Busy Day In New Orleans - Part Two

On Saturday we had ventured out in the morning to the Westwego Jambalaya Cook Off, which was great fun. After returning to the trailer for a siesta, we were all ready to taste the delights of The French Quarter of New Orleans. So we loaded up and drove into New Orleans, parked the Van and walked in to the French Quarter by about 4.00. We first walked up Canal Street then along Royal, because that is where there are plenty of street performers in the afternoon. The first thing we saw was a New Orleans Wedding Procession, complete with a Boss Man and a Band, the bride and groom, policeman on a motor cycle and all the guests walking the street, it was very colourful.

We wandered up the street and listened to the street performers, who were mostly very good - one couple used a resonating mandolin! and electric gourd, an 'mbiri', or thumb gourd, with a pickup mounted on it.

Another good group was a classical violinist with a blues guitarist.

After Royal St we turned down to Jackson Sq and did a bit of people watching, the tarot cared readers and another posh wedding, with a full size harpist (no you fool the harp) playing against a background of passers by. There was also a particularly striking Street Statue entertainer. Well, having got so close we could not pass by without beignets in the Cafe Du Monde.

As evening approached, we watched some street dancers doing their stuff, very impressive. Buy now it was dark as we made our way back up the French Quarter to Bourbon St, which was now fully alive with people and street entertainers including a pirate, a man performing as a baby in a cut away car seat (I should have taken a picture, but it looked kind of gross), clowns, nearly naked ladies and a particularly good Michael Jackson/robotdancer.
Up above there were people on the balconies looking down at us looking up. It was all very pleasant. After walking Bourbon St, we walked back to the car and came home pretty well exhausted after what we thought was a pretty good taste of New Orleans.

Busy Day in New Orleans - Part One

Today is Saturday and we are planning to be out and about today. Our first stop is the Westwego Jambalaya Cook Off Festival,then later we will adventure out after dark into French Quarter of New Orleans
Westwego is the town which is at the entrance to the Bayou Segnette State Park we are staying in. It is a sleepy suburban town on the other bank of the Mississippi, i.e not in New Orleans.
When we arrive we had seen the advert for the Cookoff today, but knew little about it. So bright and early we set off to find it. We found it. Following Katrina, Westwego built the equivalent of a town meeting place. It is a small outdoor arena (100yards x 50), grassed and paved, with a stage at one end. Round the edges are what look like decorated garages, with no front or back. There are toilets and small rooms as well. Here they can hold concerts, meetings, family events and COOK OFF'S, which is what we are going to.
A Cook Off comes in a variety of forms. I have seen Chile Cook Off's, BBQ Cook Offs and Chicken Cook Offs, but you could have one for any dish you like. It is a team event, so you have 2 -4 people per team who enter to make a large quantity of a dish. People come in and taste each team's offering and then judge which is the best. It is usually meant as a money raiser for local charities and often the Fire Department feature prominently. I am assuming that the teams pay for the Jambalaya ingredients themselves, as their part of the money raising.
Well this cook off was a Jambalaya Cookoff, so each team was making a huge pot of Jambalaya, using a special, huge pot. The teams area from all sorts of places, perhaps one family, a business, the local Fire Squad, or a church. They just kept making it all day.
For this cook off each team is assigned one of the areas round the edge of the arena. We paid $10 entry to the event. That meant that we could then go to every table and eat as much as we wanted to. The Cook off opened at 11.00 and went on until 10.00 at night. As well as the Jambalaya there was food and drink available (you paid for that), music on the stage, fire trucks to look at and lots of people to watch. Everyone brings their lawn chair, finds a favourite place and sets up, then wanders round tasting each Jambalaya being offered, talking with the teams, trying to find out their secret ingredients and generally having a great day out with the family. Frankly, I do not know of any parallel in England, except maybe a local Horticultural show (where you get to eat the competition entries).
Well we had a great time, eating and drinking and talking in the warm sun, with clear blue skies overhead.
As for the Jambalaya, well. Jambalaya is a rice dish - basic ingredients pork, sausage and rice, but individual recipes vary, garlic, secret seasoning, chile, tomato, mushroom, onion, chicken, dozens of local sausage - we are not talking Walls Pork here, there are dozens of locally made sausage,from pepperoni style to gator tail sausage. Even when a standard sausage, such as pepperoni is used, there may be a dozen different pepperoni sausage styles. Westwego is known for its seafood (shrimp), but almost everyone makes their own sausage.
Consequently no two Jambalaya taste the same, so of course the best one is down to personal taste and how nice the makers are. Oh yes it is great fun and a cheap way to get dinner. Well, we had a good old mooch around the festival at Westwego, doing lots of eating, listening to the bands, and people watching, but after a couple of hours we thought it time to move on into New Orleans to see the sights there.

