Louisiana

Monday May 23^rd

Coming into Houston on the I10

Did the big rental car swap in Houston and set off in our near new Nissan Versa for Jennings in Louisiana.  Stopped on the way at Beaumont and drove downtown to the Museum of Energy which has a very good interactive display on the oil industry.  We’d forgotten that it’s Monday – the day that all museums close, so we transferred our interest to the art gallery next door. Which was open but they had no other patrons  The security man followed us all the way around and when we left said that he would escort us to our car.  We must have looked surprised so he told us that there are a lot of homeless people in the area and he wanted to make sure we were safe.   Given that downtown was deserted – the art gallery was in the middle of a landscaped area where you could see for miles and there was no-one in sight and there weren’t even any bushes to hide behind as it was all grassy, this all seemed a little strange.  We couldn’t decide if he was just bored or if he thought we were going to fill our pockets with art works on the way out.

Artwork made out of little pieces of stick

Shortly after that we crossed the state boundary into Louisiana.  I’ve been looking out for bayoux as I wasn’t sure what they were. but they appear to be areas of sluggish green water with overhanging vegetation.

We were saddened to hear of the death of Fay, Gordon’s wife in Laguna Niguel (LA) but it was great that we were able to visit her when we were there.

In the evening, we had a Cajun dinner with Margaritas (2 for the price of 1!) and gumbo.  Gumbo was a kind of gravy with shrimps in and we put it on rice  (lots of rice fields around here) and it was very yummy. 

The people seem rather old fashioned here.  I notice elderly ladies with their white hair in a bun and wire rimmed glasses – the caricature of an American granny in a rocking chair,  People wear flowery dresses and everyone says “Maam and Sir” all the time – even a little kid in the swimming pool kept calling me Maam, which I found slightly irritating but they probably consider to be courteous..  New Orleans tomorrow!