The International Petroleum Museum & Exposition the only place in the world where the general public can walk aboard an authentic Offshore Drilling Rig! 

 It was established for the purpose of educating the general public, and the next generation, on the significance of the offshore oil and gas industry and its affect on the local area, the state, the nation, and the world.

It is a tribute to the pioneering men and women of an industry that developed a culture based on initiative, perseverance, creativity, and hard work. It is a living reminder of the positive contributions, the technological advancements and the world-wide influence of an industry that began in this sleepy, fishing village community.

Through the efforts of the rig museum, everyone has the opportunity to experience the real oilfield. It tells the story from the view point of the participants; the hardships and heroism, the challenges and conquests, the problems and solutions. It is an accurate depiction of life in the offshore oil business. 
 
Lunch at Achafalya at Idlewood Golf Club.  Here you can enjoy Louisiana’s most unique golf experience, with championship design surrounded by the wildlife and incredible beauty found only in the heart of the Atchafalaya Basin.

The Atchafalaya at Idlewild is as close as you can get to Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin while enjoying a spectacular round of golf.  We didn’t play golf, but we did have lunch at their club.

Note to self, DO NOT sit close to Juanita or you will find her digging into your desert. 
 
We had the afternoon off to prepare for the “Day of the Dead” Costume Party.  Kibitzing started with shrimp cocktail, graveyard 7 layer taco dip, and mini crawfish pie.

We loved watching everyone as they arrived.  What creativity!

Even Bartender Bill dressed up.

Deadly Good Catered Dinner by our favorite caterer, Virginia, who surprised us all by joining in the fun and dressing up.

What a dinner she prepared for us!  Baked Salmon, Pork Chops, Grilled Asparagus, Twice Baked Potato.  OF COURSE there was dessert too; Made-to-order "Day of the Dead" Cookies and VooDoo Brownies, not to forget our trick & treat candy.

Day of the Dead Halloween Party with Zydeco Music buy Grammy Award Winning Chubby Carrier & the Swamp Band.

What great foot stomping music!  Even Toni got into the act.

No one stayed off the dance floor.  Even our wonderful caterer, Virginia, grabbed a few guests and made it to the dance floor. 
 
It was difficult to choose the winner of the costume contest because everyone did such a fantastic job. 

The winner is ..... drumroll .....

Door Prizes galore!  What fun! 

Big breakfast consisting of egg and sausage casserole, pancakes, sausage, hash browns, and oatmeal  served by our favorite caterer, Virginia.  She is so sweet; she even cooked eggs especially for Don, over easy.  She goes above and beyond!

We spent the afternoon at the St. James Cheese Company, a family run enterprise.  They built an international network of cheese makers and affineurs who hooked them up with the artisan and farmhouse cheeses not found in other shops.  Their name comes from their 200 year old shop in the St. James neighborhood of England where they began their life in cheese before bringing it to New Orleans in 2006.
 
Operating on the premise that cheese should be fun, they make each visit unique and unforgettable.  They lived up to their word!  It is a playground for the cheese rookie, the rind-sniffing expert, and the curd curious.  Guests are encouraged to try every cheese, every day, to ensure that each cheese is being offered at its peak. 
 
We had our own Cheese Monger,

She taught us how to pare wine with cheese.   Check out the huge sandwich  they provided us for lunch.

We also had an opportunity to buy some of these unique cheeses.

Our afternoon was spent at Café Du Monda and the French Market.  You cannot visit New Orleans without visiting the market.   The iconic New Orleans cafe is known for café au laits, chicory coffee & beignets since 1862.  It is open 24/7, closing only for Christmas and hurricanes. 
 
What is chicory coffee and beignets?  The taste for coffee and chicory was developed by the French during their civil war. Coffee was scarce during those times, and they found that chicory added body and flavor to the brew. The Acadians from Nova Scotia brought this taste and many other french customs (heritage) to Louisiana. Chicory is the root of the endive plant. Endive is a type of lettuce. The root of the plant is roasted and ground. It is added to the coffee to soften the bitter edge of the dark roasted coffee. It adds an almost chocolate flavor to the Cafe Au Lait (mixed half and half with hot milk).  Beignets were also brought to Louisiana by the Acadians. These were fried fritters, sometimes filled with fruit. Today, the beignet is a square piece of dough, fried and covered with powdered sugar. 
 
While everyone was enjoying the café, we explored.  Ron and Kay got it on with a street vendor singing gospel.

The market can be quite scary.

Meanwhile, at the candy store.