Westwego

Because of the trouble on Wednesday, on Thursday we made a big push to get to New Orleans, over 250 miles! we pulled into The Bayou Segnette State Park by about 4.00, it is situated just by the little township of Westwego, which is to the Southwest of New Orleans, on the East Bank of the Mississippi. It has well spaced sites, good basic facilities and is quiet during the week, but book for a weekend. Also has free laundry. Boat ramp nearby, also water park in the state park with wave machine. $20 per night. Westwego is squeezed onto a strip of land about one mile wide between the Mississippi to the north and Bayous (swampland) to the south.

It is not a well to do sort of a place. However it does have a small fishing fleet and a fish market. Friday was a rest day, but in the afternoon we took a short trip to see the fish market. Fortunately, our friends, Jimmy and Kathy, who are travelling with us, are experts on all things to do with fish. Jimmy actually worked on a shrimp boat and both he and Kathy did a lot of big game fishing when they were younger - I mean serious competition stuff, they had their own team, big boat everything. (their policy was strictly catch and return).

So we wandered round the little circle of huts which made up the Fish market, stopping to cast an expert eye over the fish for sale. This was mostly shrimp and crab. The shrimp are huge (about 3-4 inches long), the crabs are blue and small (3-4 inches long). Jimmy and Kathy were excited by the prices, as we were able to buy shrimp for $2.75 per pound, which is about 1/3 the price they are in Florida.

While we were in the fish market, we stopped at a little cafe and had what they called 'Shrimp plate' which was just fresh deep fried small shrimp in seasoning and French Fries. Simple but delicious. The cafe was full of all sorts of fishy type foods and seasonings, I have never seen so many different types of seasoning. After our meal we returned to the fresh shrimp stall and Jimmy collected a bag of fresh shrimp to take home.
When we returned to the trailer Jimmy showed me how to prepare the shrimp, by removing the heads and freezing them in water, in freezer bags, ready to take back home to Florida. Then how to de-vein them, to make sure they have no grit in them. We plan to buy more shrimp tomorrow and then we will be instructed on how to cook shrimp on a BBQ. There did not seem to be so many mosquito's tonight.

