Here We Go Again?

The vernal equinox. The first days of a new spring. What better time to restart an old blog? Never having previous luxuriant vigor, perhaps this new season will create a platform for new creative vigor.

Is it odd that I would re-establish a blog during the very time that the demise of so many traditional internet blogs is happening?  Out with the old ways of composing and writing and posting and  reading. It all takes too much time for both the author and the reader. In with the 140 character observation. In with Twitter and Instagram. I admit it is so easy to take a snapshot of my immediate frolic and send it forth upon the froth of internet activity. It is much easier, and maybe more effective, to put forth a text or tweet or Facebook message.

But that is not why I started a blog. My goal was, and still is, by documenting and reflecting on my life I wanted to have a more mindful experience. In addition I wanted to practice my writing skills and hopefully become a better communicator. Since I’m a horrible public speaker (stage fright)  and not even a passable conversationalist (too shy) I was hoping, by writing, I might be able to develop a more thoughtful way of communicating. And lastly, I wouldn’t mind establishing a rapport  with other people through the internet. It never hurts to hear how others with similar interests are living life.

So here goes, let’s try it again. The economist might call this a bear market, but I’m willing to invest a little.

Any Day Now

Late January and early February are difficult times for me. Even though this winter has been dry and mild it still has gone on too long and it feels like spring will never arrive. Last week we finally had rain. It seemed almost like an early spring evening, warm and rainy. By early morning a cold front had moved in and the day finished with ice and snow. Back into the deep freeze again for how many more weeks?
Early this morning I decided to go out for coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Panera’s. I love their egg, cheese and sausage on ciabatta bread. As I passed the containment pond the usual gaggle of Canadian geese were crowding the spillway. The geese used to appear in late autumn and stay over the winter and be gone by spring. They are now year round residents and are almost pests to some of the people that live along the shore of the pond.

But up at the wooded end of the pond, which is always quiet and secluded, I saw two pair of ducks. For the past several years this same two pair have been returning to our pond in early spring and raising broods of ducklings. They usually stay on until their ducklings can fend for themselves and then they all disappear in early summer to wherever they spend the rest of their year. I know it is the same two pair because one of the females has a very distinctive patch of white feathers along her neck.

It was good to welcome them back and I will take their appearance, over the word of the local weather forecaster, that it is now time for spring to commence.

  

Welcome 2013

It is bright and sunny today on the second day of the New Year; although the frigid cold is keeping the earth covered in a blanket of white from the snow that fell on New Year’s Eve.

It is time to go back to work fortified with a new spirit. On New Year’s Day we had the traditional, for us being of southern origin, black-eyed peas, cornbread and greens for good luck. We should be covered for the year…knocks on wood.

All in all I would rate it as a top notch holiday. All the kids were home for Christmas and survived the New Year celebration without serious mishap.

I’m really trying to be positive to at least two more months of bracing cold, wind, snow and various other Midwestern winter enjoyments. However, as each year passes my desire to be in a warmer climate grows; one of the small latitudes eastern Caribbean islands would be nice. And it doesn’t help that two good friends have just arrived in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua for the winter. But I will try to be nice about it. Happy New Year!

A Holiday with Dad

We spent last weekend with my Dad. We won’t be there for Christmas so we made it our holiday weekend. Dad is 92 years old. He lives by himself in the house built in 1985 for him and my mom. He still does his own housework and cooks for himself. Yes, the house is a might on the dirty side. He can’t see as well as he used to. He has been a little upset with us lately because we asked him to stop driving.

He sleeps on a pallet on the couch in the living room because he hasn’t slept in the bed in the master bedroom since my mom died over 20 years ago.

He used to keep a roaring fire going in fireplace all winter until he got COPD and can’t breathe well. Except for being hard of hearing he’s still mentally agile. Of course he is contrary but he has always been that way.

He loves the St. Louis Cardinals and in the summer lives for Cards game broadcasts. Which he used to listen too on the radio, but we got him satellite TV and now he watches every game. The sound is turned up as load as it will go, we couldn’t talk even if we wanted to, which we wouldn’t dare do, he may miss a play. I don’t think he likes replays.

Dad, have a great Christmas, we love you so much.

The Zen of Hanging Christmas Lights

I have been hanging Christmas lights, both indoors and outdoors, for over two decades. You would think by now that I would have a failsafe system. But each winter I feel as if it’s my first time all over again.

The last ten years my wife has taken over the duty of putting lights on the Christmas tree. She had to it if she was going to get them up before Christmas Day. I became so good at procrastinating that her female, “I’ll just do it myself” gene eventually took over.

That leaves me with only the outdoor lights. Each Spring when I finally get around to taking down the lights I always promise myself I’ll pay attention to just how it worked. I have even made copious notes and diagrams just how to put the lights up the next winter.

So along comes Thanksgiving and I begin to think about the lighting. Each nice day I think, “Oh, I have plenty of time. The weather’s nice and I have it all worked out from last year.” Usually the week before Christmas when a really cold front moves in (snow really helps motivate me)I finally give in and don heavy coat and gloves to hang the outdoor Christmas lights.

