DAY 107- The Old, New & Vampires…

I woke up to the sound of water all round me.  It was pouring rain outside, the person in the next room was using in the shower, and I could hear the fountain in the hotel’s atrium.  Is it any wonder that I rushed to the bathroom the first thing in the morning?  I asked the hotel clerk for directions to the Louisiana State Capital that’s located in Baton Rouge.  I teased her that she wouldn’t have to give me directions to come back.  She could send me off never to return.  I think she wondered if she should be laughing or not.

Photo- The outside of the tallest State Capital Building.

I found my way with her directions to the State Capital but to tell you the truth it was hard not to miss the building because it was one of the tallest in the area.  At 450 ft. tall and 34 floors it is the tallest State Capital in the US.  It also has quite a history.  It was finished in March 1932 and it took quite a powerful legislator to get it built during the height of the Great Depression.  That same powerful governor was also assassinated in the building a few years later. Huey P. Long is buried on the grounds and his statue looks towards the building.  Louisiana has quite the interesting political history; as I found out later on when I went to see the Old State Capital.

Photo- Inside the Senate Chambers of the Louisiana Capital.

But first I explored the New Louisiana State Capital.  I went through the areas on the 1^st floor and explored what was open.  The building is currently undergoing some major renovations and quite a bit of it was closed because of the work being done.  I then rode the elevator up to the 24^th floor with 5 construction guys up the elevator which I had to laugh I was the only one to hit a floor button.  They were just along for the ride and one of them complimented me on my purse.  It made me wonder if the construction work was a “bit” behind. 

Photo- The foggy and rainy view I had from the 27th floor.

When I got up to the 24^th floor I walked across the landing area and got on a smaller elevator that took me to the 27^th floor where there’s a gift shop and an observation deck.  It was still rainy out but I went out onto the deck anyway.  I had to see the view and I imagine on a clear day it would have been beautiful.  But even with clouds and rain, it was a pretty view.  The security guard looked at me strange that I had actually gone out in that weather but it was in the mid-70’s and rainy.  I thought it was rather refreshing.

Photo- Louisiana's Old State Capital-- A Castle!

Next, I walked in the rain 6 blocks to the Old State Capital.  I never saw a picture of Old Capital and I had expected a domed creation of some sort but I ended up standing in front of a castle.  I walked in and wow!  There were black and white checked floors, beautiful wood, and stained glass.  I talked with the gals at the information desk and found about the ghost movie.  I went into the gift shop to pay for that and then met her and a married couple that also paid for the movie.  It was a fun, cool experience and I don’t want to give anything more away but it’s very worth the $3.  It did cover some of the amazing interesting history of the old building and how it was able to make a comeback twice in its long history. 

Photo- The view as you go in the door at the Old Capital.

After the movie, I explored around the beautiful old Capital building.  The first floor had a history of how Louisiana came to be a state.  It was very interesting because there was even a bust of Napoleon Bonaparte.  In another area on the first floor, there’s an area dedicated to the famous Huey P. Long former governor and state senator.  It was an interesting way of talking about the man.  There was a section that was pro- Huey and another section that was anti- Huey.   I had never seen such a history of an historical figure before.  Most times you get the good and that’s all.  But this showed him from both sides and then showed the assignation from two different theories too. 

Photo- WOW! The amazing stained glass area just above the second floor!

On the second floor up the spiral staircase, there are pictures along the walls of the former governors.  Above those is the arched stain glass area which is just amazing to behold.  Also, on the second floor were two large room areas that looked like they were ready for Christmas events.  There was another room where there were bridal photos that were taken within the Old Capital building.  That would be amazing to have a wedding in such a venue. 

I walked back to my car in the rain.  Yes, it was still raining and it was supposed to be over by noon according to the local weatherman.  But I guess that Mother Nature had other plans.  I got onto the interstate and headed east to New Orleans.  The first 20 miles was solid traffic as it went through a construction zone but as I came to the town of Iowa, LA the roads cleared up some.  Yes, there’s an Iowa in the state of Louisiana.  I just had to stop and check it out being that I grew up in Iowa.  There wasn’t much but it made for a good stop for gas and a break from the traffic.

