Superbowl Frenzy in Phoenix Arizona…

From our camp here at Sun Life RV Resort in Mesa, we done some exploring in town but there are hoards of people here. When we made our appointments for our physicals at the nearby Mayo Clinic we never realized how many big events were taking place at this time.  In fact, the first day we pulled into town the Pro Bowl was scheduled to play that evening making the traffic a bit heavy.

It looks like there will be considerably more congestion the next few days as the TPC Phoenix Open tournament is going on now and the Super Bowl will happen on Sunday. There has record attendance at the Open and the attendees witnessed Tiger Woods play his worst golf as a PGA pro thereby not even making the cut. I am sure there will be less people in attendance now that there has been rainfall for over 20 hours with more yet to come. Is this really the

However, before all the rain came through town Sharon and I drove a few miles west into Mesa and caught the light rail train to visit the Super Bowl Extravaganza held in downtown Phoenix. The train was only $4.00 for an all day pass which included transfers and buses. With event parking as high as $40.00 near the event, this was a no brainer… The newscasters here are saying parking at the super bowl will be $100.00…yikes!!! desert?

The train took less than 30 minutes where we exited on 3rd and Washington right in the heart of the portion of downtown that has been cordoned off for the festivities. Lots of people in town were sporting their team’s colors and lots of slick advertising could be seen over the place including on the skyscrapers. We walked into the main area with a large stage where we saw there were Native Americans dancing. There would be all sorts of free entertainment on this stage throughout the day,

Lunch was covered by Papa Johns and Tostitos as they were giving out samples of their new products. A Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza slice and a bag of rolled up chips and spinach artichoke dip together made a decent gratis lunch. However, we would likely never order the pizza nor the chips because we didn't care for the heavy sauce (thousand islands dressing???) on the pizza and the rolled up chips were, well, rolled up and difficult to use for dipping (what were they thinking?). But for free… it was pretty good after all.

The coolest thing we attended was the Verizon interactive technology exhibit called the Verizon Powerhouse. While standing in line Verizon representatives helped everyone download the Verizon Powerhouse app allowing for all kinds of fun things once inside. Sharon virtually chatted with Clay Matthews, a Green Bay linebacker. We both virtually caught a football from our favorite team’s quarterback and do our own version of the end zone dance.

The neatest thing we did there was to wear virtual reality goggles where we found ourselves inside the locker room listening to the coaches pregame talk and then running with the team through the tunnel out onto the field of cheering spectators. Next you become part of a play where after catching the football pass, you run in for a touchdown eluding tacklers along the way. The view was 360 degrees so you have a panorama giving the sense that you are actually doing all the stuff you are seeing.It was great fun standing in the line watching all the people wearing the goggles running in place and trying to miss tacklers. Many were clapping and cheering but mostly all had this grin from ear to ear as they were experiencing the game day action. I especially loved watching an elderly lady in a wheelchair experience it all as she had her feet moving and had that same ear to ear grin… how cool for her to experience such innovative technology!!

Now we will take it easy today as the rain continues and probably take this time to make plans for where we will watch the big game. No tickets for us as a the going rate is well over $5000 per ticket according to the media unless we win free tickets from our registration at the downtown event.  Most likely we will enjoy the game at home on TV and think of all the money we saved…

Walking the Boardwalk at Mission Beach, CA…

One of the reasons we love staying at Mission Bay RV Resort is its location. Nearby, with a short 10 minute drive or 15 minute bike ride, is Mission Beach. Mission Beach is about 2 miles long perfect for watching  the waves tumble in. Just south is Pacific Beach (another interesting community) where one can find just about anything they need. There is even a Trader Joe’s within easy walking distance from the beach.

Pacific Beach or "PB" is famous with the college aged crowd for its wide sandy beach as well as  its wide walking/biking/rollerblading trail along the shoreline. The area has a pretty lively nightlife with its many well-known bars where they all have typical beach mode dress codes. We usually leave the night time activity to the others as we tend to go there more for for evening walks. We love walking along the waterfront as the beach is beautiful and it is always bustling. We usually park at some of the free roadside parking a few blocks from the beach and take in a 3 mile or so walk all along the boardwalk that parallels the coastline. The boardwalk runs along the waterfront on both the ocean and the bay sides of the community so we have our choice of scenery.

