Wednesday (Feb 10th) - The 2009 Chapter 400 Spring rally commenced today at the 4 o'clock at the Farr Park Campground in Baton Rouge, LA, SC.  Bob Smith welcomed everyone and after quick introductions, introduced our rally hosts Buddy & Shirley Barbe and David Delamater and Joanne White.  There are 24 rigs in attendance.  Rally attendees:  Pete & Nancy Armitage, Dan & Bev Armstrong, Buddy & Shirley Barbe, Bob Boxell, Bob & Dot Bragg, Mitch & Renae Butler, Richard & Fran Chasse, Carol Clyde, Dave & Joanne Delamater/White, Jim & Marge Eckles, Carl & Val Farley, Ernie & Judy Finch, Wally Ford, Bob & Sue Guthrie, Ben & Marissa Isaacs, Bill & Peg Jones, Ed & Kaye Lee, Tommy & Doris Pritchard, Lyle & Kaaren Prockish, George & Osa Ramberg, Bob & Marie Smith, Paul & Angie Thrash, Doug & Judy Trumbull, and Ron & Sue Woodie.

Shirley briefly went over the rally schedule stating that she will give a more detailed explanation each day.  Later we were treated to a delicious Louisiana meal consisting of Jambalaya, White Beans, Salad, and King Cake.  The meal was prepared by long time Barbe family friends, Brandon & Doug.

The rally is being held in conjunction with Mardi Gras, and as such, neither the weather nor the dates can be controlled.  The unique activities we will be able to experience will more than compensate for any slight discomforts we might encounter.  TOP

Thursday (Feb 11th) - Today, we toured the Louisiana State Capitol - the tallest state capitol building in the United States at 34 floors.  It was the dream of one man, Governor Huey P. Long.  It was quite an accomplishment since it was built during the time of the Great Depression at a cost of $5 million.  Huey Long was quite a colorful character and went on to become United States Senator from Louisiana.  He was assassinated in the capitol building he built, in 1935, and is buried on the grounds in front of the building.

After touring the capitol building, we took a short walk to the Louisiana State Museum.  This was an excellent tour allowing us to learn about the state's cultural heritage and historical milestones.  There were many displays dealing with Jazz and Cajun music, Mardi Gras, agriculture, cuisine, civil rights, and folk art.  TOP

Friday (Feb 12th) - Based upon the local weather reports, it was expected that the bridge across the Mississippi River to West Baton Rouge might be closed due to icing.  Therefore, our tour to the West Baton Rouge museum was postponed until Wednesday.  The report was indeed accurate as we awoke to snow flurries.  In the future, it might be a good idea for Buddy & Shirley to host the Pre-Rally, since this is their second time hosting a Spring Rally with both rallies having snow!  The snow soon dissipated and all was well in Farr Park.

If you wondered why we are gathered in a tight circle during our 4 o'clocks, the next picture will show you why.  The propane campfire was provided by Doug & Judy Trumbull.  At 5:45 PM, we caravanned to St. Aloysius Church to use their parking lot in order to view the Southdowns Mardi Gras Parade.  This was an important parade for us to view in that it is the only night parade we will see.  On first glance, it appears that Osa took the prize for the most beads caught.  After the parade, most of us drove over to the Coffee Call for for coffee and beignets.  For those who do not know, a beignet is a fried dough pastry covered with powdered sugar.  TOP

Saturday (Feb 13th) - Today was bright and sunny, although still on little on the cool side.  But still, it was a great day for a parade!  This time it was the Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade, right near the capitol building in Baton Rouge.  There were plenty of floats and lots of loud music - a great time was had by all.  Tons of beads were tossed and some even caught.  You can see by the pictures that some of our members were weighed down with beads.  After the 4 o'clock announcements for tomorrow's parade, some of our members went for dinner plus Cajun music, while others elected to just do dinner.  TOP

Sunday (Feb 14th) - Happy Valentine's day from Baton Rouge!  Today we travelled across the Mississippi to Port Allen to view the Good Friends of the Oaks Mardi Gras Parade.  We lucked out again with beautiful weather to enjoy a fun filled day.  We also had four of our Chapter 400 family on the floats:  Dot Bragg, Osa Ramberg, and Doug & Judy Trumbull.  Dot surprised Bob with a special Valentine's Day set of beads.  I would be negligent if I didn't make mention of the Barbe family and friends who made this rally so memorable by opening their homes and feeding all 45 of us.  Thanks Anita Peterson, and Don & Marie Fabrot.  As a small token of our appreciation, we invited them to attend our closing luncheon on Wednesday.  As you can see from the pictures, once again we were in no shortage of catching beads.  Most of us will be sorting through them and donating them back so they can be used in next year's parades.  TOP

