Pearl River Eco-Tour of the Swamp and Bayou (10/31)

We were able to book a tour of the swamp and bayou for today at noon. I was so glad we could go today because a cold front is coming through tomorrow and it is suppose to 60 degrees for a high.  Today it is suppose to be in the mid to high 70's.  We left a little early so we could stop for lunch.  We found a Panera Bakery and restaurant.  With full bellies we head to the Peal River Eco Tour company.  We are now in Slidell LA.  We are about 40 minutes early so have a little bit of a wait.  We are booked on their 6 person tour and lucky for us no one else has signed up of it so we get a private tour.  We will be riding in a small skiff that can get around easy and into small places.  We start right at noon.  This is the first sight we saw.  This wreck of a boat is left over from Katrina.

Once we get around this spot we get to see our first alligator.  It is a two year old, as are all the one's we see today.  It seems we are a little late in the year to see the big ones.  They are already starting to hibernate for the winter.

The guide puts marshmallow's on a stick and gets him to jump up out of the water, it was pretty cool.
We found out they are very cold blooded creatures and the nodules along their backs work as solar panels that attract the sun and warm them up.

It is a little chilly riding at 50 miles an hour, then we slow down quickly to get a good luck at the yellow belly turtles.

It is really amazing out here, we are enjoying ourselves so much.

This cute guy is sunny himself on a log.

As we round a corner we come to a little town on the swamps. These people have lived out here for generations.  Some lost their homes during Katrina and were not able to rebuild. Your could do repairs but the government would let you rebuild if your home was to far gone.  I can't imagine living out here with they only way in or out is by boat. This area is called the Honey swamps because they used to have a lot of honey bees here.


 The house on the left is the neighbor hood party house.  It is know as the Life is Good house and when the sun goes down everyone gatherers here on weekends for drink and food.  I like that house.  A woman and her two daughters live in the house on the right.

Once we leave here we go through some more of the swamp and get to see this cute little guy.

 Now it is time to head back to the dock.  We have been out here for about 2 and 1/2 hours.  This is a place I will never forget.

Once back at the park we weren't sure what we were going to do for Halloween.  It is starting to get cold out already.  But I decided we would go into town for dinner.  I want to try eating alligator.  Our guide directed us to Ralph and Kaccoo's. We had alligator for an appetizer half blackened and half fried nuggets.  It was really good, the blackened was a little spicy.  For dinner I had fried catfish and Joe had Jambalaya . Our table was at the front window and it was fun to sit and watch all the different costumes go by.  There were some pretty elaborate one's.  I had one of their home brewed beers called Abita Harvest, it is a pecan beer and really good.  After dinner we wandered around the shops and bought some souvenirs.  I did by myself a feather mask.

Then it started getting really cold so we headed back to the park.  The French Quarter was starting to get really crowded not crazy yet just fun.  If felt good to be back home and warm.  This was a very good day!!!!!!

New Orleans (10/30)

Up early and on the road by 9 for New Orleans.  Nice peaceful ride some of the scenery is really nice, some is not so nice.  You pass some oil refineries and things like that, they detract from the scenery.

 The picture to the right and below is part of the bayou system through this area. The highway is right in the middle of the water.  It is pretty cool to ride on top of the water and it is everywhere you look.


It isn't a very long drive to New Orleans from Natchez MS.  Here is my  first view of the city.

We are staying at the French Quarter RV Park, it is right across the street from the French Quarter.  We arrive a little after noon and get set up.  We have asked at the office where a good place to eat lunch is and they sent us over to the Gumbo Shop in the French Quarter.  Once all set up we walk over to the Gumbo Shop and have a very yummy lunch.  I had the sausage gumbo and Joe had the Jambalaya and a couple of beers.  We got talking to the couple sitting next to us and found out that a Zydeco band is playing at the Rock 'n' bowl bowing alley on Carlton.  The band starts at 8:30 we can't wait to go.  We had seed this band in May at the Zydeco Festival in San Diego.  We spend a little time walking around the French Quarter to the Mississippi River.

