It's Been a While Since We've Been to Louisiana

Mom is in Louisiana. 

The Beaumont youth group had an overnight event going on that Liz wanted to attend. 

An I-10 trip from San Antonio, TX to Crowley, LA was a must.

Houston at 7 am on a Saturday is bliss. So little traffic!

We stopped at a gas station in Beaumont. They had interesting touristy things for sale: Be-jeweled Bible covers. Huge Texas-y purses (I offered to get one for my sister ~ she said that looked more like my style). And these nice American cowboy hats. 

Flags in Crowley. 

There were so many beautiful flags going through Houston, but I couldn't get a picture. Phoebe saw a YouTube video where foreigners were telling of things they found surprising in America. The number of flags we fly was one of those surprising things. We do have a good-looking flag; I don't blame us for flying it. 

Through a discussion of that video, we also decided that Texas is to America as America is to the rest of the World. At least in attitude. 

We were only in Louisiana for one night, and we had a list of things we wanted to do: pet the alligators at the Jennings Park, go for a hike, bowl, see Teressa, and eat Cajun food.  We did all of it the first day! Checking things off a list is my love language. I was very proud of us. And we had a great time with Nana. 

The kids above are climbing the "family tree." It's an old live oak, so Uncle Gerald is not allowed to cut it down (it's going to fall on his trailer some stormy night, no doubt). My mom and her siblings all climbed that tree. My sibs and cousins and I climbed it. Now my kids climb it. Tradition.

My mom made some sticky chicken and rice & gravy for lunch. She follows in the tradition of so many Louisiana cooks ~ no restaurant can beat them! Those home cooks just spoil Cajun food for me. I've been to expensive Cajun restaurants, and they don't hold a candle to what my momma and her friends can do in the kitchen.

My mom had the idea of going for a hike. I love hiking and we've lately lived in areas where hiking is catered to. Lots of trails. Louisiana - at least Crowley area - has yet to join the hiking craze. I suppose people there do enough fishing and hunting and camping that hiking has not been a felt need. 

So we had to drive a good hour to get to hiking areas. We found delightful trails at Sam Houston Jones State Park near Lake Charles. We took the River trail and saw beautiful homes along the river side and a nice classic swamp on the other side. It was gorgeous weather, no mosquitos, and only a mile and a half of walking so that we weren't totally tired out. There were a lot of people camping and we could smell their campfires. Just the best. 

We actually arrived at Gas and Oil Park in Jennings first thing. I had a few minutes before my mom was going to meet us there, so we stopped at Boudin King to get a piece of boudin. My mom and I ate it at the park while the kids played. It was perfect.

Gator Chateau is always a winner. 

Pet the baby alligators. Go see the big ones in the fenced area. Grab a cup of coffee. 

Play at the park. 

I was remembering how we used to come to this park when I was a kid. We came maybe once a year with the church or friends or something. I think we would fish. I mostly remember walking on the concrete and rocks that border the lake. It was adventurous. I also remember the playground toys. There's an oil rig tower for kids to climb on and it's still there. They have updated equipment as well, but I'm glad to see the old stuff still around. 

So after petting gators, having lunch at Nana's, and going for a hike, we decided to go bowling. I've been wanting to take the kids bowling, and Nana loves bowling. Lake Charles had a nice bowling alley with lots of lanes, and we were already there for hiking. Perfect.

They haven't been bowling in many years, so this was really like a new learning experience for all of them. I started out great with a strike. It was pretty much downhill from there for me. At the end Jon, Harrison and I all had 94 points, and then I got a spare, so I pulled ahead with 101. But they all did really well and had fun. I think we can talk them into doing it again. Phillip, after all, used to be on a bowling team.  

Teressa and I with a Zachary photo-bomb. 

After bowling, Teressa had us over for chili and hot cocoa. A very yummy rich hot cocoa with cream and chocolate chips. Mmmm, the night was cold, the stars were clear, the chili was delicious, and the company was (the thing you do when you kiss your finger tips to your lips and then open your fingers up ~ like Italians do) (and I just googled it and it's called the Italian Chef kiss) (that's what supper at Teressa's was like. An Italian Chef kiss). 

So I wish I hadn't been so tired at Teressa's. We had a good time, yea, but it would have been fun to play games. Phoebe suggested it. I think she likes winning. But I had been up since 3:30 am, so we headed to bed instead.

We attended church services the next morning. Jayda, Teressa's daughter, was part of the worship team and was just lovely up there. She has a beautiful voice. I'm very proud of her.

I was lucky enough to be there on the Sunday they had the Gumbo Cook Off.  I got to sample 10 different gumbos and vote on which one I liked best. The preacher ended up winning (he is a Northerner, but I guess he learned well). The one I voted for ended up having been made by the youth minister. He called it the Italian gumbo. It didn't taste like traditional gumbo. While I really appreciate a traditional gumbo, the non-traditional one was the taste I favored. That being said, I had duck gumbo and I think maybe squirrel. I don't know what it was, but I don't think it was chicken and I had heard rumors of "wild game" and "squirrel." Anyway, whatever it was, I was glad to try it. I love trying new foods.

Whew. Whirlwind of a trip. We are back home and I can't wait to go to sleep tonight.