Weekend Getaway

My sister's son, Hayes, got married in Natchitoches, Louisiana, this past Saturday night.  Natchitoches is about two hours away from us.  Our families got an airbnb lake house for the weekend.  We dried off Callie, the Nubian goat we've been milking so that we could get away.  It took a little 'doing,' but we put out enough food to last the chickens for 2 days and made sure there was plenty of water available for the cows and goats.

Belle, our dog, usually stays in her kennel... for one day.  Then she finds a way to escape by scaling the walls and in Houdini-like fashion, squirms through the tarp that is stretched tightly across the roof.  Prior to the trip, I armed myself with welded wire fencing, wire cutting pliers, and some tie wire and was able to construct an escape-proof barrier.  Now that everyone was good to go, we pulled out of the driveway for the drive up Hwy 165, I-49 and into Natchitoches.  It's the oldest city in Louisiana as it was established in 1714.  This fact surprises many people who thought that New Orleans bears that distinction.  

We got unpacked at the lake house and then met my cousin, Patrick, and his wife Alison down on Front Street.  It faces the Cane River and as we strolled down the street, we were happy to find that there was a meat pie festival going on.  Natchitoches is famous for their meat pies.  We, of course, indulged.  There was also a Corvette show on Front Street with many booths set up selling homemade jellies, pickled vegetables, and woodworking crafts.

It was time to get ready for the wedding festivities, so we got dressed.

(L-R Russ, me, Tricia)

Benjamin was a groomsman, so as we were about to drive to the reception after the wedding, my guys took a photo with their mama!

(L-R Benjamin, Tricia, and Russ)

The wedding reception was held under a big white tent in the middle of a cow pasture amidst rolling hills about 10 miles out in the country.  Catfish, Chicken, Macaroni and cheese, and Green beans were served and we took advantage of the time to visit with family and friends.  My sister, Jenny, bakes cakes as a side-hustle and in addition to being the mother of the groom, she somehow found time to bake the Bride's Wedding Cake AND the Groom's cake.  They were delicious and beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, here's a photo of my Mom and Dad at the reception.  I think it is a great photo of them!

The next morning we woke up early and enjoyed a cup of coffee and the sunrise coming up over Sibley Lake.  It was very peaceful and quiet.

In the stillness, we talked and read our daily reading as we read through the Bible.  We're currently about to finish up with 1 Kings.

It was so still.  The water on the lake was smooth as glass.  We watched an egret as he stood on a stump as the sun rose over the eastern horizon.

At around 11 AM we began our drive home.  As we pulled onto the homestead, we eagerly looked to Belle's kennel and found that...  Belle was in the doghouse still secure!  All is well.  What a nice weekend!  And Best wishes to the Groom (Hayes) and the Bride (Hannah)!

Family Trip to View the Christmas Lights In Natchitoches

Saturday morning Tricia and I and Russ and Benjamin made a two hour and twenty minute drive to north central Louisiana to a town called Natchitoches.  The town is named after an Indian tribe and is where the movie, "Steel Magnolias" was filmed.  Most people think that New Orleans is the oldest city in Louisiana, but it is actually Natchitoches.  It was founded in 1714 and is actually the oldest settlement in all the states that were part of the old Louisiana Purchase.  Each year since 1927, the town of Natchitoches puts on a Christmas Festival with many, many lights, music, fireworks, and fun.  It is a good family atmosphere, and we wanted to attend.

Natchitoches (pronounced Nack-a-tish) is also known for their famous meat pies.  They are little fried pies that you eat with your hands that are filled with spicy meat.

Our first stop was to pick up ten meat pies.  We promptly destroyed those things, leaving nothing but crumbs in the box.  You've just got to be very careful that you don't burn your mouth as they can be very hot!

Most of the activity is centered on Front Street.  It is an old brick street that runs parallel to the Cane River featuring buildings with balconies with wrought iron railings.

My wife on Front Street

Looking down from Front Street, you can see the Cane River.  They had an ice skating rink set up and there was also a music stage where musicians were playing Swamp Pop and festival-goers were dancing.

We walked down to the edge of the River...  Russ and Benjamin had suspicious looks on their faces and I didn't feel comfortable standing that close to the water with those two hooligans.

Russ, Kyle, and Benjamin

So I quickly offered to take a photo of Tricia with her boys...

Up and down Front Street there are numerous shops to walk into and browse.  We saw antique stores, art displays, kitchen stores with samples, cypress-wood furniture makers, restaurants, and clothing stores.  I am not a big shopper - at all.  I must admit that going into the Kaffie-Frederick, Inc. General Mercantile was one of the highlights of the day.  It is Louisiana's oldest general store.

The old store has wooden stairs that creak when you walk on them.  It has an oval cut-out in the second story where you would open a trap door on the roof to allow sunshine in before electric lights were commonplace.  There is also an old elevator with counterbalances in the store that still works.

There were numerous old wooden bins filled with nuts and bolts and washers and most other things that you'd expect to find in a hardware store.  Anything you were looking for could be found in this store!  There was a neat old wooden bin with beautiful marbles for sale.  I like old timey marbles.  Almost bought some.  Much more character in here than in the "big box" hardware stores of modern times.

When you make your purchase, you get checked out on an old cash register that is the size of an SUV.

It was starting to get a little dark outside and you could see some of the lights starting to come on.  The other thing that was on was the "snow machine."  It was blowing soap bubbles all over Front Street.  We went into Papa's Bar and Grill and got a shrimp po-boy and a crawfish dish to eat.

People began packing the streets to get a good spot for the fireworks display at 7 PM.  We lined up against a barricade against the river to watch the spectacle.

The fireworks lasted for a full fifteen minutes accompanied by Christmas music and loud applause and whoops and hollers at the end.

We got in the car and began our trip home after a wonderful family outing.  Benjamin put on his play-list of old country music and we sang out loud for most of the trip home.  What a great day!

Running Cross Country

One positive thing about being unemployed is that you are suddenly able to attend all of your kids' events!  This past Monday I was able to make the trip with Tricia to Natchitoches, Louisiana to watch Benjamin run in the State Cross Country Meet.  Natchitoches is the oldest town in Louisiana and was settled in 1714.  It is 144 miles away or 2 1/2 hours by car.  Tricia and I enjoyed the drive up I-49.  We live in very flat terrain and there are actually hills around Natchitoches.

The State Cross Country Meet is held on the pretty campus of Northwestern Louisiana University.  We watched Benjamin and his Hathaway teammates line up.  They are the team in blue in the center of the photo below.

On your mark, get set...

Go!  Ils Sont Partis!  That's French for "They're Off!"

In no time they were out of sight.  We hurried to the edge of the course so we could cheer them on as they ran by again.

Here they came running by.  Benjamin is in the far left of the photo with black socks and blue shirt.  He was looking tired, but determined as he ran past us.

The race follows a course that (true to its name) goes across the countryside before ending in the track stadium.  Benjamin and his teammates did a pretty good job.

It was nice getting a chance to see Benjamin run and cheer him on, showing him our support.  It was nice to also pick up a special treat on our way out of town that afternoon - Natchitoches Meat Pies!!  (Or perhaps in honor of the Cross Country Meet, you could call them 'Meet' Pies?) Ba dum bum...

Delicious!  We bought a box of 10 (6 spicy and 4 mild) and they were all gone the very next day!