Planning and Frustrated

I hate trying to make plans.  I dream.  I make lists.  But to actually put something fun down on a calendar is just unrealistic.  Why?  Because my dreams/lists/plans don't ever come to fruition.

I'm frustrated.  I have wanted to do something for the past two years but every time I mention it to someone, I get shot down.

See, about 10 years ago, my dad retired from his job as a Process Operator.  He was divorced and all of the kids were grown and/or married.  He had nothing to hold him down at home.  No job to go to on a daily basis.  So, he retired after 35 years on the job and hit the Appalachian Trail within a week o his retirement party.

I'm a homemaker, stay at home mom, domestic engineer, whatever you want to call it.  I love my job but it is monotonous.  My youngest two daughters are now tweens and growing up too fast.  I have a desire to hit the AT also.  I don't want to wait another 10 years to do so.

So, I have put my adventure start date on the calendar.  Wrote it in and drew a big red circle around it.

With my dad's assistance, over the next 6 months, my girls and I will embark on Trail Training.  Starting out on flat terrain with just our hiking shoes.  We'll add inclines and backpacks about 6 weeks before our departure date. 

Update - 2 YEARS!!! Whoa!

GoodNESS!!  Have I really ignored this blog for over 2 years!!  That simply CANNOT be allowed to happen again!  I blame it on Facebook which is where I have been spending all of my time and uploading all (well, most) of my photos.  I started this blog as a way of keeping a diary.  I used to write in a book that is kept by my bedside but I stopped doing that at least 10 years ago.  So, I thought I would start a blog to keep my thoughts and ideas together.  Well, shoot, then I go and ignore it!  What in the world have I been thinking about for the past 2 years?  I can't remember yesterday let alone 2 years ago! 

Let me see, (digging through the cobwebs in the corners of my brain)....I'll start with my last post.  October 2013 - we bought a FEMA trailer to refurbish and set up for my oldest daughter.  Annnd, as per her pattern, 4 months later it was no longer needed.  She had moved in with a roomie and signed a 6 month (or so) lease.  Wait, something's wrong with those dates.  Hmmm.  Anyway, Fast Forward to present day ... the FEMA trailer was sold and we no longer have it.  Moving on to the next project.

The husband is attempting to re-roof our home with that new metal roofing instead of shingles.  It really looks good!  Well, the part that's finished does.  He seems to be taking his sweet time getting to the rest of it.  I need to apply a boot to his butt I suppose.

And on that note, I have a dream!  I dream of traveling the country.  I'm currently 48 years old and want to hike the Applachian Trail before I'm 50.  The problem is that I still have school age kids who keep me at home with their activities.  SOOOO, the AT will have to wait ... at least for another 8 years.  It's still doable then too, as long as my health and body holds up. 

I'm also thinking of purchasing a used short school bus and ripping out the seats to refurbish it into a tiny house on wheels.  Then I can hit the road and take my own bed with me!  The husband is more than welcome to join me and we can see the country together.  Hopefully, by the time we leave, the mortgage will be paid off and the only worry the kids will have is to keep the lights on at the house.  I would even allow them to stay there rent free, as long as they continued to be law abiding citizens and didn't do anything that would require bail money be wired to them. 

Okidoki then.  I guess that's all that's on my mind for the time being.  Christmas is coming up next week and all that jazz so I suppose I need to get my head out of the clouds and figure out what I'm gonna do about the holiday this year.

Later ya'll.

KA-RAY-ZEE Day!

I'm just feeling the need to vent a little and to share with you what happened to me today.  I also want to write it down so I don't forget.  Because it was, to me anyway, just that crazy!

First of all, I woke up.  Actually got out of the bed and placed my feet on the floor at approximately 8:30 a.m.  By 10:30 a.m. my dad had come over to stick his nose into whatever I have going on check on me.  He lives next door to me (about an acre or so away) and when he gets bored he comes over to bug the tar outta me see his grandbabies, tickle them, and give them treats. By noon, he stated he had things to do and he left. 

Lemme back up a little bit, 2 1/2 weeks ago, my doc and I made the decision for me to begin weaning off of the 50 mg of Zoloft that I have been taking for 5 years.  Just a few days after that decision, I fell and hit the back of my head, giving myself a concussion.  With these two things combined, I have set myself up for a great amount of stress....and that's if everything was running like a well oiled machine!

