New Orleans, Day 2 of 3
Dory:
Day 2: This day is more detailed, as this is the previous day that I am writing this blog (not the current). The day started off with a Lyft to The Yard, to the van that took us to a bayou, and then we kayaked forward and then backward to the start.
Photo by Vivian.
In the swamp we saw many alligators and some juvenile bald eagles.
Photo by Stephanie. The clump of branches and Spanish moss (which is neither Spanish, nor a moss, as our guide explained. She said the story goes that the French named it that as a way to mock the Spaniard’s beards.) at the top of the tree is a bald eagle nest.
Photo by Stephanie. This is a very blurry photo of one of two juvenile bald eagles who were just learning to fly and were circling their nest above our heads.
Then we got some lunch because reason was in fact out to lunch, too. And I got some fried shrimp which I never tried before and I loved it. The next part of the day took us to the Whitney Plantation, and I learned that many Black children died at the plantation.
Photo by Stephanie.
Photo by Stephanie.
Then the day ended with us going to the RV Resort and got in the pool with our homeschool friend Charlie.
Vivian:
Hewo friends! (And fam!) on Wednesday, we went on our swamp tour! I had been anticipating this tour since the day before, and it did not disappoint! We kayaked down a river and saw many alligators and other species.
Photo by Stephanie. Vivian did such a great job kayaking on her own! She got hung up on a few submerged trunks, but that was everybody.
Photo by Stephanie. It was a great day to see alligators because it was sunny and warm.
Photo by Stephanie. Our guide explaining that there aren’t so many old growth bald cypress trees because many of them were milled for building material.
When we were done we went to this awesome restaurant and ordered our food! I got a hamburger and fries. (Yum!) Then we loaded into the van with the other tourists and our guide and drove off to Whitney plantation. It was an audio directed tour and was very informative, I especially liked looking at the exhibits that were near perfectly preserved.
Photo by Stephanie. I don’t have a photo of the buildings at Whitney Plantation, but I wanted to share this one, which is a memorial to the enslaved men who participated in the1811 Slave Revolt. They were captured and executed and their heads were placed on poles as a deterrent to others. I chose for us to visit this particular plantation because it centers the experience of the enslaved people who lived there, rather than focusing on a beautiful house and/or grounds. https://www.whitneyplantation.org/history/slavery-in-louisiana/resistance/