The photos just don’t do it justice. 
 
We visited the Sanger Theatre built by Julian Saenger in 1927 for the unheard of price of $2.5 million dollars.  Advertisements of the day described it as “an acre of seats in a garden of Florentine splendor.”  Today, the interior atmospheric design creates a magnificent 15th century Italian courtyard and gardens, with arched surroundings, columns and decorative moldings.

The suspension of disbelief is completed by a blue domed “sky” ceiling complete with twinkling stars. Greek and Roman statuary line the walls and statues of Venus stand on pedestals along the upper rim of the auditorium.

The theatre was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and redeveloped at a cost of  $53 million.  It reopened its doors in September 2013.

The theatre show was put on by a special group of children.  What talent they have!

FINALLY, a lazy day in camp. Lazy, haha, not so fast. Rivoli Rallies has a full day planned. Beginning with a light breakfast.

Time for some prizes.

We invited Skymed to visit with us and explain their services. Did you know you are not only covered when you are traveling, but you are also covered at home! Wow, who knew? Skymed is the bomb!  ESPECIALLY since they treated us to an ice cream social.

Please check out their services and tell them we sent you. Even better, attend one of our rallies for a great Skymed discount.

Light lunch today, or should I say “lighter” lunch?

Why? Well, because we are having dance lessons.

Crazy fun Cajun dance lessons to get us ready for tonight’s entertainment.

Our catered dinner was scrumptious. NO WAIT! This was just the appetizers!

Day 8 Rivoli Rallies Submerged in the Bayou 2018   Leave a commentDay 8
FINALLY, a lazy day in camp. Lazy, haha, not so fast. Rivoli Rallies has a full day planned. Beginning with a light breakfast.

Time for some prizes.

We invited Skymed to visit with us and explain their services. Did you know you are not only covered when you are traveling, but you are also covered at home! Wow, who knew? Skymed is the bomb! ESPECIALLY since they treated us to an ice cream social.

Please check out their services and tell them we sent you. Even better, attend one of our rallies for a great Skymed discount.
Light lunch today, or should I say “lighter” lunch?

Why? Well, because we are having dance lessons.

Crazy fun Cajun dance lessons to get us ready for tonight’s entertainment.
Our catered dinner was scrumptious. NO WAIT! This was just the appetizers!

Saving room for dinner (pasta alfredo with grilled chicken, pasta Carbonara with homemade sausage, or vegetable lasagna) was a challenge.

Served by the Liberty Ladies.
Entertainment tonight was by T’Monde. Those dance lessons paid off.

Until Rivoli Rallies did it again....taking over. What’s this the “bump”?

And a little Hee Haw?

OR getting down and dirty.

Ending with the, what else???.... The Rivoli Rallies Train.

But, WAIT, there’s more.

Prizes!

What a fun day!

Bruce, Janet, Wayne, and Patty joined us for pre-breakfast of only cinnamon rolls (because we were heading out for a brunch) and Sunday morning sermon.

It was so nice to have quiet time with Bruce and friends before jumping on the bus and heading to downtown New Orleans for a Natchez Steamboat Cruise.   What a classic way to experience the mighty Mississippi.
The historic stern-wheeled steamboat makes its home on the riverfront next to the French Quarter, and slowly and gracefully cruises the river for brunch, lunch, or dinner cruises with live traditional jazz on board.  True to New Orleans' love of music, we enjoyed a local jazz trio as we enjoyed a wonderful lunch buffet consisting of a waffle station, scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, fruit salad, gumbo, glazed ham, shrimp and grits,  bananas Foster, and of course bread pudding.

Their penguins and Southern sea otter enchant you with their antics.

Time to head over to Harrah’s to try our luck out at Black Jack. Remember, we were schooled on how to beat the house. Oh wait, another photo op

Today is “Alligator Day” with Rivoli Rallies!  We enjoyed the entire day with Bruce Mitchell, his wife, Janet, and their friends Wayne & Patty.  Bruce is now one of the main reality stars on History Channel’s hit show Swamp People.

“Alligatorman” Bruce & Janet Kliebert met when they were in Jr. High. In 1980, Bruce married Janet Kliebert. You may recognize her name from Kliebert's Alligator & Turtle Farm. Bruce began working at Kliebert's around age 20 and moved on the farm property when he married Janet.  Over a period of thirty plus years, he learned from his father-in-law, many aspects of the business and was able to take on more responsibility. With Janet’s help, they ran the business together with Janet's father for over thirty years.
 