Anyway, as a result of weaning off the Zoloft, I have been very emotional.  I know that it's because my doc and I are experimenting.  I have been attempting to use other ways to control my feelings and for the most part, it's been working.  However, by the time my dad left today, I was a wreck.  I managed to hold it in and stay in control until he was out of the house but after that, I caved....just a little...not entirely a melt down...just a few tears.

I began to hyperventilate and my sweet husband came over to me and helped me to think of more positive things.  He helped me to visualize peaceful, tranquil settings to calm me down.  He was awesome!  After that episode, I fed the kids, had some lunch myself, and then laid down for a power nap.  Thank God I did too because just 30 minutes after I woke up it seems that all hell broke loose!

I had planned to run some errands in town, taking my 23 y.o. DQ, her infant son, and my Little Bird and Kangaroo along for the ride in order to free up Dahlin' so he could enjoy the local college football game in peace.  I had the girls all loaded in the SUV, completely buckled in, when I remembered that I had forgotten my cell phone in the house.  I returned to get it, and my dad walked over as well.  

This was right at the end of the 1st quarter of Dahlin's football game.  Dad and I both entered the house and as we did so our very ADHD beagle puppy flew out the door.  Any other time, that might not have bothered me.  Let the dog run around....he'll come back.  But this time, he went straight for the neighbor's (and my dad's) free range chickens giving every available hen a run for her money. 

I have to admit that the sight of him flying through the air, the sun shining off his coat as he jumped a ditch while trying to bring down a hen in flight, was quite a beautiful sight.  If only I'd had the camera....but I didn't. 

Dahlin' paused his football game (Thank heaven for DVR!) and for the next hour he, my dad, and myself all chased that damn stupid dog around the neighborhood....eventually catching him and saving a few hens; although, they may not be laying eggs for the next week.

Meanwhile, back at the SUV, my daughters were patiently waiting for my return so that we could resume our afternoon plans.  My 23 y.o. had been entertaining the younger ones with the portable DVD player plugged in and powered through the in vehicle power port.  She thoughtfully had turned the vehicle off in order to save fuel.  Unfortunately, it never occurred to her that by doing so AND using the power port for an extended length of time would result in low truck battery.

I took my place behind the wheel of the SUV, turned the key, and heard....."Click-clik-clik-clik".   I banged rested my head on the steering wheel before getting out and heading BACK into the house where my Dahlin' had resumed position in the recliner in front of the squawk box TV to finish watching his game.   

I sat down in MY reliner, took a deep breath, and calmly said, "The truck won't start".  He not so very calmly replied, "JUST GIVE ME 10 MINUTES!"  and I replied.....well, I didn't reply.  I waited.  The girls waited.  Buddy the Beagle waited....and wagged his tail.

Ten minutes later, Dahlin' rose and proceeded to the SUV where he connected jumper cables to the battery to get us going.  Ten minutes after that, me and my girls were on the road.  Ten minutes after that, I hear a "Ding-Ding-Ding" and a flashing light on my dashboard informing me that I now need to put fuel into the vehicle if I plan to go any further.

Next stop, the gas station!  I filled up the tank, started the truck, put it in gear, only to hear "Ding-Ding-Ding" and see a message flashing "Check Tire Pressure".  By this time, I'm ready to explode!  But I didn't.  I stayed calm, and drove over to the air tank to plug 4 quarters into it for 15 pounds of air pressure. 

Got that done and I'm back on the road. 

I was able to run my errands and make the purchases I needed before returning home to vent through the blog world and to all my bloggy friends (all 5 of the them) so that I may cool off and calm down before running myself a bubbly bath and turning in.

Thank you all for reading, enduring, and listening to my rant.   How would you handle such a day?  Please comment below and give me some new coping ideas!

