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URC grounds
The tall building is part of the high ropes course. The azaleas weren't blooming when this picture was taken, but they are the green bushes all around the area.March 12: I arrived at the Uskichitto Retreat Center this afternoon. It is a Methodist Church camp and retreat center located on the river by that name. The name is pronounced “whiskey-cheeto”. The camp and the RV spots are out in the woods and very quiet after Wiley College! It is truly a beautiful area in southern Louisiana. While we are here we will paint the five cottage bunkhouses, clean and paint the pavilion and swimming pool area and so some landscaping.
March 13: We went into town to go to church, but they had changed the time, so we went to lunch instead! In the afternoon we explored the campground, assessing the work we will be doing. The bunkhouse cabins are very nice. I will be getting a lot of exercise here, though. The circle of cabins and RV spots form a circle covering about mile around the dining hall and the pavilion/pool area. We met the assistant Director Sarah. This camp also has a “ropes” course, but I don't think any of us NOMADS will be trying that.
March 14-18: I spent my first week at work on my knees. We will paint the floors of the
Mini-RV park
This was where we parked our RVs at the retreat center. cabins, but they have to be sanded first so the paint will adhere. Most of the women had that chore, while the men were repairing plumbing and electrical problems and changing doors to swing the right way for fire codes. Our meetings got to be pretty funny after a couple of days. We couldn't keep the cabins straight as to who was doing what, where. What is that old joke about “Who's on first?” that Abbot and Costello used to do? (For you youngsters reading this, Google it or see if it is on Youtube.)
Friday we went into LeBlanc, the nearest town and toured a mill works and cabinetry factory. What wonderful woods and beautiful work they do there! The men of our group were, of course, fascinated and asked a lot of questions. Then some of us went to the grocery store to stock up and went back to camp to rest!! I went around taking pictures of the flowers, etc. There are curious little mounds all over the grounds that appear carefully built. Most of them are about 5 to 8 inches high. I found out the are crayfish or crawfish mounds. Of course, crawfish is
Touring the Cabinet Factory
We watched them make cabinets in LeBlanc, Louisiana considered a delicacy food in Louisiana! I will try some when I get up the courage!
March 19: The group went different ways today for entertainment. I went into Lake Charles with the leaders, Jeanne and Gary and we attended an opera broadcast live in high definition in one of the movie theaters. I love opera. (I know I can hear some of you gagging right now!) I was thrilled to find some other people who liked it also. I did not now that the Met in NYC broadcast their performances this way and am thrilled to find out. I hope to be able to see some more opera like this in the future. The one we saw was Lucia de Lammermore. Not one of my favorites since it is a tragedy with no memorable arias. There are some wonderful duets, though and the lead female singer has a mad scene in the end which was wonderfully performed and sung. I was very impressed by the presentation.
March 20: We attended church in DeQuincy, LA and ate a pot luck supper there afterward. They had a man and wife who played mountain instruments and sang during the service.
Dogwood
One of the blooming trees at URC. It reminded me so much of the music I heard when camping in North Carolina.
After ward we explored the town a bit and visited the Victorian-age railroad depot turned museum. The town is justifiably proud of its pristine restored condition, complete with both “colored” and “white” waiting rooms and restrooms, as the era required. The tile floors and the many displays of the dining cars and sleeping berths were well done and interesting. I rode with Gary and Jeanne as we toured the rest of the town and enjoyed various murals and restored buildings. I noticed also, the first of the .decorated alligators that Louisiana seems to like! Picture? Naturally
March 21-24: Back to work. During this week I started training Bootsie to a harness and leash. He took to it amazingly quick and was delighted to get outside! (He had started bugging me about that. Don't know why I can't get an “indoor” cat!) Anyway, we had a Keystone Cops incident one afternoon. I didn't know that the new camp managers had arrived and let their dogs loose. They found Bootsie and me quite quickly and mayhem followed! I'll let Bootise tell the rest.
Guess!
This is a crawfish burrow! Aren't they neat construction artists? Bootsie—Marty let me outside, but I had to wear a silly harness and she controlled where I went with what she calls a leash. I decided to cooperate, since I had be nagging at her to let me out. Hey, you'd get cabin fever too, if you had to stay 24/7 in this little house! I let her think we were doing ok for the first couple of outings, but then she wouldn't let me go under a building, so I backed out of the harness. She thinks she so smart!!
Hm-m-m, she may be smarter than I thought. Next time she put the harness on, she made it tighter! Now she won't let me get behind her either, so I can't back out of the thing. Oh well. We are getting used to walking together and she lets me go most of the places I want to.