It is always interesting to see the varied architecture in Mission Beach. The oldest homes only go back into the 1920’s to 1940’s but there are many interesting more modern places leaving only a few of the older “less pleasing to look at” structures behind.  “Mission Beach is the most densely developed residential community in San Diego with a land use designation across the majority of its land area of 36 dwelling units per acre.” In fact Mission Beach has the smallest lots in the city with many as small as only 1,250 square feet.

We like to take our walks along the boardwalk an hour or so before sunset taking in the views of the sun, sand and surf culminating in yet another ocean view of a splendid sunset. Along the boardwalk are many bars, eating establishments and stores offering the latest in beach gear. On the boardwalk we are passed by cyclists, joggers, skateboarders, rollerbladers and even the occasional Segway. Yep… if you like to people watch along a beautiful beach this is the place to walk…

Some other interesting places near Mission Beach are Belmont Park with a historic 73-foot-tall roller coaster called the Giant Dipper and a bit further inland  is SeaWorld San Diego. Seaworld once held a great fireworks show every night which we could see across the bay from our RV park. They no longer do this due to budget cuts and I have heard they are in a bit of financial distress since the release of recent movies and documentaries about captive aquatic animals and their treatment.

After oooohing and awwwing at the sunset over the ocean we usually walk on over to one of the local taverns such as the Guava Beach Bar to enjoy a happy hour beverage before heading back to the park…

Reflections on Portland Oregon…

To say we have enjoyed our stay in Portland Oregon would be an understatement. There aren’t many big cities in the USA where I feel I could live in but Portland has that mix of big city amenities with the feel of small town in its neighborhoods. We have done a ton of walking in the northern half of Portland where we have strolled through the neighborhoods of Hollywood, City Center, The Pearl, Alphabet District, Alberta Arts, Concordia, Alameda, Rose City, Laurelhurst and several others I have probably failed to mention.

Each of the neighborhoods are like their own small communities, each with their own culture. One could live in one of these neighborhoods and not even feel like they are in Portland proper.Everything anyone would need is in these neighborhoods such as grocery stores, restaurants and pubs. A car isn't even a necessity as most travel via bicycle or public transport. This is a very bicycle friendly town with bike lanes seemingly everywhere. 

Crafted Breweries are plentiful with more than 50 listed breweries in Portland alone which is why many know the city as Beervanah! Sharon and I have grown to love well made craft beers and set out on a mission to try as many of the top rated breweries as we could. We weren’t able to make it to all of them but we did put a dent in the list. Hopworks and Burnside have been two breweries we have visited more than once because we love the beer and the vibe at both places. I must say that I would be hard pressed to pick a brewery I didn't enjoy as all the beer here has been excellent (well maybe the gluten free brewery wasn’t all that great).

In addition Portland has some great parks for hiking such as Washington Park and Forest Park. with the International Rose Garden. And the scenic Columbia Gorge is close by for hiking and observing nature. Waterfall hikes we took there were like traveling way out of town and yet they are simply a 30-40 drive east.  There is also scenic highway 30 with all of its great vistas… Given all that there is to do around here we feel Portland is a great spot for a month or two in the summertime. The numerous waterfall hikes we took were like traveling way out of town and yet they are simply a 30-40 drive east. 

Our review of Portland wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t mention the people here. Fortunately for us we have friends in the area so we were able to meet up with them but the people in general living here are a very friendly group. We struck up numerous conversations with many interesting people. Portland is a young town by most standards especially nearer the city center. If I were in my 30’s there is no doubt this would be the place for me to live and work.

To end one of our last days we returned to Hopworks Bike Bar Brewery to meet with a friend of ours passing through town on her way home to Astoria for another round of beer. What fun we had reminiscing over good beer and their fabulous freshly made hot pretzels… Portland has indeed been a very good to us!