 After our little tour of this area we head back to the park to rest a little before going to the Rock 'N' Bowl.  We decided to go early to make sure we got a place to sit and park.  They serve food so we would have our dinner there.
We arrived a little after 7 and got a nice table and ordered drinks and Joe went to order food.  I a going to try their hot wings and Joe just got a hamburger.  While he was gone our new friends, Tom and Laurie Francis, arrived.  They hadn't eaten dinner yet either.  The Saint's football was on TV so the band started a little later than planned, but when they did it was awesome.  Joe and I danced some, not so much as we used to, I am still having back trouble.  But it sure felt good to get up and move on the dance floor.  After 2 hours the band is still playing without a break. We left after another half hour, not knowing how late they would play and we wanted to beat traffic.  Unfortunately for us the I 10 East bound was closed for work tonight and we had to find another way back to the park.  So we had another adventure.  We took Canal St all the way back but then discovered you could only turn right off of this street so we made a right went around the block and manged to get back to the park by making all rights.  We are tired and it feels to crawl into bed for a good nights sleep. Of course we are by a hospital so sirens are going all night and we are also right next to the  freeway.  Sure glad I have ear plugs.

Tomorrow we are hoping to take a tour of the bayou's and swamps of  New Orleans.

Natchez MS (10/28-29)

Tuesday

We leave W Memphis this morning for Natchez MS.  It is a little cooler than it has been and very overcast.  Rain is predicted.   We have about 300 miles to drive today so not to bad.  I had my back adjusted yesterday so am a little stiff this morning and not looking forward to spending long hours in the truck.  Once on our way I feel a little better and the drive through Mississippi is beautiful. Mostly freeway so we can make good time.  That is until we get to Jackson MS, there is an accident on the freeway and slows us up a little bit.  We left this morning at 8:30 and finally arrived at the Plantation RV Park in Natchez MS around 4pm.
Not a bad park but it is mostly permanent residents.  It is close to the highway so a lot of traffic noise during the day.  We went to dinner at a place just down the street called Roux 61 Seafood and Grill.  This is really a good find.  The food was plentiful and very good.  I had the jumbo shrimp and baked potato.  When they say jumbo they mean jumbo and the baked potato was the biggest I have ever had at a restaurant. Joe had the hamburger which came on a jalapeno bun and has coleslaw on it.  He was so happy when they actually cooked it med.  This is something that rarely happens.

Now we are full and ready for a quite night.  Tomorrow we will be touring some of the antebellum mansions.

Wednesday

I am looking forward to touring these mansions.  I have always wanted to go into one.  Our first stop is at the visitor center to see which ones are available for tours today.  We bought the package of three tours.  First we go to see the Melrose Plantation.  It was built in the 1840's.  They are in the process of restoring the outside to it's original state.  This is a beautiful place.  At one point it was occupied by the Union soldiers.  Most of the furnishing are original to the house.

The fan above the table is called a pukka.  In those days they didn't have air conditioning. So to keep cool while enjoying a meal and keeping the flies away, there would be a slave pulling gently on a rope attached to the fan to make it go back and forth.

The picture on the right has a great couch pre-movie seating couch.  The beds in this house are quite unique as the one shows on the left.

 The next plantation we went to was called Stanton Hall and was built in 1857 and owned by Frederick Stanton who was a multi-millionaire. He owned three or four other plantations besides this one.  He made his money in cotton as most did in this area.  Natchez had more millionaire's than any other place in the country. All made rich off of cotton.
Mr Stanton spared no expense in building his dream house.  If he wanted it the builders did it.  It has 17 ft ceilings and magnificent gas a leers, (not sure of the spelling). These were gas operated lights, and of course Mr Stanton owned the gas company.  The front parlor and the back parlor to together measures 72 feet long.  Quite impressive.  For all his wealth he made this a very impressive home.

They also have a restaurant on the property and we had lunch there.  It is called the Carriage House, and we had lunch in the Queen Ann house attached to it.  The food was very good.

The last plantation we visited was my favorite one.  It is called Longwood.  It was built from 1860-1861 and was never finished.  It is six stories high and octagonal in shape it had 32 rooms.  The basement and second floors were 10,000 sq ft each.  The first year and a half were spent on building the structure.  They had to make and fire all the bricks for this house on property.  Once the outside structure was completed and inside walls were up they started the arduous task of plastering and painting.  They started with the basement and by the time they were about done the civil war broke out and building stopped.  The workers put down their tools and said sorry but we have to leave and go back to PA and our families.  So Haller Nutt and his wife, Julia and their eight children moved into the basement.  This is where they lived out their lives and then other members of the family took it over and finally and it was owned by the family until 1968.  It was never completed as no one had the money to complete it after the war.  The Nutt's lost all of their money at that time, as did most of the other plantation owners of this area.

