I thought I understood what Southern Hospitality meant but the few days we spent with the Hayes/Lester crew helped me realize it involved so much more than I could have imagined.
I have to say, things didn’t start out all that promising. Ken had warned us to keep an eye out for “the heat” driving through the smaller towns in Louisiana but when I saw seven highway patrol cars within the first 20 minutes we were in the state, I decided these southern folks were not really all that gracious. Most of those who know me well will be shocked to hear that I did not have the opportunity to meet any of the highway patrol folks up close and personal. Truly a miracle.
Then there were the sweet and kind words of welcome upon our arrival. We had been dragging cold and wet weather with us each mile from Colorado. We skipped a few stops along the way just to try and stay ahead of it and as we pulled into Greg and Beth’s place the rain began to turn to snow. Kim’s weather check revealed snow and cold weather for the duration of our stay in Effie. Harkening back to my junior high basketball days, I decided that the best defense was a damn good offense, so I told Ken about an hour before we got there, that we really appreciated the nice weather they had arranged for our visit. Extremely large mistake on my part. When we pulled into the driveway, before I got my hug from Beth, she said “we are so glad you all are here to visit and we sincerely want to thank you for the lovely weather you brought with you.” At least Greg waited until after my hug was complete to tell me “some folks around here aren’t too happy with this cold you brought from Colorado and most of them have guns.” (ok, he didn’t really say that but he was thinking it). The final shot was delivered by Trackey (who we never did meet) but who reportedly said to Ken when informed of our weather woes, “find out where those gals are headed and then don’t go there.” Not really what I expected in the way of southern gentility but then, I did start it. As a side note, I have to give a shout out to Nell Hayes! She thankfully and truly graciously saw no need to assign blame to anyone. She simply said, “THIS is ridiculous.” And she was completely right!

Ken tried to restore the honor of the region by offering to treat us to lunch. Now there’s a Southern gentleman. He said the restaurant wasn’t much to look at but the food was amazing!

We had shrimp po-boys, oysters, catfish, and I can’t remember what else except it was fresh and delicious. Ken insisted on paying and even wagged his finger in our face a few times but I really wanted to pay because he NEVER lets us. I went up to the counter just as Ken was handing his credit card to Shep (the owner). I asked Shep if he would prefer cash? Bingo! He smiled and said “why yes mam, I surely would.” He took my cash and while Ken protested, he looked at Ken and said, “sorry, but cash rules.” Ha! So, I am proudly stating for the first and most likely only time, I got one over on Mr. Ken! Cash and Nancy rule!
Ken also took us to the Casino where Calvin liked to gamble; Ken said his dad had amazing good luck at the Casino. I thought it would be a fitting tribute to Calvin if went right on in there and won some money. I hope he appreciated the thought since I dropped $15 in that fine establishment. Kim,on the other hand, walked away with $60 courtesy of the video poker machine at the bar. Not fair and yes, I was fairly jealous. She doesn’t even LIKE to gamble but apparently she is good at it.
Despite her sadness, Nell was the epitome of southern kindness. She let us visit her place and Ken gave us the tour of where he grew up. We watched the “red birds” on her feeder.

Ken took us out on the four-wheeler to feed the cows.
Kim and I fed them and got cow drool all over our hands but we managed to avoid feeding Big Mama who by all reports has the longest, slimiest tongue in Louisiana.

We got to see Calvin’s cook house and up in the rafters was Ken’s grade school lunch box.

Ken dug out some old baseball uniforms Calvin had saved from when he coached a team, many years ago so Ken and Kim decided to join Team Calvin.

Ken took us to the barn and I was mortified when I looked up and saw what Kim said ….and I quote…were ”two of the cutest cats I ever saw.”

The yellow tabby looked exactly like RJ and the little calico captured Kim’s heart. Of course, every dog and cat on the planet is acutely aware of how very easy that is to accomplish. Fortunately, for me, Nell has gotten attached to them and they were not free to move to Colorado at this time.
On a side note, Kim did give Nell, Ken and Beth some of her hand made potholders and they were very well received by all. Like Bonnie, Ken was a bit surprised that an ex-IBM executive would have become addicted to weaving on a kid’s loom. I believe his exact words where “who are you?”
In closing, let me try and give you some idea of what Southern Hospitality truly means in Effie, Louisiana. If you know Ken, it will come as no surprise that the people who raised him and grew up with him are wonderful and amazing.
Greg and Beth barely knew us yet they opened their home to us for three days during a difficult time. They shared the love of their two wonderful dogs. They cooked some of the best food we have ever had and I think are responsible for the two, new pounds I am sporting. They wouldn’t let us lift a finger. Speaking of which, I almost lost a few trying to load the dishwasher. They were having none of that! They allowed us to do wash after being on the road. Well actually, that isn’t quite true. Beth allowed us to bring her the wash and when we weren’t looking, she actually folded it! They showed us around town and Greg and Ken even completed a twenty-teen point check of the Airstream tires.