Visiting Neighborhoods and Nature…

During our stay here in Portland, Oregon we have been mixing nature hikes with neighborhood walks. In the Alberta neighborhood we found easy, free parking and knew we would enjoy this stroll since right afterward we saw two breweries Hopworks Urban Brewery and Lumpoc in the same block. Those would be our reward stops at the end of our walk. As we walked we could see that the neighborhood is experiencing a lot of growth as several condo construction projects were in full swing and we had to keep switching back and forth across streets due to the closed sidewalks surrounding the construction. We enjoyed seeing two very brightly colored painted murals and as with all the neighborhoods we have visited, there was a happy mixture of bicyclists and pedestrians.

The last time we were here we noticed many young people with brightly colored green, pink and purple dyed hair. We have seen much less of that this year but what struck us this time is that more of the young ladies are embracing the 50 and 60’s pinup girl look with the bandanas tied as hairbands and their hair tucked in all around it, bright red lipstick and bold eyeliner. High waisted skirts and shorts complete the look. Funny how fashion trends repeat…

Our beers were very good at both breweries but we especially enjoyed the atmosphere at Hopworks Urban Brewery where bicycle frames adorn the bar and 99 bottles of beer are proudly displayed on an opposing wall. Their happy hour extended to beer and food so we couldn’t resist ordering some wonderful handmade pretzels to go along with our beer. These pretzels alone are worth a visit to this place for what is truly a road treat! A fun day indeed…

We have also been hiking a lot in the Columbia River Gorge to make up for our last trip when Sharon was in a cast. We have been seeing lots of amazing and stunning waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge . Two notable hikes we have taken are the Multnomah-Wahkeena Loop hike and the Horsetail Falls Loop Hike with the added extension hike to Triple Falls. Both of these hikes were 5 or more miles each and I will blog about these later in more detail.

Since my recently repaired crown come off my molar again I made an appointment at the Dental School to have it re-glued. On the way I dropped Sharon off in the Pearl District as she wanted a haircut at the Paul Mitchell School on Broadway. After her haircut she had a little walkabout enjoying the hustle and bustle downtown. She couldn’t resist the food carts lining 5th and Stark Streets. (Carts lined up as such are called Pods). At the pod she ordered a very delicious spicy chicken Korean taco. She then enjoyed strolling the green space on Park Avenue pausing to sit on a park bench doing a little people watching before walking along the Riverside Trail then over to the Dental School to meet back up with me. Her timing was perfect as I was just getting finished. Since it was time for Happy Hour we headed off to some new (to us) breweries at Harvester and Burnside Brewery.

Harvester Brewery was the first entirely gluten free brewery in the United States. Since many other folks out there have issues with gluten we thought we should try their beers and see what we thought about them. Now these beers are brewed with chestnuts, lentils, oats and hops which are 100% gluten free. I didn’t care for their hoppy IPA’s but I did actually like their Dark Ale. So if you are gluten free we found a brewery in Portland just for you…

Afterwards we visited Burnside Brewery where the energy is the place was very upbeat. Mostly young professionals filled the establishment and it was very crowded and as we found it was because of their normal Wednesday $3.00 pint night. Lucky us as we were able to squeeze in at the bar and got to drink $3.00 pints of some very tasty beer. As we seated ourselves we met two young attorneys who were there also enjoying $3.00 pint night after work. What a delightful visit we had with the two of them…

Portland has been a blast and we cannot believe how the time is flying by. This Labor Day weekend we leave our park to stay at Portland Fairview RV for four nights then we will return to Columbia River RV for our final week in Portland. So much to see and so little time!

23rd Annual Wild Rabbit Cookoff–Poche Bridge, La.

One thing about staying at Betty’s RV Park is you will find yourself often visiting regional events not widely advertised. One such event we found ourselves looking forward to attending was the 23rd Annual Wild Rabbit Cook Off in Breaux Bridge, La. Wild rabbit cook off! You bet, sounds like fun so let’s go… and off we went a group of about 10 of us from Betty’s.

This annual event apparently developed from of a gathering of friends who wanted to get together to eat a wild rabbit dinner. What it has unexpectedly grown into is a competition of as many as 50 teams competing to see who can cook the best wild rabbit dish. And for those that are not rabbit aficionados they recently added a venison category as well. We learned there is a panel of judges and the prize is a big cooking pot presented to the winning team.