Catching Up

Since my last post, (a month ago?) my family has endured a homemade German dinner (complete with paper alpine hats), and all sorts of other things. I also started running again using the Couch to 5K Running Plan (which is wonderful BTW!) until last Sunday when I attempted to step up on my husband's 4 wheeler and missed.....giving myself a concussion. Now, I'm not allowed to raise my blood pressure or get my heart rate elevated for 14 days (well, until Nov. 21 cuz that'll be the 14th day) when the doc will give me the okay (hopefully) to ease back into a routine. I can't believe how one week with no exercise has got me feeling so blah!

In the meantime, I'm trying to entertain myself with Christmas gift ideas. And since I'm drawing a blank right now....Well, I'll just leave you with a photo of my new grandson known here as Monkey as he attempts to decipher the newspaper comics. He's such a cutie pie!!!

Whew! It's been busy!!!

Again, I have been neglectful. I'm sorry. Just know that I haven't forgotten about ya'll out in the bloggy world. I have been busy. Between the last two posts, our family welcomed a new family member. For Blog purpose, we'll call him Monkey. He joined the family on the 11th weighing in at a healthy 7 lbs and 14.2 oz and measuring nearly 22 inches long! He's quite a handsome fella and we're overjoyed to have him!

DQ has certainly been adjusting to motherhood and is doing a wonderful job if I must say so myself! Now if we could only get her a car and get her out and about to get a job and do the other stuff new parents are supposed to do. Forget about the dad, he decided he didn't want to be involved and DQ says she's not gonna push the child support issue do to the fact that he's already raising a child on his own (her mom abandoned her with him). It's complicated.

Monkey was right at one month old when we all hopped in the surburban and went down south to visit the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. It was quite fun! I'll have to post some pics later.

In the meantime, I'm back to post regularly for my new brainstorm...."Dinner around the world, a different country each month from my kitchen." Since I have been suffering from a severe bout of cabin fever, I have decided that since I can't actually travel around the world right now (if ever), I would bring the world to my kitchen through ethnic dining. It will be quite an experience and I look forward to it!

Now, I'm off to search for travleing DVD's, recipes, table decor, and atmospheric music, as well as perhaps some candles and such to help enhance the experience. If you have read this far into this bloggy post, I sincerely thank you. If you have any suggestions that will help me on my "journeys", feel free to holler at me or give me a link or two!!!

Today's Excitement

Whew! Wadda day! I took my kiddos out to a Library Storytime and on the way home, in stop and go traffic (about 10 - 15 mph), we were rear-ended!! The poor guy who rear ended me was actually from my church but he didn't recognize me until I gave my name to the deputy. The he repeats my name and says, "That sounds very familiar!". I thought to myself, "Well, duh, it should. I am the church pianist!" but I didn't say that to him.

You should have seen his eyes get wide as saucers though when he saw my pregnant daughter in the front passenger seat! She had waved out the window to get my attention and then told me that she had felt a gush and thought her water had broken. She's due to deliver my grandson in 4 weeks!

I called 911 and the fire deparment arrived within 1 minute! The sherriff's deputy was right behind them but it took the ambulance FOREVER to get there! I guess that was due to the backed up traffic that was already accumulated before I was hit.

My girls were very concerned that big sister went off in an ambulance, but the deputy was so nice and talked to them, calming them down. All of these guys were outstanding and I failed to get any one of their names.

The only vehicular damage done was to my back bumper and trailer hitch. When the church fella hit me from behind, he hit my trailer hitch and bent my bumper under a little bit. His wife told me later that he had not be driving for the past 2 months (she didn't give a reason) and this was his first time out. He was very worried about my daughter and told his wife that he was not going to drive anymore.

My daughter has been released from the hospital and is now at home resting as comfortably as possible. I'm exhausted from all the stress today and still have to go play piano for the church choir practice tonight.

I wonder who's gonna get voted off of this week's America's Got Talent?

Guess what I woke up to this a.m.!

On Friday morning I noticed that Kangaroo had a little redness to her right eye. Thinking it was allergies or even a bit of something in her eye, I ignored it. Bad move! By Saturday her eye was swollen from all the rubbing and stuck closed. Fast forward to this morning, and guess what! I wake up with the same dadgum thing! Yay. (Hear the sarcasm?)

We have doc's visit scheduled for this afternoon and I'm hoping he'll be generous and give a family sized prescription to knock this stuff out.

