Travel Blog
Here are the latest Cajun Explorers travel blog posts from Tommy & Danny. We wanted a creative way to stay in touch with friends and family while traveling. So, we started this travel blog to share our retirement adventures. We always enjoy our vacations near and far and want to take you along. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy sharing the fun activities and sights we experience on our trips.
I’ll mention now that I’m not a professional writer. Nor am I a seasoned blogger. Actually, I’ve never even had a social media account before I created this site in 2022. Therefore, forgive my mistakes in advance as I’m learning as I go.
I’ve always enjoyed taking lots of photos during our trips. However, all of the photos that I personally take for use on this site and in my photo books at home are taken with my iPhone. I don’t use a digital camera or any other equipment. There’s just not enough space to pack those things. Since we fly standby, thanks to Danny’s airline retirement benefits, we travel only with a carryon and never check luggage.
Bon Voyage…Tommy
Cajun Explorers Travel Blog – Fun Adventures & Travel Planning
- A One Week Getaway to Melbourne Australia
After returning the rental car from our Grand Pacific Drive road trip, we flew to Melbourne, Australia for a week. It’s a quick flight, just over an hour. We checked into our 40th floor apartment in a downtown high rise. What an incredible view from our balcony! Arcades and Laneways Melbourne’s laneways are small, tucked away alleys. The arcades are covered shopping plazas. They boast a diverse array of hidden, cafes, boutiques, shops, restaurants, and bars.… Read more: A One Week Getaway to Melbourne Australia - Costco food court Australia and the special menu optionsWe love shopping at Costco, especially when traveling. Recently, we visited several Costco food court Australia locations. We wanted to discover if there are any regional food court menu options and products in the store. While traveling, we always search for unique items not available in Texas. You just never know what you’ll find. I’ve already posted on our visits to Costco Canada, Costco France and Costco Honolulu. I’ll now add Costco Australia to our list.… Read more: Costco food court Australia and the special menu options
- Australia’s Grand Pacific Drive in a 10 Day Road TripThere are 87 scenic coastal miles in Australia’s Grand Pacific Drive in New South Wales (NSW). You can certainly drive it nonstop. But, you wouldn’t really see much while behind the wheel. Although I won’t be the one driving. I’ll be chauffeured by my wonderful husband, like “driving Miss Daisy”. I planned many stops along the way to explore each area and travel beyond the suggested drive. So, 10 days it is. It also gives us… Read more: Australia’s Grand Pacific Drive in a 10 Day Road Trip
- A One Week Exploration Of Spectacular Sydney AustraliaSaying goodbye to the Crown Princess and “G’day Mate” to Sydney Australia Our arrival in Sydney by cruise ship gave us a unique view of the city, Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The captain delayed our arrival until 7:00 a.m., so we would have daylight to enjoy the view. Our escort into the harbor is a special celebration that includes water canons and skiers because this is the inaugural trip of the Crown Princess into Sydney.… Read more: A One Week Exploration Of Spectacular Sydney Australia
- Costco food court Honolulu and the special menu optionsAll of our friends know we love shopping at Costco, especially when traveling. Recently we stopped at the Costco food court in Honolulu, Hawaii while on our South Pacific Cruise. While planning our trips both in the US and in other countries, we always search for local product options not available in Texas. You just never know what you’ll find. I have previously posted on our visits to Costco Canada and Costco France. I’ll now add the Costco Honolulu… Read more: Costco food court Honolulu and the special menu options
- Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—3 (New Zealand)Welcome to part three and the final post of our 31 day South Pacific cruise. We left Tahiti and we are now sailing 5 days toward New Zealand. Here are the links if you missed the first two posts: Amazing 31-day South Pacific Cruise to Australia—1 (Hawaii) and Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—2 (French Polynesia). On Sunday, October 13th, the 20th day of our cruise we crossed the International Date Line. When we woke… Read more: Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—3 (New Zealand)
- Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—2 (French Polynesia)Welcome to part two of our 31 day South Pacific cruise. We will visit Moorea and Papeete, Tahiti in French Polynesia. Click here to read my Part 1 post covering Hawaii. It’s another 5 relaxing days at sea before we arrive at our first stop in Moorea. French Polynesia is a territory of France, so we’ll be able to use our French speaking skills while we’re here. There are approximately 130 islands which comprise this French… Read more: Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific—2 (French Polynesia)
- Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific to Australia—1 (Hawaii)We arrived early to board the Crown Princess for our South Pacific cruise and were on the ship within 30 minutes. Great job Princess! I’ll share just a few Crown Princess facts: capacity is 3,080 guests and there are 1,200 crew. Although this is an older ship built in 2006, it was completely refurbished in 2018. There are 14 dining and restaurant options, 8 bars, 6 pools and splash pads, 7 spas and a host of… Read more: Amazing 31-day Cruise in the South Pacific to Australia—1 (Hawaii)
- Exploring Hearst Castle and the Beautiful Paso Robles VineyardsWe are celebrating my 65th birthday with a 65 day vacation adventure. I know, it’s not a coincidence with the matching numbers. We’re both retired now and since I planned the details for this trip, then why not travel for 65 days? Exploring Hearst Castle and the beautiful Paso Robles vineyards will kick off our trip. I’ll share more details later about the rest of our plans. Our neighbors Tom, Cary and Angie joined us for… Read more: Exploring Hearst Castle and the Beautiful Paso Robles Vineyards
- A beautiful wedding weekend in Scottsdale, ArizonaWe enjoyed a wonderful weekend of fun and cooler weather in Scottsdale, Arizona on a trip with our friends Cary, Tom and Autumn. Danny & I had never visited Scottsdale before. So, it was time for a new adventure. First stop, a party at the groom’s house. For our Houston friends and football fans, you may recognize the groom, Greg Mancz. Greg played football with the Houston Texans from 2015-2020, before playing with other NFL teams.… Read more: A beautiful wedding weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona
- Fun New Year’s Eve Cruise on Harmony of the Seas
We celebrated the arrival of 2024 with a one-week New Year’s Eve cruise on Harmony of the Seas. There were 10 of us who departed Galveston, Texas to visit Costa Maya, Roatán and Cozumel. This is our first time to cruise from the port of Galveston and we are excited to set sail. Before our trip, I noticed that we had a total of 3 sea days. I wondered if there would be enough to see… Read more: Fun New Year’s Eve Cruise on Harmony of the Seas - Parades, Music and Fun at the 80th annual Sugar Cane Festival in New Iberia, LA
Last weekend we drove to my hometown of New Iberia to attend the 80th annual Sugar Cane Festival (and to celebrate my birthday too 😉). It’s probably been 25 years since we’ve been to this festival and who doesn’t like small town Cajun fun? Our usual first stop each time we head back home is to visit one of our favorite drive thru daiquiri shops. Danny knows from experience that the large size just fits into… Read more: Parades, Music and Fun at the 80th annual Sugar Cane Festival in New Iberia, LA - Stress free roadtrip to Oklahoma City and Wichita FallsSeptember has arrived and it’s time for my birthday get away. We enjoyed our amazing adventure in France this year, but now we’re looking forward to a relaxing and stress free roadtrip closer to home. So, we decided to drive up to Oklahoma and visit friends we haven’t seen in a few years. I am not a fan of long roadtrips as they stress me out. My max time in a car is about 6 hours… Read more: Stress free roadtrip to Oklahoma City and Wichita Falls
- The 3 best flea markets for antiquing in Paris-2023 update
I originally published this post in 2022 based on our pre-COVID visit to what I think are the 3 best Paris flea markets for antiquing. I promised to update the information and photos below from our recent 2023 vacation. After visiting all three flea markets, I’m happy to say that these are still tops in my opinion. My favorite past time when traveling is antiquing. I can spend hours everyday wandering through antique shops and flea… Read more: The 3 best flea markets for antiquing in Paris-2023 update - Costco France food court and the special menu optionsThe Costco France food court has a few menu items that we don’t have in the US. We just returned from France in June 2023, after spending almost three months vacationing there. Our typical routine at home is a weekly shopping trip to Costco. Of course sometimes, Danny makes more than one trip a week. I guess you can say we’re avid fans. A favorite activity during each of our travels is to visit a local… Read more: Costco France food court and the special menu options
- Car-2-Europe experience for vacation in France. How to find the cheapest price (Results-Part 2)
This post is the update to our original post Car Rental vs Lease Part 1. Part 1 outlined how the Car-2-Europe short-term lease program saved us $1,000-$1,600 off the cost of a 45-day car rental to drive around Europe. Part 2 shares our Car-2-Europe experience with Auto Europe and the results of the process involved with leasing. I originally booked our lease several months before our departure. Auto Europe confirmed everything and we received the executed… Read more: Car-2-Europe experience for vacation in France. How to find the cheapest price (Results-Part 2) - A Summer in France: Paris, Week 4–Our First Bucket ListWelcome to chapter 16 of our travel adventures— A Summer in France: Paris, Week 4. This is the final post in our Summer in France series. We are flying home tomorrow. Air Balloon Flight Since we arrived in Paris, I’ve been trying to take Danny aboard the Balloon de Paris. It’s the world’s largest balloon, according to their website. The balloon is also an airborne lab measuring the ozone quality and many other atmospheric conditions. The… Read more: A Summer in France: Paris, Week 4–Our First Bucket List
