How I Spent My Summer Vacation v1.5

Day Eight. The Wild Atlantic.     
     After several relaxing days doing nothing in Orange Beach we were so spoiled and wanted more of the same so we decided to get on the Interstate and make a beeline for the Atlantic Coast.

     Years ago we had attended a friend’s wedding in Neptune Beach, which is one of the small beach towns that lie on the coast just east of Jacksonville, Florida. We thought we knew what to expect, a small sleepy village, after-all we had stayed in one of only a few hotels on the beach. Well, things do change.

     What we found was a sprawling metropolis with all the commercial chains that every other big city has. However, I have to admit I still liked Neptune Beach, at least people seemed to live there; it wasn’t all just tourists. We even found the fun little restaurant where we had the rehearsal dinner all those years ago. Yes, it had moved to a new place and was much bigger, but it was still as delicious and fun as it was then.

     We tried to get accommodations at a neat 1960’s looking type motel on the beach, the Seahorse Inn, but they were full so we had to stay at a hotel chain, but the beach was great. The next day we returned to the Seahorse and were able to sneak into a fantastic little bar called The Lemon Bar.

     Jax Beaches have grown a lot, but for a short visit they still retain a lot of the charm we experienced so many years ago.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation v1.4

Day Five. Bye-bye New Orleans…Hello Orange Beach

     A good friend from my teaching days at the University knows how much I enjoy New Orleans and Key West so he recommended Orange Beach, Alabama as a place I might like. We left New Orleans on U.S. Highway 90 along the coast and by mid-afternoon we were in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. I had read about the life and art of Walter Anderson in Gunnar Hansen’s book, Islands at the Edge of Time. Anderson was an eclectic naturalist and artist that lived in Ocean Springs and spent much of his time on Horn Island, which lies about 12 miles out in the Gulf across the Mississippi Sound. Anderson died in 1965 at the age of sixty-two. His family still owns Shearwater Pottery in Ocean Springs.

     In 1951 Walter Anderson painted a mural on the interior walls of the Oceans Springs Community Center. His work was so immediately disliked the local citizens wanted to paint over it. After the criticism he basically became a recluse living most of his life on Horn Island.

     The afternoon we stopped in Ocean Springs the Community Center was closed because they were restoring Walter Anderson’s murals. We were able to tour a small museum next door and see some examples of Anderson’s work, watercolors and pottery. I can say his work is definitely “unique”. From the amount of replications available for sale I would say he is, in death, a thriving resource for Ocean Springs.


Sign on Men's bathroom door
at Alabama reststop

      By early evening we had arrived in Orange Beach. I was a bit surprised, very tidy and neat and touristy. I suppose I was expecting something a bit more bohemian. We stayed at the recommended Island House, which was very nice but more like a condominium hotel than the beach retreat I was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, lovely place, but I was in the mood for a more original experience, sometimes “rustic” can be nice. However, the beach was nice, the pool relaxing, good places to eat nearby so we stayed on for a few days.

Oktoberfest in Missouri Wine Country

Saturday dawned warm and bright with brilliant autumn colors abounding. Since all indications were for a beautiful fall day we decided to take a daytrip to Hermann, Missouri. Hermann is on the south bank of the Missouri River in the heart of Missouri wine country, only a few hours from our house, and every October weekend is an Oktoberfest celebration.

We ate a breakfast of apples and almonds in the car as we drove. By mid-morning we had arrived at the Stone Hill Winery, high on a hilltop above the little town of Hermann. The party was already well underway. We took a quick tour of the winery and did some sampling of their wide variety of wines. Stone Hill, like most Midwest wineries, makes some nice sweet wines but just doesn’t produce a really good dry white or red. They are trying with their Norton grape but in my opinion it still lacks the nose and fruity taste of the west coast or European wines. The vignoles and traminette are getting better but still remind me of table grapes more than wine. But any wine on such a beautiful autumn day in such a wonderful locale is glorious. We had a late lunch of bratwurst, kraut, German potato salad and chunky applesauce that was so very good and matched well with a bottle of their dry vignoles.

