Swamp Tour Fun~ Alligators, Birds, a Sweet Racoon & More

Hello friends. Here in the DEEP SOUTH where I live Alligators are always close by! So...

A friend and I took a little overnight trip last night (FRUGAL ONE at that) and enjoyed eating, crafting and relaxing in the hotel. Then today we got up to EXPLORE THE LOUISIANA SWAMP LAND!

I don't live in Louisiana, but we are close by. We started yesterday (Friday) our travels. We enjoyed some wonderful Italian for dinner, and we were blessed with a meal!! A FREE Meal makes it even better. 

It was one of the best pasta dishes I have had at a restaurant. It was Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Tortellini. 

After our meal we went to check into our hotel to discover that they upgraded us to a LARGE SUITE for FREE! Seriously! We were actually already blessed with a very reasonable hotel rate due my husband having some points that we could apply for a very cheap night at a lovely hotel. 

After we got all settled in the room, we pulled out our craft we brought. As some of you know, I love rubber ducks, well so does she. I am also a Diamond Art crafter, so she found us these cute ducks to BEDAZZLE. 

My friend may have had an accident and hundreds of her little jewels went everywhere. LOL! We truly laughed!!!

My friend had this green color (above) and I had yellow. But I loved her color more. :) 

Aren't they just the cutest???? We had a lot of fun! It did take quite a while. We were able to catch up and have some good heart to heart conversations and crafting. 

Yes, you get to see me in my glasses and my bedtime hairdo as well as my exhausted self. I am still trying to fully recover from my sinus and ear infections. This trip one night trip was planned way in advanced sooo I had to go with it. 

After this we got ready and went to bed; we had to be up bright and early for our Swamp Tour. It was supposed to rain once we got there, BUT ONCE AGAIN the LORD BLESSED and THERE WAS NO RAIN and PERFECT WEATHER for the tour today! 

We were waiting to board our swamp boat and head into the bayou, marshland, swamp and part of a river. 

 

Right off the bat... as soon as we were getting on the boat we seen a gator. They were very active!!! We saw 20 plus on this trip. 

These are swamp houses and people live on these. YES... LIVE on them!!! 

Let me add.... if these pictures look like these gators were very close it is because they were. We were very very very close to the gators. I did not zoom in on these shots. These gators were very close to our boat. I truly could have reached out and touched some of them. 

In this picture below.... Can you see what I see??? It is not an alligator!!

We wrapped up our tour and headed to a Thrift Store. We got a few little deals. We then ended our day of exploration at Cafe De Monde which is home to the homemade famous Beignets and they were delicious.

I am now home all safe and sound!! I am cozy and catching up on blog reading. 

For those that may be curious..... Yes, I do travel and hike some with my husband BUT as a full time Bi-Vocational Pastor (that means he works a full time job outside of his pastorate on top of being full time pastor) it is hard for him to get a way and he really doesn't like to travel truly because he did it for years with work. He also does hike a little, but it is not as much as his thing as it is mine. We both have very different hobbies and interest and we support each other in them. :) 

So, TODAY he arranged a fun day without sons to skeet shoot. 

The GUYS doing THERE THING. Here are our two sons with my hubby!

Well, I know this was a long post and believe me I have so many videos and photos. Maybe one day I will share a little more. Thanks for stopping by and lasting thins long if you have....

With Love,

Chrissy T

As this gator (swamp puppy as the Cajuns call them) 

SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR..... After while Crocodile!

Even if it was just a little.....

Hello friends. This cold has about taken me out! I am not joking. I have been fighting it since last Tuesday. But.... I had to get out of the home. Yes, I am a homebody, but I do crave OUTDOORS. 

*Insert~ I do not just travel and galivant all the time. :) I have to be very proactive this time of year due to personal mental health issues. I strive to really make sure I am around people, I get out of our home, and I am active physically this time of year. ONE DAY, I may share my personal story. There was a year I could hardly walk, leave our home and I was scared to death to go outside or in public. God, has healed me mostly and I treasure this new season of my life*

Well, I kind of giggled at the above quote because.... my smell is limited.... due to this sinus mess. BUT.... I still ventured out today after my backside has felt glued to my bed or couch for days. It was hurting. My back was hurting and I NEEDED TO MOVE! So, I did what any "sane" or probably not really "sane" person would do battling a sinus infection and ear infections and medicated myself, grabbed my hiking shoes, pole, and backpack and drove for 45 minutes to hit the woods.

This is me hitting the road!!! Bright and early. Look at the Bradford Pear Trees blooming. 

I took this little trail at first to get to the longer trail that I THOUGHT I would hike, but about a mile in I decided to turn back. 

Y'all, I was trying is all I can say!!!! I was really trying! HAHAHA!!!

