We left Birmingham, AL, this morning after sleeping in too long, and bypassed Chattanooga in favor of visiting with Aunt Margaret and Uncle Dwain in Knoxville, TN. We picked up a pizza and had a nice lunch with them, then headed to Unicoi, TN, to visit with Aunt Martha and Uncle Mike, and to pick up Daddy's car. Then we went to the Tri-Cities airport in Blountville, TN, to drop off the rental car -- with 15 minutes to spare! The trip odometer read exactly 4600 miles. After loading up our car, we ate dinner at McDonald's then went straight home where we met Grammy and Papa, as well as Pippen, Bear, and Nuvie! Tomorrow Mama Jane and Papa John are coming to visit us, and we're all going to have a fun celebration party for our successful road trip to the Western Music Association Showcase and Awards Show. Bye for now, and thank you for reading our blog!
With love,
Arwen and Lorien Cockman
The Butterpats
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Day Thirteen: Lafayette, LA, to Birmingham, AL: 510 miles
After leaving Lafayette, we crossed the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge. There we saw the U.S.S. Kidd at permanent harbor, and visited the Louisiana Memorial Plaza. We were surprised to see the statue of Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune, for whom is named Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
After leaving Baton Rouge, we continued on to New Orleans, where we visited Jackson Square and ate at the Gumbo Shop – the gumbo, a kind of seafood okra soup with rice, was pretty good. We walked around Jackson Square, looked in some shops, listened to some live music, and sampled some fudge and praline candy.
After we left New Orleans, we took the causeway across Lake Ponchartrain. The causeway stretched over 24 miles of open water! That was really neat. It was a long drive to Birmingham, plus a time-change set us back an hour. We are all getting kind of homesick. Tomorrow is the last day of our trip!
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| Butterpats at the Mississippi River |
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| At the Louisiana Memorial Plaza |
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| Butterpats with John Archer Lejeune |
After leaving Baton Rouge, we continued on to New Orleans, where we visited Jackson Square and ate at the Gumbo Shop – the gumbo, a kind of seafood okra soup with rice, was pretty good. We walked around Jackson Square, looked in some shops, listened to some live music, and sampled some fudge and praline candy.
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| Watching a jazz band |
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| Seafood gumbo! |
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| Butterpats at the Gumbo Shop |
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| New Orleans was beautiful |
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| Statue of Andrew Jackson in front of the Saint Louis Cathedral |
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| Inside Saint Louis Cathedral |
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| A juggler entertains the crowd |
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| Original artwork along Jackson Square |
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| Big statue of Joan of Arc in the French Quarter |
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| We make a friend in the market |
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| We find some dessert! |
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| A band plays in the market |
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| Lorien tries on hats |
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| This silver-painted man was very funny |
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| One last band! |
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Day Twelve: San Antonio, TX, to Lafayette, LA: 460 miles
We had breakfast at the hotel in San Antonio this morning, and then we went to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. That was really neat, but we didn’t think it was a good as the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Chippy and Daddy
both really liked the model space shuttle. On the way out we got to see the Gulf
of Mexico! It was very beautiful. Tonight we are staying in Lafayette, LA.
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| Daddy inside the Space Shuttle |
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| five... four... three... |
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| Open the landing gear and out pops a stow-away... |
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| Chippy takes command |
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| working a hard puzzle |
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| We finished all the puzzles and joined the wall of fame! |
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| someone needs a rescue after splashdown |
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| Daddy behind the same lectern that President Kennedy used to announce man's mission to the moon! |
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| Butterpats with the very first Goddard liquid-fueled rocket |
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| real space suits and moon rover! |
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| moon rocks on lab jacks in a contaminate-free container |
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| Arwen touches a moon rock |
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| Butterpats at the Gulf of Mexico |
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| Lorien and Mama visit the gulf for the first time! |
Tomorrow: New Orleans!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Day Eleven: Carlsbad, NM, to San Antonio, TX: 470 miles
This morning we left Carlsbad and headed south to Pecos, Texas. There we visited the West of the Pecos Museum, home of the first rodeo, and also the grave of “gentleman gunslinger” Robert Clay Allison, who died at the age of 47. He said he “never killed a man who didn’t need killing”. Pecos Bill is also said to have lived here, but they aren’t really sure. Pecos is famous for their cantaloupes, and a very nice lady at the museum gave us a pack of cantaloupe-flavored jellybeans.
We then ate lunch at The Oasis, a small Mexican restaurant in downtown San Antonio. It was very good. Lorien, who had gotten tired of eating Mexican, got pancakes – and Chippy really liked the salsa!
We finally got to the Alamo, and it was really nice. They had Davy Crocket’s rifle, Jim Bowie’s knife, William Travis’ ring, and other interesting things.
Then we walked down the River Walk, a beautiful little loop by the San Antonio River. We got ice cream there, and saw a band playing. Then we drove to the hotel where we are staying.
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| The grave of Robert Clay Allison, the gunslinger |
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| The "gentleman gunslinger" |
We then ate lunch at The Oasis, a small Mexican restaurant in downtown San Antonio. It was very good. Lorien, who had gotten tired of eating Mexican, got pancakes – and Chippy really liked the salsa!
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| The Butterpats in front of the Oasis Mexican restaurant |
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| Chippy can't choose what to eat |
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| He finally decided - salsa |
We finally got to the Alamo, and it was really nice. They had Davy Crocket’s rifle, Jim Bowie’s knife, William Travis’ ring, and other interesting things.
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| The Butterpats and the old well at the Alamo |
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| A memorial to Bowie and Bonham |
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| A garden inside the Alamo |
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| the Alamo |
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| The Alamo at night |
Then we walked down the River Walk, a beautiful little loop by the San Antonio River. We got ice cream there, and saw a band playing. Then we drove to the hotel where we are staying.
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| The San Antonio River Walk |
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| Excuse me, but have you seen a chipmunk? He would be wearing a sombrero and carrying a gun... |
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| The Mariachi band |
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| Redwall Abbey (you notice that Arwen came in late for this picture) |
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Day Ten: Carlsbad Caverns: 30 miles
Today was a bit of a rest day before our marathon drive back home. We took a short trip to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. These caverns were carved out by a very agressive sulferic acid which dissolved the rock, creating 117 known caves. The biggest of these is called the "big room," which is the size of six football fields. At its highest point, the ceiling is 350 feet above the floor. This is the third largest chamber in North America. The big room is 750 feet beneath the surface. We walked down to it, but then took the elevator back up. The walk from the entrance to the big room was one mile, then the path around the big room was another mile. After our hike around the big room, we took a ranger-guided tour to the lower cave. We got to climb down ropes and ladders wearing helmets with lights! While in lower cave we turned off all the lights and experienced total darkness for about ten minutes. It is amazing that all these beautiful and colorful caves were formed in total darkness, just waiting for us to come down and turn on the lights!
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| Butterpats at Carlsbad Caverns |
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| Kind of nervous about walking into the natural entrance! |
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| Devil's Spring near the natural entrance |
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| The Whale's Mouth |
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| Standing by the Rock of Ages in the Hall of the Giants |
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| Crystal Springs Dome was one of our favorites |
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| gearing up for our tour of lower cave |
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| Lorien is ready to do some caving! |
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| Climbing down into Carlsbad's magnificent "Lower Cave" |
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| Mark was our tour guide |
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| These looked like angel wings |
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