IOTA TO CHICOT STATE PARK.

We watched the sun set on the small town of Iota but everything was closed up tight on Saturday. Sunday morning, we headed  to Chicot State Park for a five day stay since it is fairly central to Eunice, Iberia and other smaller towns we can visit on day trips.


After we got settled in, I took a bike ride around the park while Jim napped. (His bike has a flat tire.) Flowers seeded into this puddle and braved the cold.


The woods have few leaves but plenty of moss.


The park is huge. It has a boat launch, lake, arboretum, swimming pool, lodges and cabins. And, a lot of wood. Many people in camp have or had fires.


I happened on this gravel road and took it for about a two miles and found three lodges, empty of guests; neatly painted. A nice, quiet place.


.


I’ve seen this flower before, but never attached to its stem and leaves. Not only beautiful but fragrant.


I ran into a couple taking each others picture and offered to take theirs together. They were just cooking gumbo and invited us to join them for dinner. I took a picture of Shawn stirring the pot.


Huge pieces of chicken and a rich gravy. I could have sworn I took a picture of both Shawn and his wife, but I took three of them with their phone and thought I’d taken one on my camera. Dang!
They left the gumbo to finish cooking and went kayaking for the afternoon. They wanted to check their yo-yo’s and hopefully find a couple of catfish to bring home. I had no idea what yo-yo fishing is. Annette explained it as a bobber that is like a yo-yo. You pull the hooked string and it dangles in the water. The yo-yo itself is tied to a nearby tree. When the fish bites, the string zips up to the bobber and hooks the fish.


At six p.m. I walked over without Jim to bring the California hippy salad I’d promised for dinner. (Jim wasn’t feeling well.) I expressed my regrets but this Italian Cajun cooks a mean gumbo and she insisted I bring some home. “You gotta eat it with potato salad, that is tradition in our family. The potato salad goes right in the gumbo”, she emphasized. Absolutely delicious. We didn’t have a chance to visit long. She is a grammar school teacher. Shawn works testing and ex-raying welds on the pipe lines. They leave this morning and I didn’t even get their last name. Double dang. Some days you forget to take your brain with you.  The weather is supposed to be wind, rain, hail, possible tornado. We’ll probably stick close to the park.

AN ARTFUL DAY.

A return to the visitor center yesterday to kind of scope out the parade route and parking options netted me this picture of ducks that hug the lawn at the center. The center is near a body of water and these ducks seem to be fixtures.
The previous day, they were cold and sleepy and huddled up for warmth. Pretty, anyway.
Our plan for the day, go look at the art scene, check out the parade route, eat at Steamboat Bills, go see some old, beautiful houses  and then take a hike in the park when we returned. The heron painting is Ellen Anthony's work,  available from Gallery By The Lake, a kind of studio, coop of local artists. Some very nice stuff here. No photos without permission.That decision always puzzles me because every owner gives it, if it is their painting. Why wouldn't the others want their work advertised?

Ellen does a wide variety of subjects and says she has fun doing it, like this one from a dream.

And, a very nice abstract. Then I spotted the painting below, Will You Dance With Me?

While traveling the coast, a gallery owner told me that no one buys a cactus or a sunflower from her gallery, they only want, water, boats, birds and beaches. It occurred to me that when in Port cities, that is what you buy.  So, I thought to find something  Mardi Gras related, or Cajun.  The Cajun dancers by Jock McGreggor fit the bill and is  a small piece I can carry in the motor home.

At the Arts And Humanities Center. They post work from multiple artists. I liked this one by Keven Lawrence Leveque very much. Also a small painting.

I had a hard time choosing between the two. I bought this original oil, also very small and personable. Kevin told me he likes to paint relationships. I'm  bummed because I stood there with camera in hand and didn't take a picture of the artist with his painting. I guess I got excited. Obviously this painting isn't  Cajun or Mardi Gras themed.

Jim's favorite was Bill's Boeings, also by Kevin L.  Leveque.  Everyone liked it. At three feet tall, not even available to us, size and price, but a great piece.

I liked this cat by Julie Groth.

Martin Luther King,by J. Simien. He did a good one of Obama, as well.
We deciided to visit the Alexander Gallery. She used to display at the center. Her work didn't appeal to me but across from her gallery is Pujo's Street Cafe. The owner posts local originals in his restaurant. Great food and atmosphere in Pujo Street Cafe. Nice wines, too. A sidewalk table setting for hot days or smokers. No smoking inside. And, some good art. And, again, I purchased another small portrait entitled Elise, by Steve Westley.

The gals in the restaurant hated to say goodby to this small painting. They call her Sara after the girlfriend of the bartender she resembles. Again, nothing Cajun or Mardi Gras. Oh, well, who can account for personal taste.

We drove along Pujo and Kirby, recommended by the visitor center for old historic houses.

I took several more shots, but it was late and we were starving and wanted to try Steamboat Bills and do a bit of grocery shopping.

Trees populate every street, a type of oak. They get covered with this plant. Probably a pest, but beautiful.

Steamboat Bill's is touted as one of the best restaurants in the U.S. The seafood gumbo was very good, but still didn't compare to The Gumbo Bar in Galveston. Sorry Bill. I also tried a pistolette.   It is a Louisiana roll filled with etouffee of your choice. I chose shrimp. Excellent.
We shopped but had no time for a hike. It was cold and we were too tired to go back to town for the parade at 7:00 p.m. Darn.

MARDI GRAS RETROSPECTIVE

This is my second visit to New Orleans, but my first Mardi Gras. What a difference a date makes! In 2007 the city's struggles in the aftermath of Katrina were still raw and sore. What joy to be here during the Saints big win and the crowning glory of a great Mardi Gras.

Unforgettable memories forged, to take on the road with us. But, we aren't ready to leave yet. Will the City seem drab after "the ball" is over? Will it somehow lose its luster?

Sifting through my pictures, I found gorgeous wrought iron work all over town. Beautiful buildings from the 1800's preserved for posterity.

I can think of only one other city where music is like food, Vienna. But New Orleans has a unique sound and rhythm, the berceau of hundreds of great blues musicians. Not everyone can be a great musician. It tickled me to see guys on the street drumming on five gallon plastic buckets.

And the beads. I had such fun hanging them in the windows of the motor home. I figure they will lose their luster like Christmas trimmings do after Christmas and I'll take them down eventually.

And then, there is the food for which New Orleans is famous. What bounty, the Mississippi River and the ocean at your feet. Fresh fish on every corner. Alligator sausage. Muffaleto Sandwiches, gumbo, crawfish ettoufe, jambalaya. We hope to eat our way across the city.

The home cooked variety was pretty good too!

No, New Orleans is a World Class City, and she will never lose her luster, but shine on for succeeding generations. I only hope I get to return to one of my favorite cities.