It’s not
often you get to meet new family members as an adult, other than youngsters. I
had the good fortune to meet two half-brothers and a half-sister while in New
Orleans. It’s a long story, but I was able to connect with Frank, Donna and
Donald. We (and Frank’s Lovely Wife Julie and My Lovely Bride Suzanne) had
lunch together at Drago’s (yes, more oysters) and I learned more about my
father. He had been a Golden Gloves boxer, joined the Navy in WWII and served
on the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga. His mother was a Guidry from St.
Martinsville, Louisiana, so it turns out that I have Cajun blood that I never
knew about. The stories kept coming, and I felt a real connection to my new
siblings. They are very successful business people, and run two marine
management and transportation companies in Houston and New Orleans. Each of
them has four children. Donna had even flown in from Houston, and they
made us feel really honored and part of the family. Donna and Suzanne also got to
talk about spiritual subjects. It was a very special day. 
Before
leaving New Orleans, we took the puppies to Lafreniere Park in Metairie to look
for squirrels. They treed a few, but it was very hot, and we had to walk from
shady oak to shady oak, staying out of the brutally hot sun. This sign caught
Suzanne’s eye… there aren’t many places in the country where “boiling seafood”
is even considered, much less prohibited. (The salt and spices would presumably
draw nasty bugs and other critters.) 
One last
stop, though, before we left… back to Morning Call for beignets and café au
lait! Part of the fun is shaking powdered sugar all over your beignets, the table and your table-mates!
Outside, another unique sign on the side of an industrial-sized dumpster…
Only in New Orleans would they have pink dumpsters.
On Saturday
morning, we packed up our coaches and headed for Gulfport, Mississippi, where
we had lunch with our good friends Joyce and Sharon from The Villages. They
were working on Sharon’s aunt’s house in very quiet and quaint Gulfport, which
had been hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. It was great seeing them and knowing
that they too would be back in The Villages next week. I need Joyce’s photography
expertise (she taught the subject) to improve my skills. Digital cameras are
wonderful, but they are a lot more complex than my old Brownie…
On to Pensacola
and our home state of Florida! We arrived at the Naval Air Station’s Oak Grove
Campground to find two very hateful campsites within 50 yards of the beach. We
use the term “hateful” to jokingly describe really beautiful places; this one
is tucked away in an oak grove (gee, that was a surprise) mixed with pines. Of
even greater import, the oaks were filled with…. SQUIRRELS! We stopped counting
after the seventh little furry rodent, and Rudy and Gretchen were soon
exhausted from chasing the critters up oak trees. We took a nice walk on the
beach, which is typical of this area, very fine white sand, like sugar.
Fort
Barrancas, a Civil War brick fort, lies just offshore on a barrier island, and
the historic Pensacola lighthouse is just 100 yards away from our campground.
The large orange “day mark” is part of a visual range that helps mariners steer
their ships into Pensacola Bay; the channel buoys are a few hundred yards off
the beach. 
On Sunday,
Suzanne gave the message at Unity of Pensacola, followed by her Making the Connection talk. Two women
even drove all the way from New Orleans, a four hour trip, to attend. As
always, Suzanne’s presentation was very well received. 
After the
Unity events, we were able to sightsee a bit in the historic section of
downtown Pensacola. We ate grouper and shrimp dinners at the annual seafood
festival, and admired the lovely restored 19th Century homes that
are so typical of the Gulf Coast. This would be a delightful place to live (at
least during the cooler months).
We are now
only 30 hours or so from arriving home in The Villages. We will stop for the
night at Suwanee River State Park, and roll back onto Little River Path on
Tuesday afternoon, assuming that our neighbors Bob and Jan have moved their
coach from in front of their house back into storage. We gave them a day’s head
start because if we arrived together, we would completely block the street!
It’s been a long, fun summer, but we will be very happy to get back home…
Must have been a very special day. Pura Vida!
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