Estero Dog Park with Family & Friends

Hi all -- Dianne here.

Florida has some great county dog parks. One of the local dog parks in Fort Myers is in Estero Community Park, which is very near our campground.

Chuck and Cindy

are every bit as dog-centered as Roger and I, so one of the "must-do's" on our list was to check out the dog park.

On our second visit to the dog park, Amanda and Kaia, plus Kaia's friend, Cheyenne,

met us at the park with Cinnamon, the famous grandpuppy beagle.

We watched Cinnamon play for a while, while Amanda watched over Kaia and Cheyenne as they made a bee-line to the really-cool monkey bars at the adjacent playground. After the girls got their climbing fix, they joined us in the dog park for some doggie playtime.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and the park was filled with dogs of all descriptions. We stayed in the small dog (31 pounds or less) side and all four dogs had a great time running, chasing, sniffing, and fetching.

Mandy took some

cute photos of the girls as they leaped in the air

and mugged for the camera. She also took a photo of Kaia and I which I have labeled "Grandma's Bliss!"

(My Facebook friends have already seen this photo, because I couldn't wait to publish it).

I then took some photos of Kaia and Amanda,

to show just how much Kaia has grown. She is already as tall as her mom (and me), and I know that the next time I see her, I'll be looking UP at her pretty face!!

Kaia and Cheyenne were excited to see several other beagles at the dog park to play with Cinnamon, including a very frisky, cute beagle pup.

Mandy and the girls left to go to a birthday party at Chuckie Cheese for another little friend. (Roger and I looked at each other, said "Whew!" Been there, done that at Chuckie Cheese in years past) -- now it's Mandy's turn!!

Cinnamon rode home in Chuck's big truck with Chuck, Cindy, Roger, me, Jasper, Chaplin, and Sophie. We looked like a doggy daycare school bus! Cinnamon was worn out from playing at the park and fell asleep on Roger's lap

on the way home.

Cinnamon spent the night with us instead of Kaia that night, so it was a quiet happy hour and dinner with Chuck and Cindy and four sleeping dogs!

Check back soon for Roger's blog update on our very-cool kayaking trip down the Estero River.

Fort Myers, Florida - Family & Friends + Koreshan State Park

Hi all --

Dianne here. We've actually been in Ft. Myers, Florida for over a week and a half, but we're still getting caught up on blog time. There should be two more in quick succession as we're working on three at a time.

We met up with our friends, Chuck & Cindy, outside Ocala, FL and then caravanned to our destination for the next two weeks, Shady Acres RV Resort in Ft. Myers.

The

first order of business was, of course, to see our daughter, Amanda, and granddaughter, Kaia, who we had not seen since last August, when they moved to Florida. I managed to get a photo of Jasper when he first saw Kaia.

He was so excited!

Jasper and Kaia grew up together; we got him when she was two years old. Back then I babysat Kaia every day so that Amanda could finish college and then work. Jasper and Kaia have always been very, very close.

While my girls are at work and school every day, we have lots of time to spend with Chuck and Cindy and, of course, Sophie Ann, the luckiest dog in Fishers, Indiana.

Our first excursion was to Sanibel Island

to Lighthouse Beach, one of the few beaches in the area where dogs are allowed. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we had a great day.

Of course, we stopped at our favorite ice cream shop, Pinocchio's, before we left Sanibel.

Our next excursion was to pack a picnic lunch and visit Koreshan State Park. Koreshan State Park includes historical buildings

which were built in the late 1800s by a group who actually believed that the universe as we know it was inside the planet earth! They were a celibate group which, of course, died out over the years until the last surviving member donated the land and buildings to the State of Florida. To my cousins: One of the photos of the group labeled one woman as Elizabeth Robison. Hard to imagine one of our clan belonging to a cult! (Oh, sorry, the docent who gave the tour of the buildings prefers the term "utopian society"!

After we toured the buildings, we took a hike

with all three dogs on a lovely nature trail that winds along the Estero River.

We passed by large stands of bamboo which, since the wind

was blowing, sounded like wind chimes made of bamboo. It was such a pretty walk that we right then

and there decided to come back with our kayaks, which we did. (There will be a separate blog for that).

After the hike, we found a very pretty picnic spot and ate our lunch.

As we were leaving the park, Sophie was on high alert

and found this gopher turtle "holed up" so to speak. We also saw another gopher turtle crossing the drive as we walked to the parking lot.

We made it back to the campground in time for Amanda and Kaia to join us for happy hour and dinner. (Kaia's happy hour consisted of caffeine-free coke and Hanna Montana on the TV!) Mandy and Kaia are coming to eat supper with us every night. Since Cindy and I are taking turns with dinner duty, we've all been eating quite well. I quipped to Mandy that she hit the jackpot - she has two moms cooking for her these two weeks!

