Texas & Louisiana ~ March 2022

Three weeks ago we began a vacation that will be remembered... we left 12 hour earlier than we had planned because of the threat of a snowstorm.  And when we saw that there was another storm forecasted for the day of our scheduled return, we extended the trip to miss it as well. :)  (One of the many perks of being self-employed.)

As we watched the forecast of snow predicted for March 17th, we decided (at 4 p.m.) that we should eat a quick dinner and scoot over Raton Pass before the rain/snow mix started.  We made it to Dumas, TX and pulled into a Wallyworld parking lot, along with about 12 other semi-trucks and a few other campers and hopped into the camper and tucked ourselves in for the night.  I would say that we tucked ourselves in for sleeping, but that was not the case... the noise of the highway and other trucks made it very difficult to sleep.  We were up at the crack of dawn and went in search of some coffee and tea and headed down the road to Seymour.

We were greeted by our amazing friends at the Lazy J Goat Farm and welcomed with open arms, despite the fact that we were 6 hours earlier than we had planned. We were made aware of the fact that the interstate did indeed get closed because of several accidents... and the pictures from the traffic cameras showed that Raton Pass was a sloppy, wet and icy mess!  And we missed it!  

We made plans to meet our college friend, JJ (Jamie) and his wife Dixie near Longview, TX and enjoyed the drive to "Deer Camp".  We enjoyed a campfire for most of the weekend and had casual conversation as we all reconnected.  It has been 20 years since we had last met up.  

The full moon was a great companion for the weekend.  

Does anyone else see the cross that was formed with shadow of a tree and cloud?  The presence of the Lord followed us all along the way!

JJ hasn't changed much from when we knew him in college... he still loves his music loud and proud.  

Waking on Suday morning with the sound of bluegrass gospel transported both Dave and I back to Sunday afternoons in the living room with my Mom & Dad.

Soon after we bid farewell to them and traveled down the road toward Louisiana.  This was all new territory for us so there wasn't much quilting going on. 

As we made our way into Natchitoches, LA, (the state's oldest city) it was apparent that spring had sprung! The bees were buzzing, the birds were singing, and the sun was shining!  It felt wonderful.  As we enjoyed lunch we decided that we would hop on our bikes and check out the town.  

We rode through the historic streets we found ourselves on the campus of Northwestern State University.

Northwestern State University stands on ground that has been dedicated to learning for well over 100 years. Prior to the American Civil War, a portion of the present campus was the property of the Bullard family of Natchitoches. As early as 1856, the Bullard mansion was in use as a convent by the Religious Society of the Sacred Heart. The following year, a school building was erected at the convent, and in 1884, the town and parish of Natchitoches purchased the property. Three of the four great white columns that once supported the east gable of the mansion still stand on "The Hill" and serve as the unofficial symbols of the university. 

Natchitoches was also the location for the story of Steel Magnolias... There were several sites dedicated to the 1989 film.

This is the Steel Magnolia House... 

While there were plenty of Bed & Breakfast locations in town, there were not many options for camping.  We drove about 20 miles to the Kisatchi National Forest and stayed in a lovely area... all alone.  Not another camper in the entire area.   It was a peaceful and restful night.  

Funny story... As we were ready to pack up and go back to town a Sheriff's car pulled up and three men, dressed in prison striped jumpers pull up to collect the garbage.  Dave had his back to them as they pulled up and when he turned around he was startled by the prison garb and didn't see that the Officer was still in the vehicle.  After a brief moment of panic, he realized what they were doing and we had a little chuckle, and a big sigh of relief, as we left them to their duties.

In town, we did a little gift shop tour (Dave really enjoyed the General Mercantile {hardware} store).  After getting info from the visitor's center we started the tours of the Antebellum Historic Homes.  

<<Oakland was a self-guided tour and Melrose ↓↓ was a guided tour.  Both interesting places.

From there we were headed in the direction of Alexandria.  There was a prediction of thunderstorms and rain for overnight so we took advantage of the time on our "back patio" and enjoyed the evening.  

We noticed that there was Spanish moss in some of the trees and there were Cyprus knees along the shore of Cotile lake.

Rain never did happen, other than a few sprinkles, until morning.  We had finished breakfast and were discussing the use of the shower facilities and decided to simply clean up in the camper... and then the heavens opened and the rain came down!

We donned our rain gear during a lull and started getting things tucked away in their proper places.  The next step was to pull down the pop-up portion of the camper and get the bikes loaded.  Never before have we taken the camper down in the rain.  

Well... let's just say we learned a lot!  Like when you tuck the canvas portion of the camper inside during a rainstorm you end up with water INSIDE the camper.  Ugh...

When we pulled into the Lake Charles Visitors Center we discovered just how wet everything was...  

We had to find a place to park the camper and get things opened and dried out...

Towels, jackets, bedding, cushions, mattress... all wet.  Thankfully, the sun was shining and there was a breeze to help out.  The guitar case and the song book were wet as well.  The guitar was fine... whew!  We dried out and were back in business by sunset.

The next day we traversed the Creole Nature Trail, 101 miles, that traveled along bayous and wetlands.  We got out at several trail areas and saw a mink, butterflies, a fiddler crab, alligators, egrets, herons, ducks, turtles and more!  

We stopped at Meaux's to purchase shrimp (guess what was for dinner that night!)  

We stopped in at a food truck so that Dave could try the recommended crab poppers that someone told him about.  While I was off taking advantage of a restroom facility he also purchased some grilled shrimp and successfully gave instructions to the chef so that I could have some "fast food".  He was as excited about surprising me as I was about getting something to eat!

All the way along the trail, we kept asking about alligators... We finally found the place that the gators were prevalent and in the open.  

