Cruise–Part 1

I’m going to split blogging about our cruise into two parts as I have lots to share!

We left New Orleans on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon. The sail away party was fun, and we had no trouble finding some tropical refreshments to toast our departure. Cruise ships dock on the Mississippi River in the heart of downtown New Orleans, so there were some fabulous views from the top decks.

A small section of the Super Dome was visible as well as one of the famous whale walls. We were on the Carnival Sunshine which had undergone a $155 million restoration in 2013. What a beautiful ship. Just look at the water slides and ropes course.

As you can see, we were still wearing jackets, but that would soon change. The weather for our entire trip was fabulous with lots of sun and temps in the 80s every day.

Anyone who knows me would say that I am a somewhat conservative person. For some reason, when they were looking for people to sign up for a drink mixing contest, I decided to go for it. There was a predetermined list of ingredients you could choose from, so I couldn’t do the drink I had in mind. Instead I improvised and named my creation a Eugene in honor of an awesome bartender on our cruise to Hawaii two years ago. My concoction consisted of a shot each of rum, amaretto, crème de cocoa, crème de banana and the rest was pineapple juice.

The contest took place on Monday afternoon. The contestants were myself and three guys. I was a little nervous they would make us look stupid, but I was assured by the staff that they would behave themselves. Two of the guys had drinks with tequila. They put so much booze in it, all you could taste was the tequila. The judges were the assistant cruise director, the head bartender and another passenger.

When it was my turn, I mixed up my drink. Then they had me do some shaking and dancing and that was it. After all was said and done, I was the winner! The prize was four free drink coupons. Cool!!

Our second day was another day at sea. We participated in the bean bag tournament and checked out many of the areas of the ship. All of us went down the waterslides several times. That was so much fun.

Then Eric and I decided to try the ropes course. There were two sides to the course, a harder side and an easier side. Eric chose the hard side, and I chose the easy side. I am happy to say I completed the course, but it was not easy in my opinion. I don’t know that I would have been able to do the hard side.

Eric had no trouble. In fact, he enjoyed it so much he went around a couple of times on both courses. Once was enough for me. But, I’m proud of myself for trying a new challenge and conquering it.

Kevin took a bunch of pictures of me. I had to laugh at the look on my face on many of them. Our son Korey was a high adventure director at his last job and spent many days helping summer campers climb a rock wall and navigate a ropes course much harder than this one. So, he had no interest in trying this one.

That evening we had one of many beautiful sunsets.

On Wednesday we arrived at Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan, which is an island off the coast of Honduras. Cruise ships have only been coming here for a few years. The ship docked at a very nice pier with great shops at the end of the pier. There is also a private beach for cruise ships a short walk from the pier. The entire pier area was beautiful!

We had booked an excursion through Carnival to swim and snorkel with dolphins. The excursion had many great reviews online, so I was very excited. We took a 20 minute ride in a van to get to the resort where about a dozen trained dolphin live in a two acre area of the bay which has nets around it so they can’t get out.

We were in a group of twelve people. We stood in the water about waist deep and a trainer had the dolphin swim right in front of us so we could touch it. Then he had her do a few tricks. She left for a while because she had a baby with another trainer. Eventually she came back with the baby. She didn’t seem to want to do all of her tricks because she was more interested with her baby. Then they did pictures of each family with the dolphin and then individual pictures of the dolphin kissing each person.

 

Eric didn’t want to have his picture taken for the kiss. After we did the pictures, we put on our snorkel gear and had 30 minutes to swim in the enclosure with the dolphin. We saw them swim under us a few times and saw them playing with each other on the surface. This excursion was the most expensive one we did, and we were a bit disappointed. We did not feel we were able to interact with the dolphin as was advertised. Also, the pictures were way overpriced. They charged $85 for a family of four for 31 pictures they emailed to us. That was double what we paid at the next excursion for more pictures. It was fun, but we didn’t feel it was worth the money or that you got what was advertised.

After we got back from the dolphin excursion, we walked around the pier area for a while and walked to the beach. For someone who didn’t want to pay for an excursion, this pier area is excellent to just get off the ship and walk to a beautiful beach. Definitely one of the nicest ports I have ever seen.

Come back tomorrow for the rest of the trip including zip lining and ATV riding!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Cruising Today

After a stressful Friday, both of our boys finally made it to New Orleans. Korey arrived on Friday with just a two hour delay. Eric’s flights on Friday were cancelled, but he was able to get onto flights on Saturday and finally arrived at 5:30 pm on Saturday.

We leave today for a seven day cruise so I won’t be posting until we get back. We’ll have two days at sea. Our first port is Honduras where we will do a dolphin encounter excursion. Next is Belize where we will zip line in the rain forest and then tube in a river in a cave. The last stop is Cozumel where we will do an ATV adventure.

