Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Let The Good Times Roll in Cajun French, is the title of this post.  For us, it's: zydeco, bread pudding, happy people, po-boys, community coffee, LSU fanaticism, alligators, pig roasts, the swamps and bayous, crawfish, Huey Long's statue, drive-in daiquiri stores, the state's capitol building,  swamp tours, pirouges, boudin, gumbo and ettoufee ... we love it all. We even say "nu-awlins" instead of New Or-leeeens.

We love Louisiana. Mostly because of Baton Rouge where we lived and loved living for five years during the mid-1990's.  The friendliest people, the best food and the most festive atmosphere made us feel this way, despite mosquitoes the size of small horses.

Home for the next few days, or maybe a week, turns out to be Lakeside RV Park near Livingston, about 15 miles east of Baton Rouge, just off I-10.  What a nice little gem and favorite campground this turned out to be. Clean and well-designed with manicured grounds and campsites surrounding a large lake that's suitable for fishing. The weather is hot and humid most days even though it was downright cold the Saturday we arrived here for the first stop in our new Endie.

Looking across the lake to the other side of the campground. 

This is our campsite across from the lake.
Even though the sites are close together, they are laid out in a way that feels  private.

There's a large white swan who resides anywhere it chooses at Lakeside RV Park and I really believe this 30 pounder could easily kill Lexie and Ozzie with it's huge wings, without even having to use that massive 12" neck or "spatula sized" beak.  We steer clear of the swan, known 'round here as "Snowflake" -- yea, I bet.

Snowflake came by our campsite for a visit to dump a pile of swan do-do on at least one occasion.

Snowflake gets really comfortable, really fast. 
Snowflake also leaves a "cow-size" black poop pattie.

Eating is a favorite pastime for us while we're in Baton Rouge. The first few days here we didn't get to enjoy much in the way of culinary goodies, but on Saturday, Al Lemoine, our sales representative at The RV Shop, brought a surprise foodie bag to us from his nearby favorite place, Jerry Lee's.

One the left: Hog's Head Cheese (ooohhh, so good but full of cholesterol)
The links (right) are another favorite: Warm Boudin! Yum.

No visit to Baton Rouge is complete for us without a morning stop at Coffee Call for an order of beignets and/or fingers.  Coffee Call is BR's answer to Cafe du Monde in New Orleans.  The location has changed since we lived here but the inside looks the same and the beignets are still just as delicious!

Nicer looking from the outside that the old location...

Beignets were brought to Louisiana by the Acadians. Beignets are fritters, fried usually in cottonseed oil, served either as three rectangular biscuits or fingers covered in powdered sugar. 

Inside it's the same as it always was. 
Powdered sugar everywhere.  Oh joy.

Beignets are made at this station. The preparation is a sight to behold.

These beignet "fingers" have already been scooped out of the cooking pot and are being heaped onto plates.

The end result --- after the sugar dump.

Another day we stopped in at a "hole-in-the-wall" eatery for lunch of.....

Fried catfish! Louisianans cook it better than anybody!

Wayne always loves an Oyster Po-Boy. This one was exceptionally good.

Another morning we drove north on Airline Highway to Franks Restaurant and Smokehouse, another weekend favorite of ours when we lived here.  This is one of those big open two-room family restaurants that cooks and serves great home cooking.  While I didn't get a picture of our actual plates, we both had platters of eggs, bacon, grits, home fries and "grilled biscuits" -- they slice the biscuits in half, butter them and lay them on the grill 'till they are golden brown.  Oh yum -- I'm gaining weight by the tens of pounds, I fear.

Inside one of the dining rooms at Franks.

Really inconspicuous, Frank's Restaurant can easily be missed.

Because we ate such a huge breakfast so late in the morning, we felt like taking either a nap or a walk and opted for the latter in a moment of sanity.  We drove around to see some of our old haunts, including a ride downtown Baton Rouge and past a few of our old haunts.

Wayne's office looked over the Mississippi River from some of the windows above.  It was Hibernia Bank then.

The old Louisiana State Capitol.

From River Road, south of the city.
Through the fog, the Mississippi River Bridge (I-10) can be seen.

A later view of the bridge, the levee and some gas lines along River Road.

Frostop is a local landmark.

This was our home in Baton Rouge. We bought it brand new and loved it. Great floorplan.

A ride around campus and a decent shot of Tiger Stadium through the fog.

Louisiana's Capitol is a good place for Lexie and Ozzie to take a walk and we're ready to throw off a few calories from breakfast so we parked the car and strolled the grounds.

Louisiana State Capitol

Wayne is walking Lexie along the sidewalk on the capitol grounds.
Beautiful old live oak in the background. The trees here are beautiful.

Huey P. Long looks over the capitol.