Betty's RV Park, Abbeville, LA, Part Two

Dianne here -

On our second day at Betty's RV Park in Abbeville, Louisiana, we started our day as we do most days: drinking coffee and catching up on our favorite blogs. One of the blogs we have followed for a while (I just got around to loading it on our side bar, if you care to check it out), is Laurie and Odel's "Semi-True Tales of our Life on the Road."

As we read their March 2 entry, they described driving 50 miles out and back off of I-10 to re-visit a tiny Cajun grocery store (Suire's), to see if the po-boys they had eaten there four years ago were still as good as they remembered. Suire's is in Kaplan, Louisiana, which is only ten miles from Abbeville. Laurie and Odel have been to some really cool places around the U.S., and we decided that if they drove 100 miles out of their way for these po-boys, that we could surely drive ten miles to sample them!

So, off we went to Kaplan, Louisiana to visit tiny Suire's

Cajun grocery store. We didn't think to look up directions, assuming that Kaplan, Louisiana would be so small we could just find it by driving around the town. No such luck. We finally stopped at a convenience store and Roger went in to ask. The very friendly clerk and customer who was waiting there at first looked puzzled; when Roger started to spell it (we don't speak Cajun very well) they both perked up and said, Oh, you mean Suire's (Sweerz) -- that's way out there. They gave us directions and we drove out of town and, sure enough, we found it. Suire's is light on the groceries and very heavy on delicious made-to-order Cajun delights such as po-boys and gumbo, turtle sauce piquante, crawfish etouffee, and pecan pie. Roger

ordered a catfish po-boy and I ordered a

shrimp one, then we switched halves so we could sample both. They were truly worth Laurie & Odel's 100-mile side trip! Yum!

Turns out that Laurie & Odel had originally learned about Suire's several years ago by reading an article in the New York Times.

The original newspaper article was framed and hung on a wall in the grocery store, so I snapped a photo of it. What a fun side trip, and one we never would have experienced in our former life!

Instead of corn and soybean fields like we are accustomed to in Indiana, this part of Louisiana grows a lot of rice. I photographed one of the many rice fields we passed on our trip home from Kaplan.

We had just enough time to visit another site that was recommended to us by one of the "regulars" at Betty's happy hour: Jefferson Island. The entrance road to Jefferson Island is lined with a mile-and-a-half avenue of live oak trees.

I snapped a photo of a glimpse of the Joseph Jefferson home,

which was built in 1870 by an actor of the same name. It sits atop a giant salt dome. There are tours of the home and the adjacent Rip Van Winkle Gardens, but we were so pressed for time that we simply visited the gift shop and stopped to take a photo of the tom turkey that tried to bar our escape from the island. (The turkey was not amused that I stalked him for this photo!)

We hurried back to Betty's for happy hour.

We didn't want to miss this one, because Betty had announced the night before that there would be a pitch-in dinner and that she was providing roast venison and potatoes. She explained that her nephew's son had shot a deer and that they don't eat deer, but normally just boil it and feed it to their dogs. Betty took possession of the venison and, with a little Betty magic, cooked it to perfection to share with her guests. It was good! Another Betty regular made the most delicious homemade caramel

"sticky buns" (see foreground in photo). I took a shot of Roger's plate heaped with pitch-in delicacies.

Before we left the happy hour/pitch-in, one of the other guests offered to take our photo with Betty.

We also took photos of some of the kitchy decor inside and outside Betty's home and the indoor and outdoor meetin' and greetin' areas.

The sign at the campground says it all: "You're Caught in Betty's Web!"

We truly were caught in Betty's web and for sure we'll be pulled back!!

Abbeville, Louisiana + Tabasco Factory Tour

Roger here... After traveling through Houston

and viewing the home of the Houston Texans from the interstate,

we left the state of Texas after three months and traveled through coastal Louisiana to spend three nights at Betty's RV Park in Abbeville, Louisiana - the most Cajun of Cajun places. (Dianne here: We went from Mission, TX where all the names on every sign were Spanish, to Cajun Louisiana, where all the names on every sign were French.) You know how some places just seem comfortable; well, Abbeville is definitely one of those places.

This is such a special place that it deserves two blogs. We'll update part two as soon as we get a chance.

