Moominmama's Adventures

  In which Moominmama follows the pirates and survives a (minor) Galveston storm... Last night, the Moominhouse shook like it was possessed while the sky rumbled, cracked and flickered like a bad lightbulb. Then a firehose of water dumped on us, leaving a splash pool under the open window by the door. Fortunately, it was over in 30 minutes.  The island of Galveston, Texas is defined by its storms -- and by a cast of miscreants including pirates, bootleggers and gamblers. Galveston is the first place Moominmama has seen to boast of its historic red light district and background as a Mafia town. The first Westerner to settle here was reportedly the pirate and smuggler Jean Lafitte, after he and his fleet were chased out of Barataria Bay and New Orleans. The site of his Galveston home, called the Maison Rouge, is proudly marked on Harborside Drive. Galveston is a long sausage of an island on the Gulf south of Houston. The inland side holds the port, and the Gulf side remains a hu...

  In which Moominmama visits one of the bayous of Louisiana and has a scare.... Moominmama had no intention of feeding the alligators and watched very carefully where she put her feet for fear of slipping into the giant alligator feeding dish of the bayou. I was in the Barataria Bay Preserve which is part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park south of New Orleans. Moominmama was walking in the steps of the pirates! Jean Lafitte and his crew supposedly smuggled goods in and out of New Orleans using the bayous of Barataria Bay. Even the name of the bay has a crazy history. The name is taken from the novel "Don Quixote," where Quixote's trusty but gullible sidekick, Sancho Panza, is promised an island to govern. That imaginary island was called Barataria by author Miguel Cervantes. The name got applied to this bay off the Gulf of Mexico! I wasn't literally walking in pirate footsteps, however, because the nice National Park Service has built an elevated walkway th...

Wherein Moominmama rejoices to hear live music and learns about Jazz Funerals and Second Lining in New Orleans Music is not a concert hall affair here in New Orleans; it belongs to the streets and squares. Given the devastating effects of COVID-19 in this community earlier in the pandemic, I wasn't sure what I'd find when I arrived in the French Quarter early one morning.  I'm now in the Central time zone with my body stuck in Eastern. That makes me a very early riser in a city known for its nightlife. But I got cafe au lait and beignets from Cafe du Monde and walked around the almost empty side streets until it was time for my tour, led by a young musician and New Orleans native, Eliot Eidelman. Eliot's love for his city is very much tied to his love for music so we learned about New Orleans music along with the history and architecture. Take the term "Second Line," which he introduced to our tour group. This New Orleans word dates back to the pre-Civil War e...

In which Moominmama swims with manatees, meets otters and innumerable water birds while exploring Florida's Nature Coast. Nature Coast, north of Tampa, has unique freshwater springs that bubble up from the limestone underground. These crystal clear lagoons allow you to see into the underwater caves from which they come -- with some brave locals even snorkeling through them, down one underwater hole and up another. The freshwater springs mix with the tidal rivers and salt marshes creating an ecosystem like no other. These springs are the winter home of manatees who swim upriver from the Gulf to the more temperate springs and hang out until warmer weather returns. These are large lumpy creatures, actually related to elephants, and they hang out under the water, rising up periodically to snort out water from their nostrils and breathe in fresh air. It's quite startling from a kayak, but magical from the water! I took advantage of a guided swim with manatees, traveling by boat to o...

In which Moominmama learns about Reconstruction, the amazing life of Robert Smalls and meets a tiny terrapin.... South Carolina is just the other side of the Savannah River, and Beaufort, S.C. is a short drive from there, a part of the Sea Islands, which has a remarkable history on several fronts. Famous women like Harriet Tubman and Clara Barton walked Beaufort's streets and cared for the injured during the Civil War. Chief among the town's claims to fame was its capture by Union soldiers early in the war (late 1861), making it the testing grounds of Reconstruction well before war ended.   As plantation owners and other whites fled this productive agricultural region -- not nearly as well fortified as Charleston or Savannah -- the Union assisted the roughly 10,000 formerly enslaved people to get a toe-hold in the new economy, quickly showing the world, as Robert Smalls would later say: "My race needs no special defense. For the past history of them in this country proves ...

In which Moominmama presses fast forward on Spring, visits the ocean and learns about slavery in Savannah.... The transition over four days of driving from brown fields, to trees with a hazy hint of green and then color everywhere was like time lapse photography. I drove into the exuberance of yellow forsythia by the time I hit North Carolina and watched it give way to leaves and blossoms everywhere through South Carolina into Georgia. What a sight for sore eyes! My final overnight en route to Savannah was near Fayetteville, N.C. at a horse farm that doubles as a mental health center. The greeting committee consisted of a white dog and two black pigs. By morning I was sharing the field where the Moominhouse was parked with what I think were donkeys or ponies, so I was careful to close the gate behind me when I pulled out. Yesterday, Moominmama ventured into the historic district of Savannah, which also happened to be the center of the slave trade in the city. Sistah Patt Gunn, a retire...

  In which Moominmama leaves winter behind and heads for the ocean... Farewell White Mountains and the frigid north! The adventure begins. But like most adventures, it requires abandoning the comforts of the familiar: friends, family and favorite ski trails. I got my first non-family hugs this week from newly vaccinated friends, energizing me for the trip. After extracting the Moominhouse from its winter home and loading it with provisions, I said farewell to my friends Erika, Steve, Noah and Charlotte, who sheltered the Moominhouse -- and Julia, who sheltered the Moominmama -- and I pushed south to escape the chill.  I have solar power and propane heat, but my water system is full of anti-freeze. I'm using water from a couple jugs and pooping into plastic bags (biodegradable) until I get far enough south to avoid freezing the trailer pipes. Then I can rinse out the system and use the sink, shower and toilet onboard. Looking forward to that! Over the next few days, I'll take a...