As we considered the first portion of the trail, there were probably plenty of them there too, but we didn't really know where to look...

Here's a whole family of them!

When we returned to our campsite we made dinner... Shrimp alfredo!

Definitely NOT the traditional camping meals of hamburgers and such. ;)

We were ready to head to the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas and ready to hit the beach for a few days.  

We looked forward to not needing to pack everything away which is required with the taking down of the camper.  

We had our place staked out and were enjoying the scene... and I was FINALLY getting some quilting done.

Dave did some people watching

I did some quilting...

we walked along the beach...

we rode bikes on the beach...

 

Another reminder that God was with us

we enjoyed some sandcastles and gathered shells

and we enjoyed the sunrises and sunsets.

Thursday and Friday were glorious!  The beach cleared in the evening and we were looking forward to another quiet night.  We had retired to bed and were sleeping blissfully with the sound of the surf on the shore... and then the party started and we were rudely awakened with the sound of an ATV doing donuts in the sand and two different campsites, that had recently moved in, were doing battle with their music... and WE were stuck in the middle.  UGH!  In the words of Michelle Tanner from Full House, "How Rude!"

Saturday morning we vowed that we would find a quieter place.  We were headed to Galveston for some seafood and some sight-seeing, but we checked out a different section of the beach, miles down, and found that it was pleasant and peaceful... a good thing to know and an option to consider.

We boarded the ferry for Galveston and as we were waiting for it to be loaded, we spotted some dolphins!  And there was no shortage of pelicans and seagulls to watch.

Our search for a quieter place in Galveston was a bust since it was a Saturday and there were people and cars EVERYWHERE!  We enjoyed lunch at the Fisherman's Wharf and purchased some seafood to take home with us and returned to Bolivar Flats for the night... It was certainly much quieter, and we did sleep well.  However, the wind had picked up early on Sunday and well... sand was everywhere... I mean every little nook and cranny. 

We did not complain or grumble because at least we had slept peacefully.  We cleaned up and were headed to church.  As we left the beach Dave commented that the brakes were really soft... We had brakes, but this would certainly need to be checked out, but we went to the Crystal Beach Community Church anyway.  From the moment we walked through their doors, it was an Annointed time.  

We met some wonderful people, including one of ladies we had chatted with on the beach during our morning walks.  We also met a couple that owned one of the small RV places we had looked at when we arrived on Thursday. Kurt & Debbie were going to be hosting "Praise in the Park", a Christian karaoke event that evening.  

We spoke with them about getting a space for the night to get off of the beach and to get things cleaned up and reorganized for the next day and our trip to Houston.  We did get a small space for the night and we assisted with setting up their equipment for the praise in the park event.  

Dave pulled his guitar and our music out and we were singing a few songs before anyone showed up.  Kurt & Debbie were a little disappointed that no additional guests were there, but would have been content if it had been just the four of us sitting around a table for a time of worship... Dave had started praying that the ministry that they were hosting would be a blessing for all that might attend any future events... and then the cars and trucks started pulling in.  

A total of 16 of us enjoyed the evening!

After everyone dashed off to the Sunday night Bible Study, we got ready for the next day... we were meeting my Mom's first-cousin, Don Teegarden, at the Space Center.  

Don is 88 years old and is retired from NASA.  He shared the story of how he was hired as a propulsion specialist for the Apollo missions and so many more stories...  

We watched a short video in the observation room of Mission Control and then asked him where he sat on that historic day of 1969 when we landed on the moon.  When a few other onlookers heard our question to him, he became quite the celebrity as others asked questions as well. 

It was a fascinating day, and to relive such a significant day in history through his stories and memories, was an extra special treat.

As we bid farewell to Don, we left Houston... in the beginning stages of rush hour traffic... and remember the brakes are still "not quite right".  And we go up and over the Intercostal Waterway... I was a nervous wreck!  I should have pulled out the quilt to distract me, but as co-pilot, I was watching future directions on the GPS as Dave was watching for other cars.

When the GPS directions mis-directed us to a non-existent campground, we did a new search and found another location.  While the name of the campground and location of the place (a sort of a church camp) seemed to be a friendly selection, the hosts were less than hospitable as they explained that they only accepted on-line reservations... but then relented and told us we could stay when we said "No problem, we will go find somewhere else.  We don't want to be any trouble."  They said, "It was no trouble at all."  But the sense of the tension indicated otherwise.  

We didn't sleep well.  There was a large owl that was overlooking the campground... It was one of the warmest nights of the entire trip... we were up early the next morning and on our way well before their designated check-out time as WE said "good riddance" to that campground and the hosts and returned back to Seymour and our friends.

Jack & Jamie had some other obligations to attend to, so Dave and I settled in and enjoyed some time hanging out.  We had been watching the forecast and there was another snowstorm predicted at home so we stayed on for the extra day.

I was on the floor marking the final quilting lines on the Orphan Quilt and trying to remove a knot from the back of the quilt as Dave was strumming his guitar and singing.

It was a great way to wrap up our trip.  

Thanks for "tagging along" on our journey... the 15-day trip that took us all the way across Texas, into the bayous of Louisiana to explore a culture and area that was new to us... the trip that allowed us to reconnect and visit with old friends and make new ones as well... a trip that transported us in time back to 1969 (we both remember watching the broadcast on tv)... a trip that allowed us to get some much needed rest and some rejuvenation in our spirits.

Have you ever been the Houston Space Center? 

What was your favorite feature there? 

Dave would have liked to have seen Rocket Park, but since our personal tour guide was all about the Mission Control... it was still good. 😉

Keep Piecing!

Melva