- A Summer in France: Paris, Week 3–Our First Bucket ListThanks for coming back to read our travel adventures— A Summer in France: Paris, Week 3. We kicked off the weekend going to flea markets. I’ve posted before about my 3 best flea markets for antiquing in Paris. So I wanted to visit post-Covid to see if they’ve changed. Marché aux puces de la Porte de Vanves I’m happy to say the Puces de Vanves is still a great place to shop and spend a morning.… Read more: A Summer in France: Paris, Week 3–Our First Bucket List
- A Summer in France: Paris, Week 2—Our First Bucket ListThanks for joining us again for chapter 14 of A Summer in France: Paris, Week 2. This is part two of our month in Paris, the final leg of our journey. This week is another busy week of fun with Tom & Cary in town. We’ve created a routine enjoying the sites all day and cooking dinner in our apartment in the evenings. A stroll through the heart of Paris One day we started off by… Read more: A Summer in France: Paris, Week 2—Our First Bucket List
- A Summer in France: Paris, Week 1—Our First Bucket ListThanks for joining us again for chapter 13 of A Summer in France: Paris, Week 1. This is part one of our month in Paris, the final leg of our journey. The weekend before we arrived in Paris, we spent with our friends Valerie, Laurent and Maxine again. I hadn’t realized how tired we were and that we needed a break from our travels. It sounds crazy that you need a vacation from a vacation, but… Read more: A Summer in France: Paris, Week 1—Our First Bucket List
- A Summer in France: Provence Villages—Our First Bucket list ContinuesWelcome to chapter 12–A Summer in France: Provence Villages. In my last post, we stayed in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue to use as a base to explore several towns and villages in Provence. If you’re not familiar with the Provence-Alpes-Côté-d’Azur area of southern France, here’s a map to highlight where it is. We were able to visit several villages during our week: Apt, Bonnieux, Ménerbes, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and a very quick trip into Avignon to meet up with friends. There… Read more: A Summer in France: Provence Villages—Our First Bucket list Continues
- A Summer in France: L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue — Our First Bucket List ContinuesA Summer in France: L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is chapter 11 of our trip. This small town is famous for its many antique shops and hosts antique markets on Sundays which takes over the entire town center. If you’ve parked inside the old center, there’s no getting in or out that day. This is probably the largest antiques area in France outside of Paris. There are over 300 permanent antique dealers in this small town of 26,000 people and as many… Read more: A Summer in France: L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue — Our First Bucket List Continues
- A Summer in France: Montpellier—Our First Bucket List Continues
This is chapter 10 of Summer in France: Montpellier. We arrived from Barcelona a couple of days ago, but our first stop was Les Grands Buffets that I recently posted about. So, we’ve now had some time to recover and can resume our sightseeing. Montpellier is the seventh largest city in France with a city population of about 300,000. Students comprise one fourth of its population. It’s also a very old city mentioned in documents since… Read more: A Summer in France: Montpellier—Our First Bucket List Continues - A Summer In France: Les Grands Buffets — A Spectacular FeastWelcome to chapter 9, Summer In France: Les Grands Buffets. This is a special post about our experience at an all-you-can-eat gourmet buffet in Narbonne, France called Les Grands Buffets. We enjoy most buffet restaurants back home, but they are very rare in France. Even more rare is one that advertises as gourmet, upscale, elegant fine dining and with a dress code. So, of course we couldn’t resist and had to try it out. Getting a… Read more: A Summer In France: Les Grands Buffets — A Spectacular Feast
- A Summer in France: Barcelona – Our First Bucket List ContinuesWelcome to chapter 8 – A Summer in France: Barcelona. We’ve arrived in Spain for a few days after leaving Andorra. Neither of us have ever been to Barcelona, so we’re looking forward to our stay. Barcelona has a city population of 1.6 million people, while the metropolitan area has 4.8 million. It is Europe’s 5th most populous area. Here’s an aerial view of the city I captured on a funicular ride up the mountain. There… Read more: A Summer in France: Barcelona – Our First Bucket List Continues
- A Summer in France: Andorra – Our First Bucket List ContinuesOk, I’ll admit the title Summer in France: Andorra is a little misleading. Andorra is not in France. Landlocked between France and Spain, Andorra is a small country, a principality, outside of the European Union. Many people have never even heard of it, including Danny. So naturally it’s on my list to visit. Andorra is headed by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and the President of France. It’s the world’s only co-principality and the… Read more: A Summer in France: Andorra – Our First Bucket List Continues
