Category Archives: Travel

Sept Trip, Day 4…..

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The Missouri segment of the trip comes to a close as I leave in a while to head back down to Louisiana. The threatened rain never did really happen yesterday, although it was quite cloudy to include heavily overcast at times and it had rained in the early hours. We had some sprinkles, but nothing drastic. We did “girl stuff” as in going to a delightful little spot with all boutique and souvenir shops in a lovely setting. A Mel’s Hard Times Diner and the Sugar Leaf Café and Bakery were the two dining choices and my friend had already said we were going to Sugar Leaf. As it turns out though, there was also a dedicated retail tea shop, the Tea Maze. They don’t serve food, but you can have a cup of tea and it is a wonderful place if you are a tea lover. The young lady at the register was very knowledgeable and obviously passionate about teas. My friend, who is not a coffee-drinker, had a lengthy conversation and she will soon return.

The café/bakery was equally delightful and going at an off-time was the right idea. It isn’t very large either and was decorated in the way women tend to admire and guys are tolerant of. Not utterly “froo-froo”, but definitely leaning to “soft” décor. The sandwiches were excellent and we opted to get take-out desserts after we visited the final two shops we were interested in. The key lime pie was not something that struck me since I can have that on a daily basis at home. I did try a bite after dinner and it was good. There was also the coconut cake and the chocolate, caramel, and pecan “Turtle” cookie. Let’s just say watching my carb intake on this trip has not been high on the priority list.

 

Sept Trip, Day 3….

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I have not yet been able to capture a photo of the numerous humming birds that come around the feeders on the balcony. Those little critters are very quick. Apparently, they will begin their migration within another week or so, but for now, they can be seen all over the complex. We went into Branson yesterday passing the many different attractions they have along Hwy 76. It is quite “touristy” and utterly fun for anyone who enjoys that sort of thing. We went to the Titanic museum which is quite well done. (www.titanicbranson.com) There is also one at Pigeon Forge in TN. The entry way to the building has the façade of the front half of Titanic complete with two funnels. The large model of Titanic is splendid and the artifacts are a mix of genuine Titanic items and White Star items planned for Titanic, but not recovered from the ship itself. The photographs and stories are also a mix of those who survived and those who perished. Staff members are in period costume and stationed at certain spots to emphasize selected points/stories.

To get to the second floor, you have the option of walking up a replica of the grand staircase or taking the elevator of course. In the one section upstairs where they have a section of a life boat and have dropped the AC considerably, you can dip your finger/hand into a container of water at 28 degrees and see how long you can hold it in there. I declined. In my case, having been to Belfast Titanic with Paul Louden-Brown, the official historian for the White Star Line, I had slightly different insights on certain aspects. However, as I said, it was well done. I would not have wanted to be in with a large crowd, but planning a trip when it isn’t peak times shouldn’t be that difficult.

We had lunch at a nearby 50s-type diner for an delicious burger although I did pass on the milkshake other than to have a couple of sips to agree it was quite tasty. The weather may be dicey today and a movie marathon on the 65-inch TV might be in order. We’ll see how that goes.

Sept Trip, Day 2….

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The drive from Shreveport to Kimberling City on Table Rock Lake is about seven hours. Most of it is fairly easy driving until the last 80 or so miles when the road reduces to two lanes with lots of curves as you wind up into the Ozarks on the way toward Branson. Our friends have a lovely view of the lake from both floors and if it was daylight, I would probably be posting this from the balcony. Their guest bedroom arrangement is perfect for me because it is on the lower level while their master is above. There also happens to be a wet bar with a coffee maker down here which means I can rise at my usual 5-5:30, have coffee, and work my email/do posts without risking disturbing anyone else. And speaking of connectivity, the husband half of the couple gave me a hug and handed me the info for the wireless network. It is the world we live in these days.