The location for this event was a place near Breaux Bridge, Louisiana known as Sherman’s Camp. There was no charge for parking so our group parked alongside the road and trekked our way over to a somewhat muddy field surrounding a little bar where the event was taking place. There were about 20 or so groups making up some delicious rabbit or venison concoctions. And since this is Louisiana you know that most of this food was going to be excellent and there was likely going to be a lot of it in some sort of roux based sauce.We purchased a beer at the bar and were given big bowls to use for sampling when walking through the competition.

Now a little story comes to mind here… I haven’t eaten rabbit since I was a young child about 8 or 9. My grandfather enjoyed rabbit hunting and always asked me to tag along. He would shoot the rabbits and I would fetch them so he could put them in a burlap sack for later skinning and eating. I didn’t know it then but it was apparent that I was my grandfathers rabbit dog!

Anyhow this cook off was a blast as we had the opportunity to try some stewed rabbit, rabbit spaghetti, rabbit etouffee rabbit quesadilla and even had several dishes of venison such as grilled back strap wrapped in bacon with cream cheese and jalapeno inside… YUMMMMMMMMYYYY! An added treat was getting to know two of the contestants at one of the booths as Sharon and her new friend Roxie hit it off from the get go…

What can I say… some of the friendliest and nicest folks live in the Acadiana region of Louisiana and it is these people as well as their culture that lure us back time and time again to this area…

Cajun Music Capital of the World, Mamou, La…

According to the 2012 census the city of Mamou, Louisiana had 3,208 people and that the population had dropped 10.0% since 2000. So why the heck would anyone come here? Well because Mamou is known as the Cajun Music Capital of the World no matter how many people live there.  We discovered that the place to visit there to understand why it carries this distinguished honor is Fred’s Lounge!

A Taste of Fred’s Lounge…

Upon arriving at Fred’s Lounge it looks like a place most folks would never venture into. In fact, most days of the week you couldn’t enter the place if you wanted too… You see this simple rustic brick beer joint is only open on Saturday mornings! That’s right it isn’t even open any other time of the week! So how does it remain open?

Well, it opens in the wee hours each Saturday morning (before 8:00 am) and by 9:15 a a two-hour radio tradition that has played on KVPI (1050AM) out of Ville Platte for more than 55 years holds center stage at this joint. If you love the sounds of the fiddle and accordion and you love anything Cajun this is the place to be on Saturday morning. The center of the lounge is reserved for the band to play and there is also a microphone for the radio station to broadcast commercials between songs in both English and French!

By the time the band begins playing this place is packed. And… everyone in the place  has ordered up a bloody Mary (also called 'Fred's omelet') or a cold adult beverage.Yep they are drinking by 8:00 a.m. At the same time the dance floor fills with couples dancing the Cajun two step. During one of our spins on the dance floor situated in a u-shape around the band a local guy tickled the neck of the fiddle player and mimed that Sharon did it.  Despite Sharon's protests and pointing at the real offender, the fiddle player laughingly played his fiddle directly to us. The gentleman that instigated the prank laughed with us afterward and even gave us pointers on our dance moves. What a casual, friendly atmosphere!

This hip little spot was founded by a fellow named Alfred "Fred" Tate in 1946. As the 50’s rolled around there was a sense that the Cajun culture was disappearing as some of the younger folks weren’t interested in carrying on the traditions. When Fred first opened his place it was open seven days a week. In 1962 late a regional author and celebrity named Revon Reed started a live radio show in Fred’s Lounge which is still broadcasted today.

As Fred’s health deteriorated he kept the lounge opened to honor his commitment to the radio show. Fred passed away in 1992 and his ex-wife Sue kept the tradition alive. Called Tante Sue (tante is aunt) it is said that she is the spirit of Fred's and even to this day you will see her there on Saturday mornings serving hot boudin out of a cardboard box (for Free!) and occasional posing for a photo while partaking in one of her favorite shots, Hot Damn! She is quite the ambassador of the Cajun culture and hospitality seen so frequently in this part of Louisiana.. Sue no longer owns the place as a couple purchased the lounge in 1996 but Tante Sue was part of the package and so she is still active in the lounge today.

