Only In Orleans

Day Three: Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009

Dave had recovered, somewhat, and we continued on our way. We met up with Jack and told him what he had missed going on behind him. We all had a good laugh and off we went. Destination: Little Orleans. John and Rosy were at the trailhead as planned. We retold the story again and had another good laugh. Even in the retelling the story wasn't growing old.

There was no doubt we were headed in the right direction from the trailhead to the Little Orleans Lodge. Bill's was halfway there and there was his sign pointing the way. Thanks, Bill.




Brandy was there to greet us.




We ran into Steve upon arriving, "Bill called and said to tell you he would be open tonight". Isn't it gambling night? Why wouldn't he be open? But regardless it looks like it's Bill's tonight for dinner.

Rosy and I had seen our rooms but the guys hadn't. Rosy and John were on the second floor sharing a bathroom with three construction workers who were working in the area. Jack, Chris, Dave and I were in another room on another floor. We had one and a half baths and a very convoluted layout. It was interesting to say the least. The entrance to our rooms failed to impress Dave.




But it was clean and there was that promise of ice cream and blueberries before bed so I was happy.

We cleaned up and headed to Bill's. Looks like we're in the right place.




First things first. Drinks. The guy who had helped Rosy earlier in the day was still at his place at the bar. He had now been joined by Bill's son Slim. Bill's sister was also there and was in and out of the kitchen.




Once the drinks had been taken care of dinner was ordered. While waiting for dinner a game of Euchre seemed like a good way to pass the time.




Every good bar should have signs and this bar was no exception. I think we could have spent all day looking at all of the stuff he had on the walls.




I bet you are wondering where the gamblers are. Me too. We were the only ones in the bar the entire night. Oh, Steve, you jokester. You better not be joking about that ice cream.

I am sure you wouldn't be surprised to be learn that Bill was quite a talker. By the end of the night he had his pictures out and was telling the stories that went with them.




Bill's was quite a place. Chris couldn't help but buy a t-shirt with Bill's photo on the front.




It had been a long day so we called it an early night. We headed back to the Little Orleans Lodge and much to my delight enjoyed some ice cream and blueberries. Thanks, Steve. We sat around his table for awhile enjoying our ice cream and talking.

Despite Dave's misgivings at the beginning of the trip about this night's lodging it turned out just fine. It was probably the most interesting place we stayed at the entire week. Was it the nicest and most elegant? Not even close. But by far the most fun. That counts for a lot in my book. I will take fun over fussy any day.

As I went to bed that night I happened to glance down and saw two clamps holding the front of the bed together but I was too tired to even care. As long as the bed didn't collapse in the middle of the night I figured all was good.

I'll leave you with a quote by Bill:

"You'll look long and hard, but you won't find another place anything like this place, I can tell you that," says Bill through a haze of cigar smoke. "And no," he adds, "we don't have a no-smoking section in our dining room. If you don't want to smoke, you can go outside and not do it."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

to be continued......