Wandering Browns

Pelican while we were waiting for the ferry The barge I wanted to see the rest of the Creole Nature Trail. My plan was to drive an out and back route from Lake Charles. Austin thought it would be very fun to go on the ferry across the river in Cameron. So we drove south from our hotel in Sulphur and followed the trail around to Cameron- doing a loop instead of out and back. We reached a point where there was just a big river, with no way to get across it. Enter the giant ferry boat. It was in the middle of the river when we drove up, so we watched the wildlife and waited for it to get across. We were second in line, and eventually drove onto the boat. I was curious as to how this all worked, but it was really simple- there was a ramp from shore to the boat. Landon was not quite sure what was going on until we pulled away from the shore. Then he got excited. Nobody else got out of their cars once the ferry was on the water, so we just sat back and relaxed in the car and ate l...

Austin is working lots of hours for this job in Louisiana. Unless Landon and I want to get up early and drive him to work, we do not have a car to explore the area with during the day. That works out fine because I like to run and explore that way, but for the Creole Nature Trail and other attractions further away, I have to wait for Austin's days off to see those things.  Intracoastal waterway bridge So last Friday, we ventured out to the Creole Nature Trail. This trail is actually a scenic drive that is one of the oldest scenic drives in the country. There was a fancy app available for both Apple and Android products that gave us a map of the whole trail, as well as interesting facts and tidbits along the way. It was like having a personal tour guide in the back seat! We drove south through the marshy wetlands on the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, we crossed over the Intracoastal Waterway- a channel that runs from Browneville, Texas to Trenton, New Jersey al...

I am a sucker for parades. I just love them. I was in marching band in junior high and high school, so I love to see the bands and the floats and the animals. Austin is not as into them as I am, but he humors me. Landon, on the other hand, is in my camp and loves parades. I don't think he had been to one since he was eleven months old, so I don't think he knew exactly what to expect. What we found definitely exceeded our expectations. Here come the wagons! Fancy head wagon with Clydesdales Our first parade was last minute. We checked into our hotel here on Wednesday night, and I picked up a community guide the next day. I saw that there was a parade that very afternoon to complete the last leg of a heritage trail ride, and kick off the rodeo that was being held in Lake Charles. The heritage trail ride was taking place over several days, so I guess these guys were trekking around the countryside in these wagons for the past week! While we did not make it to the r...