Top Ten Lists - Tours

Roger here....  This top ten list relives our favorite tours from the past five years.  The tours on the list all had tour guides.  As with the other top ten lists, we only considered tours we had been on since we began traveling in our motor home.  We obviously missed some great ones.  We still have not visited Canada, the Northeast, Montana, Nevada (in the motor home), and most of Idaho.

1.  Monument Valley, Utah

We spent a little extra money to have a Navajo guide drive us on the sandy roads through the back country of this Navajo park.  It was worth it.  Our guide showed us parts of the park that most people do not see.

The arches and domes were both massive and unique.  

The descriptions of the Navajo culture by our excellent guide made the tour even more special.

The inside of this particular domed "room" had an eye to the sky.  

Hey!  Is that John Wayne on that horse?

We have said this before, but it is worth repeating, the scenery in southern Utah rivals any in the country.

2.  Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California

How the top one percent lived --- back in the day.

We reserved our tour in advance and waited with our friends, Jay and Nancy to board a bus at the visitor center at the bottom of the hill.  

We were transported from our middle-class lives into the lavish lifestyle of William Randolph Hearst.  Such a nice little place!

3.  Warner Brothers Studio Tour, Los Angeles, California.

Our daughter, Robyn, joined us on this tour near her current hometown.

We toured the back lot....

.... pretended to have coffee on the Friends coffee house set...

.... and caste spells on Dianne in the Hogworts Dining Hall.

Good times with Robyn.

4.  Portland Walking Tour, Portland, Oregon.

More good times... this time with our daughters, Robyn and Amanda, and our granddaughter, Kaia.  

What a progressive place this is.  We liked it!  Our tour guide spent a couple of hours guiding us through the city and explaining the wise and forward thinking people of Portland.  

The statue in the pictures shows how to stand out as a tourist in Portland by wearing a suit, and carrying an umbrella --- both no-nos for the locals.  Jeans and hoodies are preferred.  Umbrellas are frowned upon.

The statue, Portlandia, keeps track of the traffic on one of the city streets.  

Mount Hood provides a backdrop for the city on clear days.

5.  Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona.

This place is a photographer's dream.  We caught a mid-day tour to catch the best light.  Our Navajo guide gave ongoing advice regarding the appropriate angles for taking the best pictures.  We took a lot of pictures.

This natural wonder can only be viewed with a Navajo guide.  I can now cross this off the list of the places I have always wanted to see.  

6.  Tabasco Factory Tour, Avery Island, Louisiana.

The smell of hot peppers permeated the air the instant we exited the car.  What a setting for a factory --- on a somewhat isolated island in a lush, jungle-like setting!  The factory was built on top of salt domes, salt being a key resource in the production of the sauce.

There is always a gift shop at the end of these tours.  This one was one of the best.  We need to go back soon since we have run out of all the spicy condiments that we bought that day.

7.  Santa Fe Trolley Tour,  Santa Fe, New Mexico.

All of the buildings in the expansive historic area are adobe by statute.

This culturally rich and artsy town is filled with statuary of all kinds.

 Dianne does not normally care for fancy jewelry, but she does like this handmade Navajo piece that I found on the central plaza.

8.  Bisbee Mine Tour, Bisbee, Arizona.

We were all decked out with hard hats and yellow jackets before....

.... hopping on the authentic miners' rail car that took us deep into the Queen Mine.  It was an interesting trip, but after several claustrophobic stops...

... I was ready to return to the warm Arizona sunshine and a visit to the...

... Old Bisbee Brewing Company.

9.  Spoetzl Brewery, the home of Shiner Bock.  Shiner, Texas.

Speaking of beer, get a load of these copper vats at the Shiner Brewing Company --- a classic small-town German brewery between Houston and San Antonio.

Everyone of appropriate age received a handful of wooden tokens redeemable for sampling all the Shiner Beers (before and after the tour).

Did I mention that the samples were served in the gift shop?  Hmmm.  I wonder why we purchased so many items?

10. (tie) Rogue Brewery, Newport, Oregon.

Wow, two brewery tours in a row!  Fortunately, they were spaced a year apart.  The Rogue Brewery was at one  time a small operation that has expanded world-wide.  It is a different place --- thus the name, Rogue.  It is not automated, as the owner prefers to hire people to do the work rather than machines.  Each bottle is touched by human hands.  The brewery has its own hop farm in the Willamette Valley.  

A banner in honor of the owner's black lab who had the run of the brewery keeps an eye on all the workers and visitors.  Oregon is a very dog-friendly state.

A restaurant and sampling room is located on the second floor of the factory.  Quite a selection of taps, wouldn't you say?

10.  (tie) Newmar Factory Tour,  Nappanee, Indiana.

Enough with the brewery tours!  We recently treated our coach (in the picture) to a makeover in the factory where it was assembled.

I took a tour of the factory.  There are no pictures (not allowed), but I must say that I was impressed.  Each coach is custom-made by order only.  The attention to detail during the assembly process reconfirmed our good decision to purchase our Mountainaire.

