Hey ya'll, we're blogging!

Fairhope Alabama was beautiful, though a little rainy. We were put up in some sweet digs by the Doane's, in Angela's Dads spare house directly across the street from the family, who coincidentally used to live directly across the street from Albert's parents in California.

Angela, Mike, Libby, Darcy and Kendra treated us to true southern hospitality. We spent a little less than a week, rang in the new year with some early fire works on new years eve (big ass fireworks and firecrackers seem to be legal year around most places, except California) and a delicious southern meal with some lucky black eyed peas on new years day. Patty and Albert Sr. definitely need to make a trip out to visit their former neighbors--ya'll would love it here!

The Doan's warmed us up for our next stop, Oxford, Ms. Where we spent a little over two weeks with the Hensons. A truly enjoyable time was had working, hanging out with the family, eating sushi and drinking beer. We exterminated the mice in the wwoofer digs that we were livin' in, fixed fences to contain escaping horses, did some light plumbing in the restaurant, a little blacksmith work for custom latches, fixed a freezer or two, organized the store room and played in the five inches of snow that dropped while we were there. We were well paid in good company and good food! We will come back to this place again some day, we already miss the good people and good times!

Despite missing our friends in Oxford we were excited to get out of the cold weather and snow and push on to New Orleans. Our friend Britt was able to make the trek to Louisiana and join us for a few days. The First night we walked to Bourbon St. for beads, bars, music and giant beers. The next day we headed out on a street car to see the other side of the city; the huge houses, beautiful park and sober people, but there were still beads on every powerline and dripping from the trees. On the third day we saw the other, other side of New Orleans, the 9th Ward via bicycles. Five years after the Katrina and it still looks devastated with overgrown lots and no houses, or with gutted houses or with just the front stairs remaining and an occasional rebuilt house mixed in. The Holy Cross district seems to be persevering--slowly and steadily rebuilding with more intact structures and residents. We dropped Britt at the airport the fourth day and from then on, when we weren't hanging out in the time share, we wandered the streets listening to music and drinking wine along the way. On our last night we cruised into Rock-n-Bowl for some live Zydeco music and dancing, special thanks to Ben for kick starting the dancing by spinning Marisa around the floor. On the way out of town we stopped to check out an old "City of the Dead" cemetery with all above ground accommodations.

Our first stop out of New Orleans was Abita Springs, home to Abita Brewery producers of delicious beer and root beer! After the tour and all the free root/beer we could want we sobered up and headed to our last wwoofing destination: Duson, Louisiana. A lovely farm created by a young family that grows produce, raises egg and meat chickens, ducks, milks nigerian dwarf goats and is working to start a yoga studio and cafe on the farm. There's been a couple of sunny days where we were able to get in some good work, but it's been soo cold otherwise! Temperatures from the mid-30's with a windchill making it feel like a lot lower. There's freezing rain today, so we're spending the day at the book store catching up on the internet and staying out of the cold and drafty shipping container we call home. If the weather continues like this, with rainy frozen unproductive days, we may be heading out sooner than we planned.


There may be fewer pictures from here on out. Due to a faulty power cable Marisa's camera is out of commission.