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.

This morning, before leaving Texas, we visited the Blue Bell Creameries in Brenham.  We  toured the production facility, where we got to see lots and lots of ice cream products (pints, gallons, popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, etc.) being made and packaged. At the end of the tour, we each enjoyed a scoop – vanilla for Jay, caramel turtle fudge for Bex, cookies and cream for Andy, and sea salt caramel for me … yum!!

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.

If you go to Texas you have to see the Alamo because, well, it’s the Alamo. So after Padre Island we drove up to Guadalupe River State Park, which is about 45 minutes north of downtown San Antonio, to use as our base camp while exploring San Antonio.

The next day we braved big city traffic (something about living in a city of more than a million makes people drive like maniacs) for our whirlwind tour of downtown San Antonio. First stop was the Alamo. For me, the Alamo significance is as the site of the pivotal scene in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure: “There’s no basement at the Alamo!” At the Alamo we read plaques and peered at exhibits for a few hours (I still don’t understand why they didn’t just retreat and live to fight another day, and why an avoidable military defeat is so renowned). After lunch we put Little Kid on my back and walked the downtown portion of the Riverwalk, a former river turned into a picturesque canal lined with restaurants and shops. The Riverwalk runs below street level, and the streets cross it on bridges, so you can walk through the downtown area without having to cross any streets and without a lot of traffic noise. After the Riverwalk we trudged over to the historic Market Square, which is basically a collection of tourist traps. Finally, we hit the Witte Museuem.

After San Antonio we headed up to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin so we could take the Jetta to an Austin mechanic to have our squeaking front suspension fixed. I found the mechanic on the “trusted mechanics list” of tdiclub.com, the online fan club for the Volkswagen diesel engine (known as the TDI). Once again, the internet makes it easy to live on the road.

While in Austin we swung by the Texas capitol building and got the treat of seeing a young northern tourist make a what-the-heck?! face as she read the Confederate memorial (“DIED for state rights guaranteed under the constitution”). Inside the capitol building Becca was entranced by a cowboy trick roper who was there for the speaker of the house’s private christmas party.

In Austin we also continued our tour of North America’s city parks with a visit to Zilker Park where we walked around Barton Springs, took the little train, and walked the trail that loops along the Lady Bird Lake.