So, my girlfriend and I went for a late lunch to a place that was a bit of a drive, but quite scenic. Table Rock Lake is huge and there are communities and marinas dotted all over it. There are over 43,000 acres to the lake and 500 miles of shoreline when you add them all up. Anyway, the restaurant specializes in catfish and broasted chicken. The obvious solution was to eat catfish there and bring home chicken. While not the best catfish I’ve ever had, it was definitely delicious and certainly worth the drive. As it turns out, they have opened another restaurant slightly closer at a marina and park (either State or part of the NPS) and we drove in to check it out. It will be open only part of the year, but won’t close for another couple of weeks. They have a machine with fish food you can buy, so the ducks, fish and even turtles are accustomed to having food thrown to them. The ducks and fish we expected – the turtles were a surprise.

We returned to do some more catching up, then enjoyed the sunset  view from their balcony. With quite a few clouds, it wasn’t as spectacular as they often get, but still some lovely colors as the clouds were tinged with pink and gold and the colors also reflect somewhat into the lake. We’ll see what the weather does today before we make a decision as to the excursion we plan.

 

Sept Trip, Day 1

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Okay, it’s been a long day. Traffic was terrible getting to MIA, but the Super Shuttle driver did manage to make it with enough time for me to get one coffee before boarding. Flight was pretty smooth. Second leg of trip encountered some delays, although that did give me time to have a real lunch at a Fridays. That also meant a later start out of Shreveport with the rental car though, so I didn’t make it as far as I wanted today. In fact, I’ve stopped in the town of Malvern where there are no full service restaurants. There is a pizza place very close to the motel and they did something interesting. They have a surprising array of pizzas, plus subs and salads. They do a buffet and the girl at the register kept assuring me it was a better deal than just ordering. She was correct of course, but I also didn’t need the all you can eat option. Anyway, it was one big room with maybe thirty tables and about half full. The pizzas were on the buffet line (to include dessert ones), but what the waitresses did was when a new pizza came out of the kitchen, they walked around with it, calling out the type. They served anyone who wanted a slice right off the pizza pan, then placed the leftover slices onto the buffet line. Everyone was quite friendly and I was probably the only stranger in the place based on the conversations I was hearing.

I’ve been told the weather may turn a bit tomorrow so we’ll see how the rest of the drive goes. I think about 3-4 more hours and I’ll lose the Interstate at some point.

Lots of Back and Forth Planned….

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My annual trip to Louisiana is earlier than usual this year because of our planned trip to see the kids and go to NYC in October. While I try to maximize the number of people I see when I go, this year has a couple of extra components added in. Friends whom I haven’t seen for several years have bought a place near Branson and they spend all but the winter months there. The problem is, you literally “can’t get there from here” from a flying perspective. That of course isn’t true, but there are no direct flights from Shreveport to either of the servicing airports near my friends. It seems silly in this day and age, and yet, so it goes. It’s about a 7 hour drive and if I fly it takes about the same amount of time if you add in short flights, yet time changing planes, etc. Anyway, I’ve opted to fly into Shreveport, pick up the car, drive partway to MO, then on in the next day. I’ll spend a few days catching up, head back to Louisiana with an overnight stop to see some of my high school friends who will be in town this year. Brunch the next morning with another set of friends, then over to see my mother’s side of the family in a nearby town. Spend the night there, and back up to see Daddy the following day. Dinner that night with perhaps another old high school friend, more visiting with Daddy, then over to spend the night closer to the airport and have dinner with the other old high school friend at our favorite restaurant. In other words, as many people as I will see, this is not what one can call a restful trip.

I will have intermittent connectivity and will post as I can, but will keep a daily log as I usually do when I travel.

And Another Good Cause…..

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I often do a post after I submit an article for the paper when it comes to non-profit groups. Almost everyone who writes for our weekly paper is a stringer, but we do have more-or-less “beats”. It’s no surprise I focus on the military, but also non-profits, certain aspects of education, and generally heart-warming things. I do, at times, get the heart-breaking as well, but thankfully those are less frequent.

In this case, there was a piece I intended to do months ago, but other topics kept bumping it back since it wasn’t time-sensitive. Among our tourist attractions, we have the Everglades Alligator farm with air boat rides, plenty of gators and so forth. When the kids were here right after Christmas, we thought two-and-a-half for Amelia was probably still a bit young for that, but we also have the Everglades Outpost Refuge. It is actually on the way to the other and I thought it would be more age-appropriate. A plus was that before son was diverted by his passion for dance, he intended to be a wildlife ecologist and work with restoring animal habitats. So off they went and had a wonderful time. Their description of the place was far different from what I was expecting and I mentally filed away a story.

