Day: December 21, 2009

We are in Texas now- somehow that seems like a big deal to us. The guy had a booming welcome for us at the visitor centre. We got lots of maps and brochures, one with a family riding horses and a little girl wearing a cowboy hat. Morgane and I decided we should ride horses while we’re here. Ghis is the only one of us with much experience in this area.

Tonight we stopped to see a movie (A Christmas Carol) and are now camped at Wal Mart. Seems like a nice place. There are tons of shoppers out and about and I am using the internet at Barnes and Nobles, just next door.

This morning, I had my great Jennifer massage – definitely not for the wimpy, but I feel good now. Ghis went with Mark to do some work. He has to drive out into the boonies and check some oil rigs. It was quite the experience and I’ll post his pictures later. He drove the truck on a freaky 4 by 4 road and walked through grass where poisonous snakes live (only until he learned this!). He saw rice fields flooded with water where crawfish are harvested. Mark tried hard to find one, but couldn’t so they stopped and got one from a freezer and brought it back for us to see. Then he plopped it into the pond. Morgane and the dogs were very interested!

Then we all had a visit and ate tacos from The Taco Sisters. Very yummy.

Morgane didn’t want to say goodbye to Boon and the other dogs at Jennifer and Mark’s. We had trouble saying goodbye to all our new friends: Becky and John, Jennifer and Mark, everyone from the gumbo party and all the fabulous employees at Pack and Paddle.

This morning Ghis had a wonderful (best ever) massage with Becky and John’s friend, Jennifer. Morgane got to play with Jennifer’s daughter, Ruthie. After lunch, we went to watch Ruthie figure skate as part of a Christmas show. The girls were all impressive with their skating, dancing and bravery. Morgane thinks she might like to try it when we get home.

After lunch we went to Jennifer and Mark’s for a gumbo party – gumbo is served with rice and it’s a beef broth soup with sausages and chicken. Morgane got to jump on the trampoline with Ruthie and we got to hang out with people who dress like we do! Almost everyone was wearing Patagonia.

Ghis has fallen in love with their school bus. They bought a short school bus and took out all the seats and are making it into a camper. They have put in a wood floor and it looks lovely with all the windows. We are envious of all the space it has. The other thing we love about their house is their complete outdoor bathroom.

We even got to play a little music during the afternoon party – guitar, fiddle, dulcimer, accordion and the triangle. Plus we learned some more about Cajun culture and the loss of the French language.

We finally left just before dinner time, but promised to come back the next morning – for my massage!

Morgane and I went out to see the Christmas lights on display at the Acadian Village, but it ended up being a lot of waiting in line and paying money. Too many crowds for me, but a good reminder that it’s not off-season anymore.

We ended the day with an inspiring slideshow of John and Becky’s Appalachian Trail Hike. They walked all the way from Georgia to Maine! I hope we get to do some hiking soon. They’ve given me the bug!