Lake Charles

On Tuesday we took a ride into Lake Charles. After stopping at the Visitor Center, which was very nice, we took a self guided tour round the Charpentier Historical District. This is a district of houses which were built around the turn of the Twentieth Century. They glory in the the fact that they were not architect designed, but rather built from plans bought off the shelf, then modified by the carpenter builders of the time. There are lots of pretty houses, but nothing that you would want to have made a special journey for.
After this we were ready to eat, so we went to one of the recommended restaurants, called Shasha's. It was an OK meal, but I felt it was a little overpriced and undersized - are we getting use to the massive portions usually served do you think?
We finished off the day by getting the shopping in at a local Farmer's Basket, which is a big chain of supermarkets in this area.
In the evening we watched The Appalachians. This was the first of three programmes which we had bought when we visited The Carter Family Fold in April last year, when we were in Tennessee. Unfortunately it made us think thoughts about returning to the area, but it will probably not be for several years yet!

Lake Charles

Monday we left behind a nice State Park and a new friend. This week we have spent a bit of time with Camilla. We have done a bit of exploring together, shared some lovely meals, sat round a campfire together and even had a bit of a jam (she plays a pretty good violin). This left us a bit sad.
Now travelling West we made good time and found ourselves a nice spot at Sam Houston Jones State Park, right on the Western Border of Louisiana in time for lunch. We are now poised to travel into Texas. But first we want to explore a little bit around here.
The campground is split into two areas, we are in the smaller of the two. The sites are small and often very close together, however it is a pleasant enough campground, while it is empty. The facilities are good, with the newer style en suite arangement found at Chicot North Campsite. Four private rooms, each with a shower, toilet, basin and mirror.
Anyway we are now safely encamped in a nice little spot by a (now dry) swamp.
We have already had deer, squirrel and a pileated woodpecker come within 10 yards of the trailer. Sally has taken a number of really good pictures of some of them.

About Cajun Music

Having now firmly placed the Cajun Culture in our mental framework we moved on to ‘Mark Savoy’s (pronounced Savoy) Music Shop. Here he makes accordions for the Cajun musical elite. We had hoped to meet him, however he was away on business at the time, so we spoke to his wife.

Like many other colonising cultures, the Acadien’s brought their French music and dance with them. (it was cheap, didn’t need books and is an excellent way to help keep an extended family together and sane). Originally the instruments were home made and consisted of fiddle, iron triangle (le Tit Fer- you work it out), spoons and washboard. The accordione (I know nothing of the niceties of squeeze boxes) was introduced from Germany in the 1850’s (New Orleans was a big port). The standard German accordion was a small, diatonic (different note sucking and blowing), single row button accordion with 4 voices, with only two bass voices on the left hand. This provides music in a single key. C and G are the favourite, although many players will have several, often to suit their voice. I have seen/heard C# and D.

The characteristic Cajun Sound is created by an interplay of accordion rhythm and the rhythm provided by the rest of the band.

I classify Cajun music as being a music form which has come about to support dancing. Almost everywhere that Cajun Music is played you will find dancers. Most of the dancing seems to be couple based and much of it looks like it has come out of the huge explosion of dance forms that were created post world war I, with the advent of dance halls. Two step, waltz, lindy hop have all been taken, but modified to suit the driving rhythm of Cajun music.

What Cajuns Eat

Together with their own culture, history, food and habits, the Cajuns more or less disappeared into the swamplands of the Bayous,staying in the South and the Achafalaya areas of Louisiana, they are known as the Bayou Cajun. Many of them found their way through the swamp/bayou and settled the otherwise inaccessible prairie lands to the West of these swamps. They are know as Prairie Cajuns. They meet approximately at Lafayette. Although now good communications mean that they mix a lot more.

The clay soil meant that normal cereal crops would not grow, but would hold water, so rice became the main cereal crop.

So it is hardly surprising that most of the traditional dishes have rice in them. Jumbalaya is a rice dish (like risotto), Gumbo (a soup) has rice in it and Etouffe (thickened Roux sauce) is served on a bed of rice.

