Going To Grandma's

I had been telling Grandma for a few years that I was going to come for a visit. The only thing that kept me from keeping my promise was the 9 hour car trip. Well, that and my relentless habit of procrastination. It's been over a month since I made good on my promise and I'm just now blogging about it. Just one more piece of evidence against me in the procrastination case. Like any more was needed. ;)

We really had a great time visiting with family and catching up with everyone. We stayed at a really nice hotel in Baton Rouge, just a 30 minute drive to Grandma's house. We spent most of our time just visiting and eating, but that's what families do when they're together, right? Well, that's what our family does!

Uncle Mike took us to see the house he just purchased. It is beautiful and huge, with so many closets and rooms we almost needed a map to find our way out. It is in a wonderful location with great big trees in the front yard and a constant breeze sweeping over the sugar cane field that lies across the street, bringing much needed relief from the usual heat.

Uncle Ronnie took us out on his boat for an alligator hunting trip. Maybe I should call it an alligator search, as hunting might give the wrong impression. None of us had any guns (that I know of) lol. We really just wanted to see these magnificent creatures in their natural environment. They are very elusive animals, not to be seen, unless they want to be seen. We did see a baby with just his eyes and snout peaking up out of the water but nothing else. The whole trip was something memorable though. Just being on a small boat, exploring the winding arms of the bayou, seeing it change from big open water, to tiny green swamp land and back again and back again, all the while secretly hoping Ronnie knows the way back to the boat ramp. Amazingly, he knew exactly where we were at all times and pointed out the places where they hunt and camp.

We toured a beautiful Southern Plantation, The Nottoway. The weather was unseasonably cool which allowed us to tour the grounds at our leisure. It was such an experience to get a tiny glimpse into history like that. Even the kids enjoyed it!

I didn't get to take as many photos as I would have liked, but here are a few of the ones I did get.