D had gone for an early run, so when we got up he was just arriving back. After breakfast we had a few things to do starting with collecting a couple of pictures D&S had had framed. Then we parked near Audubon Park with the intention of walking around the lake. Just what we needed, but we kept spotting wildlife and in the end we didn't get very far. But we did see some woodpeckers - the Downy, we think; squirrels, other little birds; turtles/terrapins; a darter/anhinga; lots of ducks - not just mallards. So, we turned around and walked back to the car and D drove us off to find a coffee. The first stop was St James' Cheese Shop, but although we got to look inside and smell the incredible range of cheeses they keep, the place was full. Onwards and Borders wasn't too far away, so we parked and went in for coffee and a browse.
We had to leave town at one to get to the Swamp Tours place, so back in the car we set off into some heavy traffic. Eventually we got onto our road and whizzed back over the large bridge we had come back into town on last night. We turned off onto ever smaller roads and at last arrived at the edge of the swamp. Here there were large barges being pushed up and down the waterway, but also a collection of airboats of various sizes. D went and arranged for us to go on one of the smaller ones and at 2.15 we were all setting off - seven on our boat and all with the yellow ear defenders on. They are very noisy.
Jostin, our driver, took the boat across the waterway and into some of the narrow bayous, swinging sideways round corners. Around the first bend a very large heron flew up from the bank - a blue heron. Eventually we stopped at a sort of bay, overhung with trees dripping Spanish moss where we found at least four smallish alligators lounging around on logs and in the water. It's getting to hibernation time for the alligators so they are quite slow and lugubrious. The water is covered with Japanese water hyacinth which is quite a problem, but no-one is doing anything about it, just driving over it, which doesn't seem to achieve much. Our next stop was more open and here Jostin pointed out another alligator lurking in the weed. He threw something in the water and it sped across towards us snapping up the white marshmallow. J threw in a couple more while he chatted on about gators. It was quite funny to watch. There were also some large birds about, swamp buzzards and also lots of egrets. D spotted a woodpecker on a tree trunk that we think was a pileated woodpecker. The trees are mostly swamp cedars, the state tree of LA, and are a protected species. The afternoon passed along in the same vein until we met up with another of the company's boats where we were watching common gallinules, looking like large moorhens. Jostin came round to the front of the boat with a baby alligator - he had brought it with us in a cool box, not just picked it out of the water, and we all got to hold it before it was passed round the other boat, too. Apparently the company will keep it until next year when they will release it back into the swamp.
Now it was time to race back to the dock, which was great fun.We came to the main channel where there was a barge boat pushing four loaded barges up river. Our captain was very sceptical about it getting around the Mississipi bends. We were soon back at the car. We decided to find the NP visitor centre where there were some interesting facts about the swamp and several self guided walks along boards. We will have to come back to do those, as we needed to be leaving for the airport to collect S. D thought we would have time for a cup of tea at Starbucks on the way, so we did stop for a break, then we got stuck in Friday night traffic creeping along the freeway to the airport. At last we got there and D ran in to meet S as we parked the car. They came out almost immediately and we were soon on our way back to the house - having free parking, too.
S&D opened the remaining pictures from the shipment and we all were impressed with how good they looked. Now they have the problem of how and where to hang them. S also opened her birthday pressies from M&N and us, which she really liked. Just time to spruce up before we were due at the restaurant, Le Petit Grocery, for dinner. It was also busy, but we had a table booked. We suggested Sazeracs as an aperitif, but they were not pleasant - almost all hard whisky and hardly any of the sweet herby taste that I's had had. But dinner was tasty - steaks and rabbit were greedily consumed and a very pleasant Frog's Leap Zinfandel was a delicious accompaniment. Then there was dessert - plum cobbler was the special, but sadly it had all gone - and lots of people hadn't got as far as dessert, yet. So we had chocolate mousse, crème brulee and pear bread pudding. We intended to have tea back at the house, but ended retiring after a busy day.
