Audubon Zoo

While in New Orleans we also made a visit to the Audubon Zoo, which is located in historic Uptown New Orleans, and had a very pleasant time.

Actually this was one of the most enjoyable zoo visits I think we have ever had with all of the kids.  Normally either Avery is whining about wanting to be pushed in a stroller, or one of the other kids has some issue about something and is complaining the entire visit, or both.

This time Avery was more than happy to trot from one exhibit to another and the kids took turns pushing Chloe in the stroller, so Misty and I could enjoy the sights too.

Actually we forgot the strollers at the RV, but luckily had a tricycle in the Yukon that has a handle so it can be pushed like a stroller.  Worse case we could have rented one from the zoo, but having the tricycle saved us some dough.

In my opinion, any type of zoo worth its salt should have a snake exhibit where you can touch it.  All the kids got to touch the Boa Constrictor that the zoo volunteer was holding.  The snake had a name, but I can not remember it or exactly what specific type of boa it was.

Zoo volunteer with Boa Constrictor

 Another neat thing they got to touch was a cute little Hedge Hog.  

Hedge Hog on display.

 The zoo also had a petting zoo which the kids enjoyed very much. Most children love to pet any type of animal, especially deer, goats, sheep or any animal that has fur.

Ethan petting sheep at the zoo.

Avery, who is not sure what to do next.

Ian, having second thoughts about petting the goat with Tia watching closely.

 Another neat thing the kids got to see and touch was the Australian Blue Tongue Lizard or Skink.  

This lizard is very docile and easily caught by humans and predators alike.  Its main defense is sticking a very blue tongue out of a very pink mouth and hopefully, the contrast in colors will scare off the predator.  It will also make a loud hissing noise in conjunction with sticking out its tongue.

If it does bite I do not think it really breaks the skin, but will leave a bruise since it has pretty strong jaws.

The kids petting an Australian Blue Tongue Lizard (Skink).

 The zoo also had a couple of leucistic alligators on display which were found in the Louisiana swamps in 1987.  Unlike albino alligators, who lack the dark pigment called melanin and have pink eyes, the leucistic alligators are white due to having a white pigment and have blue eyes.  

One of the leucistic alligator on display.

Leucistic alligators have blue eyes unlike an albino alligator who's eyes are pink.

All in all we had a great time at the zoo, even though the temperature was hot and muggy.  They had a couple of misting stations that the kids took full advantage of.

Kids cooling off at misting station.

During the hike through the zoo, the kids had to wrestle one of the alligators that was laying along this trail.  The alligator was of the bronze species type, which is one of the easiest to wrestle with fewer causalities.  It ended up being a draw with the kids leaving the alligator to its business.

Kids wrestling a bronze alligator.

Here the kids decided to pose for a picture with an ancient sculpture in the Amazon section of the zoo or at least I think it was the Amazon.

Courtney, Ian, Tia, Avery, and Ethan posing for the camera.

 One of the last exhibits we viewed while at the zoo was of the primates.  The gorilla below just seemed to sit and watch us, watch him.  Every once and a while he would push the tire a little and just go back to watching us.  We sort of felt bad for him because he looked so bored.

Bored gorilla.

There were many other things we saw at the zoo, which did not make the blog for all sorts of reasons, but we had a very good time and the kids all learned something, which was the main goal of the visit.

As we tour America and see what all it has to offer, the main thing we want our children to know is that you never stop learning. You can always learn something new, even on something you think you know everything about.

Misty and I almost always learn something new or relearn something we knew or forgot on every trip we take with the kids.  As long as they pick up one piece of knowledge, we are happy.

Until next time, may God bless you and yours.

Thanks!
Don, Misty, & Kids.

Warranty Work

August we left Louisiana to take the RV back to Fleetwood in Decatur, Indiana to have some repairs and warranty work done.  There was nothing major to have done, but little things like a cracked shower stall or a punctured slide awning.

The puncture below is probably due to some debris, like a twig, getting caught while bringing the slide in.  Of course this is not covered under warranty, but I had it patched, which will work fine.

This is one reason why you should always get on top of the RV and sweep off your slides before you bring them in.  I usually sweep them off, but must have missed it this time.

Punctured slide awning.

One stop we made during our trip to Decatur was at Camp Lakewood Campground & RV Park in Effingham, Illinois to split up the trip.  It is a very nice campground that has a beautiful lake and decent play area for the kids.

Lake Pauline at Camp Lakewood Campgrounds & RV Park.

Tia, Courtney, Ethan, Avery, & Ian on Lake Pauline.

We considered coming back here to stay for a month after the RV repairs were done, but they did not offer a thirty day fee so it would cost more to stay there than we like to pay.

While at the Fleetwood service center, you can stay on the facilities, but the only hookup is electric, so you have to dump your tanks and fill your fresh water tank as needed since they do not have full hookups.

Since they come and get your coach at 6 AM, we do not fold out the couch and let the kids sleep on the dinette, so when we bring in the slides, they can continue to sleep.

The dinette is not really that comfortable to sleep on, but the kids seem to do OK.  I would not recommend it for adults though.