Better Days

After our setbacks of yesterday we set out bright and early today to see if we could make up the lost miles and make it to New Orleans (please pronounce this 'Norlens'). We sped along the I10 with Jim and Kathy, with a short stop for fuel and a longer stop for lunch at a Kangaroo Express Truck Stop.
As we approached New Orleans we crossed Lake Ponchartrain on a bridge abut 5 miles long. It was here that the road started to deteriorate. So we slowed down. The problem is the concrete slabs they use to build the road. Often one end would sink slightly (perhaps only half an inch), so every 20ft or so we would be going over a bump, unfortunately once the car has gone across then the trailer wheels cross it and give us another bump. This causes a pitching motion which is quite uncomfortable. What is worse is that everynow and then the speed/bump ratio produces a harmonic motion effect, so the bumps get bigger and bigger, then it is not only uncomfortable, it becomes worrying and downright dangerous, so we have to slow down to 50 m.p.h. One little set of bumps actually made the car leave the road and bounce three times before we could get it the pitching to stop, so we slowed down to 45 m.p.h. Eventually we drove into New Orleans, the road is very busy. It is elevated so we could see first of all the, now green, housing areas where Katrina had devastated homes, but they were only cleared, not replaced. Then new housing, where old homes have been replaced.
Then as we approached the heart of New Orleans we looked down on The French Quarter. However, here the road system gets complicated. To cross the Mississippi three major roads merge into one, plus access from the local French Quarter and Business district We made sure we took the correct exit, which was on the left (fast lane). Jim and Kathy had traffic forcing between us, so dropped back, this made walkie-talkie communication difficult, just when we needed it most, because as we are towing a trailer we could not actually see them, unless going round a bend. We swung round the Superdome and filtered into all the traffic merging to cross the huge bridge across the Mississippi (two bridges really, as there is one for each direction). We were now travelling East, rather than West, as we came off the bridge we had to select the correct exit to take us on to Westwego and our campsite, as the road kept splitting into various roads to take traffic away from the Bridge area. We managed without making a mistake, but it was quite hectic.
Within a few minutes we were turning into the peace and tranquility of the Bayou Segnette State Park and setting up on our campsites. We had a really nice relaxing meal, Jimmy cooked great pork chops. Halfway through the mosquitos descended, llike a cloud and we had no option but to pick everything up and run for the RV and finish our supper indoors.
Still we had sfaely made it to Norlens.

Better Days

After our setbacks of Wednesday we set out bright and early today (Thursday) to see if we could make up the lost miles and make it to New Orleans (please pronounce this 'Norlens'). We sped along the I10 with Jim and Kathy, with a short stop for fuel and a longer stop for lunch at a Kangaroo Express Truck Stop.
As we approached New Orleans, we crossed Lake Ponchartrain on a bridge abut 5 miles long. It was here that the road started to deteriorate. So we slowed down. The problem is the concrete slabs they use to build the road. Often one end would sink slightly (perhaps only half an inch), so every 20ft or so we would be going over a bump. Unfortunately once the car has gone across then the trailer wheels cross it and give us another bump. This causes a pitching motion which is quite uncomfortable. What is worse is that every now and then the speed/bump ratio produces a harmonic motion effect, so the bumps get bigger and bigger. Then it is not only uncomfortable, it becomes worrying and downright dangerous, so we have to slow down to 50 m.p.h. One little set of bumps actually made the car leave the road and bounce three times before we could get it the pitching to stop, so we slowed down to 45 m.p.h. Eventually we drove into New Orleans. The road is very busy. It is elevated so we could see first of all the now green, housing areas where Katrina had devastated homes, but they were only cleared, not replaced. Then new housing, where old homes have been replaced.
Then as we approached the heart of New Orleans we looked down on The French Quarter. However, here the road system gets complicated. To cross the Mississippi two major roads merge into one, plus access from the local French Quarter and Business district We made sure we took the correct exit, which was on the left (fast lane). Jim and Kathy had traffic forcing between us, so dropped back. This made walkie-talkie communication difficult, just when we needed it most, because as we are towing a trailer we could not actually see them, unless going round a bend. We swung round the Superdome and filtered into all the traffic merging to cross the huge bridge across the Mississippi (two bridges really, as there is one for each direction). We were now travelling East, rather than West. As we came off the bridge we had to select the correct exit to take us on to Westwego and our campsite, as the road kept splitting into various roads to take traffic away from the Bridge area. We managed without making a mistake, but it was quite hectic. Have a look at the road system on google maps, (We came in on 10, from the North East, crossed the river and went out on 90).
Within a few minutes we were turning into the peace and tranquility of the Bayou Segnette State Park and setting up on our campsites. We had a really nice relaxing meal - Jimmy cooked great pork chops. Halfway through, the mosquitos descended like a cloud and we had no option but to pick everything up and run for the RV and finish our supper indoors.
Still, we had safely made it to Norlens.

Trouble on the road!

