We said goodbye to N’Orluns this morning and hit the road with the strongest coffee we have ever tasted. Seriously, we were afraid to pour it out on ground for fear that genetically modified supergrass would grow or that the spot would be dead for carbon half-life… Look, there is a skull in the coffee if you look closely 😳

We crossed decades-old bridges and watched the New Orleans riverfront fade away.

Our last stop for now in Louisiana was in Slidell, Louisiana for the Cajun Encounter in Honey Swamp.

Should we be nervous that the boat’s name is Gator Bait?

The tour was definitely less dramatic than our last gator interaction, but it was fun and pretty interesting (Leo said we couldn’t get too sciencey on Spring Break… of course, he also asked why I took him to museums and made him read on break too 🤦🏻‍♀️). The guide, Capt. Matt, was a former marine who was stationed in Jacksonville, but originally from Slidell (properly pronounced SLY-Dell)

And then the alpha predator showed up, and started swimming right to us.

These alligators were much smaller than the ones we saw back in Natchitoches, but these are wild and not fed hotdogs on a daily basis. We also learned that if we came back in about 3 months, these gators would be about 30 pounds larger. When the water is less than 70° the gators don’t eat. At less than 70°, the gators stomachs can’t metabolize food so anything they eat will sit in their stomach and rot. In light of this, the gators were not terribly interested in the food we were throwing out.

Now, the raccoons on the other hand were VERY interested in anything we were throwing to them. They were so cute and not at all scared of people, who they clearly associate with food. We were fascinated by them, especially the sibling pair who wrestled over food, and their human like fingers/digits.

Capt Matt told us the story of the Whiskey Tree: Moonshiners and bootleggers used this tree as a marker when they were running whiskey during prohibitions. Of all the places officers were patrolling, Honey Swamp was probably the safest place for a bootlegger.

We saw blue herons who are the biggest threat to baby alligators. These birds will swoop down and take the baby alligators in their beaks. And Woodpeckers who were not the least bit concerned by the boat floating right underneath him (or her?)

These fishing camps can only be gotten to by boat, but this one may have been our favorite. The sign said, “It’s not crooked, you’re drunk.” 🤣 and this one was like a catch-all of all random of yard-art.

Once we finished our tour, the boys went to explore the old drawbridge and Mom’s Cafe opened for business!

State number 40 – Mississippi!

As we drove toward Gulfport, Mississippi, our RoadsideAmerica App suggested a detour to Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi to see the Angel Trees. According to the plaque (so it has to be true), in 2005, when Katrina made landfall in Mississippi, seven people remained in the Bay Town Inn. Four of those folks were rescued by the afternoon but 3 people and their Scottish Terrier made to this tree after the storm surge and clung to the tree for hours as the eye passed over. The trees were saved after their and brought to Waterfront to be memorialized. Absolutely worth the stop!

Welcome to Gulfport, Mississippi!

All Michael and Leo have wanted to do since we left home was get to the beach. Once we checked into our AirBnB, and started a load of laundry, off we went. I don’t know how they swam in the water, it was freezing on land. They swam and wrestled, and tried to throw a frisbee which was impossible with stormfront. But they didn’t seem to notice the temperature or the wind.

Showered and ready for dinner (with another load of laundry in the washer), we headed out for dinner at Half Shell Oyster Bar. We all agreed that of all our meals so far, tonight was the best. In fact, we had serious discussions, that this may be the best meal we have every had on vacation… although they have all voted that my picture taking is out of control 🤣 (I love that they think I am going to stop 🤣🤣🤣)

Tomorrow we are headed out into the expected choppy water for inland fishing, so hopefully we are grilling our own fish tomorrow night 🎣Wish us luck!