The Cajuns invade Crystal River!

Things here are quiet now that the Cajun invasion has departed. John and Brenda arrived on Thursday (with Alton and Coochie, another Cajun couple). We got them settled into their sites here at Rock Crusher and then took off (with both Chloe and Jacque- Alton and Coochie's shitz-tzu) for the Freezer. They absolutely loved it!

The next day, we took off for Tarpon Springs! It was a lovely day--just walking by the docks, hitting the shops and having a Greek lunch. We went to a restaurant with outdoor dining and the service was awful. Took absolutely forever to get service.....

Then, to make matter worse, we went out to Neon Leon's that night. It was a major risk-taking Cajun's to a Cajun restaurant, but we thought we'd give it a try. The place was absolutely packed and the entertainment made conversation a bit difficult. I requested "Big Butt Woman"--and they didn't know it, but said they could "google" it--and within a few minutes, they were playing the song- especially for our table. The Cajuns were thrilled. We weren't as thrilled with the service--it took over an hour to get our food!! Brenda asked our poor waitress if the chef had died...and John was giving her a hard time about the "teeny peenies" (the Pinot grigio's were in microscopic glasses...). Then, to top if off, the Jambalaya had red beans in it...a major no-no in Cajun cuisine...no beans in the jambalaya!! Even with the teeny peenies and the horrendous wait, we had a great time.

On Saturday morning, bid farewell to the Cajuns who were on their way to St Augustine on the east coast of Florida.

The Cruisin Cajun Birthday Rally in Rayne

It's hard to believe...but it's time to eat again...first the Cajun breakfast (eggs, grits and 2 biscuits!!), then lunch with Brenda and "the girls", and now, time for dinner....shrimp and grits, salad, grilled veggies, garlic bread and pumpkin roll

It's been great to see everyone. They’ve all been amused hearing about our adventures with the crippled slide and drunken hot tub parties. There's nothing quite like 4 days at John's Shed followed by 3 days of Rallying.... Fortunately, we only have a 5 hours drive on Sunday--we're going to stay in Mobile, so with any luck, we can catch an afternoon nap when we get to the campground.

Lunch at Huey and Katie's!!!! Unbelievably good!!

Cajuns and the Blue and White Donut Tower

John and Brenda left Katie- still in the hospital, but due out on Monday—and they joined us in Tunica for the evening. We heard their tales of the tornado—amazing!

In the morning, we took them to the Blue and White in Tunica. Our waitress- Deborah Kaye- was a real charmer. By the time we left, we knew everyone in the restaurant.

Their local legend, 89 year old Ralph Sharp ,the first crop-duster in Tunica County, posed for us by his photo from the 1949 National Geographic.

Ralph Sharp ,the first crop-duster in Tunica County

Brenda interviewed the 84 year old retired mayor to get the scoop on the casino’s impact on Tunica.

Brenda interviewing the Mayor

John, Brenda, Deborah Kay-our waitress and the Blue and White Donut Tower

After a hearty Blue and White breakfast of 2 eggs, hash browns (or grits), bacon (or sausage), biscuits (or toast), we decided that we had to try the infamous “Blue and White Donut Tower”—two caramelized donuts filled with whipped cream then topped with ice cream and chocolate syrup”.

If that wasn’t enough, the chef, Ike, brought out a sampler of her famous creole sauce. Time for a nap!

TORNADO!!!

Our Cajun friends were heading up to spend the night with us at the "casina" (as they call it--you might know it better as the "casino") in Tunica, MS. They, unfortunately, were driving on 1-55 (about 140 miles south of us) just as the Yazoo City tornado crossed the highway. Our good friends, John and Brenda, only saw the tornado in their rear view mirror--but the other two motorhomes had stopped on the road, and when the tornado came through it tossed one of the coaches on its side--and Katie and Huey's motorhome and tow car were literally lifted in the air- over another car- and thrown into the woods.

Huey and Katie's motorhome

Both motorhome and car were totalled. Amazingly, they were able to crawl out of a window. Katie's seatbelt saved her life--but the pressure from being held in upside down caused a contusion and possibly a hematoma. The other couple wasn't so lucky- she was just coming back to her seat and when the coach was tossed over, she was thrown around the coach and suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. She's in ICU -but expected to be fine.

Virginia and Anthony's motorhome--tossed on its' side

The news report:

Update: A large,powerful, long-tracking tornado struck Yazoo City, Mississippi just after 12 noon CT on Saturday.Storm spotters and chasers were tracking this "wedge" tornado for about an hour before it tore through Yazoo.The tornado was anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of mile in diameter.There is significant damage in Yazoo with multiple structures destroyed.