I’m sure I’ll have plenty to share when we get back. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and well wishes when I was stressing about our son’s flights being cancelled. Travelling in winter is not for the faint hearted!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

One of Those Days

So, yesterday was one of those days. Started out with a flood in the bathroom because the toilet water kept flowing, and we didn't realize it for about an hour. That's never happened before and it's working fine now. Luckily, the water did not go through to the basement. Kevin cleaned it up as best he could, and we dried as much as we could in the dryers here at the campground. We had a heater on the carpet that got wet all day, and everything is dry again. That was just weird.

Then Eric's flights were cancelled. It seems O’Hare was a mess yesterday, so he is re-booked for today. Sure keeping my fingers crossed. If he gets cancelled today, he’s hopping in his car and driving 16 hours from Milwaukee to New Orleans. If all goes well with the flights, he’s supposed to arrive at 5:45 pm today. Our plans to visit New Orleans today with the boys have been cancelled. That’s fine as long as Eric gets here safe and sound and before the ship leaves tomorrow. Traveling in winter is stressful!!

Korey's first flight was delayed about 20 minutes. Not too bad, but when he was sitting on the plane from Dallas to NOLA they announced the plane was broken, and they would have to get on a different plane. Thank goodness it didn’t break while they were in the air. Dallas is a hub for American Airlines, so they were able to get another plane in service pretty quickly. Two hour delay, but at least he's hear safe and sound.

You would have thought yesterday was Friday the 13th or something. I sure hope today is a better day. I’m ready for some tropical breezes, sitting on the ship deck with an umbrella drink in my hand and my family beside me. Ahhh!!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

New Orleans French Quarter

A couple of weeks before arriving in New Orleans, I had found a Groupon deal for a two hour walking tour of the French Quarter with Magic Tours. I made reservations to do the 4:00 pm tour on Monday afternoon. The tour never happened, but we still had a good time exploring the French Quarter.

We left the RV park around noon and parked in a lot about two blocks outside of the French Quarter for $5. The campground owner had told us about this lot, and it is definitely a bargain. Parking in the area is very expensive.

Driving around New Orleans we have seen quite a few condemned or abandoned houses with numbers spray painted on them. These houses are casualties of Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans in August, 2005. From what we’ve seen so far, New Orleans has lots of very old buildings, and seems to have many areas struggling economically.

We wandered through the French Market which had the typical tourist stuff for sale. If you want a t-shirt or an alligator head, this is the place to buy it. Prices were definitely better than in the shops. We walked along the riverfront for a bit, and then continued walking along Decatur Street which has many shops and restaurants. We saw quite a few street performers and also a number of panhandlers.

If you look closely at the above picture, you can see paintings along the fence in the background. That is Jackson Square, which is a park near the center of the French Quarter near the Mississippi River. Many artists gather around the square to sell their artwork. There were also quite a few fortune tellers set up near the square. The square was the location where in 1803 the US flag flew for the first time in the Louisiana Territory.

The square was originally called Place d’Armes, but was renamed in 1856 for the hero of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans Andrew Jackson. There is a statue of him on a horse in the center of the park.

The church behind the square is St. Louis Cathedral. The first local parish church was built on this site in 1727. The church was destroyed along with three-quarters of the city in 1788. Since then it has been rebuilt a few times. The current façade was added in 1851.

We had lunch at Crescent City Brewhouse. We had a coupon for a buy one, get one free lunch entrée. I had crawfish etouffee and Kevin had shrimp jambalaya. Both dishes were good, although a bit spicy for our virgin northern pallets. Kevin also enjoyed a glass of Weiss and IPA beers. Even with the coupon, our bill was $40. New Orleans is a pretty expensive place.

After lunch we wandered around a bit more. We made our way to Bourbon Street. We passed Jean Lafittes Blacksmith Shop, the oldest bar in the country. It looks like an old blacksmith shop although I overheard a tour guide saying they actually never forged anything there. It was a front for pirates to get together, drink and do business.

We walked all along Bourbon Street from one end of the quarter to the other. Lots of bars and strip joints. In 1997 we flew to Biloxi, Mississippi for a 20th anniversary trip. On that trip, we drove to New Orleans for one day. That day happened to be Halloween, and Bourbon Street that night was a crazy place to be. It was pretty mild this time. We are planning to come back with our boys on Saturday evening, so we’ll see what that’s like. This will be a new experience for them.

Here I am with my pal Pat O’Brien. The Hurricane drink originated at this bar in the 1940s. On our trip here in 1997, I had my first Hurricane. It left me rather tipsy as there are 4 ounces of rum in it, yet it tastes like fruit punch and goes down very easy! I may have to try another one Saturday night.