In the afternoon we went down the hill to downtown Hermann and did a walk-through of the Hermannhof Winery. I was wined out by that time and was happy to see a new microbrewery, TinMill Brewery. The beer was cold and hoppy, a nice complement to the sweetness of the wines. I especially liked their light amber, Red Caboose. A lively polka and more group called The St. Louis Czech Express Band was playing on the back patio and was drawing a large, happy and inebriated crowd. We ended staying and drinking their brew and people watching until they closed at 6pm.

At dusk we wondered just down the street to a crowded bar with a big screen TV and ate pizza and drank more Red Caboose, augmented by Budweiser, and watched the St. Louis Cardinals trounce the Texas Rangers in the third game of the World Series.

It was a long drive back to Kansas City, luckily I had a sober driver. We pulled into the driveway, locked up the car, and tumbled into bed, exhausted and slept like babies. It had been a wonderful day.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation v1.3

Day Four: A Perfect Day in New Orleans
     Before we moved on along the coast we decided to spend another day enjoying New Orleans. Last time I had visited the city all the streetcar lines were running except the St. Charles line. It was still down from damage due to Hurricane Katrina. The St. Charles line is my favorite street car ride. I go from Canal Street out through the warehouse district and the Garden District to S. Carrollton Ave. and back.
     It was still early morning, just after rush hour, but the day was already building to be hot and humid. We decided to take the St. Charles streetcar out to the Camellia Grill for a late breakfast. The car was mostly empty and didn’t stop very much. Most of the windows were down and as we rushed along the breeze flowing across my face felt wonderful.
     At the end of St. Charles we got off and walked across the street to our breakfast destination. I had heard that the Camellia Grill was a great place for breakfast. Regretfully, I wasn’t that impressed. Yes, it does have old south charm, with the waiters running around in their white jackets but in the end it is just a diner. I thought the food was on the level of a Waffle House. Perhaps I just over-anticipated.
     We walked back through the Garden District to the Audubon Zoo. It was getting hot so we hopped the streetcar back to Canal Street and started to walk the French Quarter. As is common along the Gulf, the early afternoon humidity turned to light sun-showers. We were walking along Dauphine Street when large drops of moisture began to pelt the hot sidewalk. At that moment I spotted a used book store. Now I am a sucker for any used bookstore, but in New Orleans, on a rainy afternoon, what more could you ask for. And it was just the type of place you would expect, crammed to the rafters with piles of old books, barely enough room to walk the aisles. I was in heaven.

264 Dauphine Street, New Orleans

     The storm didn’t last long and in an hour we were on our way. I left Dauphine Street Books with an early work by Robert Ruark I had been unable to find, “Grenadine's Spawn”, and Ruth walked out with a New Orleans Dave Robicheaux mystery thriller by James Lee Burke. As we were only a couple of blocks away from the Acme Oyster House we stopped by for early afternoon oysters and a martini or two. After an afternoon swim at the Hotel Pierre and a creole dinner at the Gumbo Shop, one of my favorite places for seafood and orka gumbo, followed by a bit of music on Bourbon Street we were in bed still at an early hour. Yes, a very nice day indeed.

Autumn Was Here?

     I know the leaves on the trees have been turning colors all month; but the weather has been so gloriously perfect it seemed as if summer never left. Then suddenly last night there was a frost warning and I found myself hustling to get the indoor plants (the ones that had been enjoying their summer in the semi-shade of the front porch) back in the house.
     Each year I vow I will not get stuck with this emergency plant moving again, but as usual, I was caught unprepared. And I’m talking about BIG plants, the Norfolk Pine and tree-size schefflera. They have been with me for so many years they are like members of the family; and have grown so large they require a moving dolly to truck them around.    
     Was it just last Sunday we took our boat out of the lake for the year? Right now it is trailered in the driveway waiting for a turn at the local boat yard to get winterized. It seems only a few weeks ago that we were launching her for the summer. Well next year…

How I Spent My Summer Vacation v1.2

Sunday. June 5, 2011.

