Beignet . . . Done That

One day we went for a ride around town.   Frank and I come from the generation when "taking a ride" was a high form of family entertainment, especially on a Sunday afternoon.  When Dad would say, "Let's take a ride," the kids knew that they would see something interesting, get a chance to play in the back seat, and most likely be rewarded with an ice cream cone or other sweet treat at the end of the trip.

The architecture of New Orleans is fascinating to us.   We love driving through the Irish Channel, the Garden District, the French Quarter, Uptown, Carrollton, Lakeshore Drive, and seeing the unique homes.

 

 

 

 

I'd include photos of every building in the French Quarter if I could, but these few will have to do.

 

  

On our way home that night, we shopped for souvenirs.  Now, we aren't great Saints fans, and we have sworn off buying chotskies and dustables, but we had to bring something home from the Crescent City.

 

 

 

The diet can wait until the souvenirs are consumed.

BTW ... I didn't think of that clever title for this post.
I saw it on a billboard down here, and had to include it in the blog somehow.

The Crescent City, Part 1

We left Houston on Saturday morning, headed for a few days in New Orleans on our way back to Florida.

Our readers may remember that two of Frank's cousins own an auto body shop in New Orleans, and that they have a big back lot where we park the motorhome.  There are full RV hookups back there (thanks to FEMA providing trailers for the brothers to live in post-Katrina).  The price is right, and we love the music and the food in New Orleans.  We try to stop by for a few days when we're passing by on I-10.

On Tchoupatoulis Street

Their shop is always busy

Jefferey working up another repair estimate

Living large in HOLA - with full hookups, wifi and DISH network

It rained off and on for the first two days in New Orleans, and so we didn't venture out very much.  Linda, of course, had to visit The Quarter Stitch in the French Quarter to pick up some souvenir yarn. 

He really runs the store

One night we ate at Snug Harbor, a restaurant just outside the French Quarter.  Good food and good music every night.   Charmaine Neville was performing this night, but we didn't get there in time for the show.

The next night we ate at Joey K's restaurant close by on Magazine Street. 

It's good to have local knowledge of the city, courtesy of Frank's cousins.  We avoid the long lines and high prices of the places geared toward tourists, while experiencing authentic New Orleans.

Houston, Part 2

We quickly established a routine in Houston.  Chanda had to work in the mornings, but then would drop by our motorhome in the early afternoons.  The three of us would do dinner together and then spend the evening either at our motorhome or over at her apartment.

We watched the NBA playoff games.
Chanda gave her mom a haircut.
Frank went swimming in the apartment pool.
Linda checked out the local shopping.

One day we went to see where Chanda works.  She just received her MBA,  and is the head of the Houston office of I Drive Safely.

Chanda's office is on the 19th floor

Visitor lobby

The view from Chanda's office

Chanda, aka the boss of the Houston office of IDS

We were having such a great time that we decided to stay an extra day.  Besides, old Chambliss tradition says that Frank must prepare his special breakfast burritos at least once when either of his children is present.  While we had originally intended to leave Houston on Friday, we stayed until Saturday afternoon.   That way, Chanda would be free to come over to the motorhome for breakfast.

But, too soon, it was time to leave Houston and head toward the last leg of the trip ... New Orleans, and a visit with Frank's cousins.  We will be back to Houston, however.  In fact, we're thinking of a month-long stay perhaps in the late fall.  Stay tuned.

Pooh pulling out of the Allstar RV Park

The days in Houston were all good.

Houston, Part 1

Our first order of business on our first full day in Houston was to get a better spot in the campground.  For our first night, the manager put us in a temporary spot right outside of the office, with no shade, and in the main entrance driveway.

Not acceptable.  Fortunately, we were able scout out a better location with full shade, and so we moved over there right after our second cup of coffee.   We weren't too sure why the better space wasn't offered to us on the first night, but we were sure that the office staff--while friendly, courteous and helpful--were not too competent.

No matter.  This is lovely place to stay, we have stayed here before, and we will make this our go-to spot as long as Chanda is in Houston.

Right down the street, the SW freeway intersects with the Sam Houston

This whole trip was scheduled around Chanda's birthday.  We planned our travels so as to be in Houston on June 19.    We tried to make her day special.  First, Chanda and her dad went to the movies to see Man of Steel.  They have been cinema buddies since she was a little girl.

Father & daughter off to the matinee

In the evening, we went to Red Lobster for a delicious birthday dinner.
Chanda's friends Becca and Gia joined us.

The revelers at Red Lobster

Happy birthday to me . . .

The Houston visit began with a couple of very good days.

On To Houston

Our Mississippi route in yellow highlighter

The Mississippi portion of the trip was finished.  We accomplished what we had set out to do here.

But in those accomplishments we discovered more mysteries and more questions.  We know we'll need to come back to the Magnolia State, but for now it was time to go see our daughter.

