio Grande Valley, we also visited the Iwo Jima Memorial in Harlingen at the Marine Military Academy.

It is the original working model that the artist, Dr. de Weldon prepared for the casting of the bronze sculpture that is in DC. We also went on a hike at Ramsey Park, part of the World Birding Center. I was wishing that it was Spring to see more birds and butterflies but it was wonderful to be outside.

Another day trip took us south of San Benito to the historic town of Brownsville on the Rio Grande River and border of Matamoras, Mexico. It is also home to the famous Palo Alto Battlefield, the site of the first major battle of the US-Mexican War in 1846. It is a well preserved battle field with flags showing the mile long position of General Arista’s Mexican troops and General Taylor’s US soldiers.

 Although, outnumbered, the US had superior cannons with greater range. As a result, Mexico eventually renounced claims to Texas and accepted the Rio Grande River as the boundary between the two countries.

From there we head to the World Birding Center at Resaca de la Palma State Park. It is 1,200 acres of wetlands, woodlands, and savannahs, with a Resaca (oxbow lake) cutting through it. After a picnic, we ride a park tram to some hiking trails and enjoy an hour hike, spotting many species of birds along the way, including a Chachalaca, Kiskadee, a Harris Hawk, and several Great Egrets.


Two days later, we returned to Brownsville and crossed the border into Matamoros, Mexico. We had heard that Garcia’s restaurant was hosting a party for “Winter Texans”.

They supplied all the margaritas that people wanted, appetizers, music and Mexican dancers.

 There were over 300 tourists having a good time. Before going back over the bridge, we browsed the huge gift shop and had a delicious dinner at Garcia’s for $10 each. Of course on our return, we had to call all our family members to let them know that we were safe. So much of stories about violence occur at other places, much of it fed by rumors. We felt safer than in many of our large cities in the US.

Friday, we woke up to sunshine and it was definitely a day to sit and relax. In the late afternoon, we drove over to Pharr and had dinner before going to an Oldies Dance at the Tip O’ Texas RV Park. A band called the Cruisers played for 3 hours and we had a ball dancing the night away.