We arrived at the appointed time and place for our walking tour. The guide, however, did not arrive. I called the company, and the guy on the phone couldn’t reach the guide. So, no tour. Magic tours had many great reviews online, so hopefully this was just one of those things. I called them back the next day, and he didn’t explain what happened, just that the guide was fine. I rescheduled for Saturday with our boys, and they are giving us the same Groupon deal for the two extra people. Hopefully, the guide shows up this time.

On our way back to the truck, we walked along the riverfront again. The Carnival Eclipse was leaving the port heading down the river. We’ll be on the Sunshine on Sunday. After looking at a map, I learned that the river flows quite a ways from New Orleans before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. It should be fun standing on deck as we cruise along the river.

Now I just have to hope the weather cooperates so both boy’s flights are not delayed or cancelled and they arrive safe and sound on Friday. Can’t wait!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Avery Island Tabasco Tour

Jude Travel Park, New Orleans, Louisiana

On Thursday we headed about 40 miles to Avery Island to tour the Tabasco factory with our friends Kim and Harland. The tour is free, but there is a $1 per car charge to enter the island.

In 1868 Edmund McIlhenny started producing Tabasco pepper sauce from capsicum peppers he was growing on Avery Island, his families home. Five generations later the same family is still operating the factory using the same recipe. The factory itself has been rebuilt a couple of times. The present factory was completed in 1980.

There are now several varieties of pepper sauce sold in over 165 countries and labeled in 22 languages. The day we visited, they were bottling sauce to be shipped to Germany.

The capsicum peppers are still grown on Avery Island. Those peppers are used for seeds which are shipped to growers in Central and South America to produce enough peppers to produce and bottle all of the sauces.

Once the peppers are processed, they are placed in oak barrels which have a few holes in the cover. Then a layer of salt is placed on top of the barrel. The pepper sauce in these barrels ferments for three years before it is mixed with the remaining ingredients and bottled. I had no idea it took that long.

The salt comes from under Avery Island. The island is on the largest of five salt domes in Louisiana. The salt goes down as far as Mount Everest is high. That’s a lot of salt. The salt mines are leased to the Cargill Salt Company. Annual production tops 2.5 million tons, and the extracted salt is 98.9% pure.

We were each given four small sample bottles of different types of pepper sauces including the original, buffalo, green pepper and chipotle. There was also a free tasting area where you could try all of their sauces, chili with their chili sauce, jalapeno flavored ice cream, pepper flavored soda, and some pepper jellies. I’m not a big fan of spicy hot stuff, but I did like their new sweet and spicy pepper sauce. We bought a bottle of that, a bottle of mild bloody mary mix and a bottle of garlic pepper sauce which Kevin liked and is going to use for marinating. The tour was fun, and we all enjoyed our visit.

On our way back home we saw this camper. They put anything on stilts around here. Interesting!!

On Friday we headed to New Orleans. We are staying at Jude Travel Park. We’re staying for a month and wanted someplace where we could leave the fifth wheel while we were on the cruise. This is a family owned small RV park with a fence and security gate. The owners live on site and will be personally watching our truck and fifth wheel. It’s a no frills place, not in the best part of town and the sites are tight; but it works for our needs this time.

As we were driving to New Orleans, we crossed the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge. It’s 18.2 miles long and crosses over a couple of lakes, rivers and swamps. It seemed like that bridge would never end. It is the second longest in the US and the fourteenth longest in the world. Then as we got close to New Orleans, we crossed another long bridge over Lake Pontchartrain. There sure is a lot of water in Louisiana.

Today we did some grocery shopping. There are definitely some different types of food here than we are used to seeing. As Mardi Gras is just around the corner, the stores are all selling King cakes. It looks like a big cinnamon roll with colored frosting. I would have like to buy a small piece to try, but all of the ones we saw were too big for us.

This bottle of pickled pigs lips definitely caught my attention. Who eats this stuff??? On Monday we’re going on a guided walking tour of the French Quarter. I bought the tour on Groupon a couple of weeks ago. I also bought a swamp tour on Groupon which we will do after the cruise. Our boys arrive on Friday, and on Sunday we start cruising. We’ll have a busy couple of weeks. I sure am looking forward to seeing my kids!!

 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Rayne, Louisiana

Frog City RV Park – Duson, Louisiana

We arrived yesterday afternoon at Frog City RV park in Duson, Louisiana. This is another Passport America park and is a nice place just off I-10 to stop for a couple of nights. We met up with our friends Kim and Harland from Nova Scotia for a few days while we’re here. They’re on their way to Yuma coming from the east. We’re on our way to New Orleans coming from the west. This was a great spot to meet up in between.

