MORE OF GULF STATE PARK, BOILED PEANUTS

WE HAD PLANNED TO STAY ONLY A WEEK AT GULF STATE PARK, BUT AFTER WE WERE HERE  A COUPLE OF DAYS, WE REALIZED THAT A WEEK WAS NOT GOING TO BE LONG ENOUGH, SO WE SIGNED UP FOR ANOTHER WEEK.

THESE SIGNS WERE THROUGHOUT THE PARK.

ANOTHER ONE OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WEEK WAS A GUIDED NATURE WALK, DARRELL AND I WENT ON THAT ONE TOGETHER. THERE WAS ONLY ONE OTHER  PERSON, SO WE ALL RODE IN THE RANGER'S VAN AND WOULD MAKE STOPS ALONG THE WAY. OUR FIRST STOP WAS AN EAGLE'S NEST WHERE THE BABY EAGLES WERE STARTING TO PLEDGE.

 WITH BINOCULARS WE SAW  TWO BABIES STILL IN THE NEST. WE SAW A BIG  TURTLE IN THIS LITTLE POND.

WE STOPPED AT THE LAKE WHERE THEY HAD RELEASED THE BABY ALLIGATORS.

 AND SNACKED ON WILD BERRIES!

THEN WE GOT TO MEET LEFTY, THE MAMA ALLIGATOR, WHO STARTED OUT WITH THIRTEEN BABIES AND WE COULD ONLY  FIND  THREE, WHEN SHE GETS HUNGRY SHE EATS HER BABIES!!

 THIS SIGN WAS  RIGHT BY THE ALLIGATORS.

WHILE DRIVING HERE, I NOTICED DEAD ANIMALS BESIDE THE ROAD THAT LOOKED LIKE ARMADILLOS. I ASKED THE RANGER ABOUT THAT, SHE SAYS, YES, THERE ARE  ARMADILLOS HERE. WHEN I LIVED IN FLORIDA, AS A GIRL,  THERE WEREN'T ANY ARMADILLOS. I HAD NEVER SEEN AN ARMADILLO UNTIL LAST SUMMER AT BENTSEN PALM.

WHEN WE ATE AT DOC'S SEAFOOD SHACK, I ASKED OUR WAITRESS WHERE WE  COULD BUY BOILED PEANUTS....SHE TOLD ME ALL THE GAS STATIONS SELL THEM!! SO, I HAVE BEEN EATING BOILED PEANUTS ALMOST EVERY DAY.

THE MAGNOLIA TREES WERE BLOOMING EVERYWHERE....SO BEAUTIFUL AND SO SWEET SMELLING.

I HAD BEEN WALKING IN THE PARK, BUT ONE DAY I  DECIDED TO WALK TO THE BEACH......ONLY FOLKS OUT WERE THE FISHERMEN!

WE WENT TO THE BEACH PRETTY OFTEN, SOMETIMES ONLY FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS.

ONE DAY WE WENT, I HAD PLANNED ON GOING IN THE WATER, BUT IT WAS TOO COLD FOR ME.

WE LEFT GULF STATE PARK  MONDAY, MAY 4, WE WERE GOING TO BACKTRACK A LITTLE AND GO TO BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS.

GULF STATE PARK, ALABAMA, MY 68TH BIRTHDAY

WHEN WE PULLED OUT OF OUR RV SPACE AT PONCHARTRAIN,  I TRIED TO   PUT IN THE ADDRESS OF GULF STATE PARK. THE STATE OF ALABAMA WOULD NOT COME UP..... THE ONLY TWO STATES  THAT WOULD COME UP WAS ARIZONA AND ARKANSAS. I TRIED AND TRIED, NO LUCK, SO WE HAD TO TRAVEL WITHOUT MRS. GARMIN! WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE OK....IT WASN'T!!! A THREE HOUR TRIP TOOK SIX HOURS.WE LOVE OUR RV SPOT ! LARGE AND PRIVATE!! PULL-THRU TOO!

NO WIFI HERE, SO WE TOOK MRS. GARMIN AND WENT TO MACDONALD'S THE NEXT DAY  AND REALIZED THAT  NONE OF THE SOUTHERN STATES WERE LOADED INTO THE GARMIN. SO, WE GOT THAT DONE, NOW WE COULD TRAVEL AGAIN!! WHEN WE CHECKED IN HERE THEY GAVE US  A LISTING  OF THE WEEK'S  ACTIVITIES. I SAW THERE WAS A SNAKE ENCOUNTER PROGRAM THE NEXT DAY AT THE NATURE CENTER. DARRELL DIDN'T WANT TO GO.....HE HATES SNAKES!!  I GOT TO MEET POLLY, THE O'POSSOM. SHE WAS SO CUTE! SOME FOLKS THAT WERE VISITING THE PARK FOUND FOUR BABIES  IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND BROUGHT THEM TO THE NATURE CENTER. THEY ONLY HANDLED POLLY, THE OTHER THREE THEY DIDN'T TOUCH, AND WERE ABLE TO TURN THEM BACK TO THE WILD AFTER THEY GOT BIG ENOUGH.

POLLY'S HOME NOW IS THE NATURE CENTER AND EVERYONE  LOVES HER!!

I GOT TO TOUCH HER AND FEEL HER TAIL, OF COURSE SHE SLEPT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING. THE BOX TURTLE IS ANOTHER ONE  OF THE NATURE'S CENTER'S AMBASSADORS.

