We will start with the other stuff. Sidney and Kimber received a fish tank from Kirk and Santa for Christmas. It was a few weeks after Christmas before we got it set up but it is now up and running with seven fish. The type of fish we have are cichlids. We have three blue, two orange and one yellow. We also have an algae eater. He is made of steel as cichlids are not always very nice. But Elvis (all our algae eaters have been the only fish with names and they have all been Elvis because of their fins) just ignores the cichlids. Sidney loves it and so does Shandy, the cat. She spends hours trying to figure out how to catch a fish. She tries from the stairs behind the tank but she can't see them as well and her whole body won't fit through the stair rail, only her head. She tries from the floor in front of the tank (pictured) but she just isn't tall enough. Or she tries from the chair near the tank. She hasn't jumped on the tank yet because I think she realizes there is water in there and she doesn't like that idea. It is great amusement and the fish enjoy taunting her.
Kirk and Sidney also got to go to their 3rd Father-Daughter Dance. This was the first one at Sidney's new school, Shafer and I think they both really enjoyed this one. They had a nice buffet meal, took some photos and made a cute hand print flower. The flower is each of their hand prints on a stem and was made for the Father as a thank you. They played some games and danced (a very little). Kirk enjoyed the opportunity to where his kilt and Sidney got a new dress for the occasion. She is getting fancier (and more expensive) in her need for clothes. But I think we probably still have it easy compared to her friends.
Sidney is also getting a bit protective of her room. She generally doesn't want Shandy in because she plays with Sidney's toys or sometimes gets left in there. And Sidney continues to display a love for trash and recyclables. She made a boat out of a Girl Scout Cookies box, an empty paper towel roll and the noise makers (those things you blow up and slap together at events) from a school event. It is a little pontoon boat for her animals. Of course it hasn't been put in water. But here is also a picture of the note and envelope on her door. Also, speaking of Girl Scout Cookies, Sidney sold more than 300 boxes and is selling more in the next week. But we will be glad when cookie season is over. The boxes had to be sorted and delivered. That was serious work.
So now spring break. We had commitments on both Saturday's and Sunday's around spring break so we had to take an abbreviated trip this year. Sidney had not been to Louisiana so we went over to near Baton Rouge to visit a friend. We stopped an San Jacinto Monument on the way there. It is a 570 foot tall monument to the Battle of San Jacinto which is when Texas won her independence in 1836 following the unsuccessful Battle of the Alamo. We took the elevator 490 feet to the observation floor and enjoyed views into downtown Houston, the ship channel and industrial and open land. We had a beautiful cloud free but windy day to enjoy. We also took in the San Jacinto Museum of History. Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car and we had some trouble with Sidney's camera so we were only able to get a few pictures. But we still enjoyed the side trip.
From San Jacinto, we drove on to Paula's. She lives about 20 miles east of Baton Rouge. It was a good bit of driving and we were ready to be out of the car. We went out to dinner with Paula so Kimber could get a fix of boiled crawfish. Kimber ordered the smallest size, 3 pounds, and it took forever to eat. Kimber is not efficient at crawfish but they were good.
The next day we took a leisurely morning going for a run and visit to the playground. Then we ate lunch out with Kimber getting some red beans and rice and spicy sausage along with a cafe au lait and sharing beignets with Sidney. We took a drive along the river road stopping a few times for a stroll and then headed home. Paula made us a wonderful light dinner salad which we all enjoyed.
Wednesday was our plantation tour and swamp tour day. It did end up being a long day driving (about three hours round trip to New Orleans) and in the bus (another three to four hours) but a fun day. The plantation we visited was called Oak Alley because of the beautiful alley of 28 300 year-old Virginia Live Oaks between the Big House and 1/4 mile to the river. The oaks were planted in the 1700's, long before the house was built, and have a life expectancy of 600 years.
We had a guided tour of the Big House which has a formal sitting room and dining room on the first floor along with an office from an era later than when the house was built. The upstairs had three large bedrooms including a master, a nursery and a guest room. Sidney was fascinated by the fact that the original beds were filled with spanish moss and had to be rolled each day for approximately 45 minutes per bed. No one was allowed to even sit on them after they were rolled until bed time. The rolling pin pictured would be stored on the head of the bed. Later you will learn what not to do with spanish moss.
The house was a gift from a wealthy sugar planter to his bride who was much younger and liked entertaining, so it was built much for that purpose. It took three years to build and had a difficult history. One original piece of furniture remains, and that is the baby cradle. The original owners had 6 children but only three survived and eventually the family ran the plantation out of money. The house and plantation had several owners after that who took varying degrees of care of the house. At one point the house was used for animal shelter which ruined the original marble floors. The final owners took good care of the house and left a historical society for its care on their death.
The house is now open for tours and education and other parts of the property are being rebuilt or restored. The house has been restored almost entirely to period style and is truly beautiful. The kitchen in that era was never in the house because kitchens tended to burn down which is what happened to the original kitchen for this house. Also, there is a picture of a unique fan device in the dining room. This was used to keep guests cool and flies at bay. A servant would stand in the corner and pull the cord for hours very carefully so as not to blow out the candles.