Day Three. Deep in the Heart of Acadiana.

     Sunday morning, after an early breakfast and a quick swim we were off. Our plan was to drive through the heart of Acadiana and eventually end up in New Orleans. Our route took us from Breaux Bridge, the self-proclaimed crawfish capitol of the world, to St. Martinville on Bayou Teche and home of the Evangeline Oak named for Longfellow’s 1847 epic poem that was supposedly taken from Acadian folk history. At New Iberia we saw the sign to Avery Island, not actually an island but a salt dome in the Louisiana swamp, owned by the McIlhenny family and home of Tabasco hot sauce so we just had to visit even though they weren’t bottling on Sunday. Check the link, it has an interesting history. While there we had a late lunch of red beans and rice with boudin and corn maque choux (a first for me). We washed it all down with an Abita Amber (out of the cooler, certainly not available on Avery Island).

     Even though it was getting late we decided to move on to New Orleans. The rest of the drive was uneventful unless you get a kick out of swamp. Just before dusk, on a beautiful early summer evening we arrived in New Orleans. This is one of my favorite cities. The old south, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa all seem to meet here; which results in a delightful blend of culture and people with never a shortage of unique characters.

     Last time we were in the Crescent City, while walking the backside of the Vieux Carre we came across a small hotel and cottages that looked delightful. So we headed directly to Burgundy Street and were happy to find one of the Hotel St. Pierre’s cottage rooms available at a very reasonable price. Soon we were shuttered in beside a beautiful little brick patio with a frangipani tree in full bloom. We had just enough daylight left to venture over to Iberville Street and have a couple dozen fresh oysters on the half shell at the Acme Oyster House. This time washed down with a frigid gin martini. After a quick stop at Matassa’s Market for a bottle of gin, tonic, lime and a Creole tomato and were back to the hotel just as Bourbon Street was beginning to come alive for the night.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation v1.1

Friday, June 3, 2011.
An All-Nighter to Louisiana

Our goal was to enjoy ourselves as we toured the gulf coast as economically as possible. A friend that has traveled the southeast told me he never makes reservations, just stops at a place that looks good. This gives him more leeway in his travels and he said he hasn’t had any trouble finding a place. Another friend that tours Europe said he and his wife, to save money and still enjoy the local cuisine, carry a cooler in the trunk of their rental car with delicious, local snacks. They only eat one expensive meal a day and picnic the rest of the time.

I have always been one to over plan my vacations. I like to know exactly what I am going to do and where I will be staying. I often spend more time worrying about keeping to my timetable than enjoying my vacation. So, it was difficult at first for me to travel in this more carefree and, hopefully, less expensive way.

After giving all the plants a good watering and then chasing the cat down, we didn’t get out of Kansas City until noon. We had decided to stay off the Interstate highways as much as possible so we took US 71 that runs from International Falls, MN, through Kansas City, deep into Louisiana. By early evening we stopped at a roadside park in Arkansas, popped the trunk and had sandwiches out of our cooler. We were still fresh and excited so we decided to keep driving. And we did until midnight, all the way to a rest stop in Acadia, Louisiana, where both of us, being sleepy, fell fast asleep.

Saturday, June 4, 2011.

Back on the Road Again

At 3am we were back on the road. We made it to Lafayette, Louisiana just after sunrise. After cruising the town a few times we selected a local redneck diner, called Mel’s for a breakfast of Cajun Eggs Benedict on a biscuit with grits.

I must say at this point our iPhones and several apps were crucial in making this a successful trip. Even though we were taking it one day at a time the apps allowed us to see what was in town and what we might want to do. We especially used Trip Advisor. And with the Map app we usually knew exactly where we were.

