Made it to Texas

WHERE ARE WE? Winnie, Texas

We had a great sleep at the boat dock last night.  It was warm when we went to bed but had cooled off to about 19C by the time morning came.  I went down on the dock to see what was happening.  One of the boat crews was there just hanging around and fishing.  Another young lady was there as well.  She had caught 1 drum so far this morning.  She said the crabs on the river bottom were stealing her shrimp that she was using for bait.  They promised if they caught anything good they would invite me for a fish fry.  I never got a call so I guess their luck was not good.

We headed out about 9:30 for another day of leisure travel.  We are taking the road less traveled again today.  We meandered along about 45 km/hr most of the time, so we had lots of time to look around.  

This is a little drawbridge on a narrow road

the bridge is really narrow

We are getting closer to the Gulf and most of the buildings are on long stilts.  Some of the homes are 15-20 feet off the ground.  Lots of buildings are in a sad state of disrepair.  We are not sure how long they have been like this.

Hey look, there is our first palm tree sighting.

In the afternoon we came upon a little ferry that takes us across a river.  There were only about a half dozen of us so it didn't take long to load and we were off.  The total ride is 3 minutes long.  The cost is $1 per vehicle.  They didn't even charge us for the Jeep!!!

loaded and ready

Archie wondering what this is about

and we are off

and 3 minutes later we are done.

And finally the Gulf of Mexico came into view.  We always love the ocean and the beach, so we were in our happy place.

We went for a little walk.  The road can't get any closer to the beach!!

We finally made it to Texas.  

We stopped in Port Arthur for some groceries and when we drove away, this little guy wouldn't let go.  He finally gave up at a stop light and flew away.

We are crossing a few big shipping channels as we travelled along today.  Sue grabbed some photos from the bridge and along the road.

This was our travels today.  We hope to be in Magnolia Beach tomorrow afternoon sometime.  

Until then, this is where we are for the night.  A little nostalgia for you. Back in March of 2019 we spent the night here in Winnie with Pat and Harold, Jerry and Deb, Ed and Lessie. Check out that post here.   John and Val got left behind up the road with RV troubles.  I thought I recognized the spot when we pulled in today.  It's a nice cool 22C tonight so I can feel a good sleep coming on.  Good Nite!!

We Can Hear the Banjo's Tonight!!!

WHERE ARE WE? Heberts Boat Landing,  Kaplan, Louisiana

We are heading on down the road today.  We have about 800 kms to go to get to Magnolia Beach.  We want to spend a few days there visiting and chilling on the beach.  We want to hit the interstate today and then swing down along the Gulf for the remainder of the trip.  

There is lots of Bayou country we go through on I-10.  There is about a 10 mile stretch that is all bridge over swamp.  It makes for pretty country.

We did a quick stop at Camping World to dump and take on water as well as buy a few things we need like a sewer hose and some chairs.  I will show you the chairs when we sit on them later.  Did you know that if you have Good Sams, you can dump and take on water at any Camping World, and they all supposedly have them.  You can also get good deals on propane.

Then we turned off I-10 onto 35.  Just a nice country road heading south.  We will take it down to 90 before turning toward Galveston.   We went by this grave yard and I had to take a couple pictures.  The graves are all above ground around here and you would think it has something to do with ground water.  Nope, it is just how a lot of the Spanish and French did graves in Europe and they brought the traditions here.  Makes for an interesting cemetery.  

We drove for another hour or so and ended up at a place about a mile off the highway called Hebert boat landing.  Its just a parking lot but there are lots of crawfish boats here.  We didn't see a lot of action but there are a couple people hanging around and a few small boats going in and out.  

Then about dark a big crawfish boat loaded up on a big trailer.  He had to fold all the arms in before he left.  Quite a performance with his wife helping him.  Yes he did say a couple bad words!!!

So that was it for today.  Caught a pretty sunset here at Hebert Boat Landing.  Good Nite!!!

The End of Our Mississippi Adventure

WHERE ARE WE? Slidell, Louisiana 

It was a beautiful morning again and Archie and I enjoyed a nice relaxing coffee.  Well I did, he doesn't drink coffee!!  We are planning an interesting day today.  

