Thursday Feb 1 - It's been quite awhile since our last post. Sorry about that but we haven't had reliable wifi for a week. Now we seem to be okay, out in the boondocks in swamp country southern Louisiana. We're in what is pretty much a trailor park, poor style, single wides that haven't been updated for awhile. But we're close to the bayou, have a field behind us, have electricity and water, a warm evening, and no wind. So what more could you ask for?

We put the fireplace on, had a drink or two, and recounted the day. We did a swamp tour with Captain  Billy Gaston, who gave us a great tour through the bayous and canals and swamps of this area. He's a true local, having lived here all of his life, so he had many stories about growing up in the the bayous, hunting alligators, tracking through the swamps as a teen-ager, trapping nutria (large rat-like creatures brought in here years ago from Brazil), and all sorts of other experiences that make him ideal to run a swamp tour. We saw alligators, lots of shore birds, and several eagles, which nest deep in the swamp areas.

Billy feeds many of the gators, so a high-light was his calling a smaller beastie over to the boat so we could feed him. When Billy started to call him, he came swimming right over, and several of us had a chance to feed him chicken off a hooked pole. The gator was just like a pet doggie, coming for treats. Normally he feeds up to 30 of the beasts, some as large as 12 feet long; but today it being winter, only the smaller gators were up and about. The big guys are still in hibernation.

We also saw several eagle nests, which was a treat. There were a number of the big birds either at the nest or sitting up in a nearby tree, so there were some good photo opps. Billy is currently in a battle with the owners of the swamp property, who want to close off some of the waterways and put him out of business, so they can run an airboat operation. He's fighting them hard, and we're all in his corner, as he has such a love of the area, and has so much insight, it would be a tragedy if he were not able to continue what he's doing. Hopefully he'll come out of it all right.

All of this follows 4 days in New Orleans. To go back in this saga, we spent a couple of days in Mississippi, including one night in Biloxi, where we did a huge walk along the waterfront.  We were so tired by the time we got back to our rv park, after 3 hours of walking, that we found a nearby bar/restaurant called Slap Yo Mama, and had a nice time over a beer and cheese fries. There was a young guy sitting near us who we chatted with, along with his friend the bartender, Boe. Turned out the young lad is a graduate engineer specialized in space science, and has worked on projects at Canaveral. He's also 6 feet 6 and 250 pounds, which made me feel like a wee one standing next to him. Two really nice guys that we enjoyed some time with.

We picked sister Marilyn up at the Louis Armstrong Airport in NO, not without some challenges, as it was pouring rain. But we figured it out with least wetness impact, and were soon set up in our little funny rv park out in the east end of NO. We spent four days in the city, so without boring you with details, let it be enough to say that we covered the French Quarter very well. Music, music, music, all the way from the Jazz Museum, Frenchmen's Street (where the real jazz can be found), Preservation Hall, to the noise of Bourbon Street. Cafe au lait and beignets at the Cafe du Monde, the French Market, Jackson Square, the Garden District, the Riverwalk, the back streets, we did it all in 4 days. And at the end of those 4 days, agreed that we had had enough. Not for ever, as we always enjoy ourselves here (this being our 6th time to New Orleans), and will probably come back again.

But we think we gave Marilyn a good taste of the city, all the way from riding the busses and trams, to dealing with the numerous street people, to just wandering the streets and drinking in the atmosphere. Music everywhere, whether a group of young guys doing traditional stuff  or young guys beating on empty buckets in amazing rhythms. Just as we left Bourbon Street the last night we saw two little guys aged about 7 or 8 who were starting their street careers pounding on empty pails with great rhythm. Seems to be in the blood here. How could you live here without having music course through your veins?

We're down in Cajun country now, so tomorrow will probably tour one or two of  the old plantations, then go for Cajun food and music in Houma. Sposed to rain a bit tomorrow, so that would be a good day to do such. Saturday we may move on to another area, but still hope to have the Cajun experience. The people are very friendly and welcoming, and the food and music are hard to beat.

So that's a brief update. Hopefully the next posting won't be so long in coming, as I have a hard time remembering what we've done more than a day or two ago. Have to also add that this is about the first time in our 70 days on the road that it's been warm enough to sit outside and enjoy some time around the fire without feeling chilled. Wish it would last but not scheduled to do so, as the temps are to drop again on Saturday. Not complaining...just saying!

That's it for now. More later...stay tuned.