While it was still early and cool we made a visit to the local swamp, Bayou Vermillion and the Jean Lafitte Cultural Center where a nice local lady filled us in about Acadiana and Cajuns. After exploring the bayou, the afternoon heat and humidity was becoming oppressive. As luck would have it we stumbled across a local place called Artmosphere. I love unique local bars and dives. The fresh pizza “Lissa”, the ice cold Abita Amber beer, and the local characters were all superb.

It was at the bar that we learned about the Blue Moon Saloon, a place the locals gather for Cajun music and dancing. And it just happened that evening was a big night with several different groups playing.

The beer made us sleepy so we headed back out to the highway to get a room at the La Quinta Inn which was the cheapest we could find on Trip Advisor. After an afternoon swimming in the pool, we napped until time to get ready for the party.

An Evening in Acadia. Music, Food and Drink

Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, Louisiana.

The Saloon was having the Eight Annual fund raiser for “Archive Aid”.  The Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism and the Archives of Cajun and Creole folklore at the University of Louisana - Lafayette work to document and preserve much of the local cajun music before it is lost. For $10 you got admission to hear four or five bands and all you could eat jambalaya. You had to buy your own booze which seemed to be flowing rather freely. The crowd was mixed: young, old, brown, white, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Unlike here in Kansas City, most everyone danced. Although they seemed to divide into two groups, the stompers and the gliders.

The bands were also diverse ages. One group would be old, another very young and still another multiple ages. My wife said the Cajuns reminded her a bit of the Ozarks people that live were I’m from in southern Missouri. She said the only difference is they seem to be having a lot more fun. I think that may be due to the difference between Catholics and Baptists and good beer drinkers and tee-totalers. They were still going strong when we left around midnight, totally fatigued but happy. Ca C’est bon!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation. v1.0

 June 2011   
        For the first time in many years I had the opportunity for an extended vacation this summer. Also Ruth didn’t teach summer school so we finally had some free time together. We had already planned two weeks off in June to explore the Louisiana portion of the Gulf Coast so when the opportunity came we decided to just extend our vacation as long as possible and continue along the gulf, across Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, the on to Jacksonville on the Atlantic side, then up the Carolina coast. We would go as far as we could, as long as we could until either time or money ran out.
       When I was young one of my many dreams was to be a marine biologist, but being landlocked in the Midwest that never truly seemed to be an option. Also being an Ozarks country boy I was just lucky to get to college. But that is another story.


Bayou La Fourche

        In 1993 I read an interesting book by Gunnar Hansen (a Norwegian), Islands at the Edge of Time: A Journey to America’s Barrier Islands, about the barrier islands along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, from Texas to North Carolina, and how they were in danger of rapidly disappearing due to many things, but mostly just abuse by real estate developers and overuse by people.        Reading that book made we want to do two things. One was to visit the barrier islands along Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina and the Louisiana swamps. The other goal was to someday travel at least part of the East Coast inter-coastal waterway. This summer I finally had a chance to have a little piece of that dream as we spent two weeks reconnoitering parts of America’s southeast coastal areas.

How I spent my summer vacation.

August 13, 2011
       I wonder if that short essay question is still a first day of school assignment. It was usually assigned just so the teacher could get to know you better and also get an idea of your writing level. I doubt that it is still used. There is probably a law against any homework the first week; and even if a student were asked that question they would present it as a PowerPoint presentation or if they wanted extra credit they could do it in multimedia form posted to YouTube.
       I shouldn’t be so hard on schools; they have a very tough job. It is difficult to fathom that summer is soon drawing to a close and school will be starting in a couple of weeks. At least summer is going out in style, blazing hot.
       Now back to the original question. How did I spend my summer vacation? Well, always looking for good blog material I think I will use the next several blogs to tell you. After all we should get to know each other better. Even though you already know my writing capabilities (poor).