The last time we had conjunctivitis in the family was when I was still nursing Kangaroo (about 3 1/2 years ago). I had heard that a drop of breastmilk would cure this monster. So, I tried it and lemme tell ya...that breastmilk is a miracle elixir! However, since I'm no longer breastfeeding, I have none available. :(

That being said, I called the doctor and left a message. I was thinking that I would save myself a trip by describing the pink eye to him over the phone and then have him call in a prescription for eye drops. Several hours later and he still hadn't returned my call.

Then Kangaroo starts complaining about her ear hurting. She hadn't said anything prior to this so I didn't know what to think. I called the doc's office again and told them, "Never mind the message to the doc. I'm bringing her in."

It's a good thing too! Kangaroo has a double ear infection in addition to the pink eye! After fighting the evening traffic, we finally arrived back home with a week's worth of antibiotics and eyedrops.

Hopefully, she'll feel better very soon.

December Recap

What a busy month!!! I apologize again for leaving ya'll hanging all this time! I have been neglecting all my bloggy duties! But I have an honest excuse. I've been busy!!! However, I am here now for a brief synopsis of what's been going on in the lives of the Oxbow Gang.

On November 27, the girls, DH, and I went Christmas Tree hunting. We found this cute little tree that the girls insisted on helping to cut down. We got it home and immediately decorated the bottom half of it. As the girls slept later, I went in and put more decorations in the blank places.

The next evening, we gathered around a large bonfire at my dad's house, sharing stories and hot cocoa. Then we wrapped the evening up with some stringing of the popcorn for the tree.

Dec 3 - The Teen performed a Christmas Concert with his high school band. Earlier in the day, I was at the school to practice with the high school choir. The band director and I talked a bit. Upon realizing that I could not be there that night for the band performance, he invited me to sit in the class while my son went through the songs they were playing. I thoroughly enjoyed the private concert! What a cool teacher to allow me to observe!

Dec 4 - Little Bird performed in her first local Community Choir concert where she learned to sing a couple of songs in German and Spanish! I'm so proud of her!!!

Dec 6 - Little Bird AND Kangaroo both performed in the church's elementary and preschool choir Christmas program. It was Kangaroo's FIRST choir performance and she was such a pro! My chest is just busting with pride for both my girls!

The weekend of Dec 12/13 was my church's Christmas production of "The Splendor of Christmas". It was performed in our Christian Activities Center. The church provided a dinner of Vegetable Beef soup and Ham and Cheese Sandwiches accompanied by a big glass of iced tea and followed by a plate of Red Velvet cake. Yum Yum!

On Dec 14, Kangaroo and I went to the local library for some Christmas storytime and fun. While we were there, Santa came by for a visit! Kangaroo got to sit on his lap and tell him all about what she wanted for Christmas. She was so happy!

Dec 15 had us at the Boy Scout meeting hall for a Christmas party and Court of Honor to see The Teen receive some more merit badges for all his hard work. Soon, he'll be sporting that Eagle badge!!!


Dec 17 was Little Bird's FIRST school Christmas Program where she participated in a skit about the "Gingerbread Man" and sang "Must Be Santa" and "Jingle Bells". She was so cute!!!

The weekend of Dec 18 - 20 had the family dealing with the flu and other ailments. Little Bird was out of sorts and kept a fever for a few days. Kangaroo also had a fever but she's always so happy and it's difficult to tell when she's feeling bad. During this time, I went to Walmart and purchased one of those little Gingerbread House in a box kit to try and cheer them up. When the girls began feeling better, we decorated it. I had added too much water to the icing mix, making the "snow" slide right off the gingerbread roof. We ended up eating it as fast as we could decorate it!!! Yummy!!



Christmas Eve had us all down at the In Law's for vittles and gifts. One of the cousins had organized the gift exchange game where you draw numbers and then choose a gift with the cooresponding number. Before you open/unwrap the gift, you must first decide whether or not to keep it. If you don't want it but spy another one that was previously opened, you can then take the gift from that recipient and give them your unopened gift in exchanged. If all the gifts are gag gifts, then this is even that much more fun!!!

Cousin Blaine looks around for a gift to steal.