Courtney, Avery, and Tia sleeping on the dinette.

While they are working on your coach at Fleetwood, you are allowed to stay in it.  If they have to do any type of work that could bring you harm, such as fumes when they do body work and paint it, then you have to exit the RV, but in most cases you can stay.  

Misty ended up taking the kids to a local park playground and a McDonald's with a playland to play while I stayed in the coach and worked.  That way the kids were not in the way and I was there to answer any questions and make decisions for repairs.

The cracked shower was easily fixed, but meant we could not use it for a couple of days.  Even though we would sponge bath and wash our hair in the kitchen sink, it was nice when we could use the shower again.  If it would have been any longer, we probably would have gotten a hotel room just for the shower.

If we were boondocking or roughing it, then you expect not to have a hot shower everyday, but one reason we bought a RV was so we had our shower too.

For us a shower is what starts the day, so without it, we just do not feel right.

Out of commission shower, while being repaired.

 While in Decatur, one place we ate was Arnold's Fabulous Fifties Drive-In, which as the name implies, had a 50s theme.  When the kids saw the stand up of Elvis, the girls wanted to take a picture so that they could send it to Aunt Lynn, who loves Elvis.  

This is actually the forth picture I took and is why Tia looks like she is upset.  She was done with taking pictures after the first one and did not appreciate me making them get back up off their stools to pose again.  I'm not sure what Avery is doing.

Ian, Tia, Ethan, Avery, and Courtney posing with Elvis.

 On another note, Misty has been wanting us to buy new bikes so that we can ride with the kids and get into shape.  We decided to by Schwinn mountain bikes along with a cart so that we could take Avery and Chloe along.  Avery has his own bike, but has not mastered it well enough to keep up with us yet.

Misty's new Schwinn mountain bike with cart.

Avery testing out the new cart.

The cart also has a handle and front wheel that can be attached easily to convert it into a stroller, which works pretty well.  It is very easy to push and has plenty of storage for other items to include the kids.

Don's new mountain bike.

We have not exactly figured out how we are going to haul them along with the other six bikes we have, but will work it out somehow.  

Well that is about it for now, so until next time may God watch over all of our family and friends and keep them safe.

Thanks!

Don, Misty, and Kids.

New Orleans

This past weekend we went to New Orleans, Louisiana to visit the Audubon Institute Butterfly Garden and Insectarium and the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.  It was pretty good, but a little more crowded than we like.  More on them later in the blog.


The night before venturing out to New Orleans, we were watching Diners Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network.  They did a show on the LA Pines Cafe in Slidell, which is just up the road from New Orleans, so we decided to give it a try.  If you want to watch the episode, you can do so here.

Guy Fieri's mark at LA Pines Cafe.

I had the Smoked Prime Rib Po-boy sandwich while Misty had the Muffaletta sandwich.  Both were very good and even though we had to drive an hour and a half to get there, it was well worth the trip.  We wanted to try their Cajun Corn Pudding, but it was sold out due to the larger crowd probably drawn in after viewing the show on the previous night.


We have decided that we are going to try and hit most of the places that are on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives if they are not too far out of our way.  We love to find good places to eat and Guy has already done the work for us!  The kids were also fond of the idea so it will be something we all enjoy doing. 

Ethan, Ian, Tia, Courtney, Chloe, Misty, & Avery in front of LA Pines Cafe.

After getting our bellies full, we decided to take a buggy tour of New Orleans, which we have done before, mainly for the kids benefit.  Our tour guide was pretty good and did tell us a good bit about New Orleans and the French Quarter.

Buggy ride through New Orleans.

Of course if you are in New Orleans in the French Quarter, you have to take a picture of Bourbon Street or at least its sign.  Although, we could hardly hear our tour guide due to the deafening music coming out of the bars there.  

We also had five young lads stroll up to the mule pulling the buggy and try to kiss it; Of course, they were drunk as skunks.  They were cursing worse than sailors with an emphasis on FU .  When our tour guide told them to watch their tongues, they had a few choice words for her too which also included FU.

Luckily they staggered on their way and did not try to back up their threats of kicking our tour guides butt.  Don't worry, Misty and I were armed with strollers and ready for combat in case things turned ugly!  Thankfully, the kids did not notice the commotion due to the loud music and taking in all the other sights.

Sign for Bourbon Street.

Next we made our way to the Audubon Institute Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, which was way better than the aquarium.  I took pictures of some of the butterflies, but did not really pay attention to what type they were.  I could look them up on the internet, but will pass for now.

Butterfly One.

Butterfly Two.

Butterfly Three.

They also had an exhibit on baby alligators which was neat. It is a shame that such a cute baby would make a meal of you once its an adult.

Baby Alligator.

Another exhibit they had were blue crawfish that were red until put  into captivity.  These are regular Red Swamp Crawfish that turned blue when they were being studied at Northwestern State University.  In nature this occurs one out of every ten-thousand, but in captivity it occurs six out of every ten.

Red Swamp Crawfish that turned blue for some unknown reason.

