January rushed by and February came in quickly and brought to light the realization that we didn’t have a whole lot of time left to explore the Corpus Christi area as we will be leaving on March 1. The first week of February buzzed by and we enjoyed staying at the RV Park and enjoying our new friends and surroundings including briefing the pool and me taking an Aqua Zumba class.
We decided we needed to spend a day in Corpus Christi to check out the USS Lexington and the Texas State Aquarium that are thankfully located very close to each other. The first thing that we need to do whenever we want to do these types of outings is try and find a sitter for Piper. We decided to check with neighbours of ours, Veda and Steve and they were more than accommodating to help us out and keep Piper for the day. Piper loves Steve as he always seem to have some delicious Pupperoni in his pocket for her!
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| USS Lexington sits in the Corpus Christi Bay |
On Wednesday, February 8 we ventured into Corpus Christi to the USS Lexington. This massive ship is the oldest remaining fleet carrier in the world. Dan and I were amazed at the many years of history the Lexington has experienced with the U.S. Navy participating in many battles and training sessions. The ship’s interior was massive and although altered in some areas now, (like the area that was transformed to accommodate a 3D Movie Theatre), for the most part remains as it was when it was decommissioned in 1991.
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| Dan demonstrating how to fit in the bunk, these are 3 high |
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| Me, posing on the stairs |
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| Narrow hallways and doorways |
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| Narrow and steep stairs |
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| Command Center |
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| Cannon on top deck of Lexington |
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| Barber Shop |
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| Machine Shop |
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| Cooks in the kitchen |
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| The Dentist |
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| Gauges in boiler room |
For lunch, we visited Pier 99, located between the USS Lexington and the Aquarium. Dan had a pound of crab and I had a medley of seafood on rice. Both dishes were delicious and filled us.
After lunch it was on to the Texas State Aquarium. I have visited aquariums before, but this was a first time for Dan. We were both impressed with the cleanliness of the aquarium including the animals’ habitats. There were many young people working here with the animals and it really impressed us. They showed concern over keeping the animals healthy but also entertained and mentally stimulated. We enjoyed a number of shows that really helps to teach the public about the animals and makes the visit to the aquarium really enjoyable. We saw the Wild Flight Show featuring a hawk, porcupine, parrot, white nosed coati, and an African Serval cat.
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| The Wild Flight Show |
Next, we watched the Dolphin show. Dolphins are amazingly smart and once they have bonded to their trainer, they like to copy what their trainers do. We watched with giant smiles on our faces and immensely enjoyed watching the Dolphins show off what they were capable of. My favourite part was listening to them “talk”.
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| The dolphin show |
The aquarium also has a vast assortment of sea life and Dan and I went to check out the Giant Pacific Octopus they have in their Tentacles display area. It was really interesting to learn more about the octopus, for example, did you know that an octopus has 9 brains? One brain for each tentacle and one more for everything else! Who knew? They also have 3 hearts! Wow. Octopus are amazingly intelligent and dexterous as well. To learn more about them, check out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteroctopus_dofleini
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| Turtles |
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| Jelly fish |
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| Sharks |
We spent the afternoon checking out all the different displays including sharks, alligator, hawks, otters, turtles, and last but not least the stingrays. We got to “pet” the stingrays and feed them! What an incredible experience. At first I didn’t want to feed them, but then I thought I should try. You take a tiny fish (dead) they give you and place it between your two fingers. Put your hand against the inner wall of their tank, wrist deep into the water and the stingray comes up to you and eats the fish. It feels like a sucking feeling. It is really neat. These particular stingrays have had their barbs cut off so the potential to be hurt by them is not there, but they are really quite a calm and remarkably elegant animal. This was a great way to end our amazing and fun day!
See more about Texas State Aquarium at: https://texasstateaquarium.org/
Wednesday, February 15 saw us rise and shine early to get an early start on our journey to see our friends that live near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I was very excited about this trip as it had been 13 years ago already that I last visited our friends Lynette and Mike. It would be Dan’s first time in Louisiana.