Next, it was on to New Orleans, LA and I reserved a place down in the French Quarter to stay for a couple of nights.  When I got to New Orleans, I stopped at the Visitor’s Center just outside of the French Quarter.  I talked with a woman with a very heavy Cajun-French accent and she gave me directions to my hotel.  I found my little hotel about 6 blocks away on Burgundy Street.  I got checked in and while I was checking in I also got signed up for the Vampire Tour that night and a Cemetery Tour the next morning.  I then asked where a good place to eat for the night.  I was directed to Deanie’s and was told to tell them that John, the front desk clerk’s name, had sent me.  All of New Orleans’s tourist business seems to be based on a referral system.

Photo- Deanie's where I had dinner my first night in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

I found Deanie’s, which the hotel clerk had pronounced Deedee’s, and had a wonderful small seafood pizza and a large version of a Long Island Ice tea.  It was while I was having my dinner that three Louisiana State Police walk in and check out the establishment’s liquor lisc.  It was interesting seeing them in their blue polo shirts and tan pants with guns strapped at their waist.  All this to verify a liquor lisc?  It seemed a bit much but the manager showed up and things proceeded smoothly.

I walked back to my hotel.  I still had time to blow before the Vampire Tour and thought I might check out a local bar.  John, at the desk, referred me to a place just down the street about 3 blocks.  He said that it would mainly be locals and no real tourists because it was on the edge of the French Quarter.  I walked in and was greeted by a local’s dog that was still in the friendly puppy stage.  I sat down and ended up started a conversation with a couple of friends that have lived in the area for a while(Andrew and Stephanie).  I got the inside scoop on the beignets and learned that the bars never really closed down here.  The locals take their time with the drinking.  I also learned that you can carry out of the bar as long as it is in plastic.

Photo- Part of the French Quarter at night.

Shortly after that I was carrying what was left of my beer over to the start of the Vampire Tour.  There was a good group of about 15 people; all tourists on the tour.  We were told about the history of the area and the possibilities of vampires by some of the things that happened in the past in the area as we walked along in the French Quarter.  Our guide stopped and pointed out buildings that were in a movie or had some kind of questionable vampire history.  I think it was exaggerated but it was all in good fun.   

We stopped towards the middle of the tour for a quick drink and bathroom drink at a local bar on the tour route.  I’m sure that the tour guide got a kick back for this.  And again at the end of the tour it was ended at another bar.  Be sure to have plenty of cash on hand when you are in New Orleans because some of the bars only take cash but there’s always an ATM nearby with an extra fee to be paid.

DAY 36- Ave of Giants to Fort Bragg...

I started off the day exploring the Old Town Historic section of Eureka.  They had a Farmer’s Market going on.  It happens every Tuesday from 10AM to 1PM from June to October. I walked around and admired some of the buildings.  There seemed to be a fair amount of repairs being done on them.  I asked a man along the street if they were preparing for a special event or something.  He said no but that they have been doing a great deal of updating on quite a few of the buildings to make them more earthquake proof.  But that there were some that they were unable to repair and that those buildings displayed disclaimer tags in the window.  So if you were in one of them and an earthquake occurred you might be in trouble because the building could collapse.  Well, that’s good to know! 

Photo- Eureka's Tuesday Farmer's Market in Old Historic Town.

Photo- Some wonderful buildings in Old Historic Town in Eureka. 

Photo- Repairs and paint being carefully applied by local tradesman in Eureka.

I also walked down by the dock area just off of the Old Town Historic section.  There was a great deal of activity going on with the birds.  There was a huge group of ducks, gulls, and pelicans diving into the water.  It was like a feeding frenzy.  It was kind of strange.  There was no one around to ask but I did also see some people kayaking around the marina area.

Photo- The Aves of the Giants.

Photo- Inside the Eternal Treehouse.

Next on the list for the day was the Avenue of the Giants.  It’s an older section of Hwy 101 that runs through more of the Redwood forests.  It’s a very scenic section of road.  I stopped and took a couple of short hikes just off the side of the road.  It was very beautiful.  Then, I stopped at the Eternal Treehouse.  It’s a tree house that’s in the bottom area of large Redwood tree.  Then, I drove by a BIG Foot one stop shop that had all kinds of things on sale… too many to list here.  And later, I got to drive through a tree with my car.  Now, how cool is that!?!

Photo- Waiting my turn to drive through the tree.

It was as I was leaving, Chandler’s Drive Through Tree that I asked the gal how much further it was to Fort Bragg.  She said that it was about an hour and a half.  That should have been my first clue.  She didn’t give me the mileage but the time it took.  I got about 2 miles up the road and discovered why the 38 miles to Fort Bragg took you about an hour and a half. There was a sign that said no services for the next 28 miles.  That should have been my second clue!  You could me call me—TOT-AL-LY Clueless!  Let me sum it up this way…. It was an obstacle course in curves. 