We first met Kim and Harland in 2007 on a bus tour of Europe. We hit it off on that trip and have kept in touch via the internet and Facebook. We’ve met up the last two winters in our travels through the south, and always have a great time visiting with them. This time has been no different. Lots of stories and laughter.

Today we visited Rayne, Louisiana, about five miles from our RV park. This small town got its fame from frog legs. In the early 1900s three Parisian brothers operated a profitable export business in Rayne, shipping frog legs all over the country and even to Europe. At the height of the business, they were shipping 10,000 pounds of frog legs a week. That’s a lot of frogs!!

Today the town uses its claim as the frog capital of the world as a tourist attraction. There are frog statues all over town painted to coincide with the business they are in front of. Here’s the frog in front of the bank with Kim and Harland.

This one was so clever. It was in front of a building supply business, and he had a whole construction site around him with stories to go along with it.

In addition to the frog statues, there are also a number of murals throughout the town. Some of them are really nice, and some of them have seen better days. This one was on the side of a large building and looked great.

I thought this one was really cute, and I liked the play on words with the town’s name.

As if the frog theme isn’t enough of a claim to fame, Rayne also has a cemetery that is in Ripley’s Believe it or Not. It seems St. Joseph’s Cemetery is the only cemetery in the Judeo-Christian world facing north-south.

I never realized this, but apparently cemeteries are laid out so the graves face east-west (the east representing the beginning of life and the west the end of life). Legend has it that the creators of the cemetery in Rayne mistakenly started burying people north to south. By the time the error was discovered, too many bodies had been buried so they just kept going.

This was an interesting town to spend an hour or so roaming around on a beautiful, sunny day. Another novel roadside America town to explore.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Visiting Judy at Anahauc Refuge

Turtle Bayou RV Park, Wallisville, Texas

When we left Kansas, we had over three weeks until our reservation in New Orleans on January 17th. One of the places I wanted to stop was Anahauc National Wildlife Refuge to meet fellow blogger Judy who writes the blog Travels With Emma.

So, I booked five nights at Turtle Bayou RV Park near the refuge. It’s a Passport America park and is pretty dumpy. The discounted price is $18 a night. Even that is a bit high in my opinion, definitely not worth more. It is right off of I-10 so there is plenty of road noise. The hook-ups are adequate, and they do have very good free wi-fi.

Judy is currently a volunteer at Anahauc. She spends most of her time as a full time RVer volunteering at various wildlife refuges. We made plans to meet up with her yesterday afternoon for a tour.

Two years ago they built a very nice new visitor center at Anahauc after Hurricane Ike destroyed the previous one. While we waited for Judy to return from her duties at the hunter checkpoint, we watched the two short movies about the refuge. You sit in a retired air boat to watch the movie, and it vibrates and makes engine noises so you feel like you are really riding in a boat. There is even a little breeze blowing in your face. The movies were very informative, and some of the best we’ve seen at visitor centers.

We followed Judy in her truck to the auto tour section of the refuge. From there she hopped into our back seat and gave us a personal tour. Judy definitely knows her stuff. She is affectionately known as the bird lady of blog land. She often helps other bloggers identify birds they have seen in their travels, including several I’ve seen. I’ve learned so much about birds and wildlife refuges from reading her blog. I would encourage you to take a look.

We saw several alligators sunning themselves along the way.

Judy showed us where a mother alligator hangs out with her babies. There were five cars parked at the spot when we arrived. Just as we got there, the mother slid into the water. You can see her big head sticking out of the water below. Judy said there were too many people around.

We did see two of the babies in the reeds. That was pretty cool. They look like little dinosaurs to me.

 

Next we drove to the area that borders Galveston Bay where you can see the Bolivar peninsula. We were now seeing the bay from the opposite side we were on while in Galveston. There were several people fishing and crabbing along the way. We saw lots of coots and different types of ducks on our drive. This Red-tailed Hawk looked very majestic sitting in a tree beside the road.

Our last stop was at the Skillern Tract. A short hike along a path takes you out to an observation platform overlooking a large pond. Judy had been telling us about a couple of Vermillion Flycatchers that have been spotted on the refuge lately. One of them put on quite a show for us at this last stop. It flitted between a couple of the tall trees for quite a while. Unfortunately, I do not have one of those cameras with the gigantic zoom lenses, so I couldn’t get a real good close up, but I think this picture is still pretty good. It was a beautiful bird, and a real treat to see it

By the way, thanks to reader Contessa who suggested I tap my camera on the counter to see if I could dislodge the dust that was on my lens. It worked, and no more dark spots on my photos!!

Judy spent about three hours with us. As we slowly drove around the refuge, we shared some details about our lives and she told us some of the history of the refuge. It was great meeting her, and we certainly appreciated the personal tour. What a neat lady!!

 

 

 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!