While working at the farm, Bruce was asked by the A & E Network if he would like to participate in a documentary on the History Channel.  Being that the History Channel was (and still is) the most watched network in the Mitchell household, how could he say no?  From there Bruce and
Swamp People were connected.
 
In his honor, and because we were in “Gator” country, we had a morning of gatorgames.  It got a bit confusing today because we also had a guest by the name of Bruce Mitchell.  I know, crazy - right?

And, yes, there were prizes.  What else, but GATORHEADS.

Everyone was able to get them signed by Alligatorman.  How cool is that?!

Speaking of alligator heads, that’s what was for lunch.

Muffuletta, pasta salad, gourmet cookies, Voo Doo chips and a big old fashion dill pickle; remember the ones you used to get out of a barrel when you were a kid.
 
Before Bruce, aka alligaorman, got ready to cook us dinner, we had to make sure he got all of his energy from an ice cream social.  Not just any kind of ice cream, but a banana split with your choice of flavor.

While settling our stomachs from all that food, we engaged in a Black Jack class to get us ready for that next casino. 

Once we were comfortable that we could “beat the house” on our next casino visit, we joined Bruce outside who was cooking pastalaya for us, along with our appetizers of shrimp boulettes, twice baked stuffed petite potatoes, crawfish pie, and gourmet cheese board.

What a treat.  Many of us helped with the stirring, while his wife, Janet, was busy on facebook Live.  We had people from all over the world watching Bruce entertaining Rivoli Rallies.

Bill was so happy that he was able to meet Alligatorman in person.  How many celebrities do you know who would do that?

BRAVE the R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) Friday!  Muffins, croissants, bagels, king cake, and yogurt. 

We were honored to have the local St. Mary’s Parish High School JROTC present colors.  A big thank you to Lt. Col. Cory Williams for his dedication to these young men and women. 

We also enjoyed a program by Steve Alvarez, who is part of the Louisiana Sons of the Confederate Veterans. 

He must have brought at least 25 flags portraying the development of the Louisiana State Flag to show us.  We could have spent an extra hours listening to him, but we had to hop on the bus and off for our day of touring.
 
Today, we enjoyed the lighthouses in the area.  Stopping first at Southwest Reef Lighthouse, located on the western bank of the Atchafalaya River in Berwick, Louisiana, the centerpiece of the Everett S. Berry Memorial Lighthouse Park.  
 
In 1987, the lighthouse was lifted from the screw piling - where it sat since before the Civil War - in an attempt to preserve the historic structure for future generations.

This historic structure is 1 of only 3 easily accessible lighthouses in the State of Louisiana.

The square, pyramidal tower constructed of iron plates was first lit September 1, 1859 and was decommissioned in 1916.  It remained abandoned until 1987 when it found a new home in Berwick Bay.
 
The original Canal Lighthouse was built in 1838 on a foundation of sheet piling filled in with shells. The tower was octagonal, built of cypress, about 28 feet high. The tower deteriorated badly and was replaced in 1855 with a square wood dwelling on screw piles with an iron lantern and a 5th order Fresnel Lens.  In 1890 the structure was again replaced, with the light being raised to 49 feet. The 1890 structure was substantially rebuilt in 1901. It was damaged by hurricanes in 1903, 1915, 1926, and 1927 and moved to its current location in 1910. After the 1927 damage it was raised on new concrete piers and in 1936, the breakwater surrounding it was filled in, putting land under the structure for the first time.

This famous NOLA landmark is the fourth lighthouse on the site.  The historic New Canal Lighthouse at West End on Lakeshore Drive was severely damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.  The first floor had collapsed and its cupola had fallen off.  It was disassembled and the building was put into storage. Reconstruction of the lighthouse began in February 2012 and was completed in 2013.
 
We were split into 2 groups for a guided tour of the lighthouse and museum.

Lunch was at the Amelia belle casino, a steamboat, where we had plenty of time to eat and try our luck on the slots, as well as photo ops.  All I can say is they have the best peanut butter pie!!!!!!!

Finishing our day at the French Food Festival, located in Larose, where we were met by a welcoming committee upon our arrival.

WOW, they made us feel that we were celebrities.    We enjoyed over 20 local special dishes along with dancing and music. 

In Louisiana’s Cajun Bayou, food is a big deal and has been for generations. Local chefs and cooks served up some of the best Cajun food in Louisiana.  To satisfy your craving for Cajun food, you’ve got to wander of the beaten path, which is what we did!