Legrand Historical House

Goodman – Legrand Historical House Tyler TX

March 22 - We were up at 6:00am and had everything ready to leave by  7: 20am. The trip into Tyler and to   Southern RV Supercenter took some time due to the early morning work traffic. We dropped of the RV at 8:15am for the living-room slide cable replacement which took until noon.


We from a place to fuel up the truck for $4.09/gal. The went for breakfast at The Cracker Barrel. As usual we ate too much.






We had time to put in and a what a better place to visit is the Goodman-LeGrand House and Museum. www.goodmanmuseum.com .  The house dates back to 1859, before the Civil War. And had two owners before Dr. Samuel Goodman moved to Tyler from South Carolina.

12 Piece setting of hand painted Limoges China do by Sally herself.

There were three children who raised and lived there. The eldest daughter, Sally Goodman-LeGrand, was the last of the family to live in this mansion.

When she past away in 1939, she left the house with all the contents to the City of Tyler for a museum and with the request that the upkeep will be done so tourists can learn of the history of it. Sally kept a journal, a good account of the family's life.

Tulip Time in Topeka

Today we went for a walk and happened upon Ted Ensley Gardens, located on the west side of scenic Lake Shawnee.

The gardens span 9 1/2 acres with 60,000 tulips and daffodils in spring, surrounded by rock gardens, a covered bridge, gazebo, pergola, waterfalls, streams and several ponds

TULIP TIME HISTORY
Mr. Jerold Binkley, a member of Topeka Beautification Association, dedicated himself to years of service to the Topeka community. For 22 years, he shared his personal gardens with visitors to Topeka. Since its beginning, all proceeds from Tulip Time have been used for landscaping projects at Lake Shawnee’s Ted Ensley Gardens, Washburn University, Gage Park, the Shunga Trail, Wanamaker Elementary School, the Capper Foundation, and Cedar Crest. It is Mr. Binkley’s desire to create an ongoing and beautiful countywide event with the Tulip Time Festival.

The Ted  Ensley Gardens is located at 3650 SE 37th and West Edge Road in Topeka, KS

Tyler, Texas

March 14th to March 21st
Museums Cotton Belt Rail Line and Rose Garden and Dewberry Plantation Tours. 

On Thursday March 15 I made a picnic lunch and we took off to Tyler to shop at Granary Health Food Store. It was great to shop there, buying the necessary supplements and groceries.

The same day we were tourists touring the Cotton Belt Depot Museum. www.cottonbeltdepotmuseum.com  in the older part of Tyler. The streets were made of red bricks. In April of 1902 construction began on the Cotton Belt Depot, for passenger trains and goods to markets.

Peaches were the main crop to be sent to market, until a blight came through to destroy the trees in early 1900's. In the Depot had segregated waiting rooms until 1960's. The Cotton Belt Museum is in the old baggage section for railroad artifacts, books, pictures, hats, uniforms and model trains collection.

When Randal was researching the museum, he read that there would be 100's of train engines on display. He was surprised to see they were all models!

Later on we took in the Tyler Rose Gardens, famous for the many types of roses.

 Although the rose are not in bloom this time of year we learned more about the importance of the roses in Tyler, Texas.


The property was developed by the City of Tyler for a fairground and park in 1912 and the Rose Garden was constructed in 1938.



The famous Texas Rose Festival www.texasrosefestival.com , has been held in October every year since the end of WWII, with a parade and the Coronation of a Rose Queen. The display of the elegantly designed gowns, all having themes, were on display.

Friday afternoon we took a tour of Dewberry Plantation, www.dewberryplantation.com  just west of Bullard, TX and near Lake Palestine. We arrived without booking a tour so we were able to hook up with a couple who had booked ahead of time. The tour guide lives in the plantation house with his wife. They are the fourth family to own and live there. They purchased the house and five acres  in 2004.

The house was owned by Colonel John Dewberry, (1794-1877)  who came to Texas  in 1835. He had fought in the 1812 War. When he got married he  built the family's dream home in 1852. The area was where the Army of Republic camped in 1839 while they pursued the Cherokee Indians. His cotton plantation covered 30,000 acres. His slaves were well treated and the families never separated or sold.

The main house was named “Myrtle-Vale” because of the Crepe Myrtles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagerstroemia  a fast growing tree that lined the driveway, which are still growing today.

Until next time: "Discover It and Live It".

Tabasco and Cajun Music

Louisiana Avery Island, Tabasco and Cajun Music

Getting an early start on the day of travel is necessary if we we're to arrive in the afternoon. On March 9^th it was before 6:00am and the temperature was 17ºC and a bit windy, when we left Lillian, Alabama to drive to Lafayette, Louisiana.