We scored some awesome trip treats including but not limited to:
-2 jars of homemade pickles
-3 jars of homemade jam including strawberry/fig
-1 box of gumbo mix
-2 jars of Avon hand cream
-1 genuine Beth Lester quiche recipe
-2 stories I have been sworn to never repeat
-1 authentic arrowhead discovered by Calvin Hayes
-$45 family profit courtesy of the closest Casino to Effie
As Kim said, “You have to love this Southern Hospitality. Every time you turn around, someone hands you a gift.”

Words cannot express how welcomed we were made to feel. We were and are so grateful for the wonderful people we met in Effie, especially the chance to get to know Beth, Greg and Nell better. Good People! We were extremely glad to see Ken so we could hug him and tell him how much we love him. It did take about ½ a day for us to pass on all the hugs that were sent to him from the folks back in Colorado but I think we pulled it off. I don’t think we will ever forget the kindness and good times we enjoyed. THANK YOU EFFIE!

January 28, 2014 2:14 PM
Greetings and long overdue salutations from the winding road through the Southeast. I would like to thank most of you for graciously awaiting our return to the blog-o-sphere. The rest of you apparently forgot where you put your “patient panties.” You KNOW who you are so there is no need to call anyone out ….Claudia Burris. Harriet, Big Lil, Kim and I would like to extend not –so-warm greetings from the shores of Lake Ponchartrain in Fontainbleau State Park near Mandeville, Louisiana. We have been on the road for 10 days and the fact that this is my first free minute just confirms that we have had an awesome time visiting friends and family.
We are sitting in the trailer while freezing rain sticks to everything outside. Since the roads are expected to be icy and the temperatures around freezing for at least one day and maybe two, we are enjoying some quiet time snuggled in the trailer. So I thought I would catch everyone up, at least with where we have been so far.
We began our journey in Santa Fe with Bonnie, Jacki and Louie. Louie seems to have settled into his new home very well. His crate has been replaced by a luxurious, memory foam, dog bed. He is eating gourmet, homemade food prepared tirelessly by his two moms’ who monitor his input and output with maniacal attention. We learned that after much discussion, his new parents have decided to raise Louie in the Jewish faith. We sort of expected Bonnie to be a typical Jewish mother but Jacki dotes on him just as much, if not more. We met Jacki and Bonnie’s friends, Ben and Paula who came by the house to help us cheer our Broncos to victory. We really enjoyed their company. As usual, Jacki and Bonnie spoiled us during our short visit. We enjoyed home cooked meals, wine and lots of laughter. Since Bonnie’s birthday was approaching, Kim presented her with a set of hand-made, “Kim Hodges Creations” potholders. Kim has begun creating potholders on a little, square loom much like many of us played with when we were young. I know I am biased but I think they are really cool. Bonnie seemed to like hers however, after she perused Kim’s inventory of potholders, she laughed and said to Kim, “You really do need a job.”
On January 20th, we packed up and headed to Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. This is our second trip that featured the caverns on our itinerary and yet again, we did not stop. We realized about halfway there, that the nightly migration of bats out of the caves does not occur at this time of year. We also realized that at our current course and speed, we would not make Tampa in time for the Super Bowl. Normally, we wouldn’t really care, however Jerry informed us that they were having their Super Bowl Party again this year and many of his friends were expecting us to be there. So we recalibrated and decided to head on into Texas and begin getting ahead of schedule. This was the first of many schedule adjustments to come. Good thing Kim built some flexibility into the original itinerary.
After two long days on the road, we rolled into McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, Texas on January 21st. My wonderful brother, David and his partner, Broocke were kind enough to clear their schedules despite the short notice and we met them for dinner. Our friend, Richard, was correct. The traffic in Austin was horrible. My brother lives nine miles from the park and it took us 35 minutes to get to his house. The good news was that the State Park was really cool and on the east side of Austin which helped us avoid rush hour and made our departure relatively painless. We did not get to see much of Austin but we had a nice visit with my brother whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time. Love you, David.
We had planned to spend the next few days sightseeing in San Antonio but when my lovely navigator checked the weather, we decided to beat feet to Effie, Louisiana and the Hayes family. Snow was on the way! What is up with that? Apparently, the memo explaining we wanted some warm weather did not make it up to Mother Nature. We laughed at the plethora of shorts and T-shirts each time we went to our closets. We were truly just ahead of the weather until we got to Houston where we fought rain, high winds and the bridge “de-icing” trucks. Thankfully, we got to Effie just before the snow began in earnest.
I have to say I was grateful to drive into Louisiana from Texas. I am probably not being fair since we decided not to spend any appreciable time enjoying the nicer parts of Texas but it just felt like we drove on lots of bad roads enjoying no scenery whatsoever. No offense to some of our friends with ties to the 28th State but we kept saying, “What the hell are we doing in Texas!” Now, we weren’t silly enough to think we could head to the southeast without going through Texas but we managed to drive through the widest portion of the state, enjoying over 800 miles of the Lone Star “experience.” Perhaps on the way home, I can give them another chance.
I will go ahead and post this and then add another post about our amazing trip to Effie!!! Stay tuned! Hugs to all.