30/31OCT13 - Houma, LA (happy halloween)

10AM Wednesday, 30OCT, we broke camp & headed back to Houma to join up with Raymond & prepare for Halloween. We found it a little more difficult to get two grandparents, one parent & two kids packed & organized to hit the road, than the normal two of us! Once again Jaxson was in the RV riding shotgun with Opa Dan. Unfortunately Dan had to make an emergency stop on the freeway because someone (who will go unnamed) had placed Jaxson’s sipper cup just out of his reach! Naturally once we were on the road & cruising at highway speed he wanted it & wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Once in Houma we parked the RV at the Houma Civic Center to leave Rebecca & Raymond’s driveway open for Halloween. We than all headed to Raymond’s & Rebecca’s to get the driveway decorated for passing out candy. In addition, Rebecca’s friend, Beanie, had brought by a trailer loaded with hay bales to be decorated. Beanie also dropped off a quad ATV to pull the trailer around the neighborhood on Halloween.

Halloween evening many of Rebecca & Raymond’s friends (including Beanie & husband Tyler) came over with their kids to ride the trailer. After collecting candy everyone returned to Rebecca & Raymond’s for lite food & drink. Dan passed out candy at the house while everyone else went on the hayride. A very enjoyable evening!

27-29OCT13 - Robert, LA (hey boo boo!)

Sunday, 27OCT, we got on the road to Jellystone Park in Robert, LA, with Rebecca, Jaxson & Mason. Unfortunately Raymond is on a business trip to San Antonio, TX:( Rebecca & Oma Corrie took grandson Mason in Rebecca’s car; while Opa Dan had grandson Jaxson riding shotgun in the RV. We picked Jellystone because they have cabins along with RV spaces. This would allow all of us to have our own beds & not be on top of each other in the RV! Turns out this weekend was the park’s big celebration for Halloween. There were definite signs the RV park had had a Halloween party Friday & Saturday (ie trash everywhere)! Some folks even left there fires burning even though they had checked out & gone home! After setting up camp Opa & Jaxson went exploring & scrounging leftover firewood from the empty campsites. We are not sure Rebecca will get any sleep in the cabin, with two infants & no husband to help?

Monday morning we headed to the Ms Heather’s Pumpkin Patch (aka Hughes Farm Pumpkin Patch). When we got there we saw several school busses, which meant the patch was overrun with kids; fortunately most of them disappeared soon after lunch. Grandson Mason wasn’t too impressed; but Jaxson had a fantastic time milking the artificial cow, riding his first zipline, jumping on the world’s largest inflated air bladder, sliding through giant pieces of plastic irrigation piping, a real merry-go-round, a real teeter/totter, & the list goes on. Back at the RV Opa Dan started a fire after dinner for smores. Meanwhile Jaxson decided to check out the RV muffler by sticking his arm all the way up it, thankfully the muffler was not hot!

http://www.thfarms.com/

Early Tuesday morning we headed to the Global Wildlife Park near Folsom, LA. The park has thirty or so exotic breeds of animals from around the world, & takes you on wagon ride where the animals come up to the wagons & you can feed them by hand. The criteria for the animals on display are:
---no endangered or threatened species
---vegetarians only
---animals that won’t charge (ie no elephants or rhinos)
---animals that sort of get along

http://www.globalwildlife.com/

Just like the pumpkin patch yesterday, there were “school kids” already on scene. We shared the wagon ride with a high school class from an Agriculture High School in Mississippi, thankfully they were pretty well behaved.

Hint – if you ever visit a facility like this, catch the first tour in the morning. The animals definitely know the routine & will come running for their first feeding in the day; they are not so eager as the day goes on.

Although the animals are not in their native habit & are associating with other species from different parts of the world, it was educational & fun. We got up-close & personal with bison, european red deer, fallow deer, llamas, zebras, giraffes, rheas, beefalos, Watusi longhorn cattle, & other animals. Turns out it was rutting season for most of the horned animals! The male fallow deer were definitely getting into it; in fact, the big cattle would quickly get out of the way of the small bucks!

ps – we don’t have first hand experience with this, but never, never, let a llama spit on you!!!

Trivia – what is the only equine species never domesticated?

Once again grandson Jaxson had a great time, & Mason was not impressed! After our tour it was back to the RV for lunch & naps. In the afternoon the ladies & grandkids went shopping. That evening was another fire after dinner. Back to Houma tomorrow to prepare for Halloween.

14-26OCT13 - Houma, LA

Monday, 14OCT13, we pulled up chocks headed back to Houma, LA, from Biloxi. We will set up camp in our son Joe’s driveway; but he is still working offshore so we set up camp in the Houma Civic Center parking lot. As we parked the RV a couple of people dressed as clowns came over to tell us how the RV system at the Civic Center worked. We explained that we had camped here several times before. Turns out they are advance clowns for the Cole Brothers Circus coming to town next week. We didn’t get their picture but we got a picture of their car. Then it was of to for a short visit with Raymond, Rebecca, Jaxson & Mason.