Yeah....hiking didn't last as long as I had planned. Pollen has now greeted us in the DEEP SOUTH with its wonderful appearance EVERYWHERE and it was as clouds of yellow was flowing everywhere with the wind. Oh, it did WONDERS for my SINUSES (sarcasm) anyway... I made the best of it and hiked a little (2 miles) and decided to sit by the lake in the back of my car and pretend I was "car camping" and journaled and read my Bible....

UNTIL.... Mr. Lawnmower man came to bless my sweet time of contemplation (sarcasm) and while I was a tad annoyed, I shifted my perspective and gave thanks out loud for this man making sure our state park is maintained and nice. I am thankful! Some state parks are pretty grown up and not maintained but this man has always kept it nice. I decided to move my car and go to a quieter spot. 

Sitting by the lake and journaling, praying and then taking a gentle stroll by the lake was what I needed. While I wanted to hike longer the Lord was letting me know to be still, enjoy and take it slow. I am glad I did. He whispered some things that have been clouding my mind and heart, and I had a great heart time with Him. 

Sometimes you just need to sit by a lake and think, breathe, pray, listen, or just BE!!!

Anyway.... even if it was a little time outdoors it was just what I needed.

This image and is source from Pinterest above with the John Muir Quote. 

Oh, I love a good C.S. Lewis quote! This was also found on Pinterest. 

So, what can you do that when you have JUST A LITTLE energy or time that can BOOST you a small bit? Maybe it is sitting on your patio/porch with a drink or a book, maybe it is coloring a verse, maybe it is a little more time in prayer or Bible reading, maybe it is sitting in the presence of the Lord, maybe it is a little visit to a cafe or coffee shop for a simple treat, maybe it is a call to a friend, or maybe just maybe it is a call to the woods or a to sit by a lake..... even with sinuses raging. :) HAH! 😏

Whatever that JUST A LITTLE is.... DO IT! 

With Love,

Chrissy T

The Golden GIRLS~ They are GOLDEN~ Part 2 of Thrifting & Antique Looking

Hello everyone. This is part 2 from my trip this past weekend of thrifting and antique looking at The Lucky Rabbit. Check the PART 1 POST here to understand the magnitude of this place. 

They had rooms that took you back in time. Little did I know after I spotted this large cut out poster of these ladies (below) that I would walk into what I would describe the HIGHLIGHT of my day. I was walking this huge building and saw this....

This large (taller than me) cut out poster!!! AND THEN............ I saw a door! My friend knew what was behind the door but did not tell me. 

Here is the thing. I grew up watching the Golden Girls on my granny's tv every single night. I still until this day watch the Golden Girls on vacation when there is a TV with cable (I do not have cable tv) and I collect things that I see with them on it occasionally. Last March, I got a Golden Girl crossword puzzle book while on a hiking trip at a store. 😆 Growing up I didn't catch all their "inappropriate humor" I had no idea what they were really talking about. I just seen older women dressing classy, who likes to laugh, and supported one another and they seemed to have a bond like no other group of ladies I have ever met and I wanted that! 

Of course, now when I watch the reruns I am like.... "Wow, they were inappropriate."  HAHA! 

But I still watch them at times for the memory of them. It takes me back to popcorn or bedtime ice cream at granny's house (who has sense passed on) and cuddling up with a soft blue blanket and laughing with my granny as she laughed at their antics. I had no idea what she was really laughing at, but I loved having that time with her. She would usually have her Merle Norman face mask on which I can feels like I can smell it right now. She would have started her evening face routine and watched with me as I had a bedtime snack. 

Oh, to go back to those days. As she aged, she was not the same sadly. So, this show reminds me of the good days. 

When I walked through that door I was taken back to a scene so many Americans enjoyed across the television for years. It was literally so close to being identical to the set of the show. I enjoyed it so much. 

After all this thrifting, looking and walking we were getting hungry, plus it was beginning to get crowded. We snapped a shot at the Lucky Rabbit Sign and went to check out. I got that plant and milk glass planter I showed in my first post, a special jar of pickles for my husband, a gift for my mom for Mother's Day in May and a wreath. I will show that later on when I decorate for spring. 

 After a lunch of hamburgers and onion rings we headed to drive back home. On our way there are several produce stands and little roadside shops. LOOK AT THIS PUMPKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love a good produce store. I picked up a piece of pecan pie for my husband as well as come pickled eggs (yes, I think they are gross, but he loves them) and she got some pepper jelly. 

It was a lovely day. That day is done and gone. I am trying to recoup from a bad cold STILL. I ended up having to see a Doctor Monday night and had some medication and ear drops called in. I am still nursing myself. I am praying I begin to feel much better soon. I have a fun and busy weekend ahead. I will say it hopefully involves Alligators! :) 

DO YOU HAVE ANY SHOWS THAT YOU WATCHED GROWING UP LIKE I DID with the GOLDEN GIRLS??? Another one I loved was a British T.V. Series that played late at night on PBS called, "Are You Being Served?' and I LOVED IT. Share yours below!!

With love and hopefully until tomorrow, 

Chrissy T