There is water everywhere and where there is water there are snakes, alligators and tour companies that will take you deep into the woods! We found Captain Caviar who had small tours and Teddy could ride along! The only problem is his tour was 3 hours long and the restroom facilities were nonexistant! I survived and it was a beautiful day. Our original plan was to go on Saturday afternoon but it was cold, rainy and the sun never came out! So it’s off season and Captain Caviar was very happy to reschedule to Sunday.

We have been on Airboat Tours, large boat swamp tours, small boat tours that actually can ride in 2” of water (that was the most upclose tour). Captain Caviar is right on the Idlewild Plantation property on the Atchafalaya River . His boat can hold 5 passengers and he keeps it small and simple! His boat goes fast and not right into the swamp but we cruised along and he knew all sorts of things about the area. It was a beautiful day and the ride was lovely.

The wildlife is just starting to show up but we did spot this guy! He was sunning himself along with several turtles. When we got too close they all disappeared into the water! Glad I wasn’t swimming.

We even got to go through a lock on the river. Right now we were only going up about a foot but you could see the waterline where during the spring runoff the lock raises about 6 feet

Captain Caviar was a great story teller; he wanted to tell us about the ghosts on his property and in the Bayou. I’m not really a believer but that could be because I’ve not seen a ghost yet. His family home, Idlewild is supposed to be haunted, infact as he tells it his previous girlfriend would not come back after she saw is dead wife following her! We had a great time listening to him tell stories about his territory. Another fun fact is he is called Captain Caviar because he is the creator of Cajun Caviar and sold it in 2019 to Emeril Lagasse’s Wife and her two friends. The caviar is hand harvested from the Choupique fish in the fresh waters of the Atchafalaya Basin.

We saw many camps in the bayou. No one lives there in the winter but they do use them for recreation and hunting/fishing. The camps use water from the Bayou and return the water to the Bayou!!! Perfect place for the kiddo’s to play and swim in the summer heat.

We picked a perfect day to get out on the River, Swamp, Bayou and Captain Caviar was very entertaining. We didn’t see enough turtles and alligators but that is fine by me. The lock’s were a treat for Paul and it was such a small lock that the operator stood on the bridge and chatted with us while we waited for the opening of the gates.

And we were done just in time to miss the kick off of Super Bowl XLVii. We enjoyed watching the game, not really interested in the halftime show and I kept forgetting to pay attention to the commercials (usually my favorite part). I was rooting for The Chiefs but felt like the Eagles had it in the bag! Some fun plays.

That is a wrap for Louisiana, tomorrow we head towards Alabama.

We are going to spend a few days enjoying some downhome cooking and resting. Lake End Park in Morgan City will be very comfortable.

Lakes End is a very nice county park in Morgan City which is definitely not a tourist stop. We are about 60 miles from New Orleans and it’s Carnival season! All the little towns have parades leading up to Mardi Gras. We missed the parades because it rained but we saw several party buses around town and many homes and businesses are decorated.

We found the cutest local restaurant, 4 tables inside it appeared to be her living room! Rita Mae’s Kitchen was definitely my style of restaurant when visiting these places. Her shrimp Poboy was amazing! Paul had gumbo which had so much seafood. We topped lunch off with a slice of homemade Pecan Pie. This cooking is like Mom’s! No website but easy to find. We are only in Morgan City a few days and I had a hard time not returning for more of her foods!

We did take a few drives to explore the area with a ride to Cocodrie which is a fishing village on the edge of Louisana, actually appeared to be at the end of the land. We saw lots of damage from the huricane from over a year ago.

Plantations have a special place in Louisiana with many restored and used as tourist spots. We found one in Houma that only the gift shop was open but you could walk around outside and enjoy the grounds. Southdown Plantation was beautiful on the outside; the caretaker and the gift shop guy were very talkative – I think they are ready to reopen. Its been over a year and they are very close to reopening.

This was an interesting find near our campsite. A family donated the land and a bell tower was installed along with a short trail. We saw a small family taking photos of the mom pregnant and a 2 year old. They looked odd being dressed up and we were basically in a swamp. Dad and the photographer looked much more prepared for a swamp!

Cemeteries seem to attract us especially when we are in the south. Louisiana has many and the graves are mostly above ground so they won’t float away during floods.

Love Louisiana but definitely would not enjoy living here as the summers are brutal; mosquitos, snakes, alligators and humidity!