We are about 50 kms from New Orleans so today we headed down Highway 10 to the heart of the city.  We are bound for the French Quarter, which is right by the Mississippi River as it winds its way through the city.    We had to go over a few bridges that cross Lake Pontchartrain.  In this part of the country, water is everywhere.  It always intrigues me, being a prairie boy.

Had to take a picture of the Folgers sign.  No idea if they grind coffee here, or if its just a good place for a sign.

And there it was, the skyline of New Orleans.

We have a 6 pm appointment on the river front so we want early to arrive around 3 so we have time to tour the French Quarter a bit.  We were hungry so we looked for a place to eat.   This place struck our fancy and didn't disappoint. 

New Orleans is a city of pretty ladies and I guess I was drawn to this restaurant by the one in the window!!

Just after we got seated the motorcycle cops pulled up to the intersection just out our window.  What the heck?  And then I could hear the music!!  It's not Mardi Gras yet is it?  Well I guess they do the parades for weddings as well and thats what this was.  A truly New Orleans French Quarter Canal Street thing to do!!

Looking pretty good!

Here comes the Bride

Bride and Groom

Lots of friends and relatives I guess

and a brass band

and they are gone

They did throw lots of beads and I didn't even have to show my boobs, as Karalee once said!!!   I gave them to Sue to wear for the evening.

Supper was amazing. I had the crawfish pasta, and Sue had gumbalaya.  Gumbalaya is a combination of gumbo and Jambalaya.  Very interesting combination.  We got our tummies full.

Here is some of the French Quarter we saw after supper.  I should have got more pics of the actual little bars.  It was Monday night, so not very busy.

and the horse drawn carriage

lots of interesting art work

I said our tummies were full but when we went by the beignet shop, we found just a little corner not full.  We ordered some to share.  Mmmmmm.  Sooo much icing sugar!

So I thought that a nice coffee would be great after supper and with dessert.  Wrong.  This coffee was like tar!!! Even the stir stick stood on its own in the middle.  And they charged $4 for it!!

Of course I got to nosing around and almost got eaten by an alligator.  I'm lucky I escaped unhurt!!!

By the time we got done our treat, it was time to get to our appointment. We have booked a couple tickets to go on the Natchez Paddle Boat tour.  Pretty exciting huh!!  This was NOT our boat, but it did go by and honk its horn!!!

We couldn't get dinner tickets, so we had to settle for just the tour.  That's why we had dinner earlier.   Just before we arrived, a couple tour buses arrived and spilled out on the platform.  So much for all the good seating!!  

We found some seats at the back just over the paddle wheel that will give us a good view.  When we got there it was still light but it didn't take long for darkness to set in.  There is a moon so it should be a nice evening.

And then it was dark

A good old Canadian never minds getting a picture with Ol Glory!!

And we were off.  Its a 2 hour tour that takes us way down the Mississippi.  We passed lots of other ships in the night!!

We went by some industrial areas and saw the flare from the petro plant.

The New Orleans skyline is beautiful after dark and so are the bridges.

We took a few minutes to tour the lower area of the boat where the steam engine is.  Yes it is an authentic steam engine that runs the paddle.  This paddle boat is 99 years old and most everything on it is original.  This one used to run the Mississippi up north of Natchez and back on a regular beat.  It is hot and humid in the engine room, and much quieter than I imagined.  Everything just seems to run in slow motion.  This is where the power is delivered when the captain asks for it.  There is a brass indicator that shows what power the captain is asking for.  Slow, Half, Full Steam and Stop.  This guy adjusts the steam pressure with the wheel to set the speed of the paddle.  

It was a lovely trip and the weather was perfect.  I can now say I have been on a Paddle boat.  Scratch that from my bucket list.  So we have managed to see the Mississippi when it was 6 feet wide to where we saw it tonight, more than a mile across in spots and capable of floating cruise ships.  Our trip has been a success and we can now said we have been there, done that.

lots of people getting off after the tour

we will wait

ironic that we did the Natchez Trace as well

The bridge

I did catch the afterglow of sunset on the skyline of New Orleans.  Home to bed now.  Good Nite!!