Shakedown cruise...

        Tuesday we finally got out on the water. It has been so hot here (and everywhere in the Midwest) that Ruth and I waited until just before sunset and took the boat out for a shakedown cruise. She did well except that she won’t idle at the lowest speed and after you restart her several times a fuse burns out and that has to be replaced. Luckily we had spares.
        This was the first time I have been out on Longview Lake and there isn’t a lot to it. Mostly just a round oval with two arms that are shallow and full of old trees. I was surprised how warm the water was when we stopped for a swim. If this heat keeps up the lake water will feel like a hot tub soon.
        But we had to get off the Lake of the Ozarks. It was too far to drive and the other boats had just gotten too big. It just wasn’t fun anymore. I will give Longview a try for this year. Who knows maybe I’ll sell the runabout and buy a jet ski.

Summer in Kansas City

        Summer has finally arrived in Kansas City. After a prolonged winter and a spring full of rain we now have a full-fledged Midwestern summer. Temperatures are expected to soar above the century mark for the next week and beyond.

         After more than two years in dry dock my baby Sea Ray is back in the water. We launched her into Longview Lake last week. After almost five years on the waiting list for a slip at Blue Springs Lake I received a call in February that I finally had a summer home for my little 18’ runabout. All these years of waiting for a slip at Blue Springs to open up, I had been on the waiting list for the wrong lake. But who am I to argue with the Jackson County Parks Department? I took the slip at Longview Lake anyway.

        I didn’t get to put the boat into the water earlier this summer due to family responsibilities and profession upheaval, and I was out of the city until mid-July.
        I checked her out before we took her to the marina and she was running fine, launched her into the water, turned the ignition key…dead in the water. Luckily a kindly jet skier towed us over to our slip. And to think all these years that I have been bad-mouthing jet skis. It was just a blown fuse and after replacement she started right up but it was late in the day and we were tired so we delayed the long anticipated shakedown cruise until another day.

Saturday Morning

     Finally, a spring day, with sunshine and some warmth to it. This has been the longest winter and the most difficult spring to get going that I can remember in a long time. Sometimes I think it is just that I’m getting older. I noticed this winter I have less tolerance for the cold. No longer do I want to venture out on a cold winter evening for a walk. I prefer to admire the beauty of new fallen snow from the warmth of indoors. I find myself turning up the furnace. I daydream about white sandy beaches and islands surrounded by an azure sea. I also am beginning to understand why so many retirees more south.
     But if spring would just arrive I will be fine. I’ve already bought some native plants from the Missouri Wildflower Nursery, even if they are still in the garage awaiting planting. My plan is to turn my backyard into a combination native plants and vegetable garden. I’m not sure how my Homeowners Association will feel about that. They seem to prefer large expanses of sterile yard grass that takes weekly applications of fertilizer and herbicides and underground watering systems. And then they wonder why the containment ponds get so full of that “horrible scum”.

Construction Ahead...Slow

As you can see I didn't make any progress on re-establishing my blog over the holidays. I did have good intentions, I really did. It may be stop and go for a while but I'm still trying.

We are seriously into some winter weather here in Kansas City. The past few weeks we have seen snowstorms (almost a foot), bitter winds (below zero temperatures), and even freezing rain. The forecast for the rest of the week is for more of the same.

Teacher was out of school today due to the bad weather. I made it across town to the university and was only about thirty minutes late. From the number of cars in the ditch not everyone was so lucky.

Tonight Teacher cooked one of the best dinners I have had in a long time. She baked a whitefish called Swai over stewed tomatoes. The fish was very delicate and sweet. She also served a butternut squash risotto with Italian sausage. For a side she wilted fresh spinach. It was all so very delicious.

It was a colorful dish but regretfully I had eaten most of it before I even thought to take a picture. Maybe next time? Well, tomorrow is another winter day here in the Midwest. Snow anyone?