Lois and I love California. It will forever be “home”. The San Francisco Bay Area, where the two of us were raised, holds countless special memories! We are proud of where we come from. Diverse geography, scenic wonders, world class cites, amazing culture, bountiful resources — California has it all.

Then there is Colorado, our children’s home. It was at Fort Collins where Lois and I raised our family. Here the Lord blessed us with wonderful experiences with the kids, special family, and forever friends. We love Colorado’s wonderful four season climate. Beautiful autumns mix with Indian summers that eventually give way to cold snowy winters. Spring can be short and seemingly forever to arrive. But once it does, an idyllic summer is not far behind, treating the state with moderate temperatures, low humidity, and well timed afternoon thunderstorms on those extra hot summer days.

Having traveled the country for over a year, two additional states have risen to the top of our list of favorites. One is Louisiana in the spring; Maine in the summer/fall is another.

Fast forward to today… It is 2026, and we’re back on the road. Winter is behind us. Spring has sprung. Hello Louisiana! it is great to be back!

Shreveport

A gorgeous scenic drive from Dallas via east Texas took Lois and I back to Louisiana. Our first destination? Shreveport in the north-west corner of the state. Situated on the 1400 mile long Red River, not far from where it drains into the Mississippi, this city is surrounded by rolling hills covered in forests dominated by tall conifers and deciduous trees. Here and there, snuck into the landscape, are bayous filled with the ubiquitous Bald Cypress tree and all the critters that go with it.

This was our first trip to Shreveport. it was short by design, a place to catch our breath before we ventured to our favorite stops on the south coast. For this reason, Lois and I don’t have photos to share. But no worries. We will explore it next time we’re in the area.

After a couple of days of rest, Lois and I set sail for the south coast, destination Lafayette and Cajun Country.

It’s funny how wrong one’s preconceived ideas can be! In the case of traveling Louisiana top to bottom, I imagined a long day driving crooked roads through endless bayous full of gators, vipers, and mosquitoes as big as my head. To my chagrin, and with some disappointment, this trip was nothing of the sort. At the edge of Shreveport, Lois and I simply jumped onto I-49 and drove a well maintained interstate straight to Lafayette. We sped by beautiful hilly terrain covered by dense forests that eventually gave way to flat farm land fed by the Mississippi River, full of crops of all kinds, especially rice and sugarcane. Oh well. There were plenty of dark bayous to explore just ahead, first in Cajun Country, then soon after in the New Orleans wetlands.

Lafayette

Located in south-central Louisiana, about an hour from the Gulf coast, Lafayette sits smack dab in the center of Acadiana, also known as Cajun Country. Our first visit was spring of last year during which we fell in love with the area and the people who call it home. We’re back, and Lois and I will do so over and over again as long as we continue full-time RV living.

This year, we did a handful of day trips to gorgeous natural areas dotted throughout the countryside. No matter the destination, one expects to see waterways of all kinds — rivers, lakes, wetlands. But what Lois and I enjoy the most is the hunt for a good old fashioned Louisiana bayou full of dense stands of trees and exotic creatures.

Key stops this year included:

Avery Island — home to the Tobasco factory and its beautifully preserved Jungle Gardens. Here we did a self-guided tour of the factory, trolled through the gift shop, and sampled many flavors of tobacco sauce (I didn’t know they made so many). But most of the afternoon, Lois and I explored their natural area by car. As we meandered through Jungle Gardens, we stopped at many points of interest, taking in large groves of giant live oaks draped in Spanish Moss, ponds with juvenile gators and bull frogs, and a large aviary filled with aquatic birds, most notably their Snowy Egrets.
Louisiana State Parks — Lois and I enjoyed not one, but two different nature preserves. One was Palmetto Island State Park, the other Chicot State Park. In both locations, we enjoyed simple nature hikes that took us through their bayou swamps. Especially beautiful were their 100 foot tall stands of Bald Cypress with dense canopies casting dark shadows over the swamps they are rooted in. Yes, one has to be careful at waters edge as you never know when a gator might cruise by. Mosquitos are manageable as long as you come prepared with repellant. But on a more positive note, dozens of species of birds filled the forest with song. It being spring, wild flowers could be seen here and there including wild irises just beginning to bloom.
Rip Van WInkle Gardens and Estate — Originally built by a well known and wealthy East Coast actor in the mid to late 1800’s, its home and surrounding gardens have passed over the years through several owners. Eventually the property was acquired, believe it or not, by its head gardener who had accumulated his own wealth via a large nearby horticultural nursery he established. The gardener/owner, now in his 70’s, still runs and operates the Rip Van Winkle property with his son and daughter-in-law.