While making our way through the Insectarium we stumbled upon the Bug Kitchen.  All of us, except for Misty, actually ate some Cinnamon Bug Crunch which were fried waxworms rolled in cinnamon and sugar.  Actually, they were quite tasty and I could eat them as a snack, if all other snack food vanished from the earth.

Cinnamon Bug Crunch.  A fried waxworm rolled in cinnamon and sugar.

Below is Courtney enjoying her Cinnamon Bug Crunch.   All of the kids ate some, but I figured one picture of a kid eating a worm would be more than enough to get the point across.

Courtney eating her Cinnamon Bug Crunch.

There were also crickets available on the menu, but I did not try any of them.  The next picture after the three choices below will explain why I did not try the crickets.

Three choices of juicy insects and worms.

I think the face Courtney made after trying a Crispy Cajun Cricket says it all.  

Courtney trying a Crispy Cajun Cricket.

This picture is actually from the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, which was very crowded and so we did not stay there that long.  Tia was insistent that I get a picture of her on this giant frog and so, here it is.

Tia riding a giant frog.

 Another attraction at the aquarium was Parakeet Pointe which sounded really neat, but turned out not to be.  The lure is that you stroll through an enclosure full of hundreds of parakeets that will land on you to partake of the seed sticks you purchase for $1.00 each.


There were hundreds of them and we did have seed sticks, but I guess with thousands of people coming through there that day, the parakeets were not hungry.  It really took some effort on our part to get them to eat the seeds off the sticks.  Luckily we did not get pooped on like some other individuals there.

The kids trying to feed the parakeets.

The last thing we did while in New Orleans was to ride the trolly.  We did not have a lot of time left before we had to get back to the RV, due to having our dinner cooking in a slow cooker, but Avery really, really, really wanted to ride the trolly.

So that is what we did and as you can tell from the picture below, he was very happy.

Avery enjoying his trolly ride.

Well that was our weekend in New Orleans, which for the most part was pretty good.  We were ready to come back to the RV and relax afterwards though.

I would like to add that when visiting Audubon attractions with kids, it is well worth your money to purchase the Audubon Membership for $149; which allows you to visit the aquarium, insectarium and zoo unlimited times for one year.  It also allows you to purchase IMAX Theatre tickets at a discounted rate.  Considering the zoo alone would have cost us $94 for one visit, I think we got a great deal. 

Until next time, God bless!

Don, Misty, & Kids.

St James Parish History Lesson


A couple Saturdays ago we had a history lesson on the Acadians who migrated from Nova Scotia to the Saint James Parish in 1765, by Mrs. Connie Donadieu of Crazy 'Bout History, Inc. given in St. Michael's Church. 


Acadians were deported from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island by the British in 1755 and dispersed along the east coast in British colonies in an attempt to keep their numbers down and not be a threat to the British.


By 1764 the Acadians made their way to New Orleans and were given land on the west bank of the Mississippi where they soon thrived to become the ever popular Cajuns of Louisiana.

Connie Donadieu dressed as an Acadian.

Dressed as an Acadian or Cajun, Connie showed the kids some of the toys and items that were used in everyday life by the individuals of the time period.

Marbles made of clay.

Connie is explaining how they used to save all of the hair that collected in their brushes in a hair receiver.  Then they would use it to make jewelry and paintings.

Connie showing the kids her antique hair receiver.

A piece of jewelry made by weaving human hair.  It was very common to have jewelry made with the hair of a loved one during this time period.

  Jewelry made from human hair.

Chloe made out especially well with a doll from the time period which is hand made from a handkerchief.  This style of baby doll was church friendly since it did not make any noise if dropped on the floor during service.  Although, the child may fill the void of silence with an earth shattering scream until they get the toy back.

Chloe playing with her handkerchief doll.

All of the kids got to try on a pair of pince-nez or spectacles that were very popular in the 19th century.   All the kids thought that they were really neat!

Ian trying on the spectacles.

Courtney's turn to try them on.

Ethan being admired by Avery while wearing the spectacles.

Avery looking cute as ever.

Tia getting help trying them on.

After our Acadian lesson we walked to the cemetery located behind Saint Michael's church to learn some of the history about it and the individuals buried there.

Tour of Saint Michael's cemetery.

One grave in the cemetery is for Florian Dicharry who, along with Christophe Colomb, designed and built the grotto of Lourdes in Saint Michael's Church in the year of 1876.

Grave of Florian Dicharry.

Here Connie is explaining how to boil Spanish moss to remove the outer hull in order to prepare it as a mattress filler, which was the common practice during the 19th century. 

Connie telling us how they used Spanish moss for bedding material.

We are very appreciative to Connie for taking time out of her Saturday to give us some history on the Acadians and Saint James Parish and on how they used to live and play.

When I contacted Connie to see if she would be willing to come out and talk to us, she did not hesitate and did an excellent job.  You could tell that she loves history and wants to pass that love to others.


We just hope we can always find someone like Connie everywhere we travel to help give us some local history and make it fun.

Chloe, Ian, Ethan, Courtney, Connie, Tia, and Avery in Saint Michael's Cemetery.

Until next time, God bless!

Don, Misty, & Kids.
 

Home is where the slides are out!