"March"-ing off to the Quilt Trail!

It has been a long winter, but it's finally time for the big tour--EIGHT MONTHS on the quilt trail!  We have rented out the house, so there is no turning back now.

Yesterday, we drove to Ponchatoula, Louisiana to see the Louisiana Northshore Quilt Trail.  The "Northshore" refers to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, so we are not too far from new Orleans.

Ruby--the bus--was spiffed up just a bit recently, with some new paint around the top and a nice polish--I think she looks great!  The  little car with the kayaks and the bikes--yep, it goes with us too, towed behind our home on wheels. We are ready!

Here are Glen and Gracie in our parking spot at the home of Ann Boudreaux. You can also see her quilt block, which is one of the first on the trail here.

This is one of the first blocks we saw--a Ponchatoula Strawberry inside a traditional quilt block.  Another of Ann's wonderful creations. Ponchatoula is known for strawberries, and their annual Strawberry Festival is huge! Too bad it's next month.

 

 Yesterday, we visited a turtle farm run by Ann's nephew, Keith.  I learned so much!  I had no idea that those little baby turtles that we used to have as pets were banned--apparently because they often carry salmonella. Keith explained the process by which the eggs are made disease-free--and ready for shipment all over the world.  But the US government still won't allow turtles of less than 4 inches to be sold.  Who knew?

 

 Here are Ann and Glen with the quilt block that Ann created for Keith's farm.  If you look closely, you can see red markings on the sides of the turtle's head.  He is a red-eared slider, native to the area.

Ann is spoiling us--wonderful dinner Tuesday night at Cafe NOLA (I had pasta with eggplant, crawfish, and andouille).  Yesterday we enjoyed lunch at Paul's cafe--a family-run business. I had never tasted cabbage casserole, but I am going to get a recipe soon--yummy stuff!

The quilt block here includes the coffee that Paul serves starting early each morning, the strawberries for which Ponchatoula is known, and Paul's work as a fireman.

Just outside of Paul's--I couldn't resist this shot!

 

After lunch, we headed to Kliebert's  Turtle and Alligator Farm. They call themselves the original Swamp People, and sure enough I found Mike Kliebert on the show's website as part of the first season's cast. Here is T-Mike (that means "petite Mike," kind of like Mike Jr.)  He seemed so fearless as he showed us how to handle a big guy. You can't tell, but we were on the other side of a fence.

We finished the beautiful day--our first full day of this tour--with Ann's Ponchatoula crab pie.  Oh, yeah.