When we got home from the In Laws on Christmas Eve night, I sat down at my computer and discovered that Santa had sent my girls a very special Video email!! They were very excited to hear from him and see their names and photo in his big book of good little boys and girls. I read the Christmas Story of the Nativity to the girls, said prayers with them, and they went straight to bed and fell sound asleep without another peep!!! It had been a long and beautiful day. DH and I made sure that we assisted Santa before we turned in for the night.
Christmas morning dawned bright and early with the girls waking us at 6:30 a.m.! They were so excited that Santa had brought them each a beautiful little bicycle and other goodies. After a breakfast of monkey bread and hot cocoa, we dressed for comfort and warmth, loaded the new bikes into the surburban and drove up to the park (where there are paved paths) for a bicycle test ride. The girls did great on their first ride! Hubby and I got some much needed exercise while The Teen jogged along to fill in where we couldn't (as we stood aside gasping for breath). We old folks are sooooo out of shape! (note to self: must make new Year's resolutions!)

On the day after Christmas, my sister showed up with her 2 kiddos. We loaded the entire gang (and their bikes) up and went to the St. Tammany Trace to get some much needed playtime and bike riding in. We then decided that since no other activities had been planned for the next few days, we needed some R&R.


So, on Monday, Dec 28, we packed up and headed north to Hattiesburg, MS where I had reserved a lovely little cabin at the Paul B. Johnson state park. There will soon be another post and more pictures regarding our little mini-vacation. We returned home on New Year's Eve, just in time to ring in 2010!

Happy New Year and may the King richly bless each and every one of you!!!!

Twelfth Anniversary Adventure, Part 4

I woke up to the smell of coffee brewing in our little Day's Inn hotel room this morning. I rolled over and looked at the clock, groaning a little when I saw the clock and read 7:07 a.m. Another early morning. Oh well, there was a lot of other stuff I wanted to get up to see and do before we began our drive back home.

Hubby mentioned that he was hungry and wanted to find some breakfast somewhere. Since it was Sunday morning, I wasn't sure that we would find any restaurants open for breakfast. All of the cute little restaurants that we passed by at dinner time were closed on Sunday except for one or two that offered brunch and even that wasn't being served until 10 a.m. So, we got up, got dressed, plugged in a Points of Interest thing into the GPS and were directed a few miles down the road to a Shoney's. I thought all of the Shoney's restaurants had been closed, but was pleasantly surprised to see this one is still kicking.

We arrived at the restaurant, were greeted and seated, and made our way to the breakfast buffet. Now, hubby said he was hungry but I'll be honest with ya'll...I wasn't in the least bit hungry. I was still digesting dinner from the night before! However, since it is breakfast and I knew I'd be getting hungry later, I opted to eat a biscuit or two. I probably shouldn't have done that but... oh, well... live and learn.

Leaving the restaurant, we went back down to the historic district to visit the Fort St. Jean Baptiste museum and state historic site. How very interesting! I learned things about Louisiana history that I don't (or can't) recall ever being taught in high school. I have so many questions now that I feel the need to enroll in a history class!!!

Anyway, we viewed a film and wandered around the museum for a little bit before venturing out to the boardwalk and short hike to the reconstructed fort. It was so quiet at this time of morning that I just knew we were all alone. I was surprised to see a few re-enactors at the fort going about their daily chores.

Tommy, the re-enactor, readies his musket for a firing demonstration.

The fort Church

The barracks, or sleeping quarters, where 8 soldiers would sleep. Looks comfy huh?

After visiting with the re-enactors for a bit, we went by to wander through the American Cemetery which is believed to be one of the oldest cemeteries in the Louisiana Purchase!!! Rumor has it that the oldest surviving tombstone in this cemetery dates back to 1796. This cemetery is also the film location of Shelby's funeral scene in the movie "Steel Magnolias" which was written by a Natchitoches native!!! How cool is that!?

We looked around, smelled the roses that were blooming, looked at the watch and said, "Honey, I've had fun but it's time to go." to which we "pointed the carriage toward the barn and let the horses have their heads".

On the way out of Natchitoches we made a short detour past St. Augustine Catholic Church in Isle Breville. This church has been holding worship services at this location since 1803!! I would have loved to see the inside of it, but it was Sunday morning and people were still there. I'm sure I would look out of place in my tourist clothes with camera hanging from my neck. Maybe next time I'm in the area I'll go in but this time I just opted to get a shot of the front of the church and move on.