The Crawfish Rally

Things were pretty quiet for the first hour of our drive on Saturday morning. We kept waiting for another strange noise....but, everything was fine..and we made it to the Rally (just in time for the Bloody Mary party!). It was great to see everyone--and they loved hearing our tale.
We had a great time at the Rally--crawfish was great. We sat by Cheryl and she, once again, showed us the art of 'sucking heads'. She is such a trip---SO funny!! We asked if "size matters"--just in case you're wondering--it doesn't....

We left Rayne on Sunday and got to John and Brenda's that afternoon. Last night we had dinner at the new "Cajun-Mex" restaurant in town. Cajun/Mex was a new concept for us--the food and margaritas were good and the company great.

Today, we joined E.J. and Sharon at a restaurant here in Napoleonville that used to be the site of E.J.'s dad's drug store.

It looks like an old 50’s soda shop…adorable.

Cajuns!

We had our giant send-off with the Cajuns-- a huge pot of gumbo chock full of crab and shrimp, potato salad, bread pudding. In typical Cajun fashion, they pulled about 8 couples together and made it look effortless. It was both Katie and Cheryl's birthdays- so I bought a red velvet cake for them. They were thrilled.

The Rain in Raine...the Brits try "Crawfish"

Jean meets crawfish in her continuing story of our trip..
When we were in Florida, we overheard a man telling his wife "It's not that I feel dizzy - just top-heavy!" Well, we were certainly feeling top-heavy this morning!

At lunchtime, we headed over to the main hall to watch the preparations for the great crawfish feast.

It began with the boiling of the crawfish - thousands of pounds of crawfish were emptied into huge baskets and then dumped into boiling water and it was all carried out like a military operation.

(We finally got Jean to take a peak at the crawfish after they were boiled--her reaction was classic "Jean")

Before eating, crawfish races were held during which many of the Cajuns placed bets on the outcome.

(For the second year in a row- I got to be on the betting table- taking bets and handing out the payouts)

We had a great laugh and a great meal though have to admit it was a lot of effort for a tiny piece of crawfish from each one. We were dressed in our crawfish-decorated aprons, courtesy of Brenda - just as well as we were in such a mess. Actually, we looked quite smart compared to some who made do with just a Wallmart carrier, and most people were in red and white, the Cajun colours. It was all great fun and a very different experience for us Brits.
(Cheryl taught the boys how to "suck the heads" of the crawfish)

The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling out in the RV - the thunder, lightening and rain had started again so we were in no hurry to go anywhere. Brem & Dipper left in the afternoon as they had some family function to go to so we said our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.

At about 6, we once again braved the horrendous weather and headed to the main hall for the evening entertainment. We started with a sing-along where the 'stars' lip-synched to popular country and western songs. The theme of the night was Mexico so many were in Mexican clothing and as no food was provided in the evening, the women took along sandwiches, potato crisps etc. One guy dressed as Uncle Sam mimed to 'God Bless the USA', a very corny song about how proud they were to be American. It brought the house down and everyone was standing with hands on hearts or waving their arms in the air. I couldn't help wishing that there was that level of patriotism in our country - the nearest we get is 'Abide With Me' sung at the beginning of the soccer cup final!

Anyway, it was another fun night though we got absolutely soaked on the way back to the RV and arrived to find we were parked in a lake! After a couple of renditions of "The Rain in Raine" we settled down for the night.

The Brits and the Cajuns at the Crawfish Rally

Jean's story of the Crawfish Rally - my comments in italics
Another road trip. We left New Orleans at about 10.30 and headed over to Raine, Louisiana to the Cajun Crawfish Rally. There were lots of RVs at the site and the weather was worsening the closer we got. We registered for the rally and were parked in a huge field, and we met up with Brem & Dipper and several other Cajuns we'd met last time we were there. A mass lunch of crawfish etouffe, cole slaw and corn had been prepared which we all enjoyed.
After a while, we went back to the RV to get ready for the evening. The storm had now broken with a vengeance but as ever, at least the rain was warm - we rolled up our trouser legs and paddled over to the dance. It was lots of fun and outside the rain was horizontal but we all agreed it had been a great night.

Our table won big time--Jean got a Walmart gift certificate and I got a wine cooler!

John and Angelo hit the dance floor....

A Cajun Crab Feast!

Jean's story of our trip continues....