Well, we were walking along minding my business when all of a sudden there were two dogs right there with us! I didn't hear them coming! I jumped and ran, jerking the leash out of Marty's hand. I ran to the nearest tree, the dogs right behind me, and jumped
Home, Sweet Home
Another crawfish burrow, this time from the side. The leaf shows how tall it is. about three feet up the tree, but couldn't hang on! (Bootsie is declawed on his front paws.) I tried this two more times with the same result. The dogs stayed right on my tail and I think I heard Marty hollering. Desperate, I turned around to face them, one big dog and one about my size. Then Marty came and grabbed me up and someone else got ahold of the dogs and turned them away. Marty carried me back to the RV and got me settled down. Wow! I got a little worried there for awhile!!
I'm sure it was funny to watch. While I was chasing the dogs, who were chasing Bootsie I heard one of the men laugh. I knew they were coming to help, but I still yelled, “Quit laughing and help me!” We all laughed about it later. Well, maybe Bootsie didn't.
March 25: Today the group went back to Lake Charles to tour, shop eat and see their Mardi Gras museum. We stopped first at the Visitors' Center to get directions and information and I got some more photos of decorated alligators.
The museum was fabulous! It is housed in an old
Music, Music, Music
These are some of the handmade musical instruments used by the gospel singers at church in DeQuincy. school building with no signs, so we had to ask if we were in the right place. The lower floors had art exhibits, which I enjoyed, too, but it was the Mardi Gras costumes which grabbed our attention. To say they were elaborate and colorful is like calling the Grand Canyon a wadi. Gorgeous things in every design and color. With feathers and sequins and glass jewels, satins, velvets etc. Just took my breath away. Naturally I kept my the camera very busy. I can't imagine how people actually wore some of these outfits. Some of the headdresses were several feet tall. We were told how the wearers had to be fitted with braces to hold the weight. Some of the costumes cost thousands of dollars. As we progressed through the different rooms we learned about the Mardi Gras celebrations and some of what went into them. For those who may not know, Mardi Gras is Latin for “Fat Tuesday”. It is the day before Ash Wednesday which starts Lent leading up to Easter. In the old days, Lent was an austere season of the Church which involved much fasting and reduced social activities. So, people really lived it up
DeQuincy Train Museum
We really enjoyed learning about the history of the depot and experiencing some of the old-timey feel of the trains and stations in the 20s and 30s. the week before Lent started, especially on “Fat Tuesday.” I'm not sure how it evolved into such a huge party or why New Orleans and Rio are two of the top places, but it would be some interesting research. I don't think I would want to attend the celebration in New Orleans or even Rio de Janiero, but I sure would enjoy seeing films of them.
After the museum, we drove around Lake Charles to see some of the beautiful, restored Victorian houses and the downtown area. Then we drove south to the Gulf area. We drove through a natural wildlife area and saw some alligators sunning on the back. The day was so windy, I didn't think any would be out. I'm glad I was wrong! On the drive back to Lake Charles we saw some of the left over damage of Katrina and other hurricanes. I saw my first mobile home on stilts! They wouldn't be flooded, but I wondered how they would handle hurricane winds! I wouldn't want to be in one!
March 26-27: The group spent most of the weekend doing laundry, household chores and resting. We went to church in LeBlanc, getting the
The Engineer
One of many decorated alligators in Louisiana. This one was in DeQuincy. time right for the service this time.
March 28-31: Wind up week at the camp. All the cabins were finished up and ready for the summer campers. The campground is beautiful. The azaleas are in full bloom and the dogwoods are finishing up. The iris are just starting around the pond and there are buds on the water lily pads. Unfortunately for me, the weather turned very cool, so the lilies will not bloom before we leave. I'm disappointed because I don't have any photos of yellow water lilies!
Before I know it, it is time to say good-bye to my new friends. All of them are very special people. Oh, yes! I did try the crawfish thanks to Sarah. I thought they tasted a little like lobster, but it's a lot of work getting to the meet. I did not try the heads though! Sarah, if you are reading this, a very special greeting to you!
Chapter 7
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Roberta Carpenter
non-member comment
Cat with Paint Brush
Marty you sure do get around, and the area where you are is just beautiful. So busy, maybe you should get Bootsie a paint brush. It's just awesome that he goes on a leash, but no dogs allowed. You have a wonderful time and I so look forward to your next chapter. Love, Roberta