Sunday, April 27, 2008

Can you say Okefenokee?

Sunset over the lake at Laura Walker State Park.

After the boats are off the lake...wow!

You can't come to Waycross, GA and not see this place.

Robby's new hat, a 2 year old alligator.

Sawyer's hat was tickling him!

On the boat ride at the Okefenokee Swamp Park.

And after the boat ride...a train ride!

We were no more than 15 feet from this local.

Joss loves the purple flowers!

___________________________________________________

We drove up Saturday from Jacksonville to Laura Walker State Park, just outside of Waycross Georgia. It's the first time in Georgia for any of us. We got into Georgia so quickly from Jacksonville that we missed the "Welcome to Georgia" sign...if there was one. We took smaller highways so there probably wasn't the same signage as on the Interstates, oh well, we'll have to shoot one from the mirror as we leave Georgia.

Anyway, back to our story. We were meeting our friends from Jacksonville, Maria and Juzar along with friends of theirs for the weekend. They got here early and went across the highway to visit the Okefenokee Swamp Park so we all met up on Saturday night for pasta and S'mores. We had a great evening getting to know them all while we watched the sun set over the lake. Thanks for making all the Gypsies feel welcome! After they all left on Sunday, the RVGyspies headed to the Swamp Park.

As we were heading down the one lane road to the park, we got stopped by a train. Since we were the first car at the crossing, we had a front row seat for some "trainspotting". Eeee yaaa! It turned out to be a car transport train. Two engines hauling at least 70 car transport cars. The boys in the truck, that includes me, couldn't believe all those cars were being hauled by only TWO engines. They must have some pretty flat terrain around here! Well, if the day starts with a little trainspotting, it has to be good. And it was.

We bought the package which included the reptile show, boat ride and train ride! The reptile show was up close and intimate as you can see from the pictures. Being a Sunday afternoon and not a holiday, there were only three other families at the show. As our guide was holding the 2 year old alligator he pretended to trip off the stage and almost into the lap of a couple of teenage girls. He knew they were easy targets from their reactions to his snakes a few minutes earlier. These girls screamed their heads off and we all laughed, almost as hard as their parents! Robby amazed the guide during the show by answering the question "how do the birds protect their nests from the snakes?" Robby learned at the Rattlesnake Museum in Albuquerque that the birds will peck holes in the bark all the way around the trunk. The sap and tar then oozes out and will keep the snakes from climbing higher. Way to go little buddy!

We enjoyed the boat ride into the swamp and learned about the moonshine runners, the plant they call "poor man's soap" because you can rub a handful of leaves in your hands with water, and make lather, the fishing spider that will dive into the water and grab small fish and toads, the fire that hit the area big time in 2007 and of course, more about alligators.

We capped the day with a gator sighting right off the sidewalk just outside the visitor's center. Oh and some great T-shirts and ice cream!

We're off to Savannah tomorrow to see the historic town and visit my fraternity big brother and his family.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Boy versus dolphin...boy wins!

Pam helps Robby get a hold of the rod before reeling his fish in.

Oh oh, the dolphins are closing in on it!

"Curses to you bi-ped! That was my dinner."

Pam, Robby, Sawyer and blue fish #1

"How many fish was that Sawyer?"

Captain Don, Pam and the Gypsy boys with their fish.

'nuff said.

www.SureLureCharters.com if you're coming to Destin

Beautiful ending to an EXCITING day!

***************************************************************

There we were on the high seas. The 40 foot vessel was bobbing in the waves, the twin 350 horsepower Caterpillar diesel engines rumbling when suddenly the line went taught. The pole dipped towards the turquoise green waters of the Gulf. The reel started to spin and we knew, we knew we had us a fish! Robby grabbed the pole from cousin Pam's hands "I can bring 'er in, lemme have it" he shouted over the roar of the engines. And the fight was on. For 20 or 30 agonizing seconds Robby worked that spindle like there was a fire. Then it happened...

As the fish broke the surface, something else did too. DOLPHINS! Chasing our little boy's fish! "Getta way from that fish, you sea maggots", we shouted. But to no avail. Now there were three of them. Back and forth the little, I mean, monstrous fish swam, desperate to escape the nipping jaws of the dolphin, yet he was tethered to the line of Robby's pole. Back and forth went the boy's arms, up and down went the pole, around and around went the spindle until at last...he was victorious! The fish was safely landed on board the Sure Lure. The dolphin surfaced, grimaced at the young lad and swam away, defiantly flipping the tails as they turned away.

Wow! What an afternoon we had today. We drove up to Destin to visit cousin Pam. Mid-afternoon, she had to run an errand in town and we needed to get to the Post Office (taxes you know). Pam asked if we'd like to follow her and we'd go by her boat afterwards. "Sure" we all said and off we went. She has a partnership in a charter fishing boat in Destin Harbor and we were eager to see it. Check out their website, Sure Lure Charters. We thought we were just going to see the boat but when we got there, she called the captain and asked if he'd take us out! Well that wasn't all they had in store for us. As we were getting out of the harbor, Captain Don told Pam to drop a line in the water. We were going to troll for Spanish Mackerel (do they speak Spanish I asked). Sawyer has been asking for a week to go fishing, ever since I bought the boys their own poles in Texas.

On the way out, we saw pelicans and gulls and then dolphins, right by the boat. As we continued, Capt Don shouted down to us from the spotting tower, "there's a shark off the port side". From the deck, we could make out the shadow in the water gliding along about 10 feet beneath the surface. I wanted to better look so I joined the Captain on the tower. While we were out we saw huge black "clouds" in the turquoise green water with dolphins on the perimeter. The dolphin were herding the schools of fish close to the shore to be eaten. And eating they were! We had one dolphin swim close by the boat with a 15 pound fish in it's mouth and we saw other dolphins splashing in the shallow water as they got their share.