- A Summer in France: Albi – Our First Bucket List ContinuesWelcome to chapter six, Summer in France: Albi. Albi is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is less than an hour from Toulouse. First settled during the Bronze Age (3000-600 BC), the crusades (1209-1229) virtually destroyed this city. Here’s a short video clip I took while standing on the bridge overlooking the city. Note the bridge with pink bricks in the foreground of the photo above and the video below. It’s called Pont Vieux or Old Bridge and was… Read more: A Summer in France: Albi – Our First Bucket List Continues
- A Summer in France: Our First Bucket List Continues (Toulouse)Welcome to chapter five of our trip Summer in France: Toulouse. Toulouse is the fourth largest city in France with a population of approximately one million people. It’s located in the south of France about 75 miles from Spain. Like our stay in Poitiers, this is our first time to visit this city. The Romans founded Toulouse in the 2nd century. Today, the city is referred to as “La Ville Rose”, or Pink City because of… Read more: A Summer in France: Our First Bucket List Continues (Toulouse)
- A Summer in France: Our First Bucket List Continues (Vineyards)Welcome to part four of a Summer in France (Vineyards). This is a shorter post to share with you a couple of quick day trips out in the countryside in the wine regions of Blaye, Pauillac & Saint-Émilion. Blaye The wine from this region is “Blaye – Cotes de Bordeaux”. The small city of Blaye is just across the river from the Médoc region with a ferry connecting the two sides. It’s a small town north… Read more: A Summer in France: Our First Bucket List Continues (Vineyards)
- A Summer in France: Our First Bucket List Continues (Bordeaux)The third installment of a Summer in France (Bordeaux) begins as we leave Poitiers to visit the small village of Chauvigny. We visited on Good Friday, so many of the shops and restaurants were closed for the Easter holiday. We headed straight up to the medieval city and there were only a handful of people walking around. It was nice to explorer the village on our own. The town has an upper ancient city with the… Read more: A Summer in France: Our First Bucket List Continues (Bordeaux)
- A Summer in France: Our First Bucket List Continues (Poitiers)
In my first post of A Summer in France, I mentioned that we arrived in Paris early to spend a few days relaxing before we picked up our lease car. It was a lot cheaper for us to lease a car, rather than rent for our trip. See this post for details about this special program if you need a car longer than 3 weeks and want to save money. I’ll post details about our experiences… Read more: A Summer in France: Our First Bucket List Continues (Poitiers) - A Summer in France – Our First Bucket List Trip
Our first exciting retirement adventure begins with a Summer in France, our first bucket list trip. We’ve been planning a lifetime for the moment we were both retired and it’s finally here. There’s been lots of turmoil, demonstrations and national strikes in France in the past several weeks. President Macron ordered an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 64. This started the upheaval and we’ve been following it closely. In spite of these difficulties,… Read more: A Summer in France – Our First Bucket List Trip - Youngsville, LA 2023 Mardi Gras Parade Equals Big Time Fun
We drove to Louisiana this past weekend to meet with family and attend the Youngsville 2023 Mardi Gras parade. New Orleans is historically synonymous with Mardi Gras, but there are times when you want to celebrate the carnival season with much smaller crowds in a more family friendly environment, rather than in the rowdy craziness of the big city celebration. There are many Mardi Gras parades in the Cajun country of Acadiana. The Youngsville 2023 Mardi… Read more: Youngsville, LA 2023 Mardi Gras Parade Equals Big Time Fun - Historic Stowe, Vermont and discovering its quaint covered bridgesThis is our visit to historic Stowe, Vermont and discovering its quaint covered bridges. The beautiful landscape captivated us as we explored this rural area of New England. Gov. Wentworth of New Hampshire granted a charter to establish Stowe in 1763. The “ski capital of the East” is how Stowe is known today. It is Vermont’s second largest town in land area, but ranks 27th in population with 5,223 people. This picturesque town is located at… Read more: Historic Stowe, Vermont and discovering its quaint covered bridges
- More Funny Travel Mishaps and Mistakes: Rental Car WrecksIn an earlier post, Funny Travel Mishaps and Mistakes, Flashback 20 Years, I mentioned that one of our mishaps on that trip was when Danny wrecked our rental car. Today, the more I think about our rental car wrecks, I realize that I might have uncovered a trend. So, it’s probably time for me to poke a little fun at Danny. Ok, don’t fault me for teasing him, I’m grateful he’s the quintessential good sport. I’ll… Read more: More Funny Travel Mishaps and Mistakes: Rental Car Wrecks
