Making Friends

Last night, a long-time friend asked my wife whether or not I would make any new friends on this trip south.  My wife laughed at that and told her that maybe I would talk to some people on the road, but it wasn’t likely I would make new friends. Of course, my wife is right. 

Most people who are out here full-time or even part-time don’t really seem to be out here to make friends.  They might talk a bit about things in common, but then we al move along in whatever direction we are headed.  I met a nice guy named Charlie who has been on the road for a few years.  Originally from Minnesota, he’s headed back take care of doctors’ visits and business.  He is a retired long-distance trucker who lives in a Kia Soul.

I met another unexpected friend on the beach early in the morning while walking Callie. This friend didn’t have much to say so I turned around and headed the other direction.

He/she was about 3-4 feet long.  I asked a fisherman whether gators are rare on the beach.  He said, “Yeah, I never see them here.  Except for the last two weeks, they’ve been showing up, including a dead eight-footer.

This little fellow was alive and had moved off the beach when I walked through a couple of hours later.

You never know what you’re going to see on the beach.

I think I discovered the world’s largest piece of sushi.  It was about two feet long.

I’ve been spending my days taking long walks on the edge of the waves, reading my Kindle, and generally relaxing.  For supper, I had boudin, a Cajun specialty featuring seasoned rice and pork in a sausage casing.  It tasted better than it looked. Ideally, one would heat boudin up in the oven, but the Brew Hut doesn’t feature an oven, so I steamed them in my cast iron skillet.

Louisiana Gulf

Today,  I had a bit more excitement during the travel day that I would have liked.  The drive to the gulf from Indian Creek was only about two hours.  About half-way there,google maps sent me down a road that was not a major highway (short cut).  Unfortunately, there was high water on the road, and a waiting deputy sheriff advised that I go back. 

Now, if I was in a car, that would be no problem to turn around.However, there was water on both high water on both sides of the road, and turning around the Scamp just wasn’t possible.  I needed to back up about a mile to get to a spot to turn around.  Fortunately, there was no traffic or people to laugh at my long distance backing.

Even on the major highways, there was high water on both sides, but the road itself was dry.

We made a big circle around the flooded roads and eventually made it to the free beach. The weather was cloudy, but it was comfortable for beach walking.  The second adventure came when I decided to let Callie off-leash.  She has always stayed close to me at home, but we aren’t home.  Callie decided that it would be fun to play keep-away from me and would jump away every time I got close enough to try to put the leash back on her.

Eventually, and fortunately, she had to stop for number two, and I swooped in and attached the leash.  Callie let me know that she didn’t think that was fair, but at that point, all was fair.  We had a nice afternoon of sitting outside the Scamp. I read a book and drank a Lagunitas IPA, while Callie captured flies in the air and ate them.

It’s raining again, which projects to be a frequent occurrence over the next week.  No matter, I can hear the waves and see the gulf out my back window.  We’re going to hang here for a few days unless something changes.