Hubby decided to stay off course and instead of getting back on Hwy 1, we took Hwy 71 South to intersect with Hwy 190 East bound before hitting the interstate just west of Baton Rouge.

Ahhh, what a memorable trip! There is so much to see and do in the historic town of Natchitoches and not enough time in a weekend to do it all. However, there will be more opportunities for me in the future and I plan to return this spring to see the big re-enactment at the fort that will be performed the 2nd weekend of March, 2010.

I hope that you've enjoyed reading my journal of our Twelfth Anniversary Adventure as much as I've enjoyed re-living it by typing it all out!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Twelfth Anniversary Adventure, Part 3

As we drove into Natchitoches, we kept seeing these signs along the roadway directing us to a plantation here or a little church house there. I had planned to visit the Cane River National Heritage area. I had plugged the address into the GPS unit and it directed us straight to the Cane River offices, which were closed on Saturday. However, right there in the parking lot was a sign with directions to some of the plantations.

One that I had wanted to visit was Oakland Plantation. The plantations in this part of the state may not beas extravagant as the ones further south, but they are still very interesting to learn about. The Oakland Plantation in particular is fascinating due to the fact that it remained in the same family the entire time! Built in the 1820's, it was never sold or handed over to others until the early 1990's when the National Park service was contacted for ownership transfer.

We spent a good part of our afternoon here before going on into the historical district of Natchitoches.

A look down Front Street, right on the Cane River lake.

What a beautiful little town! I had heard that the oldest store in the state was here, is still in business, and even more intriguing, is still operated by the same family!!! DH and I walked in and spotted an old Coca Cola cooler right away. We opened the top and lo and behold, there were 6 oz. Cokes in the little green bottles!!! Ice Cold!! What a treat! I find it interesting that the drink tastes better when it's in one of those little bottles. The taste of the product when in the plastic bottles just doesn't hold a candle to the glass bottle.

We walked around the store for a bit and saw some vintage toys that we remembered from our own childhood! We even purchased two little wooden boats with the rubber band operated paddle wheels for the girls. Then we wandered across the street to the little park and walked around looking for at least one geocache. There were many more that I wanted to hunt for but we didn't have time and hubby really isn't as gung-ho about it as I am.

Hunny is helping me hunt for the cache.

After bushwhacking for the geocache, I finally decided to get a stick and poke all around the hiding place. On the 3rd poke I heard what I was listening for. A distinctive thunking sound of wood meeting a plastic container. There it was! Why didn't I think of getting the stick sooner!? I would have saved much valuable time.

The prize!!

Being worn out from that little escapade, we decided to go find a hotel (a Day's Inn), get settled, relax a little, and then return to the historic district for dinner in one of the restaurants on the Riverwalk. There were a few to choose from, and they all looked interesting, but we walked past them and decided to eat at the last one we came to, Antoon's Riverfront Restaurant.

When we walked in, I was quite surprised at the atmosphere. It was very relaxed and casual with no frills. We pored over the menu for quite a while before deciding what to purchase. Hubby ordered his standard seafood platter while I had some difficulty making my choice. The choices on the menu looked absolutely divine and I couldn't settle for just one!

As I read the menu, I would think to myself, "Oh my, that looks good! Oh, but this looks good too!" and so it would go. I finally told the waitress that I would go with their Catfish Gumbeaux featuring Blacked Catfish topped with Seafood Gumbo and served with shrimp, rice, and garlic bread. She left our table and went to another before turning to go back to the kitchen with our order. As she passed, I stopped her and changed my order to the Potatoe Louisiane which is a baked potato filled with a creame sauce with baby shrimp, crawfish, and mushrooms then topped with grilled jumbo shrimp. OMG! This was some heavenly stuff!!!!

While we dined, we met and chatted with a sweet young lady who was visiting the United States for the very first time on her first solo trip. She hailed from Holland and was enjoying her stay at a Natchitoches Bed and Breakfast while waiting for an aunt to arrive from Texas. She was such a delight and I regret that I didn't get any contact information from her to keep in touch. I suppose I could chalk it up to a divine encounter and hope that I made as much of an impression on her as she did on me.