- Funny Travel Mishaps and Mistakes, Flashback 20 Years to 2002We experienced a series of funny travel mishaps and mistakes as we traveled through Europe 20 years ago in 2002. I’ve mentioned elsewhere on our website that I’m brand new to blogging. But, that might not quite be true. Recently, I discovered an old document that included detailed notes I had written when we returned from this long ago trip. I had forgotten most of these details and laughed out loud as I read through them… Read more: Funny Travel Mishaps and Mistakes, Flashback 20 Years to 2002
- I retired today after 32+ years in the same organizationI retired today. I’m sitting in my office on my final day of work writing this message. I’m surprised about my feelings and mixed emotions. I’d like to put my feelings into words, but can’t find those “words of wisdom” that sum up everything. I am very excited to begin the new journey ahead and to join my husband in retirement. We already have lots of travel plans booked for 2023. However, my thoughts are bittersweet.… Read more: I retired today after 32+ years in the same organization
- Fascinating Display at Moody Gardens Ice Land & Festival of Lights 2022The theme for Moody Gardens Ice Land 2022 is Caribbean Christmas. Haven’t ever been to Galveston, Texas to see this exhibit before? Evidently, it’s time for you to visit. What is Ice Land at Moody Gardens? An award-winning team of master ice carvers from Harbin, China flies into Houston each September to create the beautiful sculptures at Moody Gardens Ice Land. The team carves over 900 tons of ice and works over 1,000 hours to create… Read more: Fascinating Display at Moody Gardens Ice Land & Festival of Lights 2022
- Costco food court Canada and the special menu optionsWe both love shopping at Costco, especially when traveling. Recently we stopped at the Costco food court in Montreal, Canada while on vacation. While planning our trips both in the US and in other countries, we always include stops at Costco to search for local product options not available in Texas. You just never know what will make the perfect souvenir to take back home. So, what did the Costco food court Canada menu look like?… Read more: Costco food court Canada and the special menu options
- Top 10 secrets for Paris flea market shopping and safety
Over the years, I’ve been to hundreds of flea markets, antique shops, and antique fairs in many countries. Since we travel to France most frequently, I’ve learned most of my tips from my Paris flea market shopping. Of course, these top 10 tips are just as applicable throughout Europe, or at home in the USA whenever I navigate large and busy flea markets. Paris flea market shopping calls for safety first Shopping and negotiating discounts Lessons… Read more: Top 10 secrets for Paris flea market shopping and safety - Car Rental vs Lease for vacation in France. How to find the cheapest price (Part 1)Which is more budget friendly–car rental vs lease for longer travel plans? I decided to find out for myself about a car rental vs lease for my vacation in France. So, I planned the itinerary for our three-month vacation and determined we’d need a car for six weeks. Since the pandemic, renting a car has become quite expensive. I read that a short-term, guaranteed buy back lease can be a more affordable option to renting and… Read more: Car Rental vs Lease for vacation in France. How to find the cheapest price (Part 1)
- OMG! Paulette’s K-Pie is the best dessert in Memphis
My travel memory began with a craving for ice cream… I recently had a craving for ice cream which prompted a memory of Paulette’s K-pie in Memphis. An amazing dessert that Danny and I shared on my birthday vacation last September. While researching things to do and places to eat during our trip in Memphis, TN, I found an article in Memphis Magazine about Paulette’s K-Pie. The description and photos were too tempting to miss, so… Read more: OMG! Paulette’s K-Pie is the best dessert in Memphis - Anniversary of the Lake Peigneur salt mine catastropheThe Lake Peigneur salt mine catastrophe is an event you may never have heard of if you’re not from south Louisiana. Today is the 42nd anniversary of the drilling accident that occurred on Nov 20, 1980. It forever changed this area, the lake, and its ecosystem. Originally, this lake was a shallow freshwater lake about 10 foot deep covering 1,300 acres. Texaco was drilling for oil and accidentally pierced the Diamond Crystal salt mine located underneath… Read more: Anniversary of the Lake Peigneur salt mine catastrophe
- Houston Astros 2022 World Series Victory Parade
The Astros won the World Series and the excitement in Houston was incredible. Then began immediate plans for the Houston Astros 2022 World Series Victory Parade in downtown. Our Own Astros Victory Parade Plans Danny didn’t attend the last victory parade when the Astros won the 2017 World Series, he wasn’t going to miss this one. He joined a group of friends as they carpooled to downtown Houston four hours early to find the perfect spot.… Read more: Houston Astros 2022 World Series Victory Parade
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