With a prediction of a 70° day and blue skies, Terry, Sue, Dave & I headed to Slidell for the highly recommended 2 hour Honey Island Swamp Tour. We were looking forward to seeing some alligators and other critters, while learning about the swamp. Our tour guide did a fantastic job of introducing us to the native habitat while boating through the mangroves. I found the reflections of the trees quite beautiful.

We learned that alligators, at least the sensible ones, hybernate in the mud in the cold months Dec-Feb. As it warms up in March, the horny devils dig themselves out,  “go at it” and then begin to start eating. We were fortunate to come very close to a young ‘en – about 4 feet long.  Although we never saw him move, our guide insisted that he hadn’t put it there for us to find.

Once the tour was finished, we decided to drive the extra 30 minutes to explore the French Quarter in New Orleans – it was Sue’s first experience there. Dave nudged our little box into the smallest parking garage slot we’ve ever seen. We agreed that the new scrapes on the front bumper aren’t nearly as noticeable as the bumper that’s missing on the back…

The French quarter was even more wild than the swamp! We all enjoyed the street performers and the streets were filled with people in amazing costumes. We ran into some AmeriCorps friends who told us that one of the largest, wildest (a political theme – “The Stimulus Package” – was not PG rated) parades would begin at 6:30pm.  So we decided to stick around.

We didn’t realize that Mardi Gras parade watchers are participants in the parades! The street is narrow and packed, and participants beg for beads or whatever the parade walkers have – some even shared shots of whiskey or beers from the back of their floats. Someone tossed me a package of Butt Butter – which is used to treat diaper rash. That’s one I’m saving for Maggie!

Here’s an interesting observation – Bourbon street is very different in the afternoon, when we visited with Lisa & Ian, than it is at night during Mardi Gras!