Dipper arrived early and he, Gordon & John loaded up the trailer and headed off to the coast to catch blue crabs. Their journey took an hour and a half and the fishing consisted of throwing in a line of pots baited with turkey necks then pulling them straight out again and unloading the crabs. In two hours, they had caught well over 100 but threw back about 20 or so of the smaller ones. Dipper steered the boat, Gordon pulled in the baskets and John unloaded the crabs. One of them bit right through the welder's glove he was wearing, breaking the skin on his hand.

In the meantime, Brenda, Debs and I drove to Houmas House, a former sugar cane plantation, which has been beautifully restored to its former glory.

We walked round the gardens in the beautiful sunshine, had lunch in the restaurant then bought a few souvenirs in the gift shop. Brenda rang Dipper and got the news that the crab catch had been a success so between them they rang about another five couples and a big crab feast was organised for the evening. This never ceases to amaze me about the Cajuns - they can rustle up food for 20 people at the drop of a hat without any panic or fretting. They are laid back, friendly and sociable and great people to have as friends.

On the way back to Brenda's place to meet up with the guys, we called briefly in the supermarket. I was in the back of the car and Debs and Brem got out and headed towards the door, not realising that I was locked in by the child-lock in the back. I knocked on the window but couldn't attract their attention and off they went! I could see the headlines in the local paper next day - "OLD BRITISH LADY FOUND SUFFOCATED IN HOT CAR" but eventually they came back to see where I was and I got released. What a laugh....

So, that evening we headed over to Brem & Dipper's house by the bayou to have a taste of Cajun-style Blue Crabs.

A large table had been set up on the porch which was laid with salads, baked potatoes and lots and lots of crabs - we dove in. What a mess it all made and I have to say the crabs were a lot of work for little reward - from my perspective at least though everybody else seemed to manage no bother and it was a great evening. We played music and sat round the fire again and a great night was had by all. Memory building!!

Check out Dippa's hand selected crabs--Katie got this one

Jambalya, Crawfish pie, file gumbo

Jean's story continues...

Back on the road heading towards Napoleonville, Louisiana where our Cajun friends John & Brenda (aka Brem &Dipper) live. Fascinating to note that diesel in Louisiana is only $1.99 a gallon (compared with £1 a litre back home). Anyway, Dipper has some land in Napoleonville on which is a huge shed where he parks his RV and this is always referred to as 'John's shed' and that is where we parked up for the next few days.

Late in the afternoon, Jeff, Dipper's son, came over and started preparing Jambalaya for the evening meal and then we were joined by Brem & Dipper later.

Dipper lit a log fire and we sat round it drinking wine and re-living old times. All the while the wind was picking up and after Brem, Dipper & Jeff had left, we watched the TV and found that a tornado was heading our way. John decided we should have an emergency plan and as he felt it would be better to be low on the ground (a motorhome could easily be picked up by the tornado), the plan was that if the worst came to the worst, we would head for the ditch behind John's Shed and lie down in there! John has a weather phone in the motorhome that rings through warnings of any imminent bad weather and twice later that night it rang. I spent a sleepless night wondering which would be the worst option - being carried away in the motorhome or lying in the dirty, stinking ditchwater behind the shed. In the event, the tornado passed us by and next day, the wind had settled and the sun was out. Phew!

Bob and Camille's Adventures in NOLA Continued...

The next morning, we met Brem and Dippa at Petunia’s for brunch. With a wait for a table, they offered drinks while we stood outside—alcoholic drinks only- no coffee, tea or soda! We had a rather disastrous brunch – the waitress messed up the order- and then was indignant about it. We did get to, once again, live vicariously through Bob and Camille’s adventures. After leaving us the night before, they went back to the Pirate’s Alley Café and met up with some real “pirates”…. Aarrrrghhh! They had another late night/early morning.

We said our goodbyes to Brem and Dippa and it was off to the “Katrina Tour”. The tour went through New Orleans- seeing the Convention Center, the Superdome, the Lakeview area, Gentilly (where most of the deaths occurred), New Orleans East, St Bernard’s Parish and the Lower 9th Ward. In the Lower 9th Ward, we saw the hordes of volunteers working on Musicians Village

After the tour, it was back to Tujagues for their famous beef brisket and gumbo – for a little appetizer. Then, we found a great local bar called Coops for dinner.

The next morning, things were a bit slow in Mudville. The New Orleans nightlife was finally catching up to Bob and Camille. But, with only one more day left, we dragged them off to continue exploring the city. We took the ferry to Algiers and saw Mardi Gras World. Then, we drove to the Garden District and had our favorite – a Domilice’s shrimp po-boy. We took in the IMAX “Hurricane in the Bayou” then, along with Chloe, went out for dinner at the Bulldog. Chloe’s first restaurant experience- and she did great!

