Sorry it has been a little while since my last post.  Things got a little crazy around here the end of May.  Hopefully, since school is out for the summer now, I will be able to catch-up on all the posts I should do.

Well this post marks the end of mine and Jim's trip to New Orleans.  Among all the other fascinating things we did while there, we also went on a swamp tour.

Jim and Patty had a little too much fun playing around with the fake alligator.

While waiting for the tour, Jim shot this pic of me,

and one of our soon-to-be tour guide.

Finally on our way.

The first thing we spotted was a couple of turtles.

When I generally think of a swamp, I think of a dark, muggy, creepy place, but the reality is, most swamps are quite pretty,

not to mention full of alligators.

Besides the chicken parts our guide is feeding these alligators, he has also been throwing them marshmallows.  When asked how he figured out the gators liked marshmallows, his reply was, "Well they are 'marsh' animals, makes sense they would like 'marsh' mallows."


This spot, in the swamp, is all that remains of  the town of Frenier, which disappeared in the hurricane of 1915.  Many people believe that the destruction of Frenier was due to a woman named Julia Brown.  Known for a being a voodoo priestess, she would sit on her porch and sing, “One day I’m gonna die, and I’m gonna take all of you with me.” 

Today she is buried in Frenier with the others that perished when the hurricane hit in 1915, but her grave site is not with the others. It is a little ways further down along the shore, and is all by itself.

Back in the day, this is how one may have traditionally gotten around in the swamp.

And here we have one of the beautiful beach-front homes the swamp can provide.

Not only did we see alligators, snakes, and turtles, but the swamp is home to a group of herrings.  We even got to see a blue one.

The alligator our guide is holding is 2 1/2 years old.  She is one of many alligators that he has a license to own and take care of.  The best part is...

...he pasted her around, and we got to hold her!