Enjoy a few of our favorite snapshots below!

Click Images to Enlarge

Ugly and Expensive

Our original A/C, broken beyond repair, chucked into the repair guy’s trailer.

There is an old adage — sad but true — that “RV’s break.” Eyes wide open, Lois and I certainly understood this as we shopped for Harold-the-RV. Moreover, we did the hard work and researched the best quality motorhome we could afford with the smallest chance of expensive repairs. Beyond that, what more can you do? The rest is outside of ones control. After all, bad problems only happen to the unlucky — right?

Well, as we’ve since learned… 100% of RV owners are unlucky. Bummer! 🙁

All of this is the long way of saying that Lois and I got hosed by a big ugly RV problem in Lafayette. After several months of non-use over the winter, we suddenly discovered that our bedroom A/C unit had died! Not a great thing to happen in the South, especially while on our way to Florida. 🥵

What happened? Somewhere along the way, on a lumpy-bumpy highway, a copper pipe broke inside the A/C unit, allowing its hazardous freon to escape into thin air. I’ll check with my NASA friends, but I suspect somewhere over New Mexico is a new hole in the ozone layer.

So what did we do? Fortunately, the RV park we stayed at provided us an excellent referral for a mobile RV technician. His name is Chris, and he is fantastic. We only had about a week to work with, and Chris was up for the task. He diagnosed the problem, ordered us a new A/C unit, then installed it on-site. Lois and I were spared dealing with expensive RV shops, long waits for service, and a costly move into a hotel. Chris is a true pro, and like so many others in Cajun Country, he was a great person to hang out with. Thank you, Lord, for your gracious timely provision.

Slidell

Fountainebleau State Park on Lake Pontchartrain, LA

Once again, this blog is running away from me! Gotta wrap this up…

Another fan favorite, Slidell, LA near New Orleans will perpetually be near the top of our “come back every year” list. Here are a few highlights:

Lois and I did another swamp boat trip. This year we sprung for the VIP boat. This meant we got to ride in a small boat seating eight, enabling Captain Destin to squeeze his guests deep into the West Pearl River bayou. Just a couple of miles from our RV camp, it was a fantastic tour — 2 hours of bliss. We saw a ton of wildlife in the water, along the shore, and in the Bald Cypress canopy. Like riding in First Class for the first time on an airplane, returning to the Economy swamp boat will never be the same. 😀
A woman named Queenie — This amazing lady deserves a blog page of her own. Proprietor of the Slidell KOA Journey, we’ve enjoyed several long conversations with her this year and last. Queenie’s story begins at age 7 when she came to know in her heart that her future adult life would be one of service to people in need. After 25 years working as a geriatric nurse, then 20 more helping people in hospice, she reached retirement age. But not for Queenie. Being who she is, her life long mission was not complete. A new idea hatched in her and her husband’s minds. Together, they bought a blighted mobile home park ravished by Hurricane Katrina. Full of abandoned units, overgrown with 20 years of vegetation, with a small lake infested with gators and turtles — no doubt snakes everywhere — they began their renovation work. Their goals — redeem the past, economically restore the area, establish a vibrant family friendly area for campers of all ages. And so began Slidell KOA Journey. After serveral years of renovation, it opened 2 years ago. I don’t think she will ever retire. Well done, Queenie! Your personal mission for God, and the love of Jesus you share with countless people, is beautifully expressed in everything you do.
https://koa.com/campgrounds/slidell/
Our first poisonous snake in the wild — Oh yah, I forgot to tell you Lois and I almost tread on a 3 foot Copperhead snake. We were just 2 steps away when it finally caught our eye. Lois managed to get an excellent photo of it before we moved away, and I screamed like a girl (see below).