Houma LA 1998

11 August 1998 - Mom and I left this morning at 7:30 to go get Grandma K and begin driving down to Louisiana. Cassie's 13- to 15-year-old softball team made it to the National Finals in Houma (57 miles south of New Orleans). we drove all day, stopping to eat at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Illinois. We're spending the night in Benton, KY. Grandma's sister and her husband, June and Mickey. Mickey led us on a little sight-seeing trip after dinner. we got to see ships in the Kentucky Dam lock and also the Barkley Dam. We gassed up and headed back for bed.

12 Aug - We left June and Mickey's at 7:30 today. We drove down through Kentucky, Tennessee, a little through Missouri and Arkansas, all the way through Mississippi and finally into Louisiana. It is so hot and humid here. We rant into a few popcorn showers on the way down, but they stopped once we got into Houma. It's about mid-90s here. Whew! The girls were having a pizza party tonight, and I didn't feel like going. Instead, I went swimming in the pool with Jill J, a friend of mine from school, especially band. We watched a little TV before everyone came back. I went to my own room and waited for Mom, Dad and Grandma to get back. They did and we went to bed.

13 Aug - We got up bright and early to see the opening ceremonies this morning. It had to be in the 90s and very humid (I think I heard that the heat index was 100+). Just as everything was winding up, a nasty storm blew in. Once lightning strike was pretty close to where we were. It was over pretty quick and we went back to the hotel. We decided that we should take a trip down to see the coast. We drove towards Grand Isle. It took about 2.5 hours to get there, even though it was maybe 80 miles. We only had a little bit to wade in the Gulf. The water was really warm, and I found two hermit crabs in shells I picked up. We drove back quicker, because we had to be back for Cassie's game. The diamonds that they are playing on are about 10-15 minutes from the Hampton Inn that were' staying at. We found out that we didn't have to hurry, because the games had been delayed after the storms. I got some food, watched the 16-18-year-olds win and played Phase 10 with some friends from Rapids. Cass's game finally started. They played against a team from Nashua, New Hampshire. We were down 0-1 and 1-3, but we had a big 6th inning and held on to win 5-4. It was a really exciting game, and we didn't get back until after 10. Mom and I went to go get food at a Walmart/supermarket/McDonald's. I had a calzone. I have yet to eat real Cajun food down here!

Cara wading in the Gulf

14 Aug - It stormed a bit again this morning, which pushed the games back again. Mom, Grandma and I did a little shopping at the local mall. I got a few postcards to send to friends. We went over to the games and sat around until about 2 when Cassie's game began. It was a really close game, but it was stopped in the second inning, when the other team's coach protested a call. The umpire threw him out for arguing twice. After about 45 minutes, they started playing again. Our girls scored runs and held the other team. Final score: WRYBA (Rapids) 8, Terrebonne 5. After the game, we were going to go somewhere, but Mom decided she should take Cassie to a doctor, because it looked like she had pink eye. Naturally, she did. While Dad and I waited, we played cards with a few other guys and Grandma talked with some women. We did get a chance to go back to the mall with Jill between going back to the hotel and waiting for Cassie to get back from the clinic. We decided we wanted to get a taste of good ol' down home cookin', so we went to Abear's Restaurant, a little place that served homemade Cajun cooking. They had a live bank playing Cajun and country music. There were a lot of people from Rapids there. I got some gumbo and blackberry cobbler, while everyone else got shrimp, chicken or catfish. It had a really quaint atmosphere. I got a little magnet of Abears and Grandma bought alligator earrings, too. We came back to the hotel and got to see the game on the highlight reel of the local sports. I'm going to get to Kiln, Miss. or New Orleans tomorrow if Cassie's team wins!

Cassie at bat

Grandma, Cassie, Cara, Dad at Abear's

15 Aug - It stormed this morning (again!). That pushed the game time back to 2 pm. We had a lot of time to kill, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Jill and I went plantationing. We drove up the Vacherie to go to the Oak Alley Plantation. It was so neat to see all the circa 1840s stuff. We got rained on as we left. I got two postcards at the gift shop.  We came back for Cassie's game. They played Benton, Missouri, and lost 0-8. Because they lost, they had to play again tonight. They played Terrebonne again, and lost 0-11. They finished with 3rd place overall among 8 teams in the 13-15 division. Cass had to get her stuff from her host family, and I tagged along. We came back to the hotel and swam for a bit. I went back up to the room to watch a little TV. Our room keys have been all screwed up, so I had to get that straightened out.

Cara & Dad in the wind at Oak Alley

Dad, Mom, Cara somewhere in LA

16 Aug - We finally got up to New Orleans today. We followed the bus up. I met Dad & Cassie, and we met Mom & Grandma at the Hard Rock Cafe. We just looked around in there, because Dad and Cassie only had an hour. WE walked around the French Quarter and down Bourbon Street. We stopped in a little shop. I got some beads and a necklace. We kept walking until Dad & Cass said they had to go back. Mom, Grandma and I walked through a little park toward the river. We ate lunch at Planet Hollywood, and I got a t-shirt. I wanted to get a Mardi Gras mask, so we stopped in a shop that sold them. I wanted to go to the aquarium, but the line to buy tickets was long and the tickets were expensive. Instead, we went back toward the parking garage they had left the van in. It was attached to a ritzy little shopping complex. We looked at the shops that were there and then decided we should go. We drove across the causeway over Lake Ponchartrain and got as far as Memphis by 10 pm.

Cara, Cassie, Dad, Grandma in New Orleans

17 Aug - We were up and on the road by 6:15 am this morning. It was going to be a long day and we wanted to get home as soon as possible. We ate lunch at 10 am and got back on the road. We drove and drove and drove. I finished another book, the second on the trip. We finally got Grandma home around 7 pm and ourselves around 8. It was a long trip, but definitely worth every (almost) minute.

{transcribed 2/5/2020}