Fred’s Lounge is one of those very unique places that has been written up in many big time newspapers and magazines. It was packed with happy go lucky folks enjoying some great Cajun music and some high energy dancing.  And yes, it closed at noon but everyone went away looking forward to the next Saturday to do it all over again…

Yep, this is the epitome of  "Laissez le bon temps rouler" or let the good times roll!

Mardi Gras in New Orleans, LA…

Having traveled all over the USA the past three years we have been actively whittling away at our bucket list. This trip to New Orleans we will be able to take one more item off the list with our first ever Carnival/Mardi Gras. We are staying at Bayou Segnette State Park in Westwego Louisiana just a short 10-15 minute drive from the Algier’s Point Ferry.
We left for the Ferry early in the morning and parked near the boat dock in a private lot for $20.00 for the day, which is indeed a steep price but they are getting it during Carnival. The once free ferry over to the Aquarium on Canal Street is now $2.00 per person each way. Once we were off the Ferry we walked around revisiting some of our favorite New Orleans spots but eventually staked out our place in the “neutral ground” to watch one of the many Carnival parades.
The one we wanted to see was the Okeanos which was named after the Greek God of rivers, Okeanos. There are so many different parades each with their own history and tradition but this is one that still resembles the older style New Orleans parades. It is a good, old-fashioned, traditional parade that inspired us to join in with the Mardi Gras spirit. I should mention here that each of the parades is affiliated with a Krewe, or a group of people who support and fund much of the parade and the “throws”(stuff like beads, coins, toys, etc.) thrown by costumed characters riding on each float. Okeanos was founded in 1950 and with more than 250 male and female riders, it is known for its elaborately costumed captain and king.
The parade had hardly gotten started when a New Orleans Police Officer walked over to Sharon and put a large set of beads over her head. That did it… Sharon was hooked on getting more throws or as we later found out she was now a “Bead Whore”! There were other parades following Okeanos but we opted to instead walk about and look for one of our friends who comes to Mardi Gras nearly every year. He is part of the KOE or Krewe of Elvis which is the only Krewe formed by people who connected virtually on-line. Going by the nickname Loopwhole we found him where he said he would be at the Bead Whore party.
Others like our friends that come year after year know all the ins and outs about which events are more fun or unique than others. As a result Krewe Parties such as the Bead Whore Party are something the average tourist might miss. What a hoot it was to see our old friend and even more fun was meeting many of his fellow Krewe members  I even got “glittered” by the Glitter Girls!!! Lots of these people hail from all over the world and meet up here (mostly in costume) for a week of good fun and good camaraderie and maybe a little debauchery…
We left our friend and our new friends for a stroll along Bourbon Street just at dark to take in all that is Mardi Gras… the crowds, the excitement, the drunks, the flashers, the body painted ladies, the costumed revelers, and of course the “BUB” as it is called. That is the liquid that flows along the gutters. The locals call it BUB as it is likely composed of Booze, Urine and Barf. Fortunately early in the evening there isn’t any BUB and we planned to not be on Bourbon Street once it started flowing..... YUCK!!! Professional Mardi Gras visitors will bring an old pair of tennis shoes to wear and then throw them away at the end of Fat Tuesday!
After our stroll down Bourbon Street we meandered over to watch one of the Super Krewe Parades called Bacchus. Actor Hugh Laurie of “House” TV fame was crowned Bacchus XLIV and led this parade on the first float. Their theme this year was “Bacchus Salutes the Seven Seas.” Hugh Laurie began tossing beads at a more frenzied crowd than we had previously encountered at the earlier parade, maybe alcohol was involved. There are some people that would seemingly kill for some of these glitzy “Chinese Made” products…
Bacchus is one of a few of the super krewes with over a 1,000 members and their parade of 31 animated super-floats makes it one most spectacular krewes in Carnival history. Bacchus is of course the Greek god of wine and this parade has had many celebrities in the past including Raymond Burr, Bob Hope, Dom DeLuise, Charlton Heston, William Shatner, Kirk Douglas, and even Dick Clark. 
We left after about 2/3’s of the parade had finished and made our way back to the Canal Street Ferry which took us back across the river. We got into our car and drove back to the state park maybe with a few too many beads and throws… Nonetheless we were able to scratch another item off the old bucket list and Yes!!! we had a total blast!!!