Homeward Bound

Monday, October 16 - Wednesday October 18

Our first day on the road home we drove through the Florida Panhandle and along Perdido Bay on our way to a visit with fellow creative Buddy Finethy. We had intended to make a short stop to see Buddy's newest renovation project, and say hello. But when creative types assemble things can get out of hand quickly.

It was several hours before we headed for our Monday night destination in Biloxi, filled with far-ranging conversation about creativity, and the creative life in general. I'll have more to say about this in a later post, but the visit was a real boost!

This was my first encounter with Buc-ee's. Mind-blowing! It's like a gigantic truck stop, convenience store, food court, bakery, department store, and liquor store all rolled into one. Oh, and they also have BBQ grills and tools, and outdoor furniture. And did I mention the fudge? I kind of regret that I found out about that part!

We arrived in Biloxi after dark, intending to eat at a restaurant in the hotel, which the website told us was open until 10. We grabbed out suitcases, hauled them to the room, cleaned up and headed down to eat - only to find them closing down at 8! It was the second time this trip that we ran into this problem with Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company - you can bet there won't be a third.

Fortunately for us, the Internet can be your friend, and it didn't fail us this time. We found a small place off the beaten path, a converted mid-century gas station, with the cutesy name of The Fillin' Station, lots of good reviews, and open until 10 (for real this time).

It lived up to its name, providing tasty, tasty red beans and rice, and an oyster po'boy Steve says was delicious. If I'm ever in Biloxi again I won't even try Bubba Gump's, but I'll head straight for The Fillin' Station.

Those of you who have read Murder Hooks a Mermaid will understand why I was interested in this place across from The Filling Station. Sadly, there didn't seem to be anyone in the tank when we were there, but I will hold out hope for another time!

We left Biloxi the next morning on our way to Lafayette, Louisiana, and a visit with another friend. I worked for many years with Rene at the Inn. He bounced back and forth between Oregon and Louisiana, but finally settled back in New Orleans a few years ago. We didn't dare set up anything too far in advance, because every time we have in the past some catastrophe has intervened - last time it was the horrible early summer storms that chased us north, though the worst by far was when Hurricane Katrina landed just two days before we were due to fly in.

This day he was working in Lafayette, miles away from New Orleans, and we set a place and time just a few hours ahead - the weather didn't have time to sabotage our dinner. Yay!

There was another reason to visit Lafayette. My brother-in-law did his MBA at the university there, and he and his parents lived for several years in the nearby small town of Breaux Bridge.

We skirted around the traffic of New Orleans by staying north, and crossed the Mississippi at Baton Rouge. I realized at this point that we had crossed the Mississippi four times now, and I had been driving three of those. That and $5 will get me a cup of coffee (just not in the South after 10 am - my last latte had been at Dutch Bros in Oklahoma - even Starbucks are few and far between).

Fields of sugar cane along the roads of southern Louisiana. After spending the night in Lafayette we backtracked slightly to do some sightseeing (and looking up the folks' old place) in Cajun country on the east side of Lafayette.

The signs are bi-lingual, French and English, in the park (which is twinned with a Canadian historic site), in honor of the French-Canadian heritage of the Cajuns. It's a complicated history.

Evangeline Oak Park is located along the Bayou Teche in St Martinville. It's a beautiful place, in a gorgeous tiny town. It wasn't our first time there, and I wish we'd had more time to visit the museums and just sit and enjoy the perfect weather and the beauty of the surroundings.

The building pictured is now a B&B, but in its 200-year history it has been many other things. There's a story about our first visit to St Martinville and Cajun hospitality, though I don't have room for it here. Remind me to add it in the comments.

Traditional Louisiana cemetery. The water table is too high to allow underground burials.

We managed to find the folks' house. My mother-in-law kept in touch with the people that bought the place, and the gal told her we should have stopped in to say hello. Not something I am likely to do, but it fits with what I've experienced in the South.

It was well into the afternoon when we got through in Lafayette and Breaux Bridge, and it was time to start heading north. We had already taken two days to cover the 400 miles from Chancellor to Lafayette. At that rate we would be on the road for another three weeks with our planned stayovers, especially since we now had to cross Texas.

We stayed in Longview, Texas, outside of Dallas/Fort Worth, and hit the road in the morning, hoping to get through DFW and close to Oklahoma City though we didn't have an exact destination in mind. It would all depend on traffic, and how quickly we tired out.

All right, I said I would do this in a long post, but this is getting ridiculous. Watch for the next installment soon, as I catch you all up and share a small sample of the pictures we took. Believe me, there are HUNDREDS more than what I've posted!