The curves went anywhere from 15mph with an arrow on up to 30mph with a curved arrow.  The road climbed and climbed and climbed.  Then, it went down for a while.  But then, it climbed up.  Through the trees I could see mountains of forest land and there were areas where there were huge drops off to the side but I could never get a clear look because the forest was thick.  Then, the road curved more and more while going down.  I saw one cyclist that was pulled off in this section and I imagine that he was resting his hands from riding the breaks.  And I will say too that the road really had no shoulder.  All of it reminded me a bit of the Alpine Loop near Sundance in Utah; only there were no quaking Aspens and you were not going above a tree line.

Finally, I got to Fort Bragg and checked in at a cute bed and breakfast called Atrium Garden Inn.  I was showed my adorable room called the Buttercup which was a lovely mix of creamy yellows and prints.  It had a cute little private bath off to the side of it.  I changed really quickly and I was off to find someplace for dinner.

Photo- The adorable Bed and Breakfast I stayed at.

I found a local pizza place called Piaci’s where the locals go.  It was about a 5 block walk from the bed and breakfast.  I will warn you that it’s standing room only some nights.  I got there on a slower Tuesday night and there were 5 stools that are open.  I took one at a four top table where a couple was already seating.  This is not a place to wait for a hostess to sit you.  I watched one older non-local couple who stood by the door while locals went around them and just sat at available stools.  I ordered an 8” pizza called Nonni’s (wonderful pizza!) and a Heffie. 

As I was eating the couple that was sitting at my table left and three others with a little 2 yr. old girl sat at the table with me.  I met Louise a retired English teacher who had a younger married couple from Dublin, Ireland visiting with her.  It was really nice talking with her and getting to know about the local area and where to go.  She directed me to a local coffee place called Headings that had live Jazz music for the night that was about 2 blocks walking distance. 

Photo- This is a common thing to see in Fort Bragg. 
Their most common closed days are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

Headings was another locals place and I was surprised for a coffee like shop, they also served local beers in bottles.  You could ask for a glass for your beer if you wanted.  The Jazz music for the night consisted of a trio with a sax player, a drummer, and a cellist.  Later on in the evening they had another local that played piano that joined it.  It was a lovely way to finish the evening.  I walked back to my bed and breakfast.     

DAY 17- Mount Rainier...

I stayed the night at a Motel 6 in Centralia, WA.  The clerk at the motel asked for ID and it felt like 10 minutes of computer stuff she did while looking at my ID.  What do you need a federal background check to stay at a Motel 6 now?  It almost seemed like an afterthought when she asked for my credit card to pay for the room. 

For breakfast the next morning, I went to a place called Country Cousins.  It was a fun rustic family restaurant.  The servers wore black t-shirts that featured a version of Grant Wood’s American Gothic where the man is wearing a cowboy hat and the woman is wearing a pink with white polka dot apron with white gingham edges.  Then under the picture it states: “Let’s get Country Fried.”  The inside of the restaurant is like going into a barn and has old farm tools and “antique” type things hanging and sitting around.  The tables are light wood that have old photos and prints that are decoupage onto the surface.  I had the Hazel’s Omelet and it was a plate full of food for the $10.  What a fun way to start off the day.

I then fueled up real quickly (Thank you Jay & Patty for the Chevron card!) and off I went on I-5 South to Hwy 12.  On Hwy 12 I went through towns named like Ethel, Salkum, Mossyrock, and Morton.  It like those names a mother would give a kid to embarrass them for the rest of their life.  Mossyrock seemed to the most scenic of them as I went by at 55mph.  At Morton, I drove north on Hwy 7 to town of Elbe (another wonderful name) where I took a right to go towards the Mount Rainier National Park.

Photo- My first view of Mt. Rainier while I'm still aways away.

I stopped at a gas/grocery station in Ashford, the last town before the Park, to pick up a cold beverage and a little snack before heading in.  It’s there that I got into a quick conversation with a motorcycle guy while in line.  He asked if I was going into the National Park today and I said yes.  He went on to say that Hell’s Angels would be visiting the Park today too.  WHAT?!!?  Go figure the day I’m going to visit a National Park all of Hell’s Angels would be there too.  Well, I did see a great deal of motorcycles but whether they were Hell’s Angels or not I couldn’t say for sure.  But I will say quite a few of them were kind of rough around the edges.

