Family Time

Don and Andrea Clark are the owners and Don
is the winemaker. Their family comes from 
Sicily and they stay true mainly to Italian wine
types.

It was a little too cold to sit outside but they have
an attractive wine tasting room inside. Last time
we got to know the owners' daughter but this time
it was their oldest son, Ben. 

 

We left Lafayette on Wednesday heading for a visit with our oldest son and his family in Dallas. We had two intermediate stops to break up the trip. The first was a necessary night at a RV Park as it had been over a week since our last hookup for electricity, water and sewer access. The KOA in Shreveport was convenient, providing all this and a quiet night. But our next stop was another Harvest Host - Valle della Pace in Garden Valley, TX.  We stopped here two years ago on our last trip with Baby and it was just as nice as we remembered.

At the Tyler Texas State Park a trail goes all around the lake but we just did one section. A storm the previous week had left some trees down and muddy sections.

But it was warm(ish) and sunny so a great stop!

When it's a longish day traveling we plan a stop somewhere to walk and have lunch. This day we chose a Texas State Park in Tyler. The property was willed to the state by private owners in 1935 and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) landscaped it and built the cabins and other structures.  It was a lovely day for a walk along the lake and we enjoyed a picnic lunch.

Michal, Maya, Scott and I spent a morning
playing at The Gathering Place, one of the very
best parks in the country!

Maya enjoyed communing with the Koi

The playgrounds, and there are many of them, are
artistic triumphs.

There are sculptures everywhere that are fun
to play in and admire.

And lots of comfortable places to sit or even, lie
down!

And it's all landscaped beautifully, even in the 
winter.

From there it was an easy 1.5 hours to the Shady Acres RV Park in Cleburne, TX. Baby will stay there for the next 3+ weeks while we visit Josh and his family in both Dallas and Tulsa, and then fly to Mexico to see Alan & Jeanette Feuer. It took us longer to pack up and settle our RV there as the only site available had electrical problems and we had to wait until the electrician resolved them. But we were on time at the airport to pick up our granddaughter Maya who flew in for the week from London. Josh's home in Dallas flooded again (the first time was during our visit two years ago) over the Xmas holidays due to pipes that burst when frozen. They were having a vacation at our home in Vermont when it happened! So we all stayed for two nights at a hotel near their home in Dallas so they could interview contractors. Then on Sunday we drove up to Tulsa where they have an apartment in time to see the Super Bowl - great game!

Josh, Scott, Maya, Shira and Jonathan visited
the Perot Science Museum in Dallas while
Michal and I prepared for Shabbat.

The museum has lots of interactive activities 
inside and out.

And we had fun hiking in the Arbor Hills 
nature preserve.

Josh and Michal dressed for Friday night
service at the Synagogue. 

Josh and Michal are living in Tulsa during the week as Josh works mostly in Oklahoma now (he's a radiation oncologist) with their two youngest children, Jonathan and Shira. Maya is finishing secondary school in London and the oldest two, Daniel and Ariella are at Columbia University. They reserved a hotel room right next to their apartment in downtown Tulsa for us Sunday through Thursday. 

Ready for a trip along the Arkansas Ricer in Tulsa.

Scott and I got our E-bikes out again and enjoyed the beautiful long bike path along the river here. Another day, Maya rode with Scott. We all had fun at The Gathering Place, the amazing nearly 100 acre park which opening in 2018. Then we all drove back to Dallas for the weekend. Josh and his family come back weekends to attend services at their synagogue and see friends. They had a bunch over for the Shabbat meal on Saturday. The living room, kitchen and one bedroom & bath are still usable. Maya flew back to London Saturday night and we flew to Mexico on Monday. More to come in my next post!

Jonathan and Michal snuggle up 

Acadian to Cajun - A History Lesson

Several reenactors in period costume inhabit the 
buildings in the village. This gentleman was sewing
his costume for the Mardi Gras festivities coming
up later this month.

This is a typical Acadian style home.

