Except for the bugs

July 08, 2014 by Wes Plate

Today was the last big push to get to New Orleans. We nearly didn't make it.

I love factory tours. I think this affection comes from my childhood watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Do you remember Mr. McFeely, the postman? My memory tells me he would sometimes bring a video to show Mr. Rogers, and sometimes it would show how things are made. I also love the TV show How It's Made. So any chance I can be in a factory, in person watching the line in action, I'm there.

Today we visited the birthplace of Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce.

Next came something very special.

This is Roy Blanchard and his wife Annie.

There is a documentary I love and have watched multiple times. I keep it on my iPad ready for future views. The documentary is called Happy. You can find it on iTunes or Amazon. I became acquainted with Roy Blanchard through this film.

He is a happy man, watch the movie and you'll see. I told myself if I ever went to Louisiana I was going to hire him for a boat tour. It worked out! He is so kind and his wife too. I didn't feel like a customer, I felt like family. They made me happy.

The boat ride was amazing. But honestly, I just wanted to meet Roy.

Jessie could not get over the size of the lily pads.

When we arrived for our tour we didn't leave right away because we could hear thunder in the distance. We needed the weather to improve, or at least the thunder to stop. During our ride it did rain lightly for a few minutes. It was pleasant because of the heat. The weather also created some beautiful clouds.

Wildlife too.

We saw a few fish jump in the lake during our ride. As we were nearly the landing to finish the tour I saw a fish jump just a little ahead of our boat. I moved to turn the camera on and see if it happened again when another fish jumped right in front of the boat, sailed over the bow, past my head and slapped Sarah Michael in the face before it fell back into the lake. That fish didn't know what hit it– or what it hit.

Back on land Sarah Michael shows off the slight redness and swelling just above her left eye.

Here's a little video, I hope you enjoy. And if you're ever two hours west of New Orleans, call Roy and book a tour. $40 an hour for up to six people. To me it was priceless.

After our boat ride we had to hoof it to New Orleans.

The park we're staying at closes at 10pm and won't accept arriving guests after that time. So we got onto Interstate 10 and booked across the Atchafalaya Basin. It was cool to see from the freeway, Roy had told us about it. There are 160 miles of levees, and there are two sets, 28 miles apart that hold back the floods of the swamp. The interstate drives right over it along super long trestles. It is cool.

As we drove over the basin and reflected on the beauty of what we've seen Jessie said, "Except for the bugs, I really like Louisiana. It is so pretty!"

The sun set and we blew past Baton Rouge.

It was well past dark as we approached and entered New Orleans so we weren't able to see anything interesting. We will be here for three more nights, however, so interesting-things-seeing will happen. Our immediate concern tonight was getting to the RV park before 10pm. We rolled in at 9:57.

Looking forward to what New Orleans has in store.

Happy!!!!

July 07, 2014 by Jessie Plate

Today we met Roy and Annie Blanchard. This Cajun couple welcomed us into their home like we were family. Annie gave me a hug before we even introduced ourselves.

We sought Roy out for a bayou tour.

He took us out in an aluminum boat made by his son. It was amazing. The cypress trees were gorgeous.

We were out for about 2 and a half hours. However, 5 minutes left into our tour the most random thing happened. Sadly it was not caught on anyone's camera (Wes had stopped taping at this moment). We were going along at a pretty good clip when a fish jumped out of the water and hit Sarah Michael right smack in the forehead. It even left a scale in her bangs. Oh the laughs we had. She is fine. It left a mark on her eye that we put ice on. It's a good story.

Louisiana Cemetery

July 07, 2014 by Wes Plate

We passed several cemeteries today and they are interesting: Many of the graves are above ground.

We stopped for a few minutes at the Delcambre Catholic Cemetery just west of Avery Island.

I liked the Marys.

Morning Run

July 07, 2014 by Wes Plate

I like to run when I travel. I use my Garmin GPS watch to log my route and performance then I post it to Strava. It is totally nerdy, but as exercise motivation it works very well for me. Sometimes I see interesting things along the way, which makes quite a bonus.

This morning I went for my first run in Louisiana.

I started from the campground, went along the main road and turned onto the dead end Streeter Rd. The dead end road was awesome, I was on the edge of a swampy forest that had lots of interesting sounds.

I listen to podcasts when I run. This morning I was enjoying an episode of TBTL when I could hear strange sounds coming from outside my earbuds. I paused the show. I saw movement in the green-coated water. I switched my phone to the camera and started to record video.

Enter Louisiana

July 06, 2014 by Wes Plate

We had a great time in Texas but we have a little further east to go.

We stopped in Port Arthur where we learned exists the only Conch Shell Wall in the United States.

We took a route that took us along the intercoastal waterway travelled by big tankers. The intercoastal is impressive. We also passed many many many refineries, wells and drilling platforms. Those who would like to do away with a petroleum-based economy should come down here, there is an enormous amount of infrastructure investment. It will never go away.

At one point in the journey we had to take a ferry across a quarter mile section of waterway. These ferry trips are a lot of fun. While waiting for the ferry to load up and come from the other side I explored the shore.

If the Galveston Ferry is not like a Washington State Ferry, this Cameron Holly Beach Ferry is even more different. It is a barge and small.

In our row there were two vehicles ahead of us and three behind. I think there were three rows. Not a large vessel.

After a bit we turned inland. This area is beautiful and green and nice to drive.

The park we're staying at caters to locals here to recreate on the lake. We are outsiders and everyone else knows it. Two different people said to me, "Are you the ones in from Washington?" and another asked "How did you find this place to stay?" We really are far from home and the people around us are starting to notice.

Myers Landing is a beautiful place. Most people here are playing on the lake in boats and jet skis.