The Creole influence ensured the introduction of spicy flavours to all these specialities. The bayous and the rice paddies provided a place for crawfish to grow and then to be farmed (they ar a freshwater crustacaean), the Coastal Bayous provided giant shrimp.

The Cajuns on the bayou lived by trapping, fishing and hunting, so meat was often whatever they caught (possum, raccoon, deer,), along with their ‘annual hog’. The variety of meat, the ‘make do’ culture and spices ensured the popularity of meat by-products such as sausage (the local favourite is Boudin Sausage, pork or chicken (or ?), rice and spices). These spicy sausages also found their way into many of the local dishes, which often gives them their spicy flavour, such as Red Beans and Rice (the closest thing you will find to baked beans, without tomato), but also gumbo and jambalaya.

Where Cajuns Come From.

The Cultural Center hit it just right for us as it explained the origin and history of the Acadian – Acadjian- Cajun people. They actually arrived in Acadia from France in 1604, 16 years before the Pilgrim Fathers landed further south. In the 1750’s they were forcibly removed from the land, exiled and transported to other colonies by the British in a political move that looked very much like the clearing of the crofters in Scotland and similar actions in Ireland. The area was then renamed Novia Scotia (New Scotland) by the British. Several thousands fled, or otherwise made their way to the old French Colonies on the Gulf of Mexico and a community was set up in Louisiana, separate from the New Orleans French Colonialists. In 1790 the Slave revolt in Haitti meant that some 10,000 French/black refugees fled across the gulf to Louisiana and provided the Creole influence. So there were really three different French influences all jumbled in together in the bayou areas round the lower part of the Mississippi.

You Nice people of Eunice.

Thursday, the weather has returned to sunny skies, although the temperature has dropped to the sixties and thirties at night. It now feels like the crisp autumn days back home that tell us winter is around the corner. In this case high pressure build over The Rockies and forces a cold North wind to sweep down from Canada and the Great Lakes across the Mississippi plains, right down to the Gulf of Mexico (where we are).

As it was a nice sunny day we decided to return to Eunice to see the things missed on Saturday. As we drove down we took a couple of pictures of the extensive rice fields we drove through. Many of them were still flooded for the rice in them, others were dry and bare, but with the little levees between the fields.

In Eunice we visited the Jean Lafitte Acadian Plains Cultural Center, which is a National Park. It is one of six locations which make up the park, some of them are just buildings, like this one, others are land areas which reflect the geography. There is a big bayou park near Westwego, where we camped, outside of New Orleans. There is also a park at the site of the battle between the English and Americans, which is the story of the song made so famous by Lonnie Donnegan, (UK) and Mac Wiseman (USA), The Battle of New Orleans. This battle was fought as part of the little known war between the Americans and the British in 1812-1815, where the English 10,000 troops came second to General Andy (later to be President) Jacksons 1500 assortment army, mostly militia men. It also included the famous Pirate Jean Laffite, who is a big name round Louisiana, hence the name of the National Park.

We Visit Washington

Almost every state has a Washington, either town or county named after their first president.
Louisiana is no different. We had heard that it was a quaint old town which still had a number of old houses, so we decided to give it a visit. Camilla said she would like to come along as well.
Washington has the strange characteristic of being a port almost 100 miles from the sea and its bayou is quite narrow (it's too small to call a river). It is now a small town with only a single stoplight. However it has a small museum, some very nice houses and a plantation house (Magnolia Ridge). We toured the museum and spoke to a couple of very nice guides. They told us quite a bit about cotton and rice growing.
We then understood the significance of Washington. It is the only high ground that is reachable by river on the west side of the Achafalaya Swamp area, and although the bayou is quite small it meant that it was the only way that people on the West Prairies could get their cotton and rice out and goods in, So until the arrival of the train in 1830's if was a very important port. Steam paddle boats would come in during the winter, when the bayou was at it's highest, and take away the goods.