A 6:25 A.M. flight on Sunday and Bob and Camille were back to the real world and we were back to a much more quiet lifestyle.

Bob and Camille's Adventures in NOLA

Back in NOLA! This time, instead of staying in Kenner by the airport, we took a chance on the French Quarter RV Resort. What a beautiful place- paved streets and pads, a gorgeous clubhouse and the best location in the city. Well, it does border a fairly “rough” part of the city (and in NOLA, that’s saying something. Although, the news in the city was of a decrease in the murder rate –formerly the highest in the country. But, the murders were replaced by armed robbery- primarily tourists in the French Quarter.) The high concrete walls and barbed wire at the top were signs that outside the confines of the resort, things were a bit dicey. But, with 24 hour security, we felt comfortable and settled in for our stay.

We still were running without a spare tire, so we spent some time getting that situation remedied and reacquainting ourselves with NOLA before Bob and Camille (John’s son and daughter-in-law) arrived. On Wednesday, they landed about 4:00 – but with one bag missing. Camille was not happy to be without her bag- full of her new clothes and make-up. But, she was a real trooper (and even managed to get a new outfit out of it). The weather was threatening and we were hoping that we weren’t in for a Louisiana storm. After introductions to Chloe, a check-in to their B&B in the French Quarter, we headed out for dinner at Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant. We had crawfish and seafood and wine and got caught up. After dinner, the wind was kicking up and we were at the far end of the Quarter. The old folks were ready for bed, but the “kids” were just starting their evening. We reluctantly watched Bob and Camille walk towards Bourbon Street, the streets already filled with partiers and the music rocking out of the bars.

The next morning, we arrived at the B&B to start our full day of exploring NOLA. Bob and Camille piled into the car with stories of their adventures. I’m not sure what time they made it to bed that night/morning, but they had certainly started their NOLA trip with a bang. After strolling the entire length of Bourbon Street and having a few drinks, they got back to the B&B and ended up in the hot tub. The night manager joined them, striping down to his tighty whities, and brought champagne and brandy. They proceeded to drink and party all night. When a guest would come for check-in, their new friend would throw on his clothes, and, dripping wet, check them in and head back to the tub.

Needless to say, the morning was a bit slow for these two. But, they were up for a ride on the St Charles Streetcar and a walk around the Garden District. We had lunch at the Napoleon House where they have the most wonderful muffalettas. While some claim that the Central Grocery has the best in town, we love the toasted version at the Napoleon House – as well as the atmosphere. After lunch and some more walking through the French Quarter, it was time for our “Cocktail Tour”. My third and John’s second “Cocktail Tour”, it’s still a great way to learn a bit more about the history of the Quarter and find some great bars. Brem and Dippa met us for the evening.

One of our first stops was back to the Napoleon House. The building's first occupant, Nicholas Girod, offered his residence to Napoleon in 1821 as a refuge during his exile. Napoleon never made it, but the name stuck, and since then, the Napoleon House has become one of the most famous bars in America. Their signature drink is the “Pimms Cup” (my personal favorite). At the Napoleon House, they serve it with a cucumber – just the best summer refresher.
Pimm’s Cup
Fill a tall 12 oz glass with ice
Add 1 1/4 oz. Pimm's #1 and 3 oz lemonade.
Then top off with 7up.Garnish with cucumber

At Pirate’s Alley Café, Bob and Camille tried a “Green Fairy”, a concoction made with absinthe (130 proof). While they tried the “Green Fairy”, when it’s mixed with gin, it’s “The Obituary Cocktail”, mixed with champagne, it’s “Death in the Afternoon” and mixed with vodka, it’s a “Russian Funeral”. (The Green Fairy is made by pouring absinthe over a sugar cube balanced on a slotted spoon over a tall glass. It’s followed by water poured over the sugar cube. The cube is then burned and crushed into the drink. A chemical reaction ensues- causing what appears to be fairies flying through the green liquid. (Note: Absinthe is a strong-herbal liquor distilled with wormwood and anise. It can contain other aromatic herbs like star anise, anise seed, fennel, licorice, hyssop, veronica, lemon balm, angelica root, dittany, coriander, juniper, and nutmeg).

At Tujagues, the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans (1856), we tried a “Woodland Plantation Punch” (way too sweet) Originally an all men’s bar, there were no chairs. The men stood at the bar (and, not wanting to lose their place at the bar, would pee into the trough under the bar). Today, the bar is a great local hangout.

With stops at Muriel’s, Courtyard of Two Sisters and Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, we ended the night at Café Maspero’s to sample their gumbo then had a nightcap before sending the “kids” off for the rest of their evening.