We were on the road at 8:10 am and to get to the I-10 we had to go east into Florida then west on the I-10. As we drove we noticed that the trees were leafing and appeared greener. A half an hour later we were back in Alabama west bound on I-10. Entering Mobile, AL on the North end of Mobile Bay, we encountered the cities very long bridge and tunnel close to the ship yards. After leaving the city the traffic was heavy along I-10 with many trucks. The road was lined with trees and swampy land.

It did not take long to get through Alabama, as we entered Mississippi at 9:50am. We were very close to the Bay St. Louis, part of the Gulf of Mexico. This part of the Southern US is only a few feet above sea level which was evident by the many swampy areas along the highway. 


We stopped at a rest area near the Mississippi at the Louisiana border at 11:15am for a bathroom break and something to eat. 


We saw one area where the trees were broken off at various places on their trunks, may have been done by a hurricane. 

After that we bypassed New Orleans on I-12 for 86 miles. The temperature had gone up to 26ºC. We stopped at Hammond, LA to fuel up at a trucker stop. The traffic on the street were the truck stop exited was  very heavy (noon and only one person per car) so it took us and the two truckers in front of us 15 minutes to get back onto I-12 towards Baton Rouge.

There we were back on I-10 and the 10 mile Basin Bridge which elevated over all the swamps, bayou and river systems that enter into the Gulf of Mexico. This is named the Henderson Swamp where tourists can tour by boat. When we left the bridge we found our self on a cement I-10 highway, which was very rough causing the truck and the trailer and us to be shaken up.

We arrived at Lafayette, LA at 2:24pm and shortly after were in Scott and the KOA- RV Site. We got a pull-through cement pad and were set up with in 20 minutes.

Randal did an amazing job driving six hours through all the traffic and ruff highways. I am very proud of his quiet ability to get us here safely. I was the driving photographer and when the batteries died, I missed taking pictures at the Mississippi River. 

We had to wear ear-plugs for there was constant noise of the trucks on the I-10. The KOA site is just off the highway and the traffic is heavy. We woke up to rain which lasted all day. It was a good day for baking a batch of buns and a chocolate cake. 

The rain stopped at noon so we went out to see Acadian Village Lafayette, LA. It's an account of the of the arrival of the Acadians who were expelled of the French from Nova Scotia during the 1700s to Louisiana, LA along the Bayou, 1763-1785.

In the evening we walked over to the Information Centre across the road from the KOA to a Cajun Jam Session We were there for 3 hours listening the a volunteer group of enthusiastic musicians, young and old. 
The instruments they played included the Cajun Accordion, fiddle, the Cajun triangle and guitars. (photo). They atmosphere was electrifying as each player put their heart and soul into the music. A couple of young men from England arrived later on to video tape the group. Each were filmed as they played. It will nice to be able to see the final production,  if only we knew where to find it online.

The next day we had went on a tour of Tabasco Company, Avery Island, Louisiana.

We drove south of Lafayette the highway was 2 feet above sea level and Avery Island is 5 feet below sea level. Louisiana is a very low swampy State, with Bayous and rivers almost everywhere.

The Tabasco company was started just after the Civil War by the McIlhenny family and is still run by them. They grow Capsicum pepper plants and send the seeds to Central and South America where climate is suitable for growing and harvesting the peppers. Peppers are sent back to the Plant here for processing. 

There were many tourists from Canada and US that took the tour with us. We were shown a short film, given samples to take with us and to taste. The Tabasco Country Store was kept busy with mad shoppers, us included.

We got our first taste if “Boudin”, a rice and pork mixture with Tabasco sauce, in a gut casing. All along the South Louisiana there were restaurants and stores named “Boudin an' Cracklins” They are obviously one of the main courses here. The “Cracklins” are fried pork skins. Another favourites is beans and rice.

There is a salt mine that is eight miles deep and makes up the Island. The soil on top of this salt is rich for the vegetation and the growing of peppers. It is also used for the processing of the peppers into Tabasco.

 

The Jungle Gardens of Avery Island was the most intriguing. We spent 2 hours walking, taking pictures of awesome trees, several types of bamboo, camellias, azaleas and alligators. The trees most be well over 300 years old and are covered with Spanish Moss. In the bayous had alligators in them and they are great places for mosquito to breed. Plants from all over the world have been planted here to add beauty of the Island.

The Chinese Garden comprises a large 800 year-old Buddha, which was brought here from Peiping. He was placed in Jungle Garden to bring peace to the area.

Bird City is a heron sanctuary is placed on an artificial lake between hills. These white heron were all most extinct at one time are now over 20,000 migrated here to nest and raise their young each spring.

Until next time, Discover it Live it 

Gulf Shores at Lillian, Alabama and Pensacola West, Florida

On March 1^st we left Columbia, GA in the rain with temperatures of 20º C, very comfortable for travelling.

Randal made a Google printout of 4 different possibilities of ways that the GPS might take us to our KOA destination of Lillian, AL. We used #4 and make the lady on the GPS recalculate 3 times before she got it right. We arrived at the KOA Gulf Shores/ Pensacola West/Lost Bay Camp, Lillian, Alabama.  The RV park was quite full however we weren't the only Canadians here. We booked a weeks stay.