Ozzie is learning to lift his leg. He usually squats.

Lots of interesting smells for Lexie.

We had a great day, the fog finally lifted, the sun came out bright and hot and we were exhausted by the end of the day. 

Finding Big Blackie at Red Stick

When the Wayner gets on a roll writing checks I never know what's next. 

The week after we bought the new coach, I caught a glimpse of his computer screen -- It was filled with images of new cars.  Last fall he looked around at new Fords but was unsure whether he wanted another Escape, an Edge (650 pounds heavier) or 1500 pound heavier, Explorer.  Affecting his decision was the added expense of a new Blue Ox faceplate if he bought anything other than an Escape.  Another factor to consider was the remaining warranty on our still relatively new Escape, Blackie. In the end, we just kept Blackie and I thought the whole idea was dead. 

But oh no! the fever returned the week after we bought Endie! 

I don't really get new car fever and could probably drive the same car 'till the wheels fall off. That's a good thing since my "new coach fever" couldn't be managed very well we all now know.

While working with the people at The RV Shop in Baton Rouge, we got the name of a contact at the local Ford dealer.  We called... we looked...we bought -- it's a new Edge.  The new faceplate is ordered and will be installed when  Endie's new curb side window awning is being attached. 

Our new black-on-black Edge is named "Big Blackie" of course.

Lexie's Sand Spur Injury

Lexie stepped on one of those horribly sharp spurs one afternoon while we were at the campground in Ft. Pierce. Wayne held her while I pulled the bugger out of her right front paw.  We didn't give it much more thought and her gait seemed fine.

But apparently Lexie's foot was not okay. A few days into our visit to Baton Rouge we noticed that her right paw was showing some pink on top and her little toenails were spread out. Closer inspection proved that her paw pad was inflamed even though she wasn't limping. 

A visit to a nearby vet resulted in a 14 day supply of antibiotic and pain/anti-inflammatory medications to treat her infected paw. 

Her little foot got worse before it got better but just before we were prepared to return to the vet, the infected place broke open, ran and began to show signs of improvement.  

We are about mid-way through the second week of antibiotics and even though her foot is still a little pink on top, it is well on the way to recover, I'm happy to say.

Ozzie and Lexie (R).  A nice big yawn ends with a big lick!
A little pink can be seen on her right front foot.

The Big Deal At The Red Stick: The Checkbook Opens...

We always name our cars. We name our motorhomes (and other campers) too.  We've had BB, The Grey Ghost, Goldie, Birdie, Big and Little Whitey, Rocky, Evie, Mona and now we'll call the new coach Endie -- short for Endeavor.

Our drive from Winter Haven, Florida to Baton Rouge was made in just two days. We spent the first night at Walmart in Pensacola, Florida and the next at Walmart in Baton Rouge.  We arrived at the RV Shop in Baton Rouge by 9 a.m. Tuesday morning to meet Al, the salesman with whom I'd been in communication. The trade agreement we've reached via email was fair and unless the coach proved to be a huge disapointment, we'd make the trade.  We were, however, both a little sentimental about trading Mona away as she really made a good home for us.

Here are some exterior views of the Endeavor:

2011 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 43DFT

Road side

Because it's a 2011 model, the engine will not require the urea additive now mandated by EPA regulations.  This model also used up the final supply of Cummins engines available to Monaco Coaches (builder of Holiday Rambler). Navistar has begun using their own MaxxForce engine as of 2012. Wayne likes the Cummins engine and didn't want to buy the first edition of a new engine brand. This model doesn't have Aqua Hot, which we would have liked, but we won't miss something we've never had.

Inside the coach was as near perfect as we could have asked. It has tile floors throughout, something we wanted and it isn't easy to find. The coach does not have a fireplace but one can be added and we've negotiated that, along with the installation of a satellite dish, in our trade. Interestingly, the cabinetry in the Endeavor is the same Newport Cherry as in Mona and the dealers has agreed to move our desk from Mona into the new coach. The existing sofa will be removed and left with the RV Shop for their use either in the resale of Mona or another unit. The Corian countertop on the desk pieces is a different pattern so a local cabinetmaker will build a new top for the desk set to make a seamless look throughout the coach.  Here's a few photos inside...

The eating area has a nice wide credenza that houses a laptop drawer.

The road side sofa will come out. In it's place we'll put the desk we had built last year for Mona.
 Only the Corian desk top will need to be changed.  Hooray! 
Wayne will keep his Ekornes StressLess chair at the desk.

The electric fireplace will be installed under this HUGE  TV.

We will sleep, for the first time, in a king size bed.