Today is Wednesday and we did not make the progress we wanted to today. In fact I am writing this from BlackWater River State Park, only about 70 miles from Falling Waters.
We got away fairly early, but had to stop at Walmart for supplies, that took an hour.
Just as we were about to stop at a rest area for lunch we had a blow out on one of the trailer tyres. Fortunately I was able to stop without any damage to the trailer, however the tyre was a write off. We limped into the rest area and changed the tyre, but after lunch felt we had to buy a new tyre to replace the blow ou. We drove to the next Wal-mart, which was only 3 miles down the road. They took more than three hours to change two tyres (one of the others was badly worn as well), so we did not leave there until 5.45. Too late to go much further we stopped at the newly refurbished Black Water River State Park. Cath had cooked chicken and rice and we relaxed round the camp fire. We are getting to bed early, hopefully we can get a good start and make it to New Orleans tomorrow.
BlackWater River State Park has been recently refurbished with large, wide sites and full facilities. Near to River play area: tubing etc. Quite busy, book for weekends. $20p.n.

Our link with Florida Continues

Jim and Cathy had invited us to call in for a couple of days on our way to New Orleans. They have a house in a forest by the Santa Fe River. It is a beautifully decorated double wide home set in a couple of acres of woodland. They have several porches you can sit out on. It is a really peaceful place. Just when we thought that we would be leaving our friends in Florida behind, Jim and Cathy (who we were staying with) announced that they would like to come with us to New Orleans!
This was great, they are going to travel with us for about a week before going back to Florida for a HOG Bikers Meeting (Harley Owners Group) next Wednesday, so we had a quick turnaround at Jim and Cath's on Monday to do the washing and left in convoy for New Orleans on Tuesday. We made great progress on Tuesday and stopped overnight at Falling Waters State Park near Marianne in Florida. Here is a quick pic of our campsite while we are gettig ready to eat.We sat round the campfire as the sun went down. When we lokked up the setting sun made the tress glow red, as though they were on fire.


Falling Waters State Park is a small park with fairly naoorw roadways, sites cna be small. It is not busy, but book for weekends. 2/3 facilities on site. $20 p.n.

Mammoth Shopping trip to Bealls Outlet stores.

On Monday, after Connie and Jim’s bluegrass and party weekend, (which was a week ago, but I have had no time to write before now) we all went for breakfast at the local diner. It was decided that the girls – Connie, Cathy, Jan and I, would go to shop at Bealls Outlet Store as it was senior day – over 60’s get 15% discount off already really low prices. These outlet shops sell great clothes – some designer gear and some just ordinary makes, household goods and nick-nacks.

Connie drove us to the store in Belleview and we had a great time rummaging for bargains. Connie and Jan decided to buy blouses for their band, The Crooked Halos, to wear when performing so the quest was on to find identical tops in various sizes. We then moved onto the bigger and better store in The Villages – a huge retirement complex covering many acres of land. This store had a great selection and Connie had a huge trolley (cart) full of the most lovely tops. As she was paying, the system decided to shut down and she was left praying that things would get sorted out. We were all creased with laughing as the shop girl had to phone headquarters to get everything sorted out and a huge queue (line) formed behind her. Eventually she was able to pay for the things and we then moved onto store number three as Connie still had not got tops in the right sizes. There was very little choice at the next store but another top or two as added to the bags. After this we were hungry so we went to a drive in Sonic burger joint. I find these places a scream, as you drive up in your car, wind the window down and have a conversation with the servers through a microphone. ‘Hi. Welcome to your tasty, finger lickin’ good food joint – Sonic Burgers. And how may I help you this bright and beautiful day?’ You place your order and then the food is brought to you by a cracking looking young girl ON ROLLER SKATES– usually a student trying to earn some dough. We had French fries and drinks and then set off for store number four as Connie still did not have the right number of tops in the right sizes. Store number four provided me with some shoes I have been looking for ages and I was delighted to find they were in the sale (clearance) and, combined with my 15% discount, meant I only paid $5.38 – less than 5 pounds. (This keyboard is American and does not have the pounds sign!!!!!!) Bargain!!

Connie and Jan still did not have all the tops they needed so they decided to go onto store number 5 which is a brand new store. Cathy and I were really tired by this time, so we were taken back to Connie’s where we rested. That evening, Connie and Jan sorted out all the tops. They had bought 5 sets of tops for 6 ladies – all different sizes. They are beautiful and I’m sure they will look good in them – they will have to make sure they wear the same set together and not get muddled up!!!!