I'll start by describing Betty's RV Park. If Abbeville feels comfortable, Betty's feels like home - BECAUSE OF BETTY. Betty's park only has fifteen full hook-up sites, and they are located on gravel in what was at one time Betty's back yard. No real amenities here, except, of course, for Betty. When we checked in at 4:00 p.m. she helped us back into our spot and then encouraged us to set up quickly because happy hour in the back room of her house was at 4:30. The "Betty's" experience is like visiting a treasured family member. All the guests attend happy hour every night. She "holds court" over her glass of wine, giving advice to everyone about what to see and where to eat in the area.

One evening she announced that she would lead an excursion to the business of a man who digs cypress wood out of the swamp the next mornin'. Another night she let us know that there would be a pot luck the next evening, and that she would provide specially-cooked venison. The highlight of every happy hour is her sense of humor, her laughter, and her genuine love of people. By the time the happy hour ends, everyone in the group knows everyone else - a very unique place that is rated as one of the top 25 RV parks in the country for its social atmosphere. It is easy to understand why.

During our first full day in Abbeville, the major attraction was a visit to the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island, just twenty miles away. What a neat place! When we paid the one-dollar fee to enter Avery Island, the toll taker showed us the level of water (about six feet) from the last hurricane where levies now protect the historic factory. As we exited the car in front of the factory, other than the view of the classic buildings,

the first sense to enter the brain was the smell of Tabasco. It was just so cool.

The

factory tour was interesting. Did you know that the peppers are aged for three years with vinegar in used (cleaned) Jack Daniels whiskey oak barrels? The factory on Avery Island is the only place where Tabasco is processed? Avery Island was originally a salt mine (still is) and salt from the salt dome underneath the island covers the casks during the aging process?

We were able to get a

good shot of hundreds of Tabasco bottles as they wound their way through the plant.

The trip to the factory store

was an additional highlight. We were able to sample all the Tabasco products, including Tabasco ice cream (surprisingly good), before making several spicy purchases, including Tabasco t-shirts and beach wear. The one-dollar entrance fee to Avery Island turned out to be a good deal for the Tabasco company, as we dropped more than a few bucks in the factory store. (Dianne here: We also purchased some Tabasco chocolate and a Tabasco sucker to take with us to our daughter and granddaughter in Florida. They sell lots of unique items in the gift shop, and I'm sure you can buy them on line if you are interested, because I found a used Christmas catalog in the parking lot that had blown out of somebody's car).

On the way back to Abbeville, Dianne spotted an above-ground cemetery in the small town of Delcambre.

She got out of the car to take several photos. Similar cemeteries in New Orleans are considered dangerous for visitors - ideal places for a mugging -

but not here. Just a quiet place to reflect upon the unique culture of this area.

Before we returned to Betty's, we decided to eat a late lunch in Abbeville. After an internet search, we selected

Dupuy's (pronounced Dew Pwees, with the accent on the second syllable). It was a great choice.

These Cajuns truly know how to eat - amazing food. We both had a cup of crab and corn bisque; delicious. Dianne had a grilled shrimp po' boy. I had the best crab cake that I have ever eaten, smothered with a Cajun shrimp sauce

(and half of Dianne's po boy). The waitress talked us into sampling a dessert. Dianne picked out the pecan tart a la mode. Oh my goodness, it was better than chocolate - high praise from me.

We needed groceries, so we made a quick stop at Robie's Market on the way back to Betty's. We had to hurry - didn't want to be late for happy hour. I'll let Dianne tell you about this unique grocery store that will be a required stop for future visits.

Robie's wasn't a huge market, just a small, local grocery store. Among the delicacies we saw while shopping there were rows and rows of pickled quail's eggs, lots of jars of prepared roux, prepared ready-to-eat muffaletta sandwiches, and very good prepared deli salads. Since we knew we'd be traveling for several days and needing quick-to-grab meals, we stocked up on the ready-to-eat items. Delicious! Even the chicken salad had a real "kick" to it.

At one of Betty's happy hours, some of our fellow travelers (many of whom come to Betty's every year), told us there are a few items we just had to try, so we went back to Robies and stocked up on some Cajun essentials: "Slap Ya Mama" seasoning, a jar of "Sloppy Boudreaux" sauce, and something called "Sweet Treat." (It's a cinnamon-sugar mixture with vanilla).

At the end of one of the grocery aisles, there was a huge display of big bags of rice. I thought to myself, wow, people buy rice in big bags here. Then I turned down the next aisle, and discovered that in addition to that display, there was row after row of nothing but different kinds of rice. I just had to take a picture of it, because I'd never seen anything like it in any grocery we'd ever been in.

The side trip to Betty's RV Park in Abbeville was something Roger really, really wanted to do. (He's a lot more social than I am.) I wasn't as enthusiastic about it, but I have to say that within two minutes of arriving there (and especially after the first happy hour!) I felt right at home and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. You truly do meet the nicest people in this lifestyle!