April 15th - 18th of April
Patterson, Kemper Williams Park
Peaceful!
A campground for $18. We never spend that much money to pitch our tent, but then, we were here because James felt poorly on that bumpy road what would not leave him alone ...gave him a head ache and a bad mood and then we showered and did laundry and ate and talked and cooked and looked at pictures and futzed with our bikes and watched the mosquitos and then the sun go down and realized that it is good.
We have had a string of wonderful days/night with several Warm Shower hosts. Starting right after we hit the Gulf, with an amazing Italian/Mexican couple in Galveston
where we stayed a second night, because the little town was fun and the couple so warm and welcoming and then basically moved in with Melissa and Ervin in Grand Chenier in their little trailer park community 150 miles down the road. Eating for two days...maybe three if you count the day we arrived. We feasted on new (for me) delicious foods like crawfish
boudin...I can’t even name them all. The storm gave us a good excuse to stay that long, but we actually didn’t really need one. This little community was so welcoming..I can’t even tell which ones were family of the couple and who was just part of the community dropping in
....animals included. Little Rosco here
peeked in even without his people.
Louisiana has been true to it’s famous southern hospitality..another family took us in, in New Iberia and they were going on a trip the next day warning us: If you come early enough tonight, we can host you (meaning feed us), but if not, we can still house you (meaning let us stay in their cabin without them being there). We did get there early enough to eat more delicious food and hang out to chat and get some hints for down the road basically where to stop and eat some more.
Did you know about the pink dolphine?:
We pretty much were aiming now to get to New Orleans, but we are not in a hurry, just excited! I enjoy big cities and this one has a lot going on. We did take a bit of a detour, so we can ride the levee by the Mississippi all day into town instead of the big roads.
A little town named South Vacherie was our stop for the night. Even though the county road 20 looked like a farm road, it was so busy with traffic and trucks (it was also rush hour), it made me fear for my life again and I was done. With no place to go, the fire station seemed promising, since the garage door was open and one of the trucks missing...they ought to come back some time soon. An hour later the sun was closing down shop and we got tired and antsy. There was a little Bed and Breakfast in town, so my phone says...I called, but the friendly voice said they were booked. I told her we just needed a space to pitch our tent and she hopped in her truck to pick us up ..guiding us to her 100 acre ranch
sharing her beautiful place..her son and family sharing their dinner...her husband welcoming us warmly....shaking his head: You could have gotten shot by angry drivers, riding the road in rush hour with no shoulder.
Instead, again, we left with our bellies/pockets full of farm eggs, hugs and good wishes...friendly smiles and another enriching experience of the goodness of the people around here.
Mississippi/New Orleans, here we come: the levee all the way to our city. Only interrupted by a freelance professional photographer who kept chasing us...or better: trying to get ahead of us to intersect and take photos of us without slowing us down. Well, we didn’t mind..he was fun to talk to and he was so excited to meet us and “catch” us, but he was running up that levee a couple of times in high humidity....made me worry and I begged him to slow down so he wouldn’t get a heart attack. He brought us refreshments, making sure it was the kind we liked. Three is a charm...and then we were on our own again. Nice to meet you, David, and thanks for thsee incredible photographs!
It’s never been more pleasant to pedal into a city. It was the long way, but the best! We got off the levee after we’ve meandered around with the river to and fro, right at the French Quarter to short cut our way to our next home with Roselyn and David.
Yes, indeed, we scored again!! Friends of friends or in other words: “the cat’s meow” “the yellow of the egg” (German saying again, in case you haven’t guessed). Instand friends...just add laughter! They have been on earth in their bodies a bit longer than us (about 20 years), but: age doesn’t matter! We stayed up with them (after having ridden close to 80 miles) until 1am hunting down food in NOLA on a Thursday night. These blues/jazz musicians have stories and a life ...I just want to sit and listen to them the whole time.
New Orleans with Roselyn and David couldn’t be better.
We are still here with no plan to leave...
Easter Parades in New Orleans:
