After San Antonio, TX, we headed for our first stay with family in Katy (pictures). We stayed with Don, Mary, Ellen, and Lucy, as well as our beagle cousins, Basil and Mitzi. We got there mid-afternoon to find Ellen diligently studying for her last final exam. This was a theme for the next week or so. Whatever day we got there was the last day of finals. We chased the last day of school all the way through NJ. Anyway, we were only staying the night and visiting the next day. Back on the road after dinner. We had a great time just hanging out, went to a park where the kids got to scooter and run and play, played with the dogs, played WAR, and ate too much! It was so nice. And too short.
We hit the bayous of Texas on our way out at night and I think the bug population must triple at night. The next morning, when we looked at the car in the hotel parking lot, we couldn't believe the solid coating of insect carnage on the grill! The place that changed our oil in NJ was pretty surprised at the size of some of the bodies on the air filter when he changed it too.
From Lafayette (arrived too late to swim...too bad, the pool looked good), we continued our eastward trek through the Atchafalaya Swamp (the largest swamp in North America). The wonderfully nice ladies in the visitor's center heard me say something to Claire about it being her birthday and made a big ol' fuss over her. They found beads and pins and luggage tags under the counter and presented them to her. By the way, the visitor's center is worth a stop to learn about the swamp habitat and how its boundaries have changed with erosion and storms over the years.
Finally we got to New Orleans (pictures). The Big Easy was cloudy that day, and I'm glad. It was getting hotter as we headed east and definitely more humid. A nice cloudy day was perfect. Got to show the kids The French Quarter, Jackson Square, the Mississippi River, The Audobon Aquarium, had a portrait of the kids done for Father's Day, and celebrated Claire's birthday at lunch. Laissez les bons temps rollez~.
We headed across Lake Pontchartrain, and to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi to my old Air Force Keesler AFB stomping grounds. Toes were dabbled in the Gulf of Mexico, Katrina damage was witnessed, and a beautiful sunset was seen.
We got to Mobile, AL in time for bed, and an early start to the USS Alabama. We didn't realize until breakfast (watching CNN cover D-day), that it WAS D-Day and we were visiting a WWII ship. There were some big festivities going on there and it made the visit a little more special and us feel a little more patriotic. Side note: the "D" in D-Day doesn't mean anything you'd think it does...not debarkation or doom. It means day and is a way of marking time...d is the day something is to occur, the day before would be D minus 1 and the day after would be D plus 1. I had to look it up. Everyone I asked that day had a different answer, and they were all wrong.
There are lots of pictures of the USS Alabama, as well as a few from the Gulf Coast, plus the other picture links that were in the body of the blog.
Enjoy, and we'll pick up from here next time.
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