Anyway, back in 1991, a couple who had some acreage in Redland officially established an animal refuge since in truth, they’d been doing that in an unofficial capacity. The founder had his first pet alligator around age six and there are both odd laws and illegal activities that cause non-native animals to be in a situation to need rescue. Basically, when the Florida Wildlife agents conduct a raid and find something like a tiger, they need somewhere to put it. In other cases, there are native animals hurt that need rehabilitation. The website for the Outpost has all sorts of stories, photos, and some video clips. https://www.evergladesoutpost.org

In essence, they are on “speed dial” for the Florida Wildlife agents and they are linked with other groups around the state. The resident camel that certainly can’t be released into the Florida wild was at another place in Florida and the owner was having too many issues with him. The three gray wolves (mostly wolf with a little bit of dog) were born into captivity, yet again, they aren’t native to Florida. They’ll be in residence unless someone else is willing to adopt them. As I mention in the article I did for the paper last week, there is never a shortage of good causes to support. This is one I can vouch for if helping wild animals is something you care about.

Not What I Was Expecting…..

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Hubby and I will be celebrating our 30th anniversary in Nov. For those who have followed the blog for a while, we did the great big celebration of the 25th with the Australia trip. We didn’t intend to do anything nearly like that this time, but I was surprised when I talked to Hubby.

Let me give a little background first. We were married at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland (that’s a sub-post of Aberdeen Proving Grounds). We split our honeymoon with four days in Nagshead, NC on the beautiful Outer Banks, then two days in Charlottesville, VA. Although I normally travel to Louisiana for my father’s birthday the first week of Oct, I’m actually going to see him next month instead. Son Dustin’s birthday is Oct 25th and the studio where he is Ballet Master always has their Fall show with the older students right around his birthday. We decided to do that this year and since the latter part of Oct is close to Nov 13th, I thought we would go ahead and celebrate our anniversary by taking a few days somewhere near D.C. I was expecting Hubby to say, “Let’s go back to Charlottesville”, or maybe even down to the Outer Banks or perhaps over to Maryland’s Eastern Shore or up in the Poconos. Nope – New York City. Say what? We have occasionally mentioned that as one of those places one should probably visit. I have basically seen NYC many times from the air, but spent only three nights there over the decades when flights were delayed and was always at an airport hotel. I was usually in a state of exhaustion/frustration with no thought of going “into the city”. Hubby has been twice for brief business trips. Now, I’m not going to say the fact he is very much into photography and one of the “Meccas” of photographers is in NY was the only reason he latched onto the idea. After all, we do enjoy food and that time of year the weather should still be pleasant.

We’ll only be there a few days and don’t plan to wear ourselves out. I think we’ll probably take the train up from DC rather than fly. I will also take comfortable walking shoes.

The Year in France, Part II…..

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Okay, this continues the explanation of my year – well, really ten months – at the university in Angers, France. After a somewhat circuitous routing flying Icelandic Air, our group arrived and we spent the first afternoon in Paris. A couple of staff members from the university met us with a bus. Despite the jet lag, we did get a quick tour of some of the highlights and one would think I could recall my very first meal, but I don’t. As I mentioned, I was the youngest of our group and when we later met the students from Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s, that also held true. Everyone was basically indulgent with me, although in addition to being the youngest, I was also the one with the least French background. Most had of course taken multiple French classes, although my month in Canada had helped. In fact, my first day of class with our professor, she asked why I spoke French with a Canadian accent. Naturally, I wasn’t aware I was speaking with an accent.

Anyway, the program was set up as semi-immersion in the sense our professors did not speak English to us. You could choose to take this even further by living with a French family rather than in the dorm, but I wasn’t ready to go that far. My lack of French background did place me in the lower level class so only one other student in our Louisiana group was with me. As I mentioned in the last post, this part of the university was designed specifically for foreigners to learn French. We had students from Denmark, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and probably another country or two. All the classes were the equivalent of college freshman level. We had a number of field trips as well as classes and we were able to travel on weekends and holidays. It was about a three hour train trip to Paris and so it was not uncommon to do so. I tended to not go off as much as some of the others, but after a while, one of the French girls invited me to dinner with her family and I went there maybe once a month. She was the only one who spoke English so it was good practice.