As we were heading back, Captain Don spotted another school of fish and expertly guided the boat near them. These were biting too and before long we had another one on the line! This time the dolphin were busy with the fish they had trapped by the beach so we didn't have to race with one of them to bring our fish in. After getting the second blue fish in the bait tank, Sawyer was jumping around like something had bitten him! He loves to catch fish that boy!

It was getting late (and cold) so we headed back. On the way we saw more sharks, a sting ray and an assortment of fish in the clear waters off the white sand beaches of Destin, Florida.

Wow what a day and what a sunset to cap it off! Thanks Captain Don and Pam!!!!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Gators, Snakes and Turtles Oh My!

The one and only Zam's!


Lloyd brought out this Ball Python for the boys to hold.

ZZ gets one of the gators ready for Joss to hold.

I didn't know they were vegetarian?

Sawyer's not too sure about this thing Robby is holding.

From Rattlesnakes in New Mexico to Gators in the Bayou.

Bald Cypress and other bayou plants in abundance.

Our guide, Ralph, called this an ordinary water snake, non poisonous variety.

Typical shot of the gators we saw in the swamp today.

Sawyer wouldn't hold the boa at the Rattlesnake museum in Albuquerque, but he's getting older and bolder now! Here he is with a ball python.

This was the biggest gator they would let us hold. Joss is just getting to know it here. Hey, how would you like a stranger grabbing you by the butt!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow what a day on the Bayou Boeuf in Southern Louisiana! Several years ago, on the reality show Trading Spouses, there was a super neat family from Louisiana that ran a family business giving tours of the bayou and various alligator products. Joss and I said if we're ever in Southern Louisiana, we'd like to pay them a visit. Today we did.

Their son ZZ, showed us baby alligators and turtles. He showed us BIG alligators and BIG turtles and let us hold a few of them. Our boat captain was Ralph and as we were the only ones on the tour, he let us take Baylee on board. We were grateful for this as it's starting to heat up down here and we can't leave her in the car anymore. This is going to be something we need to get used to handling again. When there was snow on the ground, she was nice and cozy in the truck for a few hours. Now...not so much.

Anyway, it's still a little early in the season and most alligators are still hibernating, hidden in the dark recesses of the swamp. We were starting to think we were not going to see any on the water when Ralph turned the boat around and glided up to one, floating in the weeds. We fed him (or was it a her?) marshmallows (swampmallows?) and got some video of it snapping them down. It was fun.

We continued on down stream and ran into a total of 10 alligators, the longest was estimated at 10 feet. We learned the young ones don't hibernate so that is mostly what we saw. The older ones can live off the fat in their tails while they hibernate. I guess the younger ones are just not big enough yet? While we were going back, Joss and I spotted something black on the end of a log. Ralph turned the boat towards it and sure enough, a water snake, soaking up some rays!

My favorite thing to watch today were the turtles, hundreds of them. They line up on logs and soak up as much sun as they can. But when someone approaches, they hurtle themselves off the log and into the water. I love watching them do that, it's so funny to see them leap/fall/slip/hurtle and jump into the water all pell-mell!

When we got back to the dock, ZZ's dad, Lloyd, let us hold his ball python. So much so, that he went to take care of some other business and forgot we had the snake! Robby loved holding the snake and Sawyer actually did too! Joss wasn't so sure about it though. I think we made her pee her pants a couple of times!

After we left Zam's, we went to the local eatery, Trudy's and had a little dinner before driving the 90 miles back to our campground in Baton Rouge. Thanks to everyone at Zam's Swamp Tours, we had a great day!!!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Mint Juleps are made with WHAT ?

Cedar Grove Mansion - Vicksburg, MS. A view of the rear of the house.

A view from the front.

Robert's first (and last) real Mint Julep.

One of the over 40 cannon shots to hit the house during the War between the States.


We had read about Vicksburg and the Battle of Vicksburg National Park in Joss' book called "1000 things to see before you die". Since we were only 200 miles away via I-20 in East Texas, we decided to come to Mississippi before going to Louisiana.

One of the restored homes from back in the day is the Cedar Grove Estate. It is a B&B now that offers tours and a full restaurant (dinner only). We had read that the Mint Julep was invented in Vicksburg so we thought this should be a good place to get one. As the restaurant is only open for dinner at 5pm, the bar wasn't open either. After seeing the disappointment on my face, the very kind (southern hospitality) lady behind the desk had someone make a Mint Julep up just for me. It was a complete surprise when we came back in from the gardens ready to take the tour and she presented me with the drink!

Well now, being from Southern California we've been to Disneyland many times. The favorite part of the park for me has always been New Orleans Square. What with the Pirates of the Carribean (Arrgh, dead men tell no tales!) and the Haunted Mansion (There's always...our way out!) I always get the most out of this section of the park. That includes a Mint Julep from the concession also. The Julep's at D-land are a refreshing, minty drink so I thought one from the birthplace of the drink would have to be outstanding.

NO ONE TOLD ME THEY WERE MADE WITH BOURBON!

I don't care for bourbon or pretty much any type of whiskey so I was quite surprised when I took my first sip. I didn't say anything and Joss asked if she could have a sip. Before she took a sip, the boys asked if they could have a taste and she said yes. I figured after she tried it, she wouldn't let them have any. I was wrong! I was talking with our host and not paying attention to what they were doing. Joss isn't much of a drinker (i.e. almost never) and she didn't recognize the bourbon taste, what with all the sugar, water and mint, so she let them try it. Needless to say, the boys hated it and Joss' mouth about hit the floor when I asked what was in it and was told Bourbon!

We took the tour and I nursed the green concoction the whole time. I think next time, I'll stick to that other green minty drink, the Mojito!