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Published: February 8th 2010
Unemployed. Winter. Gas money, a car and a collection of friends and family all within a day’s drive of each other. Could it be any more perfect?
Feb 3 Pulled out at 9 AM. Noah drove the first leg up I-75 so he could get used to using the GPS, which quite frankly, is a wonderful toy. Navigation units are like e-mail. You could get through your entire life without one and not know the difference until you’ve had a dose after which you’ll never be able to get the monkey off your back. We exited the Interstate at Achula just North of Gainesville and headed West. From there it was secondary roads till we hit the Gulf coast. Mainly an agricultural area specializing in lumber production and pine straw farming with the occasional correctional facility thrown in. Some clever botanist appears to have genetically modified a pine tree to produce needles a foot long. The resulting conifer is so fluffy your first urge upon seeing one is to stop and give it a hug. We passed through a dozen small towns, which evidenced their long gone wealth with 19th century national bank edifices now occupied by antique dealers and
coffee shops doing a sideline in tinkling wind chimes. Rickety metal roofed houses leaned their shoulders into the west winds. By the time we hit the coast at Carabelle I was amazed to see that the once pricey area that I had traveled through 5 years ago with Marc was in an economic slump. For Sale signs lined the road. Golf courses given back over to the woods from which they were hewn. Beach homes that had gone for $1 million plus were now boarded up and tagged with foreclosure notices. They begged buyers at $250,000. The only businesses I spied with full parking lots were payday loan operations and Dollar General stores. We arrived at Leslie’s place about 4 PM. She greeted us with hugs and smiles. She lives in a beautiful beach home next to a state park on a long sandy sliver of an island. Her husband Joe passed away some 3 years ago. She’s a cultural anthropologist with a bent towards Japan. We took a walk along her shell-strewn beach as the sun sank beneath the sea. Leslie keeps herself occupied during the warmer weather by fishing, crabbing and scalloping the local bay waters. The result
is a freezer bulging with high-end seafood. Shrimp, crab cakes and Grouper cheeks covered our plates and put a sleepy satisfied smile on our faces.
The next morning we set time aside for some chores. In my life I’ve discovered that a houseguest who leaves a repair job well done in the wake of his or her visit is always welcomed back by their host with open arms. And when you get down to it, how many people do you know with a beautiful home on the beach, good conversation and spare bedrooms to boot? I keep a basic tool kit in the trunk of the car with all the odds and ends required to do simple electrical, plumbing and carpentry work. Noah and I repaired a gasping clothes dryer and installed a new DVD cabinet that Leslie had asked us the favor of building for her. From the gratified smile on her face I knew that we were good for a full week of beach strolls and crab cakes the next time we were in the neighborhood. After the bit of work, Leslie and I went to an Indian shell mound where we probed the earth for shards
of pottery and old tools. Along with my other discoveries I must have stumbled upon some poison oak for 24 hrs later I developed a tiger striped collection of oozing welts on my right hand and face. We passed the evening after dinner on the deck discussing life and death and kids while unseen critters rustled the dead leaves behind the house adding their own melody to the sound of surf and wind.
A huge thunderstorm rolled in during the night and eventually knocked out the power to the house. Luckily Les had risen early and a pot of coffee was waiting when I rolled out of bed. By the time Noah and I were ready to depart, the power was back on though the gale continued unabated. Leslie stood in the wet chill and waved goodbye as we wound our way down the road. A kindred soul sprinkled like so many other gems upon the surface of the Earth.
It took us 3 hours to slog our way through the deluge back onto the Interstate. We made a stop in Mobile, Alabama to visit the battleship Alabama. Once the most powerful weapon of war, the battleship had
its way until the arrival of the aircraft carrier. The Alabama is docked in Mobile as a floating museum. In the visitors center you can also inspect a number of aircraft as well as a WWII Gato class submarine. The cost to get on board the Alabama and the sub is $12. There are no restrictions once you get on the ship so you are free to wander about from bow to stern including the 16-inch gun turrets. There weren’t many people visiting while we were there. Mostly retirees and school groups. It is well worth the stop.
Leaving Mobile we had clear sailing till we hit New Orleans where our GPS inexplicably directed us off the Interstate and into a traffic jam on a secondary road. We discovered that the unit was programmed to give us the most fuel miserly route versus the faster one. Why sitting in traffic is considered fuel-efficient is beyond our understanding. After changing the settings we righted ourselves and got back onto I-12 West. Baton Rouge was a neon lit mess as all of the off ramps were backed up onto the Interstate. We reluctantly kept moving. We had traveled some 500 miles
and in my advanced years my night vision is not part of my advanced skill set. A steep metal span carried us across the Mississippi. Below us we spied brightly-lit gambling operations dressed up like riverboats along the river’s banks. There is no shortage of gambling in Louisiana. Every gas station we stopped in was equipped with a drab casino housing a smattering of poker machines and a sad looking black jack dealer.
