Wandering Browns

Landon the fireman- I think the jacket was so heavy he could hardly move! Austin had to go into work very early in the morning on his day off, so Landon and I took off in the morning to give him some nap time. We had actually attempted to go to the Children's museum earlier on in the week, but it was closed because for "inclement weather". That inclement weather was it being 35 degrees outside and having a chance of the bridges icing over. I thought that an inside activity was perfect for that day, and Landon was crushed when it was closed. Anyway, second time was the charm and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there!  Sorting his crab catch! The museum was housed in a downtown historic three-story brick building. The first floor was definitely Landon's favorite- all of the pictures came from this level. The 2nd level had a model train town (but we could not get the train to move!) and lots of physics and science experiments. Landon enjoyed brushing the teeth...

When we contemplated spending up to 20 hours at a time in airplanes with a young toddler, I was terrified. No way in the world could I pack enough books, puzzles, games, and toys to keep him occupied for even four hours! We began researching different tablets that could carry all the books, puzzles, movies, games, and educational apps  we wanted in one unit. We settled on the Fuhu Nabi 2 and we are very happy with our purchase. This tablet is toddler-proof, easy to use, and has literally saved my sanity on multiple occasions. Here it is in all its glory! photo  here My favorite feature of this tablet is its sturdiness. It has survived many flings of a frustrated toddler, and being crushed in a stuffed bag for three overseas trips and many domestic trips. The silicone bumper protects the tablet from scuffs and scrapes, and cushions any tumbles that the tablet takes. After this tablet, others have come out with similar bumpers, but this tablet seems to be the only one spe...

Courthouse- also built after the 1910 fire Every Saturday, there is a small Farmer's Market in the parking lot of the historic City Hall building. After picking up some delicious local grapefruit, we started out on a walking tour of the historic city center. The old city hall building is now an arts and cultural center and we enjoyed a traveling exhibit on the circus on the 3rd floor. The building was built in 1911 after a fire destroyed most of Lake Charles' downtown. It has an Italianesque style and is a very neat building both inside and out. Across the street is the courthouse. It is fashioned to look like "The Rotunda" a building in northern Italy. We looked up the original building and sure enough, they look very similar! The domed roof is made of copper. We did not go inside this building, but Landon enjoyed the cannon that was on the front lawn. Catholic Cathedral Around the corner from these iconic building was this gorgeous cathedral that wa...

The USS Orleck's awards Lucky for us, there is a United States Navy Destroyer docked on the Calcasieu River close to Lake Charles. The USS Orleck was built in 1945 in Orange, Texas, and served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, receiving many awards for its service. It was decommissioned in 1982, and transferred to the Turkish Navy. They decommissioned it in 1999 and it returned to Orange, Texas to become a museum ship. Hurricane Rita messed it up, and they decided to move it to Lake Charles in 2010. It has been there ever since.   Infirmary We went to check it out and the tour they gave as well as the boat itself exceeded my expectations. When we first arrived, we actually had to enter the boat to pay the entrance fee. I was not sure how the whole thing worked, but Landon took off down a hallway and I followed him. Turns out, someone had just started a tour, so we jumped in with that couple and we took a two-hour tour of the boat.  Starting off, a man who was working...