After dinner, I was glad that we had parked so far away and made the initial stroll down the "blvd" to eat. I was so stuffed that I was happy for the exercise to get back to the vehicle. Plus it was a nice little romantic stroll. What a beautiful evening!

If you're still reading this, Thank you for humoring me with all of your attention! Our adventure continues in Part 4.

Part 1

Part 2

Twelfth Anniversary Adventure, Part 2

After finally dozing off to sleep at Neal's Cypress Inn, DH woke me up at ... get this... 6 A.M.!!! There is no such thing as sleeping late when on a trip with him. I sleep later when I stay home with the kids!! So, anyway, he says to me, "Let's get out of here and go find some breakfast." To which I responded, "Um, honey? The only places around here that serve breakfast would be a Bed and BREAKFAST!!!" He looks at me and gives me a Tim Allen growl. Hmmph.

I got up, got dressed, and we were outta there within 10 minutes on the hunt for some breakfast somewhere. As we pulled out of the hotel parking lot, we turned to the right to go back into the New Roads historical district. Not finding anything on that route, we turned around to head out of town and get some more distance on our road trip. As we passed back by the hotel, we spotted what looked like a bar.... or video poker joint. But, there were cars and other vehicles there....at 7 a.m. Sooo, we stopped to investigate. It was indeed a video poker place but in the back of the building through another entrance was a quaint little cafe....serving non other than BREAKFAST!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Hubby ordered a breakfast of 2 fried pork chops, with 2 eggs, hashbrowns, and biscuits. I had the same except that I got chicken fried steak. The cooks here apparently know how to cook eggs only one way. Well done. Even though I ordered mine Over Medium and Hubby ordered his Over Light....we rec'd them well done. I was hungry and anxious to get on our way so I didn't do any complaining.

As we resumed our travels on Hwy 1, we passed through many quaint little towns that. One of those was Morganza, LA where we stopped to take a picture of the cute little St. Ann's Catholic Church building. There are many of these little churches all along Hwy 1.

We crossed over the Atchafalaya River and entered Simmesport, LA which is home to Dan & Evelyn's Cafe/Mini Mart where we had been advised to stop for a bite. We had just finished breakfast and were not ready for a snack or lunch so we passed on by but not without noticing the blue tarp still on the roof of Dan & Evelyn's. I assume this is due to last year's Hurricane Gustav.

Moving on through Simmesport, we noticed a small park on the left side of the highway. At first, we weren't going to stop but then we noticed a historical marker. Hubby turned the truck around and went back to investigate. What a cute little park! As it turns out, this location was the site of a civil war Confederate Fort Humbug. The Battle of Yellow Bayou was fought May 18, 1864. It was the last battle of Banks' Red River Campaign. General Richard Taylor's Confederate army tried but failed to prevent the Union army crossing the Atachafalaya River at Simmesport.

Continuing along Hwy 1, we notice that the many sugar cane fields that we had been passing are now beginning to give way to rice, barley, soybean, cotton, and other crops. We pass through the Couchon de Lait capital, Mansura, LA where it's probably worth a stop if you want to stretch your legs.

Upon reaching Marksville, LA, we stopped at Marksville State Historic Site to learn about prehistoric Native American Indian ceremonial center and walk around the seven mounds that were discovered here. The pottery found here is very similar to Hopewell of Ohio and Illinois. There is also a wonderful museum and tour guide Anne is just full of information!

Isn't this just the cutest thing? It's a pine straw basket made by the curators and other friends of the museum. It is believed that the indians made similar baskets.

After getting some touring advice from Anne (the museum tour guide), we decided to move on to Natchitoches for some more sight seeing, dining, and to get a room for the night. Continuing our drive along Hwy 1, we noticed the fields changing again. This time, they were pecan orchards. Lots and lots of pecan orchards!

Located right on Hwy 1 are two wonderful little gift shops and pecan stores. Little Eva Pecan Plantation is on the right (heading north) and is situated in an old train depot building the owners salvaged. You will find several different varieties of pecans in the back of the depot along with a sampling table. There are several jars of candied pecans in varying flavors to try out before you buy! Even Bourbon covered pecans! Yum!