English was not widely spoken in town and so transactions in stores, at the post office, etc. did sometimes result in either misunderstandings or protracted time to accomplish something.

As for food, what a difference it was. Aside from the fact I never thought about eating horse, (and didn’t have that very often), it was doing things like learning to eat fruit with a knife and fork. Peaches are not all that difficult – an apple is a different matter. At the time, I wasn’t a coffee drinker and that’s one of my regrets. I had a lot of hot chocolate and hot tea.The experience quite simply changed my life and when I returned home, there was a bit of, “How do you get them back on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?” (Old WWI song for those who may not know of it). Also, as it turned out, my high school diploma and college credits were unexpectedly impacted. That will be the third part to this tale.

 

The Year in France, Part I….

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If you are brand new to the blog, do read the July 18th post before reading this one. Okay, here’s what “got started” with the Canada trip. My uncle, the oldest of three children of my maternal grandparents, was a state legislator for a while. It was during the time when the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana was established and in addition to the summer program in Canada, there were either seven or nine scholarships made available for the coming school year to go to France. Angers is in the province of Anjou in the Loire Valley where many castles were built. The royals and other aristocracy would go to the castles in the summer to escape the heat of Paris and associated illnesses. Rather like our Midwest, there is less of an accent to the French spoken there than anywhere in the country. One part of the University was designed for foreign students and that was where Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s had their respective exchange programs. Anyway, all the scholarship seats had been given to legislators from South Louisiana parishes for them to award. One of them came to my uncle and explained he couldn’t award his scholarship without risking offending someone and he offered the allocation to my uncle. My uncle asked if it would be okay for him to offer it to me and after all, a little nepotism was commonplace in Louisiana.

The kicker to all this was I would literally have less than a month from the time I returned from Canada, I would have just barely turned seventeen and I would be the only high school student because the others were all at least 2 years older and already in college. Now, it so happened, I had all but one American History credit I needed to graduate from high school and my senior year would be almost all college prep elective classes. I’m not really sure who talked to whom since a number of conversations took place without my knowledge. The high school worked out a deal where if I would take the American History course by correspondence while I was in France, I could be credited and given a diploma.

Needless to say, I was stunned when the plan was presented to me and it was a whirlwind for prep and departure. If I thought Canada was an adventure (and it surely was), it was nothing compared to what I was about to enter into. That will be the next post.

How It All Started…..

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A discussion the other day brought back memories of what was in all probability one of those sequence of events that truly changed my life. Quite some time back, the state of Louisiana created the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana. They had a couple of programs; one of which was a summer school in Quebec at the Centre Linquistique quite far north in Jonquiere. I had taken French my junior year of high school, but the price for the summer school was outside of our budget. My grandparents on my mother’s side had an arrangement about taking some of the grandchildren each summer on a special vacation. We were sort of grouped by ages and the same year this program was started was when my “group” would have gone with my grandparents, although I don’t recall now where it was supposed to be. Anyway, they gave me a choice of going with them or they would send me to the summer French program.

I will put this into perspective. I would be seventeen later that summer and while we had traveled some, certainly never to that distance, nor on an airplane. The program was set up for a month, I think, with classes every day, and trips around the area. The program culminated with trips to Montreal and Quebec City. Needless to say, this was an incredible adventure. The other thing to understand is Louisiana truly in divided culturally into North and South Louisiana. For those who like extra detail, Lecompte is the “dividing line”. North is predominantly Baptist followed by other Protestants with a smaller percent Catholic. It is piney woods and a fair number of hills, with relatively few bayous and swamps. South Louisiana is mostly Catholic and “Cajun”, less elevation, with far more bayous, swamps, etc. and what most people outside of Louisiana envision. The point here is the “preservation” of French had a stronger appeal in South Louisiana, so most of the students in that initial program were from the other parts of the state. I had quite an adjustment to make in the whole process.

In fact, it was attending that program that subsequently led to me going to France during my senior year of high school. I’ll explain that in my next post.