Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Swamp Tour

Our last day in Louisiana we went on a swamp boat tour. Wow, we loved it. I loved the trees and moss and alligators, turtles, birds and the yucky snake. The guide knew everything and the day was perfect. We have had so much rain but on this day it was warm, sunny, and beautiful.



St. Martinville LA






Warner loves Tobasco so it was only right that we went to see where it all began. The parking lot smells like Tobasco! It is a very cute place. The tour lets you see how it is bottled and shipped, but the gift shop is way way way overpriced. Enjoy the tour and then go to Walmart and buy the Tobasco.


We also went to Breaux Bridge and got a small taste of what the Mardi Gras is going to be like in a couple of days. Everything is decorated and ready to go. Warner and I aren't much for crowds so the Mardi Gras just doesn't sound all that great. We did enjoy all of the decorations and the food is just great. We went to Cafe Jeaniette's and I had some really good shrimp.













St Martinville is the place where it is said Longfellow got his idea for the poem Evangeline.
A man named Judge Simons was Longfellow's roommate at college and he told Longfellow about the story from his hometown. St. Martinville has a State park and a town park dedicated to the story.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Galveston











Next we went to Galveston. We were still looking for the sun, but it rained here too. We loved the food. There was a shrimp place across from our Rv park that I just loved. We also ate at Willie G's and it was wonderful. We played on the beach (we didn't build the sand castle), went to see the Bishops House and went to the Houston Space Center. We also saw a lot of wood carvings that were made from the fallen trees after the 2008 Hurricane.

San Marcos









Next we went to San Marcos and stayed for a week. It was a great place to stay because it is half way between San Antonio and Austin. I loved the RV Park (PecanPark RV) because it had a swimming pool that was wonderfully warm and not crowded. We swam everyday. It was great. In San Antonio we went to the Alamo and then walked along the River Walk and stopped for lunch. Such a pretty place. In Austin we went to a cute Mexican Restaurant and then went to the Texas Historical Museum. The museum is really well done. We learned a lot. While we were there, it rained about six inches in one night. The next day we woke up and found the our RV Park had been flooded. Three cars had to be towed away and a lot of RV's were damaged. A tree limb broke off and landed in the middle of a 5th wheel. Warner and I were oblivious to the whole thing. Our part of the park was dry.

Tucson







January 12, 2012, we left looking for the sun and warmth. In reality, we probably would have found more sun in St. George. We have seen a lot of wonderful things and really enjoyed our trip, but we have waited through a lot a rain storms. Our first stop was Tucson to see John and Marianne. We met Jordan and Larry, had great dinners, and went to see the missile site and the biosphere. It was a great start to our trip.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Friday, October 30, 2009

Athens and the Greek Islands


Ahh Athens. What a peaceful way to end a trip. Our hotel was lovely and located right in the heart of Plaka which is such a quaint part of Athens. There are wonderful restaurants, cute shops, the Parthenon Museum, and gelatto all located nearby on cobbled streets that are just for pedestrians. You can wander down to Zeus' Temple or up to the museum without worrying about getting hit in Athen's very heavy traffic. The Acropolis was my favorite. We climbed the large marble rock and wandered around the Parthenon first. There is also a temple to Poseidon and one to Nike. It was a warm, balmy day and the views were wonderful. Later, we walked around Zeus' temple and then went to dinner. The next day, we took a cruise around the Greek Islands. Porros was my favorite. I loved the blue doors on the houses dotting the hillside and the clear blue water. Hydra was Warner's favorite. Hydra is more hilly with a circular bay full of sailing boats. At Aegina I wadded in the Aegean Sea. The beach by the boat dock wasn't very sandy, but I think there are other beaches that are beautiful. It was a good day but very long. On our last day in Athens we shopped, saw the changing of the guard, and found a wonderful restaurant for lunch. We ate Greek food and watched two men climb the wall of the Acropolis. What a view. We liked it so much that we went back for dinner. We also went to the Parthenon Museum. That is such a neat place. They found some ancient ruins while they were digging the foundations of the museum so they built the museum over the top of the ruins and put in glass floors so that you can watch them work on the ruins while you are looking at the museum. I loved Athens - especially the simple things like wandering through the streets of Athens eating gelatto, lounging on the deck of the ship while cruising around the islands, and sitting in that little restaurant drinking a coke and watching the climbers climb the wall.