We then toured the little town, looking at all of the very old houses. Most interesting of all was the Magnolia Ridge Plantation. It was very well preserved and had beautiful grounds, although we could not go into the the house as it is still a private dwelling place. However as we walked round we met a very nice couple who are the caretakers. They were very friendly and we stood and talked to them for about an hour.
We ended up with them giving us a big bag of Pecan Nuts to take back to the trailer (this is big Pecan country, and this is the time to gather them). We then went and ate at the very posh Washington Steamboat Warehouse, which is a converted steamboat warehouse in Washington. We had a very nice, if slightly pricey, meal, Sally had Srimp Betsy (like a soup), I had Crawfish Etouffe and Camila had seafood Surprise (a pasta with a creamy seafood sauce).

Grumpy Old Man

Monday. This Blog carries a ‘GRUMP WARNING’. It is a moan about poor service, so readers may probably ignore this blog, but I need to make a record of it. Now there are one or two small plot threads to our vacation this year that I have not thought merited the attention of any reader, however things have now (almost) come to fruition, so it may be worth mentioning them. Last year we lost a small seal from under our trailer (no not the fish eating kind), it protects the corner of the slide out and prevents water from splashing up into the trailer. We needed to repair this, which I did using Wal-Mart plastic bags and duck tape, with only marginal success. However in the long term we knew that we would have to buy a replacement part. Here the logic of logistics meets the incompetence of companies.

To obtain a new part we would have to:

1. Describe the missing part accurately, not just the model and serial number, but provide photographs for the manufacturer to be able to decide what it was.
2. Find a retailer who handles Starcraft.
3. Know where we will be when the part is delivered.
4. Which means we need to know when the part will be delivered.

Well, we figured the best thing to do would be to get it delivered to Jim and Connie, as we were seeing them when we left the trailer, and when we were returning.

We also wished to fit an extra door on to the cabinet in our bedroom (they only put three across where four would fit, so you constantly had to grope round a corner to find clothes). So we photographed and measured the door we wanted.

We found a dealer who would order the parts, but they suggested we wait until we knew when we were coming back and they would order them to arrive when we did. They suggested that three weeks would be enough time. HA!

Middle of August (we were coming back the end of September - 6 weeks) we duly got hold of Ashley at Leisuretime RV and she assured us that she would order the parts that day.

A week later, checked up. She could not order parts unless they were paid for.

She would find out how much they would be. Two weeks later (Starcraft do not seem to be in any hurry!) she gets a price and we pay for the parts (only $70, but $40 carriage). So she will order them.

A week before we leave for U.S. she tells us that she has ordered the parts and they will arrive soon.

Just before we leave they have not shown up.

When we arrive we call and she says that Starcraft have located the cupboard door and are checking the schematics for the seal.

We plan to be with Connie and Jim for a week. (5^th October). No way.

Ashley then tells us that yes they have located all the parts and they will ship on 11^th October (ground delivery is 3-5 working days). We cannot wait that long, as we are going to visit Jim and Kathy in North Florida for a few days, so we decide to get the parts shipped direct to Jim and Kathy and wait for them there.

We got to Jim and Kathy, who are wonderful people and were prepared to settle for a long wait. However, Jim and Kathy said they would like to come along with us to New Orleans.

There is no point hanging around for a package, so we decided to get going and Jim and Kathy would forward the parts to us when they got back. We had a great time in New Orleans and Jim and Kathy duly returned home, via a bike weekend in Destin. Two packages awaited them, which they shipped on to us at Chico State Park. We actually got them on Thursday 28^th October, more than two months after ordering them!

But wait, two packages, when opened, became a cabinet door and the glass insert to the door. NO SEAL! A phone call to Leisuretime RV back in Florida (we are now in Louisiana) verified that the third part (which Leisuretime RV had not realised was coming to them, as they had changed the delivery address to Jim and Kathy) had arrived there and they had just, literally just, shipped it to Jim and Kathy, without any reference to me. So this part has now arrived at Jim and Kathy’s and they have now forwarded it to us at Chicot State Park. We are now waiting for the last part to arrive.

