We were quite relieved by this as several of the group had been
winding us up with inane comments. One guy kept hitting the wood used in
the cellar and repeating 'just like oak' (well, duh-huh), while another could not
believe the beams had not been re-sanded - holding Troy up for several
minutes while he argued the point. The audience was also obsessed with how
old things were; keen to know what was 'original'. We stayed out of this
conversation knowing that even if things were ‘original’ they were still nowhere
near as old as most new builds in Great Britain.
The funniest aspect of the tour was the name of the German family
who used to own the house: 'Whackaspacks'. Every time Troy said it we
would snigger, and when we told him the slang meanings of the two parts of
the word he laughed...and we like to think that he cannot say it anymore
without bursting out laughing. Although that probably would cost him his job....
We refrained from commenting on another family member's name: 'Fanny
Rucker'.
We headed on to New Orleans on the River Road, unfortunately hitting the
city during rush hour. When we finally reached the Mardi Gras RV Park and
Red Carpet Inn and Suites (sounds fancy but essentially a car park) we were
checked in by a friendly young man who signed us up for a camping discount
club (Good Sam). After checking out the restrooms - OK, but pre-fab tiny
plastic shower capsules - we grabbed a supermarket tea then crashed out.
We were spending the next two days in New Orleans; a place that is
lively enough generally, but now on the edge of Mardi Gras we would need all
the energy we could muster.