Abbeville, Louisiana + Tabasco Factory Tour

Roger here... After traveling through Houston

and viewing the home of the Houston Texans from the interstate,

we left the state of Texas after three months and traveled through coastal Louisiana to spend three nights at Betty's RV Park in Abbeville, Louisiana - the most Cajun of Cajun places. (Dianne here: We went from Mission, TX where all the names on every sign were Spanish, to Cajun Louisiana, where all the names on every sign were French.) You know how some places just seem comfortable; well, Abbeville is definitely one of those places.

This is such a special place that it deserves two blogs. We'll update part two as soon as we get a chance.

I'll start by describing Betty's RV Park. If Abbeville feels comfortable, Betty's feels like home - BECAUSE OF BETTY. Betty's park only has fifteen full hook-up sites, and they are located on gravel in what was at one time Betty's back yard. No real amenities here, except, of course, for Betty. When we checked in at 4:00 p.m. she helped us back into our spot and then encouraged us to set up quickly because happy hour in the back room of her house was at 4:30. The "Betty's" experience is like visiting a treasured family member. All the guests attend happy hour every night. She "holds court" over her glass of wine, giving advice to everyone about what to see and where to eat in the area.

One evening she announced that she would lead an excursion to the business of a man who digs cypress wood out of the swamp the next mornin'. Another night she let us know that there would be a pot luck the next evening, and that she would provide specially-cooked venison. The highlight of every happy hour is her sense of humor, her laughter, and her genuine love of people. By the time the happy hour ends, everyone in the group knows everyone else - a very unique place that is rated as one of the top 25 RV parks in the country for its social atmosphere. It is easy to understand why.

During our first full day in Abbeville, the major attraction was a visit to the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island, just twenty miles away. What a neat place! When we paid the one-dollar fee to enter Avery Island, the toll taker showed us the level of water (about six feet) from the last hurricane where levies now protect the historic factory. As we exited the car in front of the factory, other than the view of the classic buildings,

the first sense to enter the brain was the smell of Tabasco. It was just so cool.

The

factory tour was interesting. Did you know that the peppers are aged for three years with vinegar in used (cleaned) Jack Daniels whiskey oak barrels? The factory on Avery Island is the only place where Tabasco is processed? Avery Island was originally a salt mine (still is) and salt from the salt dome underneath the island covers the casks during the aging process?

We were able to get a

good shot of hundreds of Tabasco bottles as they wound their way through the plant.

The trip to the factory store

was an additional highlight. We were able to sample all the Tabasco products, including Tabasco ice cream (surprisingly good), before making several spicy purchases, including Tabasco t-shirts and beach wear. The one-dollar entrance fee to Avery Island turned out to be a good deal for the Tabasco company, as we dropped more than a few bucks in the factory store. (Dianne here: We also purchased some Tabasco chocolate and a Tabasco sucker to take with us to our daughter and granddaughter in Florida. They sell lots of unique items in the gift shop, and I'm sure you can buy them on line if you are interested, because I found a used Christmas catalog in the parking lot that had blown out of somebody's car).

On the way back to Abbeville, Dianne spotted an above-ground cemetery in the small town of Delcambre.

She got out of the car to take several photos. Similar cemeteries in New Orleans are considered dangerous for visitors - ideal places for a mugging -

but not here. Just a quiet place to reflect upon the unique culture of this area.

Before we returned to Betty's, we decided to eat a late lunch in Abbeville. After an internet search, we selected

Dupuy's (pronounced Dew Pwees, with the accent on the second syllable). It was a great choice.

These Cajuns truly know how to eat - amazing food. We both had a cup of crab and corn bisque; delicious. Dianne had a grilled shrimp po' boy. I had the best crab cake that I have ever eaten, smothered with a Cajun shrimp sauce

(and half of Dianne's po boy). The waitress talked us into sampling a dessert. Dianne picked out the pecan tart a la mode. Oh my goodness, it was better than chocolate - high praise from me.

We needed groceries, so we made a quick stop at Robie's Market on the way back to Betty's. We had to hurry - didn't want to be late for happy hour. I'll let Dianne tell you about this unique grocery store that will be a required stop for future visits.

Robie's wasn't a huge market, just a small, local grocery store. Among the delicacies we saw while shopping there were rows and rows of pickled quail's eggs, lots of jars of prepared roux, prepared ready-to-eat muffaletta sandwiches, and very good prepared deli salads. Since we knew we'd be traveling for several days and needing quick-to-grab meals, we stocked up on the ready-to-eat items. Delicious! Even the chicken salad had a real "kick" to it.

At one of Betty's happy hours, some of our fellow travelers (many of whom come to Betty's every year), told us there are a few items we just had to try, so we went back to Robies and stocked up on some Cajun essentials: "Slap Ya Mama" seasoning, a jar of "Sloppy Boudreaux" sauce, and something called "Sweet Treat." (It's a cinnamon-sugar mixture with vanilla).

At the end of one of the grocery aisles, there was a huge display of big bags of rice. I thought to myself, wow, people buy rice in big bags here. Then I turned down the next aisle, and discovered that in addition to that display, there was row after row of nothing but different kinds of rice. I just had to take a picture of it, because I'd never seen anything like it in any grocery we'd ever been in.

The side trip to Betty's RV Park in Abbeville was something Roger really, really wanted to do. (He's a lot more social than I am.) I wasn't as enthusiastic about it, but I have to say that within two minutes of arriving there (and especially after the first happy hour!) I felt right at home and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. You truly do meet the nicest people in this lifestyle!