We left Golden Meadow and headed for the “big” city of Houma. Via the internet, we found J. & N. truck stop, a place to water, gas up, dump your tanks and wash the vehicles. Jim chose the scenic route, a narrow road that follows a marsh and ends in the very small town of Du Lac where we wanted to try much touted seafood dishes at Schmoopy’s Restaurant.
Our first surprise was running into an insurance check point on a stretch of road that gives you no place to turn around. What a novel idea. We chuckled some, and decided it was a dang good idea. With 15 years on the road, Jim had never seen an insurance check point.
Our second surprise was this gorgeous pristine marsh. Jim likes little used back roads. Thirty miles of twisting curves and little traffic allowed us to enjoy the marsh plants and birds free of any human intervention, it seemed. We saw no garbage, plastic bags, old bottles and tires anywhere, the marsh as nature intended it to be.
What a treat. The pictures don’t do it justice because sitting high in the motor home gives us a better view than standing on the ground.
We pulled into the small town of Du Lac and headed for Schmoopys, a restaurant touted for its good fresh seafood. The haphazard gravel and dirt parking lot was full without any obvious place to accommodate a motor home and “toad.” Some guy said, “You could park it out back if that red pick-up wasn’t in the way.” The pick-up in back of Schmoopys was taking up a lot of room but slowly and carefully Jim managed to squeeze by. When we got upstairs, (this restaurant is on stilts) this guy came out of the kitchen with a big smile and welcomed us heartily. He told us he watched us from above. It was his pick-up. We learned later, he was the boss.
I rarely order anything deep fried but when sampling new cuisines, all rules are suspended. I made a complete meal out of appetizers, all of which were deep fried. Home made crab pups, filled with crab, creamed cheese and a bread stuffing; mini crawfish pies with a Louisiana roue made of celery, onion and green pepper and a flour & oil gravy; and bacon wrapped oysters battered and fried. Delectable, every one. Jim is fond of bisque and declared it delicious. His meat pie, also an appetizer, was much like a cornish pasty and tasty. People thought I was a bit strange, I guess, taking pictures of our food. For me, oysters are best raw, except for these, the best cooked oysters I’ve ever tasted. He had other menu items I’d never heard of. I wanted to try them all. If you get a chance, go to Schmoopys.
We traveled through several small towns and stopped to buy a greeting card at a Dollar General where we got another surprise. The clerk below tested my one dollar bills. Whaa? She told me she had accepted a counterfeit ONE DOLLAR BILL? I couldn’t help but chuckle and asked her if I could feel it and take pictures. She consented but didn’t think it was near as funny as I did. She complained that she had to “eat” it.
The back of the bill was much too bluish in color. It felt like real money linen, though.
The front looked very authentic. I guess copy machines and kids got away with a minor theft-my guess. But, a one dollar bill?
When we got to J&J, they no longer wash trucks and motor homes. It started to rain. Who knows, maybe tomorrow we won’t need a car wash.