Photo- Of me with Mt. Rainier in the background. 
The guy that took the picture was kneeling that's why I look so tall! :)

Mount Rainier National Park was amazing!  I drive along on a road edged by tall evergreens and the whole time I get little peeks at Mount Rainier through the tops of the trees.  The road winds around quite a bit and there are tons of areas to pull out and stop or look at sites or take a hike.  I got out at the first area and took a couple of pictures of Mount Rainier but it was still a ways off.  Back in the car, I went and continued driving up.  I felt like I was getting into the “nose bleed” section of the surrounding mountains when a large over look came up.  Wow!  I had a guy nearby that took a photo of me in front of the mountain, and I took several other pictures too.  The overlook where I stood has a sheer cliff drop that goes down to very rocky streambed of a river that runs off the mountain.  It had to be at least a few hundred feet down.  Needless to say, I didn’t want to get too close to that edge.

Photo- Bridge over stream with waterfalls.  So pretty!

Photo- Another name for restroom at the National Parks?
Comfort?  Where's the jacuzzi or how about a pedicure?
Comfort? A Men's and a Women's with three stalls each.  Hmmm?

Next, I continued up the road for as far as I was able.  The Steven’s Canyon Road was closed for road construction.  They started that the day after Labor Day.  I got up to a picnic area and there was a wonderful bridge with stream that waterfall a couple of times down.  Unfortunately, the Nierda Falls trail that I would have loved to have seen these waterfalls from the other side was closed too because of the above construction.  Darn!  I went back to Longmeir and walked around the a bit; saw the gift shop, restaurant, and an old fueling like station that had historical info.  I guess that President Taft’s car was the first car over the Paradise Road Pass in 1912 and for part of it the car was pulled by mules.  Now, that would have been something to see.

After I left the park there was still quite a bit of day time hours.  The night before I had visited the website for a RV/Camping place that looked rather nice; so after a little back tracking I went back past the town of Mossyrock and turned off to Paradise RV Resort.  Let me state for the record--Don’t always believe in a place named Paradise and don’t always believe what you read on the internet. 

Photo- The ONLY view at the Paradise RV Resort before you went in.

The only view that the RV Park had was just prior to you going into the RV Park, and I felt a bit like I was in the movie Deliverance.  Most of the men had wife beater tank tops, wore either farm caps or cowboy hats, and a few of them were toothless too.  There were some old married couples where the guys looked like they have served in the military.  At least that what I saw as I set up my tent in the tents only section.  I was the only tent in that section for the night.

I set up my tent real quick and then decided I would catch a bike ride; after all it was only 5pm.  So off I go, up out of the valley with no view and down to towards the pretty little Mayfield Lake.  Now this was nice.  The road I took was lined with little farms, cottonwood trees and evergreen trees.  Down I went to the lake and crossed over the bridge and then took a quick loop through a cute little state park; which I could’ve camped in.  Live and learn! 

I took a quick shower when I got back to “Paradise” which the facilities were relatively clean and well kept up I have to say.  I then proceeded into town of Mossyrock to grab a bite to eat because “Paradise” didn’t allow any open flame.  I soon discovered that most of the restaurant places close in Mossyrock about 7 or 8pm. In fact, quite a few of the businesses close down by 6pm on a week night.  Not much of a nightlifr type of town here.

I ended up going to Tavern that also served food.  I ended up ordering the DAM Bacon cheeseburger; which is how it is on the menu and toots itself as the best in the entire county.  I will say that it was a good pretty good burger and very large too.  I ended up ordering a Bacardi Silver with it and the gal wasn’t sure what that was but I pointed to it on the menu.  " Oh," she said," mostly everyone orders bottles or cans of beer here."  Well, I said it’s probably obvious I’m not from here; and thus, I ended up talking on and off during my meal and a couple of drinks afterwards. 

I also met some more locals that sat down near me; Jerry, a contractor, and his brother Steve. They seemed like some nice local guys and it was fun talking with them.  I ended up talking with Jerry and explaining what I was doing.  Then talking about what I had seen in the state of Washington. What was funny is that he didn’t know about or where half the things were that I had seen.  He said that I probably knew his state better than what he did. 

I’m not surprised though.  It seems like quite often people get in a rut of doing the same thing or don’t explore their local areas that much because when its vacation time all they want to do is get away.  And away, most often is outside of their state or a hot tourist attraction that you fly to.  It’s sad because I’ve spent a little over a week and a half in Washington State and feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface of seeing all that is here.