 I'm a direct descendant of Stephen Hawkins, who arrived in the Mayflower in 1620. Not long after my part of the family moved to Sandwich and farmed.  They were prolific and soon the younger sons looked for new pastures. My ancestor moved to Nova Scotia and took advantage of an offer for free land there. He profited by the "Great Expulsion", the forced removal of the Acadian people by the British. This traumatic event was popularized by the Longfellow poem "Evangeline". Thousands lost their lives when they were forced on ships and sent all over the world. One particular ship came to Boston and were not allowed to disembark. Half of them died of the cold and starvation on board the ship. Approximately 11,500 were deported and at least 5,000 died of starvation, disease or shipwreck.

The Acadians had to deal with different materials
than previously - from wool to cotton for 
example. 

Weaving was a valued skill and necessity

This simple hand drawn ferry allowed passage
across the many bayous that dot the landscape

Here in Lafayette I had a chance to learn a lot more about this tragic event and the Acadians who finally settled here and now are known as Cajun. We visited two "museums" dedicated to this: the Vermilionville Historic Village and the Cajun Cultural Center. The former is a recreation of a historic village with restored original structures, a restaurant and performance center. We toured it on a day when a Zydeco Band was performing and loved seeing the many couples dancing. It's a form of swing dancing but more contained and with a constant fast up and down movement. There was also a bit of line dancing - too complicated for us!

Line dancing 

And some jouncey swing dancing

There were ten buildings including a church, school and blacksmith shop. A replica of a small ferry showed how they moved across the bayous. We learned about the architecture, lifestyle and possessions of the Arcadians there, but really learned the history and culture in detail at the Cajun Cultural Center on our second day. This facility is run by the National Park Service. Permanent and special exhibits, an award-winning film, and programs share the history, customs, language, and contemporary culture of the Acadians. It was very comprehensive and we really took our time through the exhibits. Later I spent some time reading up on Wikipedia. We had worked up an appetite by then and luckily the Vermilionville village is right next door and this time we timed it right to have lunch at their restaurant, La Cuisine de la Maman. Scott got the $13 special of the day - a cup of Gumbo, Grits & Grillade, Fried Okra, Biscuit and Bread Pudding (yes, it was a lot - we had some the next day leftover). My choice was grilled catfish and salad. It was all wonderful.

A view inside the Acadian Cultural Center. 

Our lunch at Cuisine de la Maman at Vermilionville Historic Village

Distillery, Swamp Tour, Historic Home & Brewery

This is the view from our RV at the end of the Wildcat Brother's Distillery parking lot - pretty nice!

We're exploring the Lafayette area one Harvest Host at a time. And they are all different (OK - two are alcohol related). After our wonderful time at Houmas House, we continued west to Lafayette and our first stop, the Wildcat Brothers' Distillery. They make French style rum from local sugar cane and it's pretty amazing. We attended their "Rum School" that night and sampled most of their huge varieties - in tiny portions of course. We ended up buying a bottle of Noire. Here's their description, "Our 5-year-old blend, matured on a combination of white oak and ancestral fruit tree hardwood staves to bring out the perfect cane-cured fullness." The fun staff also made some amazing cocktails, which we all enjoyed. 

Here's the bunch of us the night of our "Rum School"  Ron, our host the next night is second from the left in back and Julie second from left front (in beige). Wendy and Jeff, one of the other couples, are above each other far left below Scott.  Debbie is just behind me and her husband Ron is behind her and to the left. Kay is in the red sweater front right and she was our barista. The two men on the top right run the farm at Wildcat Brothers'. 

But as great as all that was, it pales in comparison to the wonderful people we met that night. Right away everyone in the group of other guests introduced themselves and we were part of the group! We had such a good time that one of the couples, Ron and Julie, invited us and 2 other couples to dinner at their home the next night. Ron made a big pot of gumbo and potato salad. The way it's done in Lafayette is the gumbo goes on top of rice and a big scoop of potato salad goes on top of both! It was wonderful. They had a local specialty, white boudin for an appetizer and King Cake for dessert. We met Ron's mother and their daughter and boyfriend, plus several other neighbors. It was a party!

Here's our group shot from Ron and Julie's home after our wonderful dinner. Ron's Mom is in the pale blue sweater with Wendy. 

That day we had transferred to the Champagne Cajun Swamp Tour. It wasn't that far, luckily. Our tour started the next morning at 11 AM. We were joined by a couple in a second RV and a family with a baby - see photo below. The swamp surrounds Lake Martin and is bordered by a wildlife sanctuary. We saw lots of alligators, turtles and birds - notably Giant Blue & White Herons, Anhingas, and Ospreys. It was another beautiful day as you can see!