On a more positive note, I have now remodelled the bedroom overhead cabinet to have four doors instead of three and it looks excellent.

Opelousas and the Great Yambilee Festival

We returned from Eunice too late on Saturday to catch any of the Halloween Fun (oh yes, don’t let the wrong night get in the way of a good Saturday night). On Sunday we had considered going to Opelousas because they were celebrating their most celebrated item – the Yam, not to be confused with the Sweet Potato (because I am). Yes it was The Yambalee Festival in Old Opelousas. It had been going since Wednesday, so today was the last day and the day of The Great Parade.

So we set out at about lunch time, found our way to Opelousas, got out the lawn chairs and joined the throng on Main Street, just in time for The Great Parade to come past.

The Great Parade was made up of the police, bikes and cars. Two high school marching bands, a couple of dance schools and then an assortment of company cars, a couple of floats and, and, for some reason I cannot explain…… The politicians who were running for Congress, The Senate, The State Governor and The Opelousas City Mayor. Why, because Tuesday is VOTIN’ DAY, not for the president, but for almost everyone else. And they was out in force. They all came past with their campaign slogans, and music and shaking hands with folk and kissing babies, and throwing out sweets and garlands and shaking hands with babies and kissing folk and asking for their vote.

Well, because I like to be loved, as they came past I told each one of them I thought they were the right man (though one of them was a woman) for the job and I would vote for them (then quietly to myself I had to say, well I would if I could, but I is British, so I can’t). Still it made for a great parade.

When the parade had gone past we picked up our lawn chairs jumped back in the van and went on down to the funfair and met Miss Yambilee 2010 and some crazy woman dressed in a Whoopie Cushion! (Only in America)

We then came home via Wal-Mart. We tried to find somewhere to eat out, but there was nowhere that was suitable, so we came home and I cooked Chicken and Rice with Gravy (which my friend Kathy had taught me to cook last week).

Just as a footnote, while at Chicot Park we have made friends with a full timer called Camilla, she comes from Oregon. She is very sweet and so we invited her to join us on our trip to The Great Yambilee Festival Parade and we all had fun together.

Saturday Night in Eunice

Saturday. Well after the excitement of Fred's Lounge this morning (we really pushed the boat out by going to Fred's Lounge) this afternoon we determined to go a bit further south and go to Eunice. ( Sally's mother was called Eunice , so it's a bit strange to find a town of that name!!) Eunice has a very nice Art Deco Historic District, consisting mostly of its Main Street. It has several stores and The Liberty Theater, which first opened in 1924. Now every Saturday it is used as the venue for a Cajun Music Concert, "Rendez-vous des Cajuns," which is broadcast live on a local radio station, Radio KVRS and is available on the Internet as a TV broadcast.

You have to turn up at 4.00 to buy your ticket ($5.00), though the show does not start until 6.00. Inside you will find a number of volunteers/audience old timers who will tell you almost anything about Eunice, The Liberty Theater, Cajun music, the local area. Using their expertise we asked for a good place to eat before the show. That would be 'Ronnies' - pile it high and sell it cheap. Sounded good to us. True to their description we had a great Cup of Gumbo followed by beef tips on rice, with Purple Hull Peas (like a red bean stew, no sausage though), corn or green beans and two drinks set us back $20.00. We couldn't eat it all!!

On returning to our seats the the Liberty Theater, we watched a great concert of two Cajun groups, both with young accordionists. Cameron Dupuy of The Cajun Troubadours is only thirteen years old.

The show was introduced by Barry Jean Anclet, in crazy 50/50 Cajun French/English. It sounds French, but has an awful lot of English words that get ejected from the Gallic flow of talk. All the vocals/song names were in French. As the bands played so couples got up and danced round the small space between the the very uncomfortable old cinema seating and the stage.

It was another great night of Americana. An event that is unique to Eunice, Louisiana and its Cajun Heritage. For us it had echoes of the Carter Family Fold. It was a gathering as much as a performance. An event that required the positive participation of everyone. It was a great evening which we enjoyed immensely.