We checked into a dreary Motel 6 priced at $40 a night. All of the motels in Lafayette are $40 a night. We checked. Half of the motel’s residents were local workers who rented rooms by the week. The trashcans in the hallways were filled with empty microwave meal packaging. Very depressing town. Oil service industry dependent and business is bad. Noah and I had dinner in a Waffle House. I've been eating more than usual for some reason. It might be the cold weather or the rigors of travel. While we waited for our pork chops and eggs a guy in his mid 50’s wandered in with a bag of food he had bought in a 7/11 and sat down in the booth next to
ours to eat it. Our waitress Roiette, (25 years old, plump, bad teeth but a sweet smile) told the guy that he couldn’t eat other peoples food in the restaurant. He replied that it wasn’t OTHER people’s food that in fact it was his food because he had purchased it. She explained that in any case he would have to go outside to eat it. I watched his face collapse and his eyes mist with tears. He wasn’t a drunk. He was just a guy who was down on his luck and fighting for a break. I called Roiette over and told her to feed the guy on Noah’s and my tab. She brought him a menu and gave him the news. He looked like a kid discovering a whole fort under the tree on Christmas morn. We learned that he was an oilrig worker from Arliss, Texas and desperate for work. In the past he had always been able to find a job in Louisiana but not this time. He ate quickly and thanked us for our kindness before heading out into the cold dark night.
Feb 6 Rolled out of Lafayette at 9. Sunny skies and easy
traffic. Caught lunch at Jack in the Box outside of Houston. Noah’s first time at Jack’s. The tacos are still good and my Bonus Burger was to die for. Along the way to San Antone we kept seeing signs for some place called ‘Buckees’. 150 miles of signs demanding that we see Buckee the beaver. A southwest version of South of the Border. Noah wanted to stop which we did only to discover a gas station/ souvenir store selling 1,000 flavors of jelly and stuffed beavers. We made it to my niece Stace’s at about 4 PM. The house is beautiful and she’s been great to us. Her husband Reed is a sweet guy who could spend all day telling war stories. He spent a year in Afghanistan which he thought great fun but Stace not so much. After a dinner of Chicken Masala with real Naan we played an infuriating card game called Phase Ten which is a little like Yahtzee but less rewarding. Especially since I was on the losing end. The clear Texas night sky was brilliant with stars. Reed brought out his night vision scope and told us to look at the heavens. It was as
if a veil had been lifted from my eyes. Literally millions of stars that I had never seen before or even thought possible. It was like opening a door to a whole New World. It was amazing. A $3,500 toy that is now firmly atop the list of things I’ll never get.
Feb 7 Got up at 7 and went to H.E.B. for coffee and yogurt. H.E.B. is a local super market chain. Sort of a Super Wal-Mart grocery store that does a brisk business on the side in gardening equipment. At 8 AM the place was buzzing in preparation for the day’s Super Bowl match between the Saints and the Colts. Nachos and salsa fairly flew out the doors. Back at the house we all sipped coffee while Stacey buzzed around the kitchen baking scones. The kid can cook. Seriously. While she worked the boys played. I looked at their Honeymoon pictures from the cruise on the Med and Reed’s stuff from his tour in Afghanistan. We killed the next few hours doing some minor plumbing repairs. Another successful labor investment in future travel lodgings. Actually it was pretty interesting as the custom built home sports an assortment
of high-end futuristic plumbing fixtures. The shower faucet workings proved to be the plumbing equivalent of a Rubik’s Cube. Thanks to Google any repair is possible.
We took Stace and Reed’s Golden Retriever Ollie to a private river park where Reed had the game canine retrieve sticks from a fast flowing Guadeloupe River. I felt sympathy for the wet hound. It’s too cold here for an old Florida boy. Hat and gloves cold. Back home we settled in to watch an unexpected New Orleans victory while Stacey prepped another gourmet meal. A wonderful day for all. While we ate, an exhausted Ollie lay like a furry log under the table.
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karen
non-member comment
Starry night
Hey guys the night sky viewing sounds amazing but I know it was cold. We seem to be having similar weather. Sounds like you are eating well thanks to Leslie and Stace. Keep safe, I don't envy you the driving but I do the company. Love you both. k