Summer Vacation 8

And here we are, in New Orleans. Home of Mardi Gras, Cafe Du Monde's Beignets (epic), and apparently a lot of rain. This leads me to use the phrase "I got sloshed in New Orleans." Literally^^
We made it home, and I'm ready for a vacation!



Sloshed is the term I would use. It took two days for my shoes to dry!



The rain did not stop the street performers though^^



The original Plague Doctors were medical men who volunteered to treat poor plague victims during the black death. They wore waxed clothing, long cloaks, and beaked masks given to them for their service. The beaks were filled with herbs to prevent the doctor from catching the disease, and the clothes were also supposed to protect them. Simply by being there they may have saved many lives. Sadly, only one known doctor survived the outbreak; all others died of the disease. An ornate version of the mask became popular at the Venetian Carnival, and has been a popular mask design since.

Summer Vacation 7

And home we head. Back through Texas, to Louisiana today.



We visited the San Jacinto Monument in La Port, Texas; the tallest monument tower in the US. When Texas got permission to build it, the state was told not to have it any taller than the Washington monument in Washington DC. So they built it the exact same height, and then put a giant star on top. Sneaky, right?
The monument was built to commemorate the battle that lead to Texas becoming it's own country, and later a US state. The battle is also directly responsible for much of the southwestern states joining the USA.



This is an example of some beautiful tatting work. I hope my tatting will look this good some day. Done in thread weight floss.

Summer Vacation 6

Last day here at the beach; we head home tomorrow. Bummer.



This is the kitchen of a WWII Submarine at Seawolf Park on Galveston Island. Can you imagine making meals for 80 men in this kitchen? BTW Robert is twelve, and less than 5 ft, just so you know how small it is. It was so cool to walk around inside the submarine. Unfortunately we couldn't go everywhere; people had been stealing parts of this national treasure for souvenirs.



Hermit crabs. The twins and Maggie caught over a hundred of them. Aren't they cool?

Summer Vacation 5

Vacation is almost over, and I've seen all sorts of sea critters. I've seen dolphins, man o' wars, a school of sting rays, crabs (hermit, sand, and blue^^)and the noble sea creature; the plastic bag.
What, a plastic bag isn't a sea animal? But it lives in the water, and turtles and other animals eat them! Imagine thinking you have a nice tasty jellyfish, and eating a plastic bag instead. Yuck. I may have looked weird, but I picked them up and put them in the trash. Why they weren't there in the first place boggles my mind.



Sea birds. There was this one pelican who kept soaking himself, and then puffing out is chest and spreading his wings^^ Another was missing a wing, but that didn't keep it from catching the fish!



This is Our Lady, Star of the Sea Catholic Church. When the floods came through Texas the tall towers and sea facing statue of Mary on this church guided people to safety. You can see the statue from the beach, a mile away! Unfortunately the church itself took some water damage in the basement.



Jellyfish^^

Summer Vacation 4

The ocean at night is beautiful. I enjoyed taking walks in the morning too. Less sunburn, and being a pasty white girl, that's important.





I caught this little sand crab under a street light. It was munching away on a grass hopper, so it stayed still long enough to photograph. Then it just walked across the highway back to the beach!

Summer Vacation 3

The ocean in Galveston Texas is a green-ish brown, with seaweed up the coast line. And turtle watch signs everywhere. The endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle nests in the area, and the beach patrol takes their job very seriously. I didn't see any turtles, but these friendly seagulls were everywhere.

Summer Vacation 2

Yesterday we made it to Louisiana. We then visited a civil war monument, and went to bed. It's a long drive!

Today there were bayous. Lots of bayous. And Cajun music which, if you've never heard it, is a strange mix of southern accents and French.



A bayou. Swampy; with trees, crawdads (aka mud-bugs or crayfish) and alligators included.



And you can't pass Avery Island without stopping at the Tabasco plant. It's near Baton Rouge, so we stopped for a break. And some jalapeno ice-cream. Weird, but tasty^^



This sign is ironic. I mean REALLY ironic. Why? Because right after we got the key to the beach house, we were involved in a three car accident caused by a speeding pizza delivery guy. Left a giant dent in the back of the bus, and we can't open the back doors. Luckily no one was hurt, and the only one who ended up needing a tow was the pizza guy. Who also had to pay damages. And we got to meet some Texas police officers. Welcome to Texas, land of friendly drivers indeed.

Summer Vacation 1

What do you get when you stuff most of the clan into the bus and go on vacation? I have no idea, but you know it's going to involve noise. And whining. Messes too, for that matter.



Road trip on the short bus^^



Some tornado damage in Southern Alabama. See how the trees are lopsided and missing most of their branches? Last year's tornadoes ripped them clean off. Living in Tornado alley can be scary. And I am not looking forwards to all the work that needs to be done at our house. A whole section of fence was smashed by some huge branches, and there are trees down in the back yard. Grrr. At least no one was hurt, and nothing hit the house. But for now, it's time for a vacation adventure^^