Saturday we drove half-way to Houston and spent the night just west of Lafayette, Louisiana, in an RV park where we have stayed before.  


On Sunday morning, we had a leisurely breakfast, and then watched church on both the internet and the TV.   Soon enough we were heading west on I-10 for the 4-hour drive to Houston.

These two have a special bond

We pulled into the RV park in southwest Houston in the late afternoon.  Chanda was waiting for us.  How sweet to see her face as we pulled in. 

We have stayed here twice before, so we negotiated the Houston freeway system, the feeder roads and turnarounds to perfection.  Even though we are seasoned Southern California freeway drivers, the Houston area has a traffic charm all its own.

Later in the evening, Chanda (along with her friend Becca, and Becca's husband Louie) treated us to dinner in celebration of Father's Day, at Lupe Tortilla restaurant.  Excellent Tex Mex food.  Great conversations.





Fue otro buen dia.

Work Day in Jefferson County

Again, we are in Jefferson County, Mississippi, trying to work the issues regarding the "heir property" left by Frank's grandfather.  I won't bore our readers with the legalese, but just understand that as of this writing, there are 23 people with a potential legal interest in the land, most of whom have no idea the property even exists.  But, as you might expect, one of the 23 is a pain to deal with.  Add in the emotionally charged atmosphere surrounding family relationships of older generations, and you have the makings of a real "situation."

Probate files back to 1835

Our first stop was the public records rooms in the Jefferson County Courthouse.   Just for curiousity, we looked through old probate files of Civil War era plantation owners in the area, and copied some deeds. Then we were off to the far northeast reaches of the county . . . down dusty, unpaved roads, to the object of our trip .... the "Chambliss Property" near Tillman.

The two parcels in question ... they don't even have any road access.

 When we arrived at the abandoned mobile home that Frank's parents had placed on the property 35 years ago we were surprised to see that someone had been trying to make improvements, and apparently they are trying to get it livable.  We knew that the mobile had been ransacked decades ago, and when we were here in 2011, the place was wide open and abandoned.

On this trip, we noticed new electrical wiring, new plumbing, bed platforms, and a porch cover over the front door.  

2011 - abandoned, trashed, pitiful

2013 - yard cleaned, new elegant front porch cover, still pitiful

2011 - empty, cupboard doors missing

2013 - new wiring, cupboard doors back, kitchen being installed

We left a note on the front door inquiring about the changes.  So far, no one has contacted us.

We taped our calling card on the note.

On our way back to the motorhome, we stopped in to get more information on a business that caught our eye earlier.  Could this be a relative?

Intriguing business model

The business is owned by Timothy Chambliss, but it appears he is no relation to Frank.  They spent a few minutes comparing genealogies and couldn't come up with one connection. 

Frank Chambliss and Tim Chambliss ... no relation

Our day in Jefferson County had been very productive.  We got information on surveying the property for a new deed, we connected with the attorney who will help us with the quiet title action, we met interesting people, and we saw more of the beautiful Mississippi countryside.

It was a good day.

A Miracle in Indianola

One of our genealogical quests has been to get some information on Frank's grandfather, John Henry Knew.    He has been an enigma, to say the least. 

Frank's mother was born near Indianola and spend her early childhood years there.  We hoped on this trip to get information on her father John Knew's life. In what turned out to be nothing short of a miracle, we were able to discover where he is buried.   We pieced together information from his death certificate and from the funeral home that handled his burial arrangements.  We used old United States Geological Survey maps online, and our current Garmin to find the exact coordinates of the old cemetery.

But, until we actually saw the place, we were only hoping that the information we had gathered was valid.   The road to the cemetery looked to be just a dirt path through a farm field, and we weren't too sure if, indeed, there would be anything there.  Imagine our surprise when, as we pulled into the field, we were greeted by an old guy working there, who confirmed there was an old cemetery in the back.  He was quite surprised that we knew about it, and asked us how we had found it.  We gave him the short version of our research, and then headed through the soybeans.

 
As we drove through the field, Frank and I each remarked that the presence of that old guy was no coincidence.  Realistically, what were the chances that he would be there at just exactly the same moment we were there, and that he was able to provide the final direction for our journey.  We had the sure feeling that God had provided a guide for us at that moment. 

This was a somber experience.  While the cemetery was too overgrown for us to look at any individual graves, we knew we were in the right place.  For Frank, the moment was indescribable.  For Linda, it was the equivalent of finding Sugar Run in Ohio in 2011 (see our earlier blog post).

Everything we did after finding the cemetery was interesting and useful, but anticlimactic.  We stopped by the church where John Knew's funeral was held (although we're pretty sure it's a newer sanctuary building on the site now). 

 We shopped at the renowned Pecan House.

We met a lady with a great purse ... I want one!

We stopped in the records archives of the county courthouse to get some information on other relatives. 

It was a great day today.   God is good!