Within sight of Little Eva's across the street you will find Natchitoches Pecans where there are more varieties, samples, and gifts. Be sure you stop and check them out during your travels.

Still with me? Read Part 3 for more of our adventure.

Part 1

Part 4

Twelfth Anniversary Adventure, Part 1

DH and I celebrated our 12 happy years together by embarking on a small road trip. How many times have you driven down the road, through a small town, passed a little road going somewhere, and thought, "I wonder what this little place is all about?". Well, I had been looking up some info about Louisiana's Hwy 1. This historical roadway was once the main route from the most southeastern tip of Louisiana at Grand Isle, to the most northwestern community of Rodessa. The route is dotted with small communities and quaint little church houses.

We began our adventure in Vacherie, LA. "Vacherie" means "Cattle Ranch" and the place is a regional area of St. James Parish settled by the Germans and early Acadians. Near Vacherie are a number of old plantation homes such as Laura Plantation, St. Joseph Plantation, and perhaps one of the most photographed plantations, Oak Alley. Built between 1837 and 1839 by Jacques T. Roman, this example of Greek Revival architecture is famous for its alley of 28 evenly spaced live oak trees. They are believed to be at least 100 years older than "Big House".

The other photographers around there.

Nottoway Plantation, another jewel along Hwy 1.

From there, we moved north through historic Donaldsonville to Plaquemine where we stopped to look at and learn about the Plaquemine Locks. As long as I have lived in this area, I have never seen the Locks and had no idea about the history of the area. Did you know that the man who designed it, Colonel George W. Goethals, is the same man who went on to become the chief

engineer and builder of the Panama Canal? I didn't!!!

Inside the Plaquemine Museum.

Bayou Plaquemine - Passageway of Acadians after

deportation of 1755 from Canada to the Southwest Attakapas.

At this point of our trip, I had WANTED to stop in Port Allen but it was getting late and we wanted to get on into New Roads. There were also some things I wanted to see there but we made the decision to just get some dinner and a room and move on the next morning. Port Allen and New Roads are close enough to our home that we could make a day trip to see the attractions and learn more about the history of that area.

In New Roads, we ate dinner at Satterfield's, which is right on the banks of the False River.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by a humongous preserved alligator sporting a spectacular grin. Our waitress seated us near the window wall overlooking the water. Surprisingly, we were only the 3rd couple seated in the restaurant. I had expected many more on a Friday evening. However, just below the restaurant is a bar where there were a good many patrons hanging out and enjoying the evening.

Our food was wonderful and quickly served! We started our meal with a shrimp cocktail, followed by a seafood platter for hubby which featured fried shrimp, catfish, oysters, soft shell crab and stuffed shrimp along with parsley potatoes. It also came with a garden salad. I opted for the crawfish pie with a puffed pastry shell which soon appeared in front of me accompanied by fresh steamed vegetables of snap beans, squash, zucchini, and sweet red bell pepper strips and a stuffed baked potato. I cannot even imagine how many calories this meal had but that was the flakiest pastry crust I have ever bitten into!

There are several B&B's in New Roads to choose from. I certainly recommend you do your research and make reservations before you visit the area, as the two hotels here are not where you really want to lay your body down. We ended up in Neal's Cypress Inn located right there on Hwy 1. I really can't say much about the place. Don't let the website fool ya. The pictures make it look much better. The only positive thing about our night there was that I didn't see any bedbugs!! **shudder**

Part 2 of our adventure begins here.

Part 3

Part 4

Field Trip: Pumpkin Patch

Today was my Kangaroo's Field Trip day to the Pumpkin Patch. We joined up with a different homeschool group from our usual group. This was our first outing with this particular group. We met some new friends and just enjoyed the day out in the country at the pumpkin patch.

Getting pumpkins painted on the face.

See the green shrubs behind the pumpkin coach?

Turns out that it's cotton! Wow! This is a big pumpkin!!

Lunchtime!

Yum! Yum!

After lunch, we went to the corral where there were some animals to touch.

Photo op!!

Nothing says "Autumn" like a bunch of pumpkins!