Grand Isle, Louisiana

First of all, we didn't go to Baton Rouge. Instead, we decided at the last minute to go to Lafayette, Louisiana. That's the beauty about this lifestyle. Nothing is really concrete. We go where the urge drives us at the time.

In Lafayette, we found the Acadiana Park Camp Grounds, a city park. So, maybe we were really in Acadiana. It was hard to find. But, give it to Jerry, for he didn't give up. I was ready to head on over to the KOA that we had passed earlier. So glad that we didn't because this city park was a gem.

Can you find us in this park???

Here is a closer look. Yes, we were in a flood area.

But, there was no rain in the forecast.

Again, there were nice walking paths in the woods.

And bridges.

We stayed there for two nights at only $15 a night with 50 amp electricity and water. Then, on Monday, March 4, we drove to Grand Isle, Louisiana. We drove down on Highway 49 which was terrible. In fact, Jerry's muffler came loose, and he lost his special rear license plate on the RV when we crossed a bridge that we should never have been on. But, the good old GPS told us to go that way -- and we did.

So now that we made it, we are hanging  out on an island in the Gulf that is about 54 miles straight south of New Orleans ("as the crow flies").

This was the last of the many bridges we took

to get to Grand Isle, Louisiana.

Coming off of a bridge you can see where

one of the hurricanes that affect this island 

took out part of the road.

(These pictures were taken from the RV.)

Guess you'd say that we passed through lots 

of swamp areas.

Grand Isle is small, about 6 square miles. It's population is about 1,300, but can grow up to 20,000 in the summertime with the tourists. It is the fourth largest fishing area in the world with 280 species of fish. Being in the Gulf, it certainly gets affected by the hurricanes, including Katrina, Rita and Gustav in the past. The island is long (about 7 miles) and only a half mile to a mile wide. It has a Subway, one grocery/appliance store and two gas stations, plus a few other small businesses - no banks.

We are staying at the Island House RV Park.

It is small with only about 20 sites. It's owners

(Michelle and Lenny) are wonderful hosts.

Nearly every house is raised on stilts, 

including mobile homes. (Pat and Bill, 

how about moving here???)

And, every house has its own name. This

one is: "Good-bye Tension. Hello Pension."

Some of the other names that we saw while walking around the island are: "It's Our Dream," "Good Enough," "Worth the Wait," "Past Time," "For the Good Times," "Poverty Point," "Somewhere in Time," "Recovery Room," "Therapy," "Making Memories," "Crab Rehab," and "Dream Come True."

You can go down to the docks and buy the real deal -- fresh Louisiana caught shrimp right off of the boats for $4.70 a pound. 

I used one of my twice a month fish meals for this!

Yesterday (Saturday), the Island had its First Annual 5k run for charity. 101 participants turned out for the race. Jerry, who is a runner (having run the LA Marathon 6 years in a row) and put on a number of races himself over the years couldn't believe the age break-down of the race. There were two categories: age 30 and under, and age 31 to the grave.

Jerry running in the Grand Isle First Annual 5k.

Can you believe that a 70-year old actually

came in third in the latter category? He was

so proud of his current personal best and rightly so.

The beach is a short walk from the RV park.

It goes on and on for 7 miles. We've taken

2-4 miles walks on the beach and look 

forward to many more.

We plan to hang out here for a month or so, until the weather improves in the lower states. The temperature has been in the low 60s with a bit of breeze. Michelle just invited us to an oyster event and dinner tonight on the island. We said that we will go and check it out.

Even though we thought that we would have nothing to do on this little island, there is always something going on. More on that later.

Have a great week ahead, everyone!