Chop Chop Billy Goat

Today we saw the first alligator of our trip, at Gulf Islands National Seashore in Ocean Springs, Mississippi …

In an attempt to expose the kids to some contemporary art, we visited the sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

This was one of the sculptures we saw …

Little kid pointed at it and said, “that’s the tushie where the poop comes out” ….

On a classier note, here is a sweet family photo …

I love New Orleans! Spent a super fun day exploring the city. It is a great city to explore on foot; and the people are laid back and welcoming.

We visited two parks (City Park and Audubon); rode the street car to the French Quarter, where we wandered around Jackson Square looking at the local artists and fortune tellers; strolled along the Mississippi; walked down Royal Street, where we enjoyed the street musicians; made our way down Bourbon Street (which was not so family friendly :)); took another street car to the Garden District, where we gawked at the enormous homes; wandered around Carrolton, where we saw Tulane and a craft fair; and finally took a bus back to the car.

And, since a trip to NOLA would not be complete without beignets, we had a yummy snack before heading back across the river to our campground…

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.