Monday (Feb 15th) - Although it was bright and sunny, the temperature was quite a bit cooler than yesterday.  Fortunately, the scheduled activities will keep us indoors for much of the time.  Today we toured the USS Kidd - a WWII and Korean War destroyer which was saved from the scrap yard and converted into a museum on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge.  We received an introduction from the museum director himself, who explained he enjoyed the more mature tour groups, since the younger groups thought WWII meant World War Eleven.  He then presented Shirley with a lifetime admission card to the museum in appreciation of her volunteer efforts.  We had our own guide for the tour of the ship which provided us with much more detailed information than if we did a self guided tour.  A poignant point in the tour was when we were shown the area of the ship that was struck by a Kamikaze plane on April 11th 1945, killing 38 and wounding 55.  Back in the museum, we viewed a film on the USS Kidd in which some of the WWII era crew members related their ship board memories.  Also on display in the museum are artifacts from various Louisiana service men and women, and one of the highlights was seeing the Navy dress uniform of none other than our own Shirley Barbe.  Congrats Shirley!  As usual, we met for our traditional 4 o'clock.  Bob Bragg solicited help for his upcoming rallies, along with the upcoming Pre-Rally in Georgia.  The good news is that we have volunteers to fill our two open board positions.  Volunteering is good for the soul!  When we arrived at this rally, each attendee was given a personal set of beads.  They were much more elaborate than the ones thrown at the parades.  Evidently at least one set was symbolic, and at the 4 o'clock, Carl explained in great detail the symbolism behind his personal set of beads.  Will have to get a close up picture of Carl's beads.  TOP

Tuesday (Feb 16th) - It was another bright sunny day - so what better to do than take in another Mardi Gras parade.  This time we had to travel approximately 1 1/2 hours west to the town of Eunice.  It was well worth the drive.  In addition to the scheduled parade, there was a street fair with food booths, vendors, and stages where bands were playing non-stop Cajun music.  There were also a few interesting museums to visit.  Many of the people were dressed in these spooky looking costumes - but I guess you get used to it after a while.  Starting early in the morning, many people on horse back were out scouring the country supposedly in search of chickens to make the gumbo.  All these riders were in the parade along with the floats.  From all appearances, the riders got a lot more of a substance that comes in aluminum cans than chickens - if you get my drift.  It was a small miracle that they stayed atop their horses.  There is a scene that I never tired of at all the parades - and that is when a floats come around a corner and you can see streams of beads flying in a arc through the air from both sides of the float.  It is a sight that can not be captured with our simple camera.  It was another great Mardi Gras day!  TOP

Wednesday (Feb 17th) - Most of us started the day with a trip to the Coffee Call for for coffee and beignets.  Then it was on to Port Allen for a guided tour of the West Baton Rouge Museum, where we learned the history of their sugar making industry in this area from the early days up to the present time.  They also have a model sugar mill that was built for the 1904 World's Fair.  We then toured two exterior buildings that were relocated to the museum site: the Aillet House and a slave house shared by two families.

Following the museum tour, we travelled to Don's Seafood House for our rally closing luncheon.  We surprised Don & Marie Fabrot, who opened their home to us on Sunday, with a thank you card including notes from all of the rally attendees.  After an excellent meal, it was noted, by Past-President Judy Finch, that Director Doug Trumbull had not yet been formally inducted.  Doug you are hereby inducted!  Then followed a succession of Certificates of Appreciation: George & Osa Ramberg for their service as Director for the years 2006 thru 2009; Marie Smith for all of her work in taking the pictures at the rallies; Ernie Finch for his work as "Keeper of the List" and maintaining the Chapter 400 roster and Yahoo Group; and Bob Smith for his efforts in documenting the Chapter 400 history through the diary and pictures posted to the Chapter 400 webpage.  Then it was onto the Certificates of Appreciation to David Delamater & Joanne White and Buddy & Shirley Barbe for their efforts in coordinating this outstanding rally.  I think we all would have to agree that we received a true Louisiana experience over the past eight days.  Thanks so much David, Joanne, Buddy, and Shirley!  TOP