It was almost an eight hour drive to get to Mike’s and Lynette’s home and we only stopped two times on the way to use the bathroom and potty Piper. Piper has become such a great traveling companion and never complains about the long rides in the truck. She just hunkers down and makes the best out of it.
Again, it was cool to see how the landscape changed the further East we traveled. Land in Texas strongly resembles what the land in Alberta looks like. Farm fields, prairies, trees, rivers, cities, and the oil and gas industry is strongly represented. We drove right through Houston, Texas on our way to Louisiana. Houston is one of the largest cities in the United States and it was founded and established near Buffalo Bayou and today still serves the important role of a drainage basin that takes on the extra water during heavy rains and saves the city from being flooded. Highways and roads crossed above and around us as we drove through this busy city. We have never seen so many roads in one area!
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| Driving through Houston, TX |
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| Houston, TX, notice all the roads!! |
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| Bayou off the highway |
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| Large plants in LA |
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| Large plants in LA |
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| This bridge looked like we could drive off the end of it! |
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| Lots of bayou along the highway |
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| Rice paddies / crawfish ponds |
While Texas also has bayou, Louisiana is almost famous for bayou. Bayou is derived from the French word “bayuk” meaning small stream. Generally bayou refers to slow moving water; a swampy section of a lake or river which is usually shallow and comprised of fresh water, salt water, or a combination of both. Large cypress trees, moss, and animals such as snakes, alligators, shrimp, wading birds like egrets, and crawfish to name a few live here. Many areas here are below sea level and we were amazed at the roads built high above the ground over the bayou. Road maintenance must cost Louisiana a fortune!
http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/bayou/
As we drove nearer to the City of Baton Rouge, traffic became more and more congested. We drove over a bridge that crossed the grand Mississippi River and that was really cool to see. Dan has always wanted to see the Mississippi River first hand. We finally arrived at our friends’ house around 4 p.m. just catching the beginning of rush hour traffic (thank goodness).
Lynette is a wonderful home maker, cook, and friend and she had a fantastic meal ready for us when we arrived. Our dogs, Tobey and Piper did not get along immediately so it was going to take some work over the next few days to get them to be comfortable with each other. So, for the duration of the evening, Dan or I held Piper while we visited with our friends.
Thursday, February 16
Before arriving, we had a tentative agenda and we were going to take this day to settle in and visit/relax.
Dan wanted to tour a plantation house which I had done 13 years ago when I visited, so I didn’t think I needed to go again. He went to Nottoway Plantation and took the tour of the home with Mike. Nottoway plantation was completed in 1859 and originally served as a home to John Hampden Randolph, his wife and their 11 children. Once a cotton farmer, Mr. Randolph moved his family South between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana to try his hand at sugarcane farming and built the largest antebellum home at 53,000 sq. ft. on the Mississippi River. Slaves and tradesmen were responsible for building this amazing property and it continues to stand in all its majesty today.
http://www.nottoway.com/html/nottoway-plantation-history.htm
After touring around the area for awhile, Dan and Mike decided to hit some bike trails. These were challenging mountain bike trails where Dan, on one hill following Mike, took a big drop without slowing down and when he hit the bottom there was an immediate upslope and because of his speed, he let go of the bike and “it must have flown 10 feet up in the air”; Dan slid off the back of the bike, still standing with a slight scratch on his one inner thigh. Mike stopped ahead to see the bike he loaned Dan bouncing as it landed! Dan said this really got his heart going!
I hung out with Lynette for the day and we worked on getting our dogs to get along while we visited and took the dogs for a big walk. Tired out, I got Piper to sit on the couch and Tobey wanted to be there too. So with Piper on one end and Tobey on the other, I sat between them. Soon, both dogs were sleeping sound and snoring! We all focused on being as calm as possible and when the sleeping was over, both dogs were on the floor with each other and sniffing. It was great to see them getting used to each other. The guys were amazed at the progression of the dogs’ relationship upon their return.
