May I introduce to you...

The Atchafalaya Swamp.

We began the day with getting the Edge's oil changed (we brought 2 dozen of Meche's Donuts to the dealership where Dad works and made lots of people happy), and having spent almost a week trying to reserve a swamp tour (5 adult minimum was needed), I decided that I'd take Gabe out to the Atchafalaya area to at least show him something from dry land. We stopped by the tourist information center in Butte La Rose to see if anyone there knew of another good tour besides the one given at McGee's Landing (said to be the best) to get ourselves onto and we were able to learn quite a bit of cool things about the area.

When I was little, and before my parent's divorce, we spent every Saturday out on the swamp in Dad's boat (The Elva Marie) named after my Mom.


Air boat on the levee.


My first official date was at this restaurant. I remember looking at him like he was totally nuts after he asked me if I wanted him to "mix up" my rice....no thanks, I'm a big girl! We were about 15 years old, maybe he saw his Dad doing it for his Mom...I don't know.


Gabe and I watched this man pull in catfish after catfish; I think he was using crawfish heads as bait because every now and then some woman would drop a bucket full into his boat from the fence above. While we were at Pat's, I overheard a man at a table next to us say that he just booked his family on a swamp tour for 1 p.m.....Yes, We were able to get right onto that one.

And now we get to the actual tour part of this post...
there were lots of fishermen (and women) out that day.

Two houseboats down below.

The little cajun man giving the tour asked Gabe to drive for him so he could point out a few things.

A prayer was put up by some people who lost loved ones to an accident in the swamp. Between my kindergarten and 1st grade year, I lost a classmate to the swamp. He was fishing with his grandfather and the boat overturned. I remember my Mom crying buckets over that one...

Underneath the I-10 bridge (the 2nd longest bridge in the States, I believe).

Lucy cleared the dock for us by barking her sweet little head off when we approached at the end of the tour.

McGee's Landing where the tour began and ended. Years ago, we'd pull our boat up to the dock to get a bucket of crickets (for bait, in case we'd fish), a box of Doo-Dads (snack) for Dad and chicken salad sandwiches. It was weird to me to see that place again, different from how I remembered it to be, and to be able to show Gabe a part of my history.