WEDNESDAY 9.11.19 LOUISIANA

Today, after a lazy morning, Ronnie offered us a boat ride and we jumped at it. I grew up with a boat in my family and spending our summers at the beach, Walt and I were out on boats all the time. 

All settled in the boat we left for a two  hour cruise.  We saw this fisherman right off.  With his umbrella he was quite comfortable out of sun.  He wasn't catching anything, we asked.

We weren't on the Pearl River (in Louisiana) too long before we took notice of the little shanty's that rested on 55 gallon drums and some on pontoons. It was a very low tide when we were out so some were even out of the water.

 Our boat captain Ronnie.

I looked at some of these vacation getaways and wondered what held them together???

Some of them had air conditioning, outside kitchens and drapes on the windows.

Many of them had "additions".

Heading to the other side of the bridge.

I think this was the upscale neighborhood!

Take note of the TV antenna.  12 volt TV?

This was even has outdoor showers.

 The kids in this one must have a blast with that slide!

It was here that our friend and boat caption decided to.....

.....give it some gas!

Now that's all well and good.  We enjoy a fast boat ride, but none of us thought about this.

The cover of the white Styrofoam cooler flew off and landed against my face, knocking my glasses off. i saw it coming and i was just stunned i guess. Margaret sitting closest to me grabbed it by the corner and it broke off sending the cooler lid into the river. Since we were the only ones on the river we decided we would pick it up on the way back.

After checking out the river thoroughly Captain Ronnie took us back to retrieve the cooler lid

Walt was ready with net.

Walt made an outstanding catch!   My hero!

 After our boat ride we stopped at a roadside stand and Ronnie bought 6 pounds of large shrimp. They were boiled up and along with a fresh veggie salad we all enjoyed a very good dinner.

What I wasn't expecting was that the shrimp would still have their heads!   Ronnie was kind of enough to de-head them.

 After a wonderful dinner we went for a second boat ride.  This time on the large lake in their community.  The water was just as smooth as glass and we just skimmed across the top of it.  It was a beautiful early evening for a boat ride.  As you can see the homes that line the lake are much different than the ones on the river.

Walt added Mississippi to our states map.

What a fun day was with friends.

SATURDAY 9.7.19 TEXAS Part 2

We headed to the River Walk this afternoon around three. We could have gone earlier but we have to spend time with Boss. He needs to walk and play and just be with us.

We walked straight to the River Walk and the shade of the trees when we got off the because it is so darn hot here. And humid. Something we aren't used to. 

Walking to the River Walk we passed this large picture made of individual tiles.  What patience it must have taken to make this.

We saw several of the boats before we actually got to the loading platform. 

Everyone looked so comfortable and cool and relaxed. We weren't on that kind of boat. Noooooo,,,,,we didn't get that. Our boat "captain" was intent on taking every single person he could. Now don't get me wrong, we weren't squished in like sardines but he kept asking those on the sidewalk if anyone else wanted to go. Over and over again. It made it quite uncomfortable for those sitting there in the heat and we all wanted to go!

We finally got on our way and he pointed out the points of interest as he maneuvered the boat through the canals.

This is called "Love Lock Bridge"  Couples bring a padlock to this fence and "seal" their love with a lock and then throw the key in the river below.

Now I took a picture of this tree because there is an interesting tidbit that goes with it.  It is believed that this tree is 280 years old and it's a little over 25 feet in diameter.  This area was flooded and it survived.

A tree will grow anywhere.

After the boat ride we strolled along the River Walk in search of Landry's Seafood Restaurant. This is the restaurant that we chose for our free dinner.  The air conditioner was going full force and it felt wonderful.

It didn't take us long to decide what we wanted. 

Seafood platter for him and a steak for me. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals. Landry's is a bit pricey so we were glad to hand over the $50 in gift certificates that we still had.

Back up on ground level we could see the Tower of the America's located in downtown San Antonio.  

It was built as the theme structure for the 1968 World's Fair - Hemisfair 68. It is an observation deck and restaurant.

We passed this fella as we were walking towards the bus stop.  He works for Ripley's Believe It Or Not.  Believe it or not.

We also passed this fellow.  San Antonio's version of the Tin Man.

We couldn't help but notice the scooters everywhere.  You just sign one out with your credit card and take off.  It's $1.00 to start the scooter than $.15 for each minute.

I think the heat just got to us because both of us agreed to hang it up and just go home. It was too hot for a carriage ride and we're both just tired.

This seat was in the bus we were on.  It's in memory of Rosa Parks.

Today was a fun day.