Friday, February 17
First thing, in the morning I joined Lynette at Jazzercise for a class. It was awesome. Upon return to her house I got ready for the rest of the day to go with Dan to New Orleans.
What would be a trip to Louisiana without hitting up New Orleans especially since Mardi Gras is being celebrated all month? We drove with Piper into New Orleans, parking near the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. As we walked towards Bourbon Street, there were loud sirens and police escorting a bus that was full of NBA basketball players there for the 66th NBA All-Star Game. We had no idea that this was happening this particular weekend and knew things in New Orleans were going to get busy quickly with the arrival of these star players.
We found Bourbon Street and being lunch time when we arrived, we found a restaurant that allowed us to have Piper on the balcony with us. Creole Carre' offered a selection of Cajun and Creole foods. Dan and I shared crab cakes, calamari and catfish with fries. We found the food to be very filling, but very good. It was the first time for both of us to try catfish too and it has a little different taste to it, not a favourite, but still very good.
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| Creole Carre' balcony for lunch |
Now raining, as we walked down Bourbon Street, we checked out the different shops and went past the “adult” area. Half naked women with sparkles covering their private chest parts stood on the sidewalks. Music blared from inside the bars as we walked by, some live bands, and there was a bustle of people everywhere although not near as crowded as Bourbon Street can get.
Continuing to the French Market, we went to Cafe Du Monde where we had coffees and Dan ate 2 and a 1/2 of the 3 fresh and hot Beignets (French donuts) coated with a thick layer of icing sugar. He said they were delicious. The coffee was very good as well.
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| Hot coffee and beignets |
We took a few moments to look at the mighty Mississippi River that flows past the French Market. It’s always interesting to see the ships and the paddle wheel boats in the area. From here, we continued another couple of blocks to another part of the French Market where my friends had taken me 13 years prior to try alligator on a stick. This was something Dan really wanted to try, so he went in and bought one. It was a spicier sausage of alligator meat on a stick. It sounds like Dan did his fair share of eating, and he did, but he loved every moment of the experience with the different foods.
We walked back to Bourbon Street to catch a 3 p.m. walking Mardi Gras parade to have the bead throwing experience. After a few beads and even Piper being given beads, we decided we had had enough of the busyness of the area and headed back to our vehicle. While walking along Bourbon Street again we noticed some of the basketball players were walking down the street. You can not miss these guys, they are very, very tall! We were happy with the things we saw and did and felt we had checked off our boxes. We left New Orleans just in time to avoid really heavy, slow moving traffic. This day worked out great, thanks to the advice of our friends, Lynette and Mike.
Saturday, February 18
Lynette and I went to Jazzercise again this morning and did two classes. We always enjoy a great workout and this has always been the thing we do together and have in common being that we met 25 years ago at a gym and have been friends since.
Lynette and Mike threw a crawfish boil party so we could have this traditional Louisiana experience. Mike showed Dan the steps involved in the boil and Dan had a blast. From picking up the crawfish to boiling them to serving them.
Crawfish boils have long been a tradition of the Cajun people in Louisiana who depended on the surrounding swamps for their food. Cajun people are descendants of French Canadians that fled from Eastern Canada back in 1755 as the British had demanded they rescind their Catholic beliefs for Anglican and when they refused to do that, they were forced to leave. Many left by way of the sea and many lost their lives. The survivors were scattered along the Eastern Coast of the United States. In 1784, the King of Spain (Louisiana belonged to the Spanish at that time) invited those survivors into Louisiana and they were known as the Acadians which the English speaking Americans changed to Cajuns. They set themselves up in unclaimed swamp territory South Central and South Western Louisiana raising various crops, fishing and trapping on the bayou. The crawfish reminded them of the lobster from the Atlantic Ocean they used to catch and it became one of the main staples of the Acadian people. Thus, crawfish boils are held as a traditional favourite of the Cajun and Louisiana people today.
http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~jmeaux/cajun.html
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| Crawfish |
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| Viola! A feast for a King! |
It was a very fun day, meeting all the wonderful friends of Mike’s and Lynette’s and experiencing the crawfish boil. Three pots of crawfish were boiled and with each pot, more spice is added, so they become increasingly spicier and spicier. Corn on the cob, mushrooms, potatoes, Brussel sprouts, sausage slices, carrots, whole lemons, whole onions, and whole garlic was also added to the pot and once boiled, poured out onto the table for everyone to enjoy.
