Day 19 was spent traveling from Houston to Gonzales, Louisiana, the home of our friends (we met last Dec on our cruise) Ed and Edie Posche. We spent the evening,after Edie fixed a LUSCIOUS dinner for us, catching up on each other. In the morning (day 20) Edie fixed breakfast for us (she made me taste the grits...I still do not like them!) but the eggs were perfect.
Then we headed for a morning in Baton Rouge, the capital of La. This the highest capitol bldg in the U.S.
The inside was beautiful. Ed disappeared and came back with an old friend who just happened to work as the sergeant at arms for the legislature...
He got us immediately on the elevator to the top of the bldg for an awesome view of the Mighty Mississippi river and the city of Baton Rouge
We went on to see the museum where they stored the gunpowder in the civil war (see the bldg in the background....that is it. It is full of the wooden barrels that the gunpowder was stored in.
We stopped on our way back to the capitol bldg to chat with
george...
and check out the canons in the park...
Then met Posche's friend who took us through areas none of the other visitors got to see. We were even greeted by one of the legislators who heartily welcomed us to the state.
We then went into the assembly hall where they were setting up...
and we exited the bldg to this great view of the city.
We went to the state museum and saw some very interesting sites. This is an old submarine from the war with the British which was found at the bottom of lake P....I can't remember the name of the lake.
Here is an old Red Cross wagon from the same era
As we left to the car we stopped to sing with some of the locals...
We then headed to the backwater Bijou's where Edie grew up, and where they film the "Swamp People" series. Troy Landry lives and films right here! Maybe we will see him...
This is not Troy's place, but this must be an alligator hunter...check out the rifles on the "rifle rack" at the side of the "home".,,"Chute em"
We had a very interesting lunch at Troy Landry's restaurant...(I think it is his anyways) I had a boiled shrimp po-boy.
After lunch we headed for "shell point" where we stopped at P'Maws (Check him out on the animal plantet channel) These guys are all becoming stars from their TV programs.
We are sitting right on the swamp, or Bijou...whatever...all that green on the ground is moss on alligator infested waters (Water Moccasins too!)
Guess who showed up...P'Maw himself...yep it is him! A great and friendly whose wife and himself run the shop and still live in the trailer house next to it. All this is his and his family's. I told him I wanted to see his alligator...
and asked him to hold him for us. After he talked to it and it thrashed about, he came up with it. We found out that we had something in common...he is also an auctioneer. We exchanged cards and will try to keep in touch.
Here is more of his store...
and his swamp boat.
As we continued towards shell point, we saw a guy fishing out in the swamp, or Bijou, whatever.
here is the view across the road.
and here is what they they think of the county warnings.
It was so hot and muggy, we decided to stop for a refreshment at the local riverside restaurant.
Then found our way to shell point where, at the end of the road lives another famous man whose "artwork" has been displayed in a New York art gallery...here are some of his works, all make from driftwood found in the Bijou, of course, starting with the Landry boys, the Swamp People!
The view across from his place...
my favorite piece...Noah's Ark...
Everything made out of driftwood
Came back to Posche's for a cozy night an we head for Dallas, TX in the morning...Thanks Bunches Ed and Edie, awesome hosts!