I have also included a picture of the suitor candle, plantation bell and large sugar kettle. The suitor candle was used by fathers to tell suitors how long they might have to spend with daughters. The candle would be positioned high in the holder for suitors that met the fathers's approval and lower for those who did not. When the candle burned to the top of the candle holder, the date was over. The plantation bell was used for communication. Each ring had a different meaning from announcing meals, lunch and break times, and plantation emergencies.
Several sugar kettles would be used to process the sugar cane. The cane would be crushed with animal driven mills and the juice extracted. The juice was then heated, clarified and evaporated in a series of kettles like the one shown (which was the largest and first kettle in the series). Finally, the sugar would be cooled and if the process was completed correctly, would crystallize. It was then transported in wooden barrels. If the process was not completed correctly, the result would be molasses. In addition, the plantation is rebuilding as close to original as possible, the slave quarters which at this plantation were unusually close to the main house.
We toured the rest of the plantation and ate a quick lunch. Sidney had a virgin mint julep and Kimber a real one. We bought some sugar cane to try and got back on the bus for the afternoon tour of the swamp. On our way to the swamp tour, we got to see a bit of a police chase. We are assuming drugs were involved as there were several officers searching the median after the end of the chase and several undercover police around. A little more excitement for the day.
We boarded a 6 passenger air boat for the swamp tour. The water is shallow and full of stuff so the boat is shallow and propelled by a large and noisy fan (hence air boat). Control comes from louvers on the fan which can be moved. The boat can however only go forward. The main purpose of the tour was of course to see alligators. In addition we learned quite a lot about them and the swamp. Alligators have been endangered and are recovering now. They are quite different that crocodiles. Alligators live where they must hibernate which significantly slows their rate of growth compared to crocodiles. They also open their mouth by dropping their bottom jaw rather than raising their top jaw and their teeth do not meet like a crocodile. This makes them eater of things they don't have to chew (rule out humans). They really are scavengers and prefer to eat something mother nature has already worked on. They also don't do much due to the need to conserve energy. Additionally, they were heavily hunted and suffer from loss of habitat. So a baby alligator has a 1 in 50 chance of becoming an adult in the wild (over age 4 or about 4 feet long).
So they are now farmed to some degree. This has been very successful in their rebound because they transition from farm to wild without a hitch. So the swamp boats will pick up eggs, being careful not to tilt the eggs and cover the breathing hole. They will be hatched and raised on a farm. In this situation, they can skip hibernation and have plenty of food so they grow roughly twice as fast as in the wild. Before they are released at 4 feet in length, they are tagged and their tail notched to indicate farm raised. At 4 feet they are usually too big to become another gator's or animal's dinner.
We also learned about the swamp. We discussed why you should play with spanish moss with care (it is home to lice, fleas, and chiggers at least). We learned about how the swamps were dredged and non-native plants and animals introduced. We learned how at least the rate of loss of swamp has decreased. We also learned how to survive in the swamp if we were lost their. We learned all swamp animals (yes all including snakes, birds, turtles and gators) like marshmallows. And finally, we got to hold a baby alligator. This was of course the highlight and the end of a super fast two hours.
Thursday took us back to New Orleans for a trip to the zoo and tour of a cemetery. We parked away from the zoo and took street cars through New Orleans seeing some beautiful old homes along the way to the park outside of the zoo. It was about 1.5 mile walk after that and tour around the zoo. The park was lovely and we enjoyed the walk. The zoo was only OK. You could tell that it was an older zoo that had seen tough times (being in New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina). The exhibits were very old style and there was not a wide variety of animals. Sidney wanted to do the dinosaur tour that is at some zoos including this one. The dinosaurs are animated and she enjoyed that part. We then walked back through the park, stopping to play of course and caught a streetcar to where we could walk around a cemetery. What makes the cemeteries so unique is that because of the high water table, the deceased are placed in crypts above ground. Unfortunately the cemetery closed an hour before we arrived so we had to content ourselves with walking around the outside.
Now by this time were were both exhausted. But no problem, we would catch a street car back to our car and be on our way. Ha. We were passed by 4 totally full street cars. And so we walked. We must have walked an extra 2 miles and finally caught a crowded car where we had to stand and bake for the last mile or so. We still had a good day but man were we tired.
Friday brought us home. Stopped and got a bunch of cajun prepared meat on the way and were happy to see Kirk and Shandy when we got home.
For those of you needed an owl update, we have put in a picture of the single fluffy baby that survived. He or she just recently left the nest and I think our friends are glad. He was a sloppy eater, tossing to the front door step bits of mouse he did not want as well as owl pellets. They had to clean up after him/her nearly daily. He/she spent the last month or so alone, only receiving meals at night. It was fun to watch him/her turn from the fluff in the picture into a big owl. 
The ride is April 20 and 21 and would appreciate your prayers for safety and favorable winds.
