To Cajun Country

After leaving the everglades we spent a night in Fort Myers and checked out Sanibel Island the next day.  Took a spin through the Ding Darling wildlife refuge hoping to see some more Roseate Spoonbills, but only saw some massive white pelicans. Lame. Ding Darling is dead to me now.

The next day we headed up to Crystal River where we kayaked with manatees!  We saw a mother and her calf swimming together, but the springs too crowded with people so we paddled out of there. Nearby we found a secluded spot with 4 manatees that were basking in the sun, and very quietly lingered a few feet away for about a 1/2 hour. Sadly, every manatee we saw had numerous scars and cuts - one had a nasty sawtooth'd tail.  We couldn't get any good shots of the animals, so I stole this one...

Spent the next day driving backroads through Alabama - there was a LOT of cotton being grown out there.  I had no idea.  This was one of the fields.

Around noon we stopped at Conecuh National Forest and talked to an old guy from Alaska named Jim.  He regaled us with tales of salmon runs, catching 20 pounds of shrimp in 10 minutes, and other ways of living off the land. We tried to go for a long hike but none of the trails were marked... we did find a large yellow bellied cooter (turtle) that was walking into the road, so I picked him up and carried him down to the water.  I love how they stick their feet out when they're loungin around.

That night we had amazing bbq - 7.99 for a 1/2 rack of perhaps the best ribs I've ever tasted!

Spent the next day driving Mississippi backroads this time.  So many of the towns in Mississippi and Alabama are hurting badly... most of the downtown retail spaces are empty, and at least one downtown was entirely deserted.  We stopped for lunch in Natchez - a beautiful town - and checked out the Mississippi river.

There was no real great place to spend the night in Mississippi so we drove on to Beaux-Bridge Louisiana, through perhaps the most intense and spectacular lightning storm I've ever experienced.  There was so much lightning in the sky... I wish I could have captured it.

In the morning we took another long drive on local roads to get a feel for the area.  There were dozens of slow moving trucks hauling freshly harvested sugar cane.  Stopped at this amazing bakery in St. Martinville... it was run by an old Cajun woman who was speaking french with one of the customers.  She gave me a blueberry donut... best donut I've ever had.

Later that day we went for a hike in Fausse Point State Park - saw raccoons climbing trees, more gators, and Anna almost stepped on this Cottonmouth.  It's December, so these suckers are cold and can't move that fast... so it wouldn't have been able to flee if we'd gotten too close - and you know how it goes with cornered snakes.  Look at those cheeks!

Finished off the night with some tasty Sazeracs and a fantastic dinner at Cafe Des Amis where we listened and danced to some Zydeco music.  There was a fabulous painting of a horse - named "Richard" - done by a local artist... it made Anna happy so we picked it up.  Hmm... maybe she's got a good painting of a goat.