Our boat was very flat bottomed as it was shallow but the outboard really churned up the mud and weeds. 

We saw a lot of alligators up close

Anhingas have no oil glands to waterproof 

their feathers so have to dry them continuously. 

These Giant White Herons are so
beautiful!

Our next stop was Maison Stephanie about a half hour north of there in Arnaudville. The original home was constructed in 1796 by Martin Milony Duralde and sits on 20 acres of Bayou Teche property. Our hosts Ken and Richard bought the property in 2003 and have renovated it beautifully and run it as a B&B. We had a great breakfast and visit with Ken the next morning. 

Maison Stephanie

Their front yard.

Our last night in the Lafayette area was just down the road from Maison Stephanie - the Bayou Teche Brewery. They are a Craft Brewery with onsite Taproom & Beer Garden. They brew over 16 beers that complement their Cajun & Creole food. They also make wonderful wood fired pizzas! We can attest to the excellence of both the beers and the pizza! The next day we were heading north towards Texas. But that post will have to wait as my next one will feature our visits to Acadian Cultural Heritage sites to learn their history. Meanwhile - more photos of the swamp tour and the Bayou Teche Brewery below, !

Did I say we got quite close!

There were hundreds of turtles looking very 
happy to be out in the sun. Sometimes there were
nine or ten on one log.

Nora seemed to enjoy the trip immensely!

Our guide Jason had a sense of humor

He referred to these two cypress as the Kardashian
twins.

The cypress trees seem to thrive in this fresh water lake.

The mural stretches out a long way across the 
brewery

There is an attractive outside "Beer Garden"
but it was a little cool for that

There are a lot of their varieties on draft! But only
some of them are available in bottles. My favorite,
German style wheat beer wasn't but Scott's
beer/mead combination was and we got a large
bottle!

Houmus House and Gardens

The house is set in acres of gardens with fountains, waterfalls, statuary and ponds with swans. The live oaks are ancient and artistically draped with Spanish moss. 

Houmas House is a historic plantation complex in Burnside, Louisiana located on the banks of the Mississippi, named after the native Houma people, who "sold" the property to the first owners. It was established in the late 1700s originally as a trading post and later as a sugar cane plantation. The main house was completed in 1840 in the Greek Revival style. There are 8 building on the property now including the Great River Road Museum, a Hotel, and 3 restaurants. A number of movies and TV shows have been filmed here, most famously "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte". 

Conversation areas are scattered throughout 
the garden, each unique

There was one pair of black swans among the 
white, the female was on her nest.

Scott and I in front of one of the fountains.

It is another member of our Harvest Host program and we had an amazing time there. Our site was at the end of the parking lot and had a view of the river Levee and one of their pretty cottages. The house originally had a long alley lined with live oaks down to the dock on the river, which was the only form of transportation at one time. When the levee system was completed along the Mississippi the plantations lost their access to the river and Houmas lost half of their grand live oak lined avenue and now had a road in between it and the river. 

The lady's parlor (there was a gentlemen's one
next to it)

One of the many beautiful bedrooms

We toured both the house and the gardens, which are very extensive and beautiful. We had originally planned to have dinner at their formal Carriage House restaurant but changed our mind when we heard there was a buffet and dance band in the Dixie Room. What fun and a great meal. There is a local dance instructor who teaches jitterbug/swing and the dance floor was packed with quite accomplished dancers. 

Looking up the entrance way to the river now from the upstairs balcony.

The kitchen seemed very original. The newer
owners installed a new one in a different place.

Some of the paintings were original but most
were copies. Most of the furniture, objects,
mirrors etc. were original. That's me taking the 
photo in the mirror and the beautiful spiral
staircase beside me.

The buildings on either side here were original
and constructed back in the 1700s.

Baby in her site next to the road and levee.

The view from the top of the levee with boats 
going by, 

The next morning we had the breakfast buffet in the same Dixie Room, again excellent. As we were in no rush we walked over to the river and again, through the gardens. It was only a short hour and a half more to our next Harvest Host location - the Wildcat Brothers Distillery. More on my next post!

One section of the garden was orientally inspired.