Jambalaya down at the bayou

Waking to the Ole Muddy out of our window and eating some fresh homemade biscuits was quite lovely.

Then we headed down to the swamps of Louisiana. First, for a brew sampling at the Abita brewing company along with our first gumbo.

Then we had an incredible tour into the swamps on a hunt for alligators and turtles.

There were fishing camps built on the water like these:

And some people even live on the swamp and make their living crabbing and crawfishing!

 These were not damaged by Katrina, but the new levy system has risen the water and makes flooding here a greater concern.

These snazzy cypress trees grow their roots out of the water to help oxygenate.

And then there were the gators.

First there was one...

The guide fed him marshmallows and hot dogs. And then there were many...

Keep your arms inside the boat because these guys can jump about half their body length out of the water. Crazy!!

One of these guys was in a rough alligator territory fight and his name is now Broke Jaw. Poor guy! But he is still lucky because only ten percent of the young will actually survive. They grow about a foot a year for six years which helps determine their age, after that they mostly get wider and grow much slower in length.

We looooved our swamp experience!!!

We made it into New Orleans for a rooftop swim! 

And then stumbled upon an amazing restaraunt where we sat in the quaint back alley called the Gumbo Shop. Awesome pecan vinegarette, jambalaya and red beans with rice mmmm.

New Orleans is definitely a unique city with beautiful old architecture and the restaurants and stores seem to go on endlessly.