When Ma asked us where rice came from, Little Kid said, “from the pot”, and I wasn’t much better.  We decided to visit the country’s oldest rice mill, in New Iberia, Louisiana.  We got to see all the machines that process and package rice up close, but they weren’t running when we were there.  At that mill, they let nothing go to waste.  They sell hulls for animal bedding, and the bran to feed animals.  Afterwards we got a taste of rice.  It was good, but not as good as the ice cream factory samples.

We had a great time in the bayou, a low area with swamps, lakes, and  waterways. There was a lot of spanish moss, strange roots, and fun vines.  One of the great things about the area was that there were tons of armadillos at night. You would hear them rustling in the leaves long before you saw them.

During our time at Lake Fausse Point State Park, LA, we decided to rent a canoe for the day. When we got to the canoe, I became a paddler, Ma paddled and steered, and Pa kept Little Kid safely in the boat. Soon after we got out on the water, we encountered a huge patch of floating water plants. I pushed plants out of the way, and Ma paddled. It was very hard.

After that, we paddled with ease for awhile.  We saw some herons,turtles, and beautiful scenery.  At one point, our canoe trail went into another patch of floating plants that we couldn’t see the end of. Since we didn’t want to push through it, Pa found a detour route through Lake Fausse. When we got back on the canoe trail, we found a canoe campsite, that we decided to have lunch at.   We had a great picnic lunch between the slough we were in and the lake, on an island that looked like a rain forest, with wild vines.

After lunch and a little swinging on vines, we got back in the canoe, with Pa and I paddling.  In the campground, there was a dock behind every campsite.  Since Little Kid was tired and was saying “get up and walk!”,and we had a lot of stuff to carry back to the RV, the boys got off at the dock behind our site, and Ma and I paddled the last section of the canoe trail to return the canoe. The next morning, my arms were very sore from paddling.

Ever used an atlatl? In case you don’t know, an atlatl was a tool used before the bow and arrow to throw spears. During our stay at McKinney Falls State Park, the park had an atlatl throwing program. When Ma and I heard of it, we went straight to it. After learning the basics, we began throwing. In the beginning, our spears didn’t go far, and they were everywhere. After a while, we got pretty good. Ma hit the fake deer about three times, and I hit twice. The first time, it nicked the top of the deer’s butt, and the second one hit right in the middle. Today, my arm is pretty sore.

We had an amazing week at Padre Island National Seashore, on the Gulf of Mexico, Texas. We did lots of sand castle building, playing with sand toys, running in the waves, and walking on the beach.

At Padre Island, we collected many shells. One of my favorites was a molting shell of a leopard crab. It was really a leopard pattern!! Some of my other favorites were a small catfish bone, a crab leg, part of a sand dollar, a giant saw tooth pen shell, and a rust orange shell with a hole at the tip. At the RV, I glued a lot of my shells on a piece of drift wood.

On a night walk on the beach with Crazy Dog, we found some large crabs. Who knew that Crazy Dog is a good crab hunter? He tried to attack a nocturnal ghost crab! Crazy dog also found several other crabs. One night he actually sniffed a crab then jumped away. I think that the crab gave him a little pinch. That night he jumped, and when I looked there was a crab running away. Did Crazy Dog step on it?!?!?!

On the beach, we spent a lot of time cleaning up trash. There is a lot of trash on the beach because four currents converge there. We filled two bags with trash and dumped them, then picked up two more bags that other people had filled and left on the beach.  We sadly found some trash with chew marks. Did you know that turtles can confuse plastic bags and bottles for jellyfish and eat them? The plastic can get trapped in their stomach, lifting their back end and stopping them from getting air.

We were lucky enough to be at Padre Island for a turtle release. It was not hatchlings, but cold stunned turtles. Cold stunning happens when there is a sudden cold front that lowers water temps. Since turtles cannot regulate their temperature, they become immobilized and drift to shore. Rangers rescue and warm them, then the turtles are released back in the ocean. We stayed to watch all sixty-two turtles released.

We spent a lot of Thanksgiving Day cooking, as the tofurkey and the pumpkin pie each took two hours to bake. In our oven , everything was either burnt on the bottom, or under cooked on the top. The tofurkey turned out well, the biscuits were under cooked, but the pie was a little strange. The crust was “heavily toasted,” and the inside was more pudding then pie. Every thing was good anyway, and we also enjoyed cranberry sauce.

Our last day on the beach, we spent driving on the section of beach where cars are allowed. Pa had not wanted to go until we talked to some people that said they went to the end without using four wheel drive. We didn’t go to the end, but we went pretty far.

Sadly, we finally had to leave Padre Island. We set off to San Antonio.

In Big Bend National Park, Texas, we did three hikes. The first hike was in the mountains, called the Lost Mine Trail. It was named that for a legend that there is an old silver mine around there. Even though we didn’t find the mine, we still had a lot of fun. The ridge at the top had panoramic views of the Chisos mountains. It was very strange to see pine trees after being in the desert below.

The second hike was a trail to some hot springs next to the Rio Grande river.  We all sat in the hot springs.The water wasn’t quite hot enough for Ma, too hot for Little Kid, and it was perfect for me . I put both feet in the freezing, freezing, freezing Rio Grande, then suddenly put them back in the hot spring. My feet were on fire!!!!!!!

The last hike we did in Big Bend was through Santa Elena canyon. After hiking through the canyon, we played on a beach near the beginning of the hike. Afterwards we went to a ghost town and had dinner at a place called Starlight Theater. It was named that after it been abandoned and the roofing was sold for scrap.  It was opened as a community center with the roof off, then re – opened as a restaurant after the owners rebuilt the roof. Ma and Pa loved the seitan.

One of the funny things about Big Bend was that along lots of trails there were Mexican crafts for sale. The people weren’t there, but there was a jar for money. On our way back on the nature trail, we found some crafts that weren’t there on our way in!

Another day, we decided to spend a day in Boquillas Del Carmen, Mexico. After going through a US port of entry, we walked to the river, where we were paddled across the river in a rowboat. On the other side, we were assigned a mandatory guide. They started requiring guides  when tourists were going in people’s homes. I decided to pay for a donkey ride to town. Ma and Pa walked, and Little Kid was allowed to sit in front of me on the donkey. He loved it. We spent the morning walking around town. Even though many kids came to us with bead crafts and bracelets, we just bought one beaded flower. After having lunch in a restaurant, we headed back home.