Florida, Alabama, Louisiana

We left Florida April 19th on our latest trip, this one going out west for the summer/early fall. This is going to be 6-7 months of adventure! Here's our journey so far.

We are currently west of Fort Worth, Texas for 4 nights to see the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens and, most of all.....to eat Texas BBQ !!

From the top going clock-wise, we have a half-eaten pork rib, in the upper right - pickled red onions and below that is the apple coleslaw, then... three more ribs, sausage, brisket with BBQ sauce, then pickled cucumbers and red potato salad. 
Oh, and there's an interested party looking in from the left.

...not sure what Katie is thinking...you can make up your own caption for her, but the food is absolutely delicious! And we still have Friday and Saturday to try two more BBQ places. And we're hiding the weight scale for a few days.

We stayed at Ocala for one night, then, on the way to Tallahassee the next night, we stopped at the Forest Capital Museum State Park for a visit to an original Florida Cracker House. Those old settlers sure had to work from sunup to sundown. Imagine building all these building from scratch? Nice stop.

Walk Around the Homestead | Florida State Parks

This is the museum which has many exhibits all about the forest/lumber industry back in the day. VERY interesting.

Excellent diorama depicting the early turpentine business.

Model scale of the cracker house and all its outlying buildings, all of which had a specific purpose, like chicken coop, outhouse, wood, etc. All had to be built by hand.

Pine needle walkway leading to the main house where the family lived. The state moved this house from its original location to here for the museum.

After taking two days to get used to travelling again in Tallahassee, we headed down south to see the Possum Monument at Wausau, Florida but, unfortunately, there was a lot of construction so we couldn't even stop. But, for those who are saying, "What the heck is a Possum Monument"? Here's a link and a couple of photos.

A tribute to the furry local heroes who helped get residents through many tough times.

Possum Monument – Wausau, Florida - Atlas Obscura

Then, down to the Gulf to see the Choctaw Beach hopefully to put our feet in the water. 

We forgot to take any photos but here, on the left, is where we parked the coach so we could see the water. It was a nice place to take a break. I couldn't resist so I took off my shoes and waded into the water up to my shins. Then I went over to the dock to help Kim and Katie off the beach and sliced open my big toe on the coral. Ouch. It's taken all this time to heal. 

Alabama. We love this RV spot because they rent us a hot tub that we can sit in at 103 degrees whenever we want! We just hung around, did not see anything. Worked on inside coach projects...getting it ready for our trip. Relaxing.

See the hot tub to the right of the passenger door? We were in it constantly.

This gentle lake is our "front yard" view.

Last entry: We've stayed at Cajun Palms many, many times over the years. As a matter of fact, this is where we wintered over our first two years of travel. This time, we decided to book a covered site. Good thing we did, because a big ol' storm came through, lightning, thunder and everything. But we were protected. 

All covered up

We had the place to ourselves for the first 4 days.

Kim made some fabulous deviled eggs that disappeared instantly!

We'll post some more detailed visits to Poverty Point, a 10,000-year-old Indian settlement in Louisiana and other spots but, for now, this will keep you informed as to our progress. 

We're sure thankful that you all are following us.

Kim/Steve/Katie

No other place like Cajun Country

Got to Cajun country outside of Lafayette, Louisiana in time for the Mardi Gras golf cart parade at Cajun Palms RV park.

Oh...the colors...well....Purple Represents Justice. Green Represents Faith. Gold Represents Power.

Cras? Oh....as in Mardi Gras.

Check out the purple satin pants and colorful leggings !

We also bought the traditional King Cake while there. Delicious ! (We usually go to Lafayette to buy the best there is in the area but got lazy and bought at a local bakery.)

Used to be called "T-Sue's Bakery" when we were here before. They have a red light on their street sign that flashes when the fresh bread comes out of the oven. 

Those boxes on the bottom shelf are all King Cakes.

The History of the King Cake
King Cakes didn't always contain a baby Jesus; in the late 19th century, celebrators hid a bean, pecan or jeweled ring inside the baked item. Whomever found the treasure within would be crowned the king or queen of the season's first Mardi Gras ball.

The plastic baby was first baked into a cake in the 1950s, and now, these little plastic figures come in a multitude of colors, including pink, brown, green, purple and gold. Tradition dictates that whomever finds the baby in their slice of cake must provide the next cake for celebration.

When ordering a King Cake from a bakery, the plastic baby might come on the side to be inserted into the cake by you. This protects the bakery from any potential litigation as a result of chipped teeth, choking or other injuries.

Yummmy! The Baby represents Jesus. (see above paragraphs)

We went down to Butte Larose to see the homes along the bayou. Some are pretty neat...and others....well....

But they have satellite TV!

All sizes, shapes and conditions...no zoning here.

Lastly, we like to take Katie for a ride around the RV park when we can. While we drive at 5 mph, she stands up on my lap, hangs out and loves it.

Weeeeeee!

You taking my picture!!??

There's more in this part of the country but that's a long enough entry for now.

steve/kim/katie