Tuesday morning we moved the RV over to Joe & Tasha’s. Later in the day Corrie met up with Rebecca to take grandson Jaxson swimming at an old neighbor of ours on Tiger Tail Dr, where we lived until we sold our house. Meanwhile Joe & Dan headed to a small town past Lafayette, LA, so Joe can buy an used (very used) four wheel drive ATV (aka a quad). This resulted in a five hour round trip.

Wednesday morning Dan awoke to find Joe has already started disassembling the quad & started repairs. Then Dan & Joe start installing more trim & cement board on the exterior of the shop/shed they were working on at the end of SEP when Joe went offshore for work. They worked until they run out of cement board. Joe went back to working on the quad, while Dan continues caulking the newly installed trim & cement board siding. Thursday Joe & Dan bought more cement board & got most of the siding done, 2 more planks needed(:!

Friday, 18OCT, Joe & Dan finished the cement board siding, built a 16 foot long workbench, installed pegboard for tools, & start building doors. Corrie started on caulking the siding in preparation for final painting. Saturday Joe & Dan got the shop/shed doors fabricated in spite of a half day of rain. That evening everyone meets at Zen for a sushi dinner. When we returned to the RV we discovered that Gumbo the one-eyed jack was not happy about being left alone & had trashed a large pile of reading material in RV. Looks like he will be kept in a kennel from now on!

Sunday, 20OCT, Joe, Dan & Joe’s friend Luke finished the doors, caulking, & priming. All that is left is Parish inspection & finish paint. Meanwhile Rebecca & Corrie went to a small community carnival so Jaxson can try some of the kiddie rides. Once he overcame his initial fear, he really enjoyed them & didn’t want to leave.

On 21OCT, Monday, Parish Inspector approved the shop/shed:)! Corrie & Dan started “finish” paint on exterior siding & trim, while Joe continued work on the used quad. Tuesday evening Raymond, Rebecca, Joe, Dan, Jaxson & Mason went to the circus. Jaxson was in complete awe of the entire event, especially the elephant rides & pony rides. Mason could’ve cared less.

Wednesday, 22OCT, Dan & Joe got back to work on the shop/shed by installing lofts for storage; followed by Corrie & Dan painting two more exterior walls (that leaves one). That afternoon Joe had a “small” motorcycle accident. Thankfully injuries were minor, he could walk away from the scene & even rode the bike home:)! Thursday, Corrie & Dan painted the remaining exterior wall of the shop/shed.

Friday, was Corrie’s birthday:)! All she wanted for her birthday was dinner at Osaka, followed by Cold Stone Creamery for desert.

Saturday evening, 26OCT, we headed downtown for the Rougarou Fest. This is a fairly new Houma festival that is based on the bayou tales about Rougarous, in combination with Halloween. According to Wiki:

“Rougarou represents a variant pronunciation and spelling of the original French loup-garou. According to Barry Jean Ancelet, an academic expert on Cajun folklore and professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the tale of the rougarou is a common legend across French Louisiana. Both words are used interchangeably in southern Louisiana. Some people call the monster rougarou; others refer to it as the loup garou.

The rougarou legend has been spread for many generations, either directly from French settlers to Louisiana (New France) or via the French Canadian immigrants centuries ago.

In the Cajun legends, the creature is said to prowl the swamps around Acadiana and Greater New Orleans, and possibly the fields or forests of the regions. The rougarou most often is described as a creature with a human body and the head of a wolf or dog, similar to the werewolf legend.”

http://rougaroufest.org/

As is standard for all Louisiana Festivals there was good food & good music! Dan had to try the Rougarou Gumbo & Rougarou Ice Cream made especially for the festival. Part of the festival is a short fun run called the Rougarou Run where the runners have three flags on their bodies & try to elude zombies during the run; the zombies try to grab the flags. After the run is the Krewe Ga Rou Parade, the hi-lite of the parade was all the zombies at the end of the parade dancing in synchronization to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance moves. The last musical act of the day was Grammy winning Rebirth Brass Band. They were outstanding!

http://www.rebirthbrassband.com/

Also during this time period there were many family dinners; mostly at Joe & Tasha’s because that is where we are parked, but sometimes at Rebecca & Raymond’s; and most often cooked by Oma Corrie. Its funny but someone said we have more family get-togethers in our short visits to Houma, then some local families that live here! Tomorrow Rebecca, Jaxson, Mason & us will head to a Jellysone RV Park. Unfortunately, daddy Raymond can’t go with us, because he will be on a business trip to San Antonio:(