Lion Country Safari

Lion Country Safari, Pt 2

Sure, it's a gimmick. You overpay for a couple of tiny medicine cups of sugar water, just for the privilege of going in the cage. But who cares? The lorries know what's in those cups and you'd better have a tight hold on them. And at least until the cups are empty, you get to play "Bird Man" ... or woman. It was a total hoot!

Busch Gardens, FL

Gulf Shores, AL

We’ve arrived on the Redneck Riviera, that stretch of white sand beaches along the Gulf Coast between Alabama and Florida. The weather is a temperate 67-77 degrees, and though the day was mostly cloudy, there’s no wind and threatened rain storms never materialized. Last night, we drove in to Foley to eat at the famous Lambert’s Cafe. I had the hog jowls (now, don’t look down your nose–it’s a real treat for bacon lovers!) and Cory had the pork chops–good, down-home cookin’ with plenty of pass-arounds, including sorghum molasses for the hot rolls. They’re the size of a twelve-inch softball, and that’s how they’re delivered, as well.

Every few minutes, a young man comes out of the kitchen with a cart, hollering "Hot rolls!" Give him the high sign, from ANYWHERE in the dining room, and he’ll lob one to you. Mmm-mmm. That’s why Lambert’s is known as "the only home of the throwed roll." Late today, we’re going down to the beach…and we’ll get some pictures.

Lafayette, LA

It's MARDI GRAS!

Lafayette, LA

Biloxi, MS

Mississippi does Mardi Gras, too!

We spent a week in the Biloxi-Gulfport area–found on arrival that this is an area where reservations are best made in advance this time of year. We arrived without any, naturally, but we found a spot in Gulfport. We were parked so close to I-10 that Abby (the nickname we gave to our new Garmin 2610 GPS) couldn’t direct us home properly. The coordinates for our site came up as ON the highway, so she informed us that we had ‘reached our destination’ when we drove by and waved to the trailer.

We hit our first Mardi Gras parade in Biloxi on January 29, where we collected more than 8 pounds of beads without even trying. Can’t wait for sister Susan to arrive next week in Louisiana–you can’t help but have a good time at Mardi Gras in Acadiana.