Of course I have no idea what my notes mean. So I’m at it again. A newbie all over again. But after a mild case of frostbite I get the decorations up and they look pretty nice.

Next year I’ll do even better because I’m going to remember just how this all works.

The Beginning of a Tradition

This Thanksgiving it was fantastic to have my whole family home. Each one of my children are either working toward or already in a career that someday will most likely take them far away from home. It was a delight to have them all crowded around the dining table on Thanksgiving Day. As my late father-in-law would have said, “This is glorious!”

Almost every family has it’s holiday traditions. My wife’s family would have everyone hold hands around the table as her father said a blessing; which most often was more of a short speech on how happy he was to have everyone “home” and a short newsletter on what was happening in the family. Being my shy, introverted self this was an awkward feeling moment for me the first few years, however I got used to it and eventually learned to look forward to what he would have to say at any particular dinner. Today his family still carries on the tradition each holiday although no one can quite put the panche’ into it that Jack did.

My family didn’t have any special tradition. I tried to emulate the hand-holding speech making but it just wasn’t me. And I could tell it made the new members of the family uncomfortable, just as it had made me so many years ago. This year at Thanksgiving, thanks to a  family member that works in a vineyard and winery we had some great wines. So I made a toast before the dinner. I started by thanking everyone for being there and how delighted I was that they all could make it. Not too long after the dinner was underway my daughter made a toast to the cook and later near the end she made a toast to all the members of the family that are working so hard to follow their dreams. I think we may have stumbled on to what I hope will be Our Tradition.

I am going to call it an Open Toast tradition. At any time during the dinner, anyone, if the mood strikes them can make a toast. I think it will be fun. Of course we will need to keep the wine glasses full.

Late Autumn

For the past several mornings the early morning sun has been gleaming off bright layers of heavy frost. Any water left in the garden bucket is frozen solid. There are a few lonesome but brightly colored leaves still hanging tenaciously from the baring branches, but most lay as a colorful carpet across the lawn. Autumn is winding down with winter just around the corner.

On Saturday we went shopping for groceries and then out to eat a late lunch and watch the Missouri Football Tigers take on the Tennessee Volunteers. It has been a trying year to watch Mizzou compete in it’s first year in the SEC. But a Tiger win in multiple overtimes was delicious.

With the Presidential election just over the day had an almost peaceful air about it. Even though Kansas City was not in a swing state we have still gotten our share of obnoxious political ads. Now it is over, at least for a little while, until the next crop of Presidential want-to-be’s begin posturing for position.

But wouldn’t you know it, every place we went they already have Christmas music playing. And I don’t mean pretty holiday carols, but those tinny little obnoxious songs I  have been hearing for decades, you know, "Santa Baby" and "Rockin’ Round the Christmas Tree". With almost two full months until Christmas I’m not sure I can take it. However, it is the poor store clerks I really worry about. I do hope they have good mental health coverage in their health plans and I do hope they are searched for firearms each day before they begin work.

Spring Break 2012

It’s Monday, first day back to work after spring break week can be a difficult day. For me it is always hard to get to sleep on Sunday night. I’m rested from the week with my sleeping times all askew and I can’t help from worrying about the new week to come. Even if there is nothing to fret about I still can create something in my mind to occupy it and keep me awake.

Then early Monday morning the alarm goes off. The tendency is to hit the snooze, at least until the sun rises. However, this morning I popped awake and was ready to go. I think it has something to do with the beautiful spring weather we are having and also because I had such a wonderful spring break.

We did things a little different this year for spring break. Instead of flying off to a southern latitude, renting a car, spending lots of money and trying to do way too much, we just took a leisurely road trip.

We left Kansas City on Friday morning and drove to Chicago. We pampered ourselves by staying at the old historic Palmer House Hotel. Saturday, St. Patrick’s Day we walked down to the Chicago River and watched them dye it green.

Then it was on to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Columbus Ave. Followed by an afternoon of green beer, corned beef, and fish and chips.

All topped off with a late night deluxe martini at the Palmer House bar. Then we tumbled into bed happy and exhausted.

Sunday was a travel day to Cleveland. For the rest of the week we were going to be staying with relatives so it was all easy on the pocket book. In addition, we decided to try to eat light, fresh snacks and then spurge on one big meal a day.

After a day in Cleveland we were then on to Columbus and on Thursday we made the long haul home so we could be back for the finish of the Kansas City Science Fair at Union Station Friday morning.

It was a great trip. The weather was fantastic. All the relatives were well and a delight to be with. All the cities were fun.

We picked out one thing in each city we wanted to concentrate on. Of course in Chicago it was St. Patrick’s festivities. In Cleveland, we went over in the old Ohio City neighborhood and visited the West Side Market, followed by a Middle Eastern deli lunch at Nate’s Deli and Restaurant. In Columbus we visited two micro-distilleries (Watershed Distillery and Middle West Spirits) and a microbrewery; then sampled their fare on High Street near The Ohio State University.