The trade transaction, installation of the satellite and subsequent move of all our belongings out of Mona and into Endie (the name we've given her) took 3-1/2 days. We stayed overnight in the RV Shop parking lot three nights in Mona and then Friday night in Endie.  Saturday afternoon we left the RV Shop property for a week at a nearby campground where we'll wait for the new Corian desktop and the fireplace to be made ready for installation.

The RV Shop is on the Choctaw Road Extension. It's a family owned and operated business.

Some of the inventory at The RV Shop in Baton Rouge

Inside The RV Shop one can find lots of LSU tailgating equipment.

Gerald Vince is a hands-on Monaco dealership owner.
This day he was dusty getting our wood cabinet stain "just right".

Josh did the satellite wiring.

A close-up look at the intricate wiring Josh is doing.

Wayne couldn't resist hopping onto the golf cart.

Visiting Winter Haven: Another Past Residence

Wintering in south Florida without advance campground reservations is not easy. We learned this the hard way and we've not been able to enjoy our time here as much as we would have liked. We did find a campground that could accommodate us in Winter Haven. It's an old crusty park named Hammondell Campsites and it's not far from the new Legoland Park, which we WILL NOT visit --- thank you very much.

Most of the seasonal units here should be condemned and the grounds leave a lot to be desired. Here are a few photos of our surroundings...

A typical unit at Hammondell Campsites.
View out our dining area window.

Most of the residents here seem to be long term visitors who know one another and have serious three-wheel bike riding in common.  Take a look...

They appear to "race" in slow motion every afternoon.  All old guys.

Contemplating their race strategy.

Look at the guy in the lead... on the right.
That's some comfy seat, eh?

Somebody said "happy hour"!

Winter Have is another familiar city to us and we lived here for a short time way back in the 1980's.  Our rented condo was still there, painted the same horrible two tones of brown and really showing it's age.

This is our old condo. It look exactly the same (shrub and all) when we lived there.
It was 25 years newer then!

The community entrance looks the same too.

We drove by the bank building where Wayne worked. It's now a BB and T office. It's been remodeled but was not changed too much for us to recognize. 

This was an NCNB office in the 1980's.

There has been no change in my "new coach fever" yet. I spend several hours a day looking at possible deals with a floor plan we like.  One keeps coming back as a favorite for me.  It's a new 2011 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 43DFT that's located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The floorplan is the same as the new 2012's we saw (and loved) at the Tampa and Ft Myers RV Shows. 

We drove to Orlando to see the Newmar products but didn't find one that we loved.  I think we're inching our way toward Louisiana when we leave here.

Our stay in Winter Haven was a little short of one week.  In the end we sent a deposit to hold the Endeavor in Baton Rouge 'till we get there. I've found the online brochure and found it highlights the very same unit and color scheme.  By now, Wayne's falling in love with it too.  Here's a link to the brochure which I've added to my "favorites" file.....

http://www.holidayrambler.com/StaticFiles/holidayrambler/brochures/2011/2011_endeavor_brochure.pdf

Vero Beach, Sebastian Inlet, Dodger Town

Our time around Ft Pierce and the Treasure coast was relaxing, due in no small part to the pleasant campground at Savannas Preserve. There were several pairs of tall, screeching birds around along with the menacing alligators.

I think these are Sand Cranes.

They make a terrific screeching sound.

These guys are appearing everywhere around here.  This is in the canal that runs about 20' behind our coach.

We took another ride on this day to find the Vero Beach Sports Village and Holman Stadium, the former spring training facility of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.  With just a few twists and turns, we found it.

Later we drove across the Intracoastal Waterway to the strand of land that would take us north from Vero Beach to Sebastian Inlet.  This stretch was scenic with homes, businesses, beaches and undeveloped land.  We happened upon a gold treasure museum with artifacts from the Salvagers' Camp of this wreck dating back to the 1700's. Because dogs were not allowed, we didn't tour the museum itself, however the $2 admission price would have surely been worth it.

One of our destinations in going out here is to see the Florida State Park Campground at Sebastian Inlet.  The campground was full and reservations would be impossible but we toured the area and took a peek around the facility from below and then above the facility along the bridge that spans the inlet.  Here are a few pictures.

Sebastian Inlet from the bridge to the Atlantic.
Part of the Florida State Park and Campground is shown on the left edge of the photo.

Sebastian Inlet looking out into the Atlantic from the bridge

One of the area beach access areas.

Somewhat disappointed at the state park campground and discouraged over the camping opportunities for us in this area, we made our way home and made plans to leave the area, moving to central Florida where we hope to find accommodations.

At home in the afternoon with the gang.
Lexie and Ozzie are waiting for dinner.

Sweet Lexie

I find myself continuing to look at late model motorhomes in my spare time. I think Wayne is growing weary of my obsession with a new coach since my fever began after the Tampa RV Supershow last month.  Uh oh.