How Did a Buffalo Grow Wings?: The Origins of Some of America's Favorite Foods

Many places across America have a certain food item that is emblematic to their city or region, and luckily we have found ourselves at the source of several.

Share a meal or two (okay many, many meals!) with us and learn about the origins of some of the USA's most icon foods... CONTINUE READING >>

Pre-Order Now - Wherever Books Are Sold - AND GET GOING GYPSY IN NINE DAYS! 9 MORE DAYS UNTIL THE RELEASE OF Going Gypsy One Couple's Adventure from Empty Nest to No Nest at All (find out more) Coming in February 2015 from Skyhorse Publishing!

Rural Mardi Gras AND Our Australian TV Debut!

Don't get us wrong - we LOVE New Orleans.

But the thought of wading into a Big Easy Mardi Gras is something better left to young whippersnappers. We took the rural route and learned about the wonderful goings-on in Cajun Country - what they call the REAL Mardi Gras!

Courir de Mardi Gras involves costumed men dancing on horseback, begging, and chicken chasing!

La Grande Boucherie des Cajuns A tradition older than Mardi Gras, is a communal hog butcher and meat fest.

Fais do-do See what Cajuns do once the kids go to bed... CONTINUE READING >>

Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

Our Australian TV Debut!

We were surprised by a TV crew on Valentines Day after  our maiden skydive in Queensland, Australia! We were totally thrown off guard – proven by how completely wind-blown we are!… Enlarge video and leave us a comment >>

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When Hurricanes Blow

Our daughter, Decibel, spent a whopping twenty minutes at the college of her choice, Tulane University.

She never attended a single class. It has to be the shortest college career in history.

There was a storm a brewin‘. And it was a whopper... CONTINUE READING >>

Also on GypsyNester.com this week:

Picture This: The Petrified Forest
 

When we heard forest, we expected large groups of upright trees. We felt kind of dumb. The petrified trees are all laying on the ground - alive with vibrant color - left there about 225 million years ago during the Late Triassic... CONTINUE READING >>

How to Help the People of the Philippines

Our hearts are breaking for the people of the Philippines.

We felt the need to do what little we could, and also share the ways we found that can help.

 If you would like to join us, here are three suggestions... CONTINUE READING to find out how you can give moral and/or financial support >>

Indie Travel has chosen the Top Ten Travel Couples from across the web and around the globe!

Every one of these couples should be on your radar if you are a travel fan - this list truly contains the cream of the crop.

 AND, we are honored to be among them! As a matter of fact, we are flat-out shocked to see where we ranked - and why.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL LIST!

A Rip-Roarin' Rafting Ride in Newfoundland!

Click here to see our full adventure in Central Newfoundland

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Acadians, Canadians, and Cajuns

There is something quintessentially southern about the Louisiana bayou country known as Acadiana, so it seemed strange that we would go north of the U. S. border to discover its roots and origins.

The Cajuns' ancestry traces directly back to Canada's Maritime Provinces, so there was no better place to begin our investigation than in Nova Scotia at the Grand-Pré National Historic Site. It was along this coast on The Bay of Fundy that the first French settlers to come to the new world arrived in 1605, before... CONTINUE READING >> 

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A Renewed Faith in Humanity From a Simple Gesture

Have you ever found the PERFECT Birthday Card? The absolute ONLY one that will make the receiver's day?

We had been carting this card around with us for quite some time - months. That's what we do, when we find the ideal card for one of our family or friends we buy it, no matter how long it may be until the occasion that it celebrates. This one was perfect for our oldest, The notoriously carrot-hating Piglet.

Flash forward to a sunny, wildly windy day in Lafayette, Louisiana, a parade of dogs and a birthday card for our eldest to be mailed. What a pretty picture. And it was, until I noticed that the card was no longer in my coat pocket... CONTINUE READING >>

12 Must-See Festivals in the US

We LOVE a festival! Tag the word "fest" on the end of anything and we're there!

Here are 12 of the wildest, wackiest, over-the-top or just plain fabulous celebrations that we've seen!...
CONTINUE READING >> 

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Food for Thought: How Food Enhances Travel

An old adage says that you don't really know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes. We believe it is just as true that you don't really know a place until you eat a plate of its food.

There is so much more to visiting a destination than seeing the sights. We try to immerse... CONTINUE READING >> 

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A Renewed Faith in Humanity From a Simple Gesture

Have you ever found the PERFECT Birthday Card? The absolute ONLY one that will make the receiver's day?

We had been carting this card around with us for quite some time - months. That's what we do, when we find the ideal card for one of our family or friends we buy it, no matter how long it may be until the occasion that it celebrates. This one was perfect for our oldest, The notoriously carrot-hating Piglet.

Flash forward to a sunny, wildly windy day in Lafayette, Louisiana, a parade of dogs and a birthday card for our eldest to be mailed. What a pretty picture. And it was, until I noticed that the card was no longer in my coat pocket... CONTINUE READING >>

A Town Standing on Stilts

There is something about driving to the very tip of a place, the end of the line, land's end, that we can't resist. It's kind of like climbing a mountain for us, we do it because it's there. In Louisiana that point where State Highway 1 hits the water is Grand Isle.

Building a road across this expanse of wetland took extensive... CONTINUE READING >>

Six Places That Will Scare the Snot Out of You

A church decorated with bones, a turn-of-the-century torture chamber, ghost lights in the-middle-of-nowhere Texas, a Voodoo Queen's grave and a REALLY haunted hotel are among the scariest things we've seen out on the road. Click in if you dare... CONTINUE READING >>

Southern Comfort Zone

Traveling up the Mississippi River from New Orleans on the Great River Road, we encountered the epitome of the Old South. All along the river north to Baton Rouge, Plantation Country lives on in well preserved splendor. Cotton was not king down here, unlike the plantations throughout the rest of The South, these gave us some... read more

French Quarter Pounder

Mention New Orleans and most folks conjure up visions of Mardi Gras, jazz bands, Bourbon Street or maybe even the world champion Saints, but we think of food. Crazy good food.

An incredibly diverse, yet unique style cooking has developed through the combination of several cultures down here at the bottom of The Mississippi River. Elements of French, Spanish, Caribbean, Cajun, German and Italian cuisine are all represented in what has come to be known as Creole.

Several of Creole's signature dishes are very similar to typical Cajun recipes and can share the same names and ingredients. Most start with “the holy trinity” of Louisiana cooking, bell pepper, onion, and celery. The names jambalaya...  read more

The Big Easy Street Theater

Every visitor with a soul develops a soft spot for New Orleans. The charm, history, music, food and mischief that define The Big Easy make it impossible not to be captivated.

As we always do, we began the day at Cafe Du Monde. Megadoses of sugar, grease and caffeine -- what more could we need to fuel the day's explorations? Beignets devoured and coffee swilled, we proceeded to take on the town.

Admittedly, some of the French Quarter's appeal isn't as ...  read more

Do Alligators Like Tabasco?

For a long time roads weren't an option in South Louisiana. This was some wild country back in the day, not Bourbon Street wild, but wilderness wild. The incredibly wet, squishy ground made bayous the only reasonable routes for transportation and Bayou Teche was the Superhighway. Following The Teche, we set out to discover the real... read more

Let Us Run This Bayou

In Louisiana, the area south of I-10 and west of New Orleans is a “whole 'nudder t'ing.” Over the years we've made periodic pilgrimages and would be hard-pressed to come up with a part of this great country that we are more fond of. Through hardship and isolation, a society singular to this region has developed with its own food, music and unique language. We love spending time in amongst it all

The main factor in the... read more