The only downside was I caught a cold on the way home and felt terrible for two days afterward. But it was short-lived and now I am back and ready for a great week.

Sunday Brunch at Avenues Bistro in Brookside

It was a sunny, early spring morning; a perfect day for Sunday Brunch at Avenues Bistro in Brookside. We arrived just after 10am, the restaurant was about half full and we were seated immediately.

The service was casual and a bit laid back which seemed appropriate for the morning brunch atmosphere. Our server was attentive and friendly. The brunch was laid out in a large oval serving area in the center of the bistro. The selection was good for the price. Along with the standard fare of pastries, fruits and salads a few of Avenues special dishes were available in heated serving trays. Also included was a made to order breakfast dish; or if you preferred for an addition charge a more unique entrée could be added.

I started the morning with a Bloody Mary and then switched to coffee as I began the standard brunch. I also had a Swiss cheese, spinach, and tomato omelet that was cooked to order. Everything I had was very good and certainly worth the price. I especially enjoyed several of the salads and the hot dishes that were available. I was a bit disappointed in the sweets, which is okay because I am not a big sugar fan. The pasties were good, but most Sunday brunches have a few desserts that stand out. Not today. Also the fruit was lack luster, nothing to get excited about. And good fruit is one thing I do enjoy. Also my omelet was slight over cooked, but then I am very particular about eggs.

Despite these small setbacks, when you take the total experience, the service, atmosphere, price and overall quality of the food I certainly would recommend the Sunday Brunch at Avenues Bistro and will be happy to return again. However, in the mean time I will keep looking for a Sunday Brunch that provides that little extra something that can make it a truly special experience.

A Hint of Spring and "A Sand County Almanac"

January can be a long, cold month here in northern Missouri. Then we begin to have a few days that give you hope that spring will return. On these days I begin to think of Aldo Leopold and his little masterpiece “A Sand County Almanac”. Leopold, known as the father of wildlife ecology, was at the forefront of conservation ethics.

Aldo Leopold taught at the University of Wisconsin and wrote from his weekend retreat, an overused sand hill Wisconsin farm. ”The Almanac” was published in 1949 a year after his death. It is a collect of writings made of his thoughts while working his old farm and other essays on the then emerging field of conservation ecology. His slim volume has become a nature writing classic similar in status to Thoreau’s “Walden”.

The first chapter “January” is an essay about a skunk that has awoken from its winter slumber to a world of melting snow and lengthening days. The skunk begins a journey across the farm to find food, leaving a trail which is investigated by the tracker Leopold. Each January I find myself pulling out my copy of the almanac and beginning to read it again. I usually only make it through the a few chapters before I put it away for another year. But just as longer days and warmer temperatures make gardeners get out their seed catalogs, I too have to have my spring fix of Aldo Leopold.

Now It's Winter and Now It's Not

Blogging about the weather? I know…What a boring topic. But you have to admit it has been a challenging subject this year.

I’m one of those people that like the weather to be the way it is suppose to be. In winter I want cold and snow. Summer should be dry and hot. Spring can be variable, but a slow warming that blends into summer is most welcome. And autumn, my former favorite season, needs brisk days and chilly nights that let the foliage turn beautiful colors.

The previous two winters were pretty true to definition. There was snow on the ground for Christmas both years and last year the snow hung around until March. But this year is behaving quite differently. There has been no snow of any true amount and worse the days are fluctuating between highs of 60 degrees followed a few days later by cold in the teens. What makes it even worse is that when we have these wide variations it means the wind blows hard along the temperature gradient and makes everything miserable.

Of course with all this deviant weather behavior you can’t help from wondering about Global Warming, which is a topic that is liable to restart the Civil War her along the former border states. We take our red and blue state divisions seriously. Religion, science, sports teams, and the weather can all result in gun shots being fired.

I said that autumn used to be my favorite season of the year. But as I get older and the cold is making parts of my body I don’t even know the name of begin to ache, I now see autumn as a forewarning of the pain to come. Maybe the way to solve this problem is to pack my bags and head to a warmer climate as so many of my fellow baby boomers seem to be doing. After all a gentle winter in a sun-belt state or even Mexico or Central America would be nice. And when I want a dose of good bracing cold I’ll just make a visit, although a short one, back across the Mason-Dixon Line.

What a Great Christmas!

For the third year in a row my whole family was home for Christmas. By family I mean my wife and our two children; although our children are now adults with partners of their own. We are beginning to reestablish some of the family Christmas traditions that we had not been able to do over the years when everyone was living so far apart.

My wife and I each have one parent alive, her mother and my father, which are becoming affectionately known as “the ancients”. They both now live within visiting distance so we were able to have a “Christmas dinner” with each. Which means quite a few extra Christmas dinners over several days of Christmas, but it was worth it and I’ve always thought that so much preparation goes into the holidays that Christmas Day should be more than one day anyway.

It looks like 2012 is beginning as if it may be an excellent vintage year. Happy New Year everyone!

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.