Sunday, February 19
Jazzercise with Lynette again this morning! And then…
After meeting Carolyn (fellow Canadian) and her boyfriend, Greg the day before at the crawfish boil, Carolyn organized a boat ride on the bayou for us with their friend Greg in his fast boat with 250 hp engine! With the 80s tunes blaring, Captain Greg, Carolyn, Greg, Mike, Jay, Dan, Piper, and I made like Batman down the bayou and had an absolute blast. We boated all the way out to the Gulf of Mexico and back. Cypress tress were in abundance in the shallow water and many birds including Egrets waded along the banks. Dan saw an alligator in the water for a brief moment, but most alligators at this time of year are dormant and activity levels for them are low. The homes along the banks varied from super huge and expensive to the little shacks on stilts which they call “camps”. There are various pubs along the bayou that you can pull in to and have a drink. It was simply a great experience overall and we are extremely grateful to Captain Greg, Carolyn and Greg for the amazing and fun time on the bayou.
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| One of many beautiful homes on the bayou |
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| Egrets |
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| Cypress trees, notice the roots |
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| Notice the motorcycle up on the pole! |
Monday, February 20
Jazzercise!!! I had so much fun with the group of ladies at Jazzercise and I was grateful for the opportunity to meet everyone and join Lynette for these awesome workouts!
Dan and I had plans to do a little more sight seeing today, but the time was eaten up by truck service work. We went to Spectacular Tubulars for lunch. What is it? Large baked potatoes with a variety of fixings (you choose). Pretty good and filling.
Lynette kept Piper with her and Tobey during this time, she said they just relaxed and hung out with her. Thank you Lynette for puppy sitting!
We ended our visit with a fantastically delicious steak dinner at Lynette’s and Mike’s and watched some tv into the evening.
Tuesday, February 21
We got up before 6 a.m. with the goal to leave Lynette’s and Mike’s by 6:30 a.m. in hopes of beating rush hour traffic especially on the bridge at Baton Rouge that crosses the Mississippi River. Visiting our friends in Louisiana was our ultimate goal on this trip and is somewhat of a turn around point for us to start heading back towards Canada.
The rest of the day was spent driving back to our trailer at Wilderness Lakes RV Resort near Corpus Christi Lake. We arrived around 3:30 p.m. and had stopped at a Wal-Mart along the way to pick up some groceries.
The rest of the week we enjoyed our campground and seeing our friends here again.
Saturday, February 25
Dan and I finally had opportunity to check out Corpus Christi Lake by way of the State Park. Our friend Wes drove us, Piper and our bikes over to the lake and dropped us off there. We spent three hours riding the various roads and trails to check out the area. It was a beautifully laid out park with lots of activity especially fishing, boating and camping. During our ride, my front tire went flat and thankfully, we were semi-prepared with a cartridge of air and an extra tube. We were able to get back “home” at least and then later discovered my back tire also went flat. I must of ran over the same thing twice? Dan, my man of many talents, patched the tire and it is ready for the next ride.
Tuesday, February 28
It’s been an amazing and fun experience to explore the area and go to Louisiana. Our time at Wilderness Lakes RV Resort is over and it is time to move on heading towards our home and native land of Canada. There will be many more adventures and things to see on our ascent into Canada. We are looking forward to it! Stay tuned…
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| One of the beautiful red cardinals at our campground |
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| The park area across from our trailer, trees are in bloom! |