These are pictures of the unfinished 2nd floor.  We couldn't take pic of the 1st floor. Notice the one below that shows it open all the way to the top of the observation room.

It is now 3 pm and I am on historical overload so Joe takes be back home then he went to explore a little more.

I am looking forward to going to New Orleans tomorrow!

Clarksdale and the Crossroads (10/26)-(10/27)

This morning is pretty foggy out but is suppose to be in the high 80's

We are headed to Clarksdale today to see the Crossroads where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil.  Many songs have been written about the crossroads and there is a movie called Crossroads that is about finding a lost song of Robert Johnson's and going to the cross roads. What a nice leisurely drive through Mississippi.  We haven't done a lot in the Mississippi area so it was nice to see a little different scenery.  A lot of cotton fields done this way.  Clarksdale it self is not much to see, very depressed and run down. There are two museums in town, the Delta Blues and the Rock and roll hall of fame.  Unfortunately they were closed on Sunday.  But it was kind of cool to see the crossroads which is now in the middle of town.

We stopped at Popeye's Chicken for lunch and then headed back to W Memphis via Helena AR.  The roads we took are all apart of the Blue's Highway where it all began.  So many great blues singers/player's have come from this area.  A lot of the old homes are still here and not in very good condition.  Most of them would go to Helena to play on the King Biscuit Hour radio show.

This turned out to be a really nice loop drive so we saw both sides of this area.  Once back in W Memphis we take a little walk to work out the kinks from riding.  Joe wanted his picture taken by the high water mark sign.  We would be under water if we were here then.





Then it is time for a beer.  I see what is called the tree house in the distance so Joe goes to check it out.

Pictures taken from the tree house

What a beautiful day, the high was 87 degrees at the end of Oct.  The colors haven't even changed here yet, they are just beginning.  This is unusually warm for this time of year.

Tomorrow I have a chiropractor apt. so it will be a do nothing day for me. Not sure what Joe has planned besides doing laundry.  I am so glad he doesn't mind doing it, as it is one of the things that really hurts my back.  I don't understand how I can do a good hike with no trouble but little things like washing dishes or making the bed just kill me.  Has to do with how I bend or something.  Sure wish it would go away!!!!!!!

River Art Festival/Beale Street (10/25)

Went into Memphis thinking we would go to the farmers market, but it turned out to be the river art festival. What fun.  There are some amazing artist here, everything from painting, photography, and wood carving to name a few.  We met a woman who had just completed the PCT, she had some amazing photo's of the hike, as well as of the AT and other hikes she has done.  There was another guy who did his photo's in some kind of a glossy finish that were spectacular.  He had a time lapsed one of the night sky that made the stars look like they were swirling around.  Most would not let you take pictures of their work but one did and is one of my favorite.  What a unique way to use old instruments.

I just loved this praying mantis playing the sax.  The guitar guy is pretty cool too.  They all are!!!!










We also listened to a couple of bands.

We also toured the Memphis Railroad museum.   It was free to tour during the festival.

The above is a 1/8th scale replica of a Memphis steam train.   After going through Dexter's train set up in AL this was kind of cool to see.                                                                                                             

We have a little lunch and head back home for a nap before going to Beale street tonight.  We have a light dinner and head to Beale street around 7pm.  It took a while to find a place to park, finally found a garage that only charged us $5 all the other places were $10 or more.  It was a couple of blocks to Beale street.  All I can say is WOW!!!!.   It is packed already and music coming our of every building and bands playing on the sidewalk.  It really reminded be of 5th and 6th streets in Austin.  Beale street is closed to traffic so you are free to walk around without worrying about getting hit by a car.  You are also allowed to carry your drinks with you.  They have sidewalk bars all over the place.

We finally settled on listening to rockabilly for the night.  We went into the Blues City Cafe.  They had two really good rockabilly bands playing there. The first one was called Smooth and the Bully Boys.  Very high energy and fun to watch.

 The next band was Hillbilly Casino.  They were also high energy and fun.

By the their first break I was on music overload and ready to go home.  By this time is was close to midnight.  Finally home and in bed by 1am.  I am glad we don't have to get up early in the morning. We have not made plans for Sunday yet!