In a few hours my parents, my six year old niece, and I will be at Jellystone Park. At least I won’t have to sleep on the ground like the guy above; we will be staying in my parents rather nice RV. I’ve never been one who liked camping much, especially in a camper with my family, but it’s only for two nights. We will spend the day at Six Flags on Tuesday.

The website describes the park as:

If you like the idea of a family getaway in the great outdoors, consider Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resorts. You’ll find a range of accommodation choices – from rustic to downright luxurious – to help you plan a vacation the whole family will love. And at Jellystone Park, you’ll have access to all the amenities and activities we’re known for.

I’m sure that my niece will love it.

Goodbye Joe, me gotta go, me oh, my oh
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou
My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me oh, my oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie the file’ gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma chere amie-o
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Thibodaux to Fontainebleau, the place is buzzin’
Kinfolk come to see Yvonne by the dozen
Dress in style, and go hog wild, me oh, my oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie the file’ gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma chere amie-o
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie the file’ gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma chere amie-o
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-oh
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the bayou

“Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Hank Williams that was first released in July 1952. Named for a Creole and Cajun dish, jambalaya, it spawned numerous cover versions and has since achieved popularity in a number of music genres. Yesterday, my friend and I went to have lunch at a restaurant in Thibodaux called The Half Shell. I’ve had lunch there many times and my favorite thing to order is the “Hank Williams Special,” which of course is a dish of jambalaya, crawfish pie, and file gumbo. It is always absolutely delicious. I love the little fried crawfish pies which have a creamy crawfish sauce on top.

Williams’ song resembles “Grand Texas”, a Cajun French song, in melody only. “Grand Texas” is a song about a lost love, a woman who left the singer to go with another man to “Big Texas”. However, “Jambalaya”, while maintaining a Cajun theme, is about life, parties and stereotypical food of Cajun cuisine. The protagonist leaves to pole a pirogue – a flat-bottomed boat – down the shallow water of the bayou, to attend a party with his girlfriend Yvonne, and her family. At the feast they have Cajun cuisine, notably Jambalaya, crawfish pie and filé gumbo and drink liquor from fruit jars. Yvonne is his “ma chaz ami-o”, which is Cajun French for “my good girlfriend” (“ma chère amie” in French). Williams uses the term “ma chaz ami” as one word, thus the “my” in front of it. The “o” at the end of “ami” is a poetic/lyrical device making the line match the phrasing of the previous line and rhyme with it.

Williams composed a sequel to the song from the female perspective, “I’m Yvonne (Of the Bayou)”, with Jimmy Rule. It was not as popular. As with “Jambalaya” there is speculation that Williams may have purchased this song from Mullican.

Later researched by a member of Moon Mullican’s family, a story emerged about how the song came about in the first place, and it was said that while visiting a small bar located just south of the Choupique Bayou and owned by Yvonne Little, the song “Jambalaya” referred to some truly wonderful times had there.

Thibodaux, where I am this week, is mentioned in Hank Williams’s “Jambalaya (On The Bayou)”. It is not the only song that mentions the town of Thibodaux. In 1972 Leon Russell had the song “Cajun Love Song” in which Thibodaux is mentioned. Also, in the 1970s Jerry Reed song “Amos Moses,” in the 1990s George Strait song “Adalida,” in Dan Baird’s 1992 song “Dixie Beauxderaunt,” the 1999 Jimmy Buffett song “I will Play for Gumbo,” the 2008 Toby Keith song “Creole Woman,” and its name is the title of a song by jazz songstress Marcia Ball.

Though traffic was hell yesterday, and I made a few stops along the way, I made it to my friend’s house in Thibodaux, Louisiana, just fine. After I got here, we went out to eat at a lovely restarant called Fremin’s. We got a bottle of wine, and I ordered the duck and andouille gumbo as a starter and had the shrimp artichoke pasta for the main course. It was truly delicious.

After dinner, we decided to get some more wine and just relax at the house and watch and old movie. So we watched To Catch A Thief. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with a Cary Grant movie. After the movie, we were both tired and decided to go to bed.

If all goes well, I will begin a seven hour road trip about 10 am this morning. I’m going to visit a dear friend of mine from graduate school. She and her husband live in Thibodaux, Louisiana, and I do love to visit. I just wish it wasn’t so far away. I will be staying about five days, and maybe I will get to go to New Orleans some while I’m down there. The last time I was down was just before the aborted cruise and my aunt’s death back in January.

Truthfully, I could probably make it in less than seven hours, but if I drive a long time, my legs have been known to cramp and I have to get out of the car and walk around some. Also, I will stop on the way down at Lenny’s Sub Shop in Mobile. It’s my favorite sandwich shop, but I will have to decide: do I want the grilled chicken philly or the regular philly cheesesteak? Decisions, decisions….

I will continue to post while I’m gone, so if anything really interesting happens, I’ll let you know.

Today, I have to go get an oil change for my car. Over the next few weeks, I will be making several trips and I need my car in top shape, besides, it’s kind of past time to get my oil changed. This week, I will be heading to visit a friend in Louisiana. We always have fun together and I haven’t been in a while. She’s been having some emotional and health difficulties, and I really need to go visit. I will probably be down there from Wednesday until Sunday.

Then I will have a week at home, before I take my niece to Six Flags. As soon as I get back from Atlanta, I will be heading to Dallas for a few days. Then it will just be one more week until school starts back.

I’d hoped I’d be someplace different for this next school year, but it looks as if I will be back at the same place. I haven’t heard anything from any of the schools I applied to teach at next year.

Just for fun, here is another pic of the guy above working on a car.

I think I’d trust him to work on my car, especially if I could just sit and watch. My tires do need to be checked too.

Sometime next month, I will be taking a trip to Dallas with some family, my aunt and two cousins. Three of us are adults and one cousin is sixteen, but she’s one of the most mature sixteen year olds I know. My cousins parents by ever take her anywhere, and she’s my aunt’s former foster daughter, so my aunt and I do our best to take her places. Last year we took a trip to Huntsville and Nashville. This year it looks like it will be Dallas. Honestly, other than the Dallas-Forth Worth Airport, I know little about Dallas. That’s where I am hoping my readers can be of some help.

We will have three days in Dallas, and I want to see as much of the city as I can. The question is: what are the must sees? I know we will go to Dealey Plaza to the Sixth Floor Museum in the Texas School Book Depository. What trip to Dallas could be complete without seeing where JFK was shot? I also know we will be going to Southfork Ranch as seen on Dallas, the TV show. My aunt and I are both big Dallas fans. As a kid, I used to spend the night with my grandmama every Friday night and would watch Dallas with her, so it would be kind of special to me to see Southfork. The other thing I want to do is go to the Dallas Museum of Art. For what I’ve read, it has a fantastic collection. I would also love to see the Amon Carter Museum of American Art which houses Thomas Eakins’ The Swimming Hole (see below), but the Amon Carter a Museum is in Fort Worth, so I’m not sure how feasible it would be to see one painting, although there are plenty of other pieces there as well.

From the look of things on the map (though I am horrible with map scale), Dealey Plaza and the Dallas Museum of Art are all downtown and relatively close, so they can be visited on the same day. Southfork is 25 miles north of Dallas, so that will take up a chunk of one day. So what else should I see while in Dallas? We’ve discussed the Dallas World Aquarium and the Reunion Tower, but I’m not sure. Is anyone familiar with Dallas and can give me any pointers? Things that I should know or be aware of?

I am hoping to see plenty of sexy cowboys, but I’m not sure how realistic that will be.