Thanksgiving in the Swamp

This Thanksgiving, my parents decided to make the trek down to Louisiana for a Cajun-themed feast. I was very excited to have my parents this year. It has actually been five years since I spent Thanksgiving with them. We decided to make the most of our current state of residence, so I ordered several seafood dishes from a local seafood deli as well as a Cajun deep-fried turkey. We ate crabmeat au gratin, shrimp and mirliton casserole, oyster dressing, and a couple of the more traditional sides. While Mom and Dad were here, we also did some Christmas shopping, went to the park a few times, took some walks, and got to experience our first afternoon on the swamp. Dad treated everyone to a swamp tour at Honey Island Swamp in Slidell (about a 25 min drive from Covington.) It was one of the first chilly days we've had down here, so we were afraid that we wouldn't get to see any alligators. However, one lonesome alligator stayed out just for us--I think he knew Will was coming ;) The tour was fantastic, and it was really cool to see local wildlife in the WILD like that. We learned so much and the scenes were spectacular. It was the highlight of a great visit with Nana and Papa, and we were sad to see them go.

Calm before the storm...food storm.

Will was so happy to have his favorite playmate in his little tree house.

Will and Brighton's early Christmas present from Nana and Papa. THANK YOU!!!!

Brighton has all the body guards she needs.

Stop! That crazy woman has my kids!!!! (Mom and I trying to work off the extra Thanksgiving calories.)

Nana wants YOU to have a Happy Thanksgiving! (Sorry, Mom, I just couldn't resist!)

It's too warm to be Thanksgiving day!!!

A much happier Will waiting for the swamp tour to begin on a much cooler day!

Be patient Will! The tour will start soon!

Brighton couldn't understand why she had to sit down. I got pretty worn out trying to keep her from becoming gator bait.

We saw a huge owl. We were supposed to be quiet, but Brighton kept shoutig "Hoo, Hoo!"

We found an alligator much to the delight of Will and Brighton!

Shrimp boat

The tub says "Cajun Hot Tub." The stacked red baskets are for catching blue crabs.

The caution sign says "Don't drink the water...fish crap in it!" Lovely.

Brighton decided to sport a new do on the way back--actually the boat was moving pretty fast.

The ride back to the dock was a little chilly since the sun has started going down.

We had a great visit with Nana and Papa! Thanks for a very special Thanksgiving!!!