I managed to buy 3 pairs of Capri trousers – lightweight, two tops and a jacket to take home to England and my bargain shoes. A good shop was had by all and we had a fun time girly outing with much hilarity and good humour.

Sally

Soggy Bottom Weekend

We travelled down to Soggy Bottom, other wise known as The Sertoma Youth Ranch, on Wednesday. This followed a bit of a scare with the van.
On the Tuesday I went to start it and found it would do nothing! So we checked the battery, took the battery out, took it to Walmart to see if it was no longer servicable,but it was OK. Tried to jump start it, finally left it charging overnight. Next morning, no joy, changed the battery. Finally Jim tried to start it, wiggled the Auto shift stick and away it went, we were relieved!
Because of various difficulties we have done a lot of eating out, on Wednesday we ate at Remmingtons' Wesley Chapel, as this is the favourite eating place of Brenda's (who's birthday it was), however Brenda was not with us, still we had a great meal. Thursday a number of other people showed up-, some people we had not seen for more than a year. So we had a great time sharing gossip and jamming together under Connie's awning. Friday,we out to Remington's again, this time we took Brenda (because it was her birthday and it was her favourite place to eat). Saturday we relaxed and talked with more friends. In the afternoon there was the Soggy Bottom Auction, which was fun.
Last night we had a big jam session at Connie's When Sally retired to bed I had a bit of a wander around the campground and played with a couple of other people. It was another great night at Soggy Bottom.
This morning we will meet together inthe pavillion to share a Gospel Hour before breaking camp to leave Soggy Bottom behind.
We are moving on with Jim and Cathy Mobley to their house near Fort White in the north of Florida, hopefully to have a bit of a relax before moving west to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. This will give us the chance to provide a first hand report about this summers oil spill in the Gulf

Connie's Fall Party

It’s been along time since I last wrote on the blog, but then lots seem to have happened.

First, we are still at Connie and Jim’s. When we arrived last week Connie told us that she had invited all our old friends up for a party on Sunday for both us and for Brenda, her sister, as it was her birthday. This turned out to be a whole load of us camped in their field and having a great weekend. We had already been there for several days, getting our trailer cleaned out, so we waited excitedly for friends to arrive. First came Larry and Jan, in their big blue bus, then Jim and Kathy, our friends from White Lake. Soon after Christina and Geoff arrived in their brand new Hyundai. Later on, Marilee arrived in her old Chevy Jamboree, closely followed by Ed with his 1985 Ford, with a camper on the back. Last of all Lois arrived with her daughter Liz, as she had picked her up from Orlando Airport. So went to The Oakwood at Lady Lake for supper and then we jammed together on Friday night.

Saturday started with breakfast together, PANCAKES! Then we all went to a big Flea Market at Marion. You could get all sorts there, but I managed to buy a nice socket set. Saturday night we all went to Oxford to a local bluegrass and country get together. Some of the girls got together and reformed The Crooked Halo’s for another performance. That is Brenda, Jan, Marilee, Judy and Connie. They sounded really good. They were then asked to perform at a‘Pickin Parlour’ over towards Sanford next month, so the starlets are on their way to fame, well done!

Saturday night we all sat round the kitchen table and had a great time together just relaxing in each others company, telling stories and jokes, eating supper and really enjoying our time together.

Sunday we started with a gospel jam at about 10.30 and went through to 5.00, with a break for lunch. Some people had to leave, some of us collapsed and watched the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts in one of the most thrilling finishes to a football game. Others just went to bed exhausted.

Monday, more people were supposed to be going home, but Connie mentioned ‘Bealls – 15% off Senior Citizens Day’, so we went to Mary’s Grill for breakfast and the girls piled into one car and the boys into another. The girls set off for Bealls and we returned for a really quiet day back at the house. Sally may tell you about her record breaking day shopping.

Tonight there were eight of us left and we went to the Olive Garden for supper, the company was great, the food was good too.

A WOW of a weekend