All in Travel
In the heart of Acadiana, just about 35 minutes from the Louisiana city of Lafayette, sits a retreat where you can catch, cook, and sleep like a true Cajun. Welcome to Crawfish Haven/ Mrs. Rose’s Bed and Breakfast where owner & proprietor Barry Toups finds joy in introducing guests from around the world to authentic Cajun living.
Ken and Cindy waved at us from the far end of a long driveway. We opened the gate and drove through, into pastures with goats and grazing horses. The driveway led us to our friends, and we jumped out of the van into laughter and embraces. It had been a long time, and we loved seeing them again!
We rolled westward along Louisiana Route 82. Low overcast, driven northward by a wind that carried a fresh odor of the Gulf of Mexico, scudded overhead. The fisherman in me was going crazy- I hadn't touched a rod since I packed them into the car before we left Florida, and the miles of salt marsh we passed provided a lifetime of shallow-water fishing opportunities.
The Gulf was on one side, beautiful oak trees and the Waffle houses were on the other side, and the miles passed by most pleasantly. We came to a sign welcoming us to Louisiana, and the vibe changed immediately. Salt marshes extended off to the south. The fisherman in me started drooling, something that wouldn't stop until we left the state.
The westernmost portion of Gulf Islands National Seashore lies in the city limits of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The National Park Service runs a campground at this location, and Susan and I found ourselves surrounded by RVs after we pulled the Sienna into our site.
Florida can boast of a river that behaves in a most unusual fashion. The Santa Fe River starts at Santa Fe Lake, flows towards the Gulf of Mexico for a while, and then disappears into a large sinkhole at a place called River Sink. Suddenly it's gone!
When my high school friends and I were high from beer, pot, or both, one of the topics of conversation was, "If you only had a year left to live, what would you do?" When you're 17 or 18, that topic seems very remote. In May 2019 (long past 18 years old) I was diagnosed with an incurable lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis. Didn't like hearing this, but didn't expect to live forever, either. Susan (best friend and spouse) and I bought tickets to fly to Europe. BAM! Pandemic hits! No Europe until who knows when.
What? A week’s fishing in Alaska for $1,000? Impossible… but here’s how. When I was a young man I camped with my grandfather for an entire summer in Alaska, and he taught me to be frugal. Often, he would stop along the highway to pick up a blown innertube or a small plank, prompting my question, “What in the world will you do with that?”
