Westward Bound! On the Road Again

Left St. Pete early Sunday, heading North. Once we left subtropical climes things became woodsy and spring-like and a little hilly. We camped at our second harvest host of the trip, a winery in DeFuniak Springs, Florida. This is on the panhandle west of Tallahassee, it was about a 400 mile travel day. The winery, Chateau Le Couer, was rather rustic, and not like the ones in Mass, or Finger Lakes. The hosts were from Oregon and Gwen wanted to come home to the South. They were using their Oregon Grape juice, and had vines to plant and very ambitious plans. There were three other HH couples staying over, so a group tasting was planned for 6 PM. We ordered a charcuterie board, which was lovely. A nice man came by to say hello, he had noticed Jim’s ham radio license plate number and was also a ham. The wine was actually quite good, we made a quick dinner afterwards and with no showers or hookups, made for a quick getaway in the morning.

Our next stop was Lafayette, LA, after a somewhat quick stop at the Alabama welcome area for some quick Adventure Labbing. I didn’t finish them all, and we then zipped by the ones in Mississippi, but next time! We visited Lafayette last year and really liked it, exploring the Acadian history, the Tabasco factory and the music, so it was worth another stop. We stayed at the same campground as last year for two nights after two long 400 mile days. It is a private RV park next to a park and outdoor sports complex with soccer and baseball fields and disc golf. Good hot showers and a walk in the park to stretch our legs, plus it’s cool out! Made chili for dinner, and Manhattan weather, not Margaritas. A leisurely morning and off to Lafayette, stopping at the visitors center first. Had a lovely visit with Ginger, a volunteer who has Acadian ancestry. We talked about her trips back to Nova Scotia, which the Acadians were forced out of in the 1700’s. She recommended some things to see and do, so after a geocache at the rest area (with some characters) we headed off to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. I just missed the noon Mass, but we did go inside. It was lovely. The Cathedral Oak, a 500 year old live oak was nearby. It looked impressive and very healthy. There was also a wonderful cemetery. As the ground is sea level and sand, they are all buried above the ground and close to each other–it reminded me of New Orleans. We walked about downtown and got some good Cajun food, shrimp po boy and crawfish and catfish for lunch. I found a nature area to take a hike and we found a city campground there. It looks old but clean and lovely. That’ll be our next stay in Lafayette. We chatted with the caretaker, who said it is never crowded or full except for the music festival weekend. Note to self, come later in the week next time, more music options! We went out to Prejean’s for dinner because they had live music from 6-8. The restaurant didn’t look like anything special, but it was! Great cajun food and the best craft cocktails we’d had in a while. The music was fun, and then we sat at the bar and watched a bit of the Celtics. The next morning we didn’t get as early of a start as we should have. For some reason Jim thought it was a 320 mile trip to Austin, but it was more like 400. Made it to Buc-ee’s, with 3 miles to spare for gas and brisket for lunch. Then onto Austin for the rest of the week. We’re parking at our daughter in law’s parents’ home. So glad Vicki and Greg have become good friends along the way!