THEY LET HIM OUT OF HIS CAGE AND HE JUST ROAMS  AROUND THE CENTER......SHE SHOWED US HOW MUCH HE LOVES WORMS....SHE SET THEM OUT ON THE FLOOR AND HE CAME A'RUNNING...WELL, AS MUCH AS A TURTLE CAN!!

WE GOT TO TOUCH AN  ALLIGATOR BABY, WHO WAS GOING TO BE RELEASED THE NEXT DAY.

WHEN SHE TOOK OUT THIS BEAUTIFUL SNAKE, SHE ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO HOLD IT, "I SAID NO!", BUT THEN I CHANGED MY MIND. WHEN I WAS A GIRL I WASN'T AFRAID OF SNAKES, BUT  AS I GOT OLDER, I GOT MORE AFRAID.  I OVERCAME MY FEAR OF SNAKES THAT DAY, A LITTLE .

THE NEXT DAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY!! DARRELL TOOK ME OUT FOR LUNCH  TO DOC'S SEAFOOD SHACK IN GULF SHORES.

I HAD FRIED OYSTERS AND SHRIMP.....SIMPLY DELICIOUS!!

THEN WE WENT TO THE BEACH!!

THIS IS STILL PART OF GULF STATE PARK...THAT'S WHY THERE ARE NO HOTELS HERE.

 I PUT MY BARE  FEET IN THAT BEAUTIFUL  WHITE SAND..........

AND WADED IN THE OCEAN!

WATCHED A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET!!

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!

CEMETERY/VOODOO WALKING HISTORY TOUR

IT WAS ALREADY FRIDAY....WOW!  OUR TIME HERE WAS COMING TO AN END. WE WERE LEAVING MONDAY. THIS WOULD BE OUR LAST DAY AT THE FRENCH QUARTERS. WE WERE GOING ON THE CEMETERY/VOODOO HISTORY WALKING TOUR.

 THIS IS A  TOUR OF THE MORTUARY CHURCH, LATER CALLED  OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CHURCH, ST. LOUIS CEMETERY #1.  MARIE LAVEAU'S TOMB,AND CONGO SQUARE. THERE WERE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE  ON THIS TOUR. I STAYED TOWARD THE FRONT SO I  COULD HEAR WHAT THE GUIDE WAS SAYING.

WE WOULD STOP ALONG THE WAY AND HE WOULD TELL US TIDBITS OF THE CITY'S HISTORY.  

THE FIRST STOP WOULD BE THE  CHURCH. 

 AT LEAST 41,000 PEOPLE DIED FROM YELLOW FEVER. IT TOOK  A LONG TIME FOR THEM TO FIGURE OUT THAT IT WAS CAUSED BY MOSQUITOS.

AND THEN ON TO THE CEMETARY........LOCATED DIRECTLY BEHIND THE CHURCH.

THE GUIDE EXPLAINED THAT  NEW ORLEANS IS BELOW SEA LEVEL, ONE REASON FOR THE ABOVE GROUND BURIALS. 

 THIS ONE IS A FAMILY STYLE TOMB. NOTICE ALL THE NAMES ON THE FRONT. IT HAS TWO SHELVES  WITH A CHAMBER BELOW CALLED THE  CAVEAU.THE  BODY IS PLACED  IN A WOODEN BOX, ON ONE OF THE SHELVES. IN  THE NEW ORLEANS HEAT,  THE TOMB WILL REACH 300 OR SO DEGREES  AROUND THE CLOCK.  IF NEEDED, IT CAN BE  OPENED  AFTER A YEAR AND A DAY. THE REMAINDER OF THE FIRST BODY IS SCRAPED AND FALLS DOWN IN THE CAVEAU, WHERE THE BONES MINGLE. 

SOME OF THE TOMBS ARE  VERY LARGE AND ORNATE, AND SADLY MOST HAVE BEEN VANDALIZED.

NICHOLAS CAGE HAS A TOMB HERE......A PYRAMID!!

IT SAYS OMNIA AB UNO, WHICH MEANS EVERYTHING FROM ONE.

WE HAD TO WAIT TO SEE THE VOODOO QUEEN, MARIE 

LAVEAU'S TOMB.SHE WAS A LOUISIANA CREOLE  PRACTIONER OF VOODOO.  HERS' IS ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR TOMBS.

WALKING THROUGH THE TOMBS, I NOTICED THE  INSCRIPTION ON THIS TOMB.

OUR LAST STOP WAS  CONGO SQUARE .  CONGO SQUARE IS IN THE SOUTHERN CORNER OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG PARK.

CONGO SQUARE, IS AN OPEN SPACE WHERE SLAVES AND FREE BLACKS GATHERED THROUGHOUT THE 19TH CENTURY FOR MEETINGS, OPEN MARKETS AND THE AFRICAN DANCE AND DRUMMING CELEBRATIONS THAT PLAYED A SUBSTANTIAL ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF JAZZ.

AND THAT WAS THE END OF THE TOUR.......WE STARTED WALKING BACK TO THE TRUCK ......I THOUGHT THIS WAS THE CUTEST  HOUSE!!

AND MUSICIANS GETTING SET UP TO PLAY FOR THE DAY.

WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE WERE HUNGRY FOR , SO WE HEADED  HOME  FOR  LEFTOVERS. WE WERE SO GLAD WE HAD DONE THE TWO WALKING TOURS....SO MUCH HISTORY!! IT STARTED RAINING DURING THE NIGHT AND RAINED UNTIL ABOUT NOON ON SATURDAY. FINALLY ON  SUNDAY IT STARTED CLEARING UP. WE GOT THE TRUCK AND RV WASHED AND READY TO GO TO ALABAMA!