What impressed us most were the Azaleas, in full bloom. Great for pictures.

Early the next morning we awoke to a warm foggy morning which gave a good feature to our photos. The dock was a good place to meditate.

We explored the Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola FL. The Park opened in 1978 and derives its name from the bordering body of water along its southern shore, the Big Lagoon. The boat launch provides easy access to the Inter-coastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico. 

The park had natural communities, ranging from tidal salt marshes to pine flatwoods which attract a wide variety of birds, especially during spring and fall migration. Also in the park are camp sites, walking trials, picnic areas, swimming, fishing, boating, canoeing, look-out areas, an amphitheater, and an observation platform from where we could see an incredible view of park, Gulf Islands National Seashore and Perdido Key.

Lorraine had booked an appointment for a hair cut at Westside Beauty Salon. The owner, Susan Thuy Gentile, was the only one in the salon and always kept the door locked. She would unlock it when she saw her customers arrive or knock on the door. She and her husband also sold antiques so the salon was in the same large room as furniture.

It started to rain on our way back to the RV Park and continued to rain the rest of the day. There were tornado warnings with heavy thunder storms around us all evening. It was warm and humid. Rain, rain, rain! We spent the following day in the trailer doing catch-up. Basically it was a wash out!

Next morning the skies were clear, we were up early to watch the sun rise from the beach. It was not a spectacular one but it was nice to see anyway. The temperature was 7º C and stayed cooler all day.

We adventured out to see what there was to see. We pick up information from the Pensacola Welcome Center adjacent to the causeway over to the Gulf Islands. While there we walked along retaining wall and up onto a special bridge designated only for fisherman as it dead ended only a couple of hundred yards parallel to the four lane traffic bridge. There were a few men out, casting their lines or using nets. The grey pelicans were out in full force to catch what they could as well.

We wanted to shop at the Good Sams Camping World that was in the area. Randal was pleased with his purchase of trailer wheel chalks and large trailer jacks to stabilize the trailer. Lorraine got a wheeler that I can use for haling the laundry to the camp laundry mat.

We took in the Gulf Shores Beaches, stopping to walk along the beach on the very white fine sands. The shoreline was lined with tall hotels and private homes on stilts. Most of the homes were up for rent. Some areas along the coast were very quiet, with very little activity, while as we went further west there seemed to be more people mulling about. The beaches had only a few people walking or sitting on them.

On the way home we ate at Oyster House in a place called Fairhope, Alabama. It was a very quaint place and popular with the tourists in the area, mostly seniors like ourselves. The restaurant was situated on an channel of water and we had a good view from our window table. One group of women had the waiter relocate them from the back wall to a window site. It was a nice sunny day with the temperature of 33º C. 

The next day, Tuesday, we drove to Arcadia Mill near Milton, FL. We went to I-10 in West Pensacola and were about to cross over a bridge, when there was a long line up of traffic and a overhead flashing sign saying the road was closed. We were crawling along not knowing what the problem was until we could see smoke near the bridge. There was no traffic coming from the other side so it was obvious there must be a fire. The emergency road vehicles and State Troopers were just arriving, travelling in the ditches to get by the long lines of stopped traffic. 

We were redirected to the Scenic Route along the Escambia Bay to AL-90. The houses along that route were exquisite on large, well groomed, lots and access to a dock on the Bay. With the traffic, we were moving along at a satisfactory speed. We went through Pace, FL and we arrived at Milton at 2:00pm. The 26 mile trip took us an hour and a half.

The Arcadia Mill Archaeological Site, 5709 Mill Pond Lane, Milton, FL was on the edge of a neighbourhood development. The history goes back to early 1800s with the building of a Quarry of ironstone, sawmill for lumber, shingles, staves, buckets, and meal and flour. 

Later By 1853, Arcadia Mill was the largest cotton textile mill factory in Florida. It burned down in 1855. The Lumber Mill was moved to Bagdad on the mouth of Black Water River in 1840, flourished and the textile factory was abandoned.

When we returned we were diverted again from I-10, it took us quite awhile to got through Pace. Once back at the RV we were able to get the news on TV of the highway closer and bush fire in Santa Rosa County.

Another day we walked into a housing area adjacent to the RV Park. The homes were on large lots and the trees were large and old. Some of the places along the Perdido Bay had long docks out into the water. We met a lady who was very gracious to tell us about the area and show us one home that was for sale. 

Built in 1970s was worth $745,000, a 2000sq ft. With a large double garage and on 3 lots. It is owned by a widowed man, who recently had to go to a nursing home. The owner and his wife had been married before and had blended their families. Apparently there are seven lawyers involved with the sell of this house.

Until next time Discover it Live it!