Boston 2007 "The Cajun Invasion"

A real feeling of coming home! Since selling our house and leaving Boston 6 years ago, our annual fall visit to Salem gives us the chance to get our dose of the northeast - the people, the architecture and of course, that great Boston accent. Pulling into 'our' site at Winter Island, waking up to the views of Salem Harbor outside our windows. How uplifting. It makes our annual visit to doctors and dentists bearable. It's hard to believe that we've been "on the road" for 5 years. Time flies and the life of a "road-dog" is something that never gets old.

Then, the quiet ended and the Cajuns arrived….We had a great time, but it was exhausting! Imagine trying to coordinate six very independent folks--it was a bit like herding cats! We'd have Brenda boldly wandering off in one direction and John and Larry searching out the closest construction project. But, we survived it all- and had a great time.

They arrived on Sunday (Sept 30) in Salem (Boston) --three motorhomes arriving in a caravan. It caused quite a traffic jam in the park. I actually planned the meal for that first night (not something I normally do- it's quite intimidating to be the main chef in a group of spectacular Cajun cooks. While it may take me days to get everything pulled together- this group can whip up a meal for 20 in just a few minutes. And, of course, their food is fantastic!) I did manage to get the men to do the grilling - and at that point, felt that I could turn over the cooking to the Cajuns.

Imagine 4 motorhomes parked side by side, facing the Salem harbor. It was chilly at night, so the guys rigged up a huge blue tarp to go between two of the coaches to break the wind. Well, after a few bottles of wine, we started joking about the "FEMA tarp". That led to joking about putting a sign on the tarp to play a joke on Charlie, the park manager. (we're very good friends with Charlie. He met the Cajuns last year and by the end of the week, we were doing parties in the parking lot - with swamp pop music, "frozen pain killers" and gumbo). So, we taped together paper to make a huge sign that said:

"FEMA APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED. SEE CHARLIE"

The next morning, Charlie showed up, howling with laughter. It started a daily ritual - every night, we'd come up with a new sign. The locals would drive by just to see the signs- and the tourist trolley would drive by and stop on every trip.
We did the whole Boston thing--trolley tours, walking tours- and expanded our touring to some towns on the North Shore (gorgeous scenery, little towns, cute shops....the stuff the guys hated, but the women loved).

We took them to Gloucester ( Remember "The Perfect Storm" with George Clooney- about the fishermen who went out and never came back. It was based on a true story of Gloucester fishermen and was filmed in the town- so we went to the local bar, the Crow's Nest, and had a few beers!). Then it was on to Plymouth (Mayflower, the Pilgrims, Plymouth Rock).

The Salem park is also an active marina- and not the "boating crowd", but real fishing. John and Larry met some locals who went out daily with their lobster traps. One thing led to another - and we ended up buying lobsters from them and doing a cookout. Lobsters, fresh corn on the cob, pasta..... it was heavenly!

"FROZEN PAIN KILLERS!!"

The week was really fairly relaxing--since 2 of the 3 couples had been with us last year, we didn't have to do quite as much "Tour leading" - and since the Salem park was so lovely, everyone was happy with lots of time to enjoy the local scene. And- Charlie was a godsend! He really loves the Cajuns and this year went all out. He'd come over for happy hour with his blender and make up pitchers of "frozen pain killers".

Then, on Friday night, he opened up the function hall at the park and we had a party with his group of friends (4 couples that vacation together every year). Everyone brought food and wine - and it was a meeting of North and South. By the end of the evening, everyone was planning next year’s event. Then, on Saturday, Paul and Robin (owners of a huge boat) invited everyone out for the day for a cruise.