Breaking the Silence...

Monday, March 17, 2014

Moving at 70mph  across northern Florida, Tallahassee to Jacksonville.

Dear Friends, Relatives, readers:

It seems we have not had the reflective writing time since March 8, northern New Mexico, especially Abiquiu.

After escaping the lovely snow fall up there, we drove the 6 hours to the southeast corner of New Mexico to Carlsbad. The passing land became increasingly arid and flat.  Gone were the ubiquitous mountain ranges in all directions, and evidence everywhere supporting the state's license plate motto:  New Mexico - Land of Enchantment.

Carlsbad NM presented two remarkable attractions. First was the Living Desert State Park, creating with stunning authenticity their collection of Chihuahua desert animals, plants, and reptiles. We agreed we had never seen such displays, making it our first among zoos that aim to please the captives. All the animals have been wounded or abandoned and, following their rehabilitation, are released back to their natural environment.

The next morning we entered the vast Carlsbad Caverns National Park....partially open to the public, ever-growing since the caves opened in early 20th C., yet still hundreds of miles of "cave ways" still to explore and uncover. Once underground via a 76-story elevator one is immediately struck by the first room, dimly and theatrically lit, a preface of things to come. This room, the Hall of Giants, big enough to hold 14 football fields, had a 255-foot ceiling. I'll mention only one other fact: in summer evenings at bat flight time visitors watch the 300,000 member bat colony speed out at the rate of 5,000 bats a minute in search of their evening meal, 3 tons of insects!

 

We were often gasping! We could only think of our privilege in seeing the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad Caverns within the same week. First, there is really no easy way of describing these phenomenons of nature (though I just tried!) and second, we can take such pride in our government's assiduous attention in making them at once visitor friendly and also strictly preserved. So words here will cease. See some underground pictures Happy took below, but mostly we say, add BOTH national parks to your "bucket list."

Onward into Texas and our one destination being the famous Hill Country, known principally for two things: LBJ and the vast countryside of spring wild flowers.  Paramount are the glorious blue bonnets, known everywhere to carpet and make indigo the open rolling land west of Austin and San Antonio.  Yet for us, as with the Southern California spring "flowering" deserts, we missed the wildflowers.  We were too early, and the dry winter would be curtailing 2014 blooms. Even Lady Bird, with all her passions for wildflowers and environmental preservation, could not have changed a thing for us!

Staying in the lovely small city of Fredericksburg we did explore a few local, state, and national parks dedicated to LBJ and his life and heritage, and everywhere his signature river, the Perdenales wove around us. Whatever one thinks of him, LBJ certainly left major impacts on his local and larger world. Also in Fredericksburg was an extraordinary and even overwhelming Museum of the WW2 Pacific, named for native son Admiral Chester Nimitz; Happy does not agree, but I felt the creators simply poured too much in every gallery, pictures and text and artifacts, on and on, that I became over-saturated. I sorely missed some calm and quiet reverence for the untold victims of the horrors, whatever their side.

For our three nights at the excellent RV park, we had outstanding meals at two of the best restaurants we've ever experienced, one with Bavarian food reflecting the town's profound German heritage. BTW, when we spend nights in RV parks, we generally feed ourselves from our tiny kitchen, morning and midday, and eat half our dinners out.  Then when visiting friends, the sky opens up!

And speaking of food, New Orleans was the next stop.  We left the hill country, zipped across remaining Texas, eastward, spent an undistinguished night in Beaumont, and thus entered Louisiana with great expectations.

And they were met.  We had three days and nights in New Orleans as guests of Eileen Powers, a former faculty colleague of Peter's at his first headship school, Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn. Eileen's distinguished career has led her to be head of the Louise Mcgehee School for girls in New Orleans. She told us she would treat us like royalty and she did. A favorite of ours in years past, New Orleans today, post Katrina, emanates a vitality exceeding what we knew. The people (or most it seems) adore their city.  The Saint Patrick's day parade and intense partyingon Saturday was wilder, more joyful, and later more raucous than one can imagine. And Mardi Gras, king of all celebrations, was only 2 weeks ago.  Eileen says there's a parade almost every weekend.  One half drunk man biked wobbily by us, smiled and said "I love my city." Clear to us was that it will take more than Katrina to put down New Orleans forever.  And the French Quarter's Cafe du Monde will never stop serving its beignets and French Market coffee to the daily throngs.

Leaving New Orleans and heading toward Florida, we passed through a small part of coastline Mississippi, stopping in a highly recommended rough and tumble BBQ spot called The Shed.  Their signature item is pulled pork and we had 4"thick sandwiches of the glorious stuff. All lived up to the advance billing.  Note the hefty bluegrass banjo player is the pix below....he never stopped playing all during our great lunch, and he was terrific. Most parked vehicles were rusty pickups with gun racks; it was certainly red-neck city.  Can you see perky and preppy Happy and Peter fitting right in?  You betcha!

Today, after an RV park night along the western tip of the Florida panhandle, we begin our next ten days in that state, tracking many old friends.  We'll come back to you in a week or so.

With the sunshine state's warmest greetings.    H and P