We're Going to the Bayou in Louisiana - 2010-2011

Oh Me, Oh Meow. We are definitely on the road. We took a short trip to St. Louis Park and visited my sorta grandma, Lu; as well as Nancy, Jeff, Micheal and David. It was Christmas eve and the peeps had pork tenderloin. I didn't get any but, I did get some Fancy Feast, grilled chicken in gravy. I think that's special because peeps don't usually put gravy on grilled chicken.


The next morning, they put me in the car and we were off. We headed south where my peeps promised me that it would be warmer than Duluth. Iowa, however was completely white. The sky and ground was so white it hurt our eyes. As the snow along the road kept getting thinner and thinner we started seeing lots of hawks. Well, the peeps saw the hawks, I slept most of the time We drove and drove until we were out of the snow and stayed in one of those motels along the freeway in Kansas City, Missouri. I hated it! It had smells that I didn't like and it didn't have a laundry sink where I could get a drink of water. I complained a lot in the night which made my peeps a bit annoyed. Before we got to the motel, the peeps had to get some bar-b-que at Arthur's (The peeps say: thanks again Pam and Kim - for this great tip on KC BBQ- the burnt ends were delicious!) I would hope that made them feel better about my complaining but it didn't. Finally, I got them to leave the motel.


The next day, we drove down to Arkansas. It seemed that right at the border, we started seeing turkey vultures. Kind of strange but I suppose all of those woods have a lot of small animals living in them and the roads have a lot of high speed trucks and cars and that leads to, well, turkey vulture food. In case you're wondering, I didn't figure this out myself. Arkansas is a very nice state, even at this time of year. We took a scenic drive along the Boston loop of highway 71. I guess Linda drove that with Adriana and wanted to show Anne how cool it was. I'm glad I got to go along although it was very bendy and steep. I got to practice my balance exercises. We had to sleep in a motel that night too and I was still feeling a little smarmy but, we all got enough rest anyhow.


The peeps were all excited about getting to Fort Smith so, the next morning when we got in the car, they drove to pick up the little house. Oh Boy, Oh boy!! That was exciting. I hoped that we could sleep in it instead of those dumb motels and that's what happened. It was too cold for me to play outside but we did sleep in the trailer at Millwood Lake State Park in Arkansas.


The next day we drove through Texarkana - a very confusing place where you keep leaving and entering different states as you're driving through town! Then we settled into a camping spot by Natchitoches, Louisiana for a couple of nights.


The peeps said that the little town was nice-with a lovely historic district and a holiday light display all along the river which reflected into the water at night. They also visited Melrose Plantation and got to see a lot of work by Clementine Hunter, a well known artist who lived at the plantation.

The campsite was not to my liking however, since the park had gotten a new neighbor: right next door, which was a truck stop - big semi trucks running their engines and pulling in and out all night - this was no state park!


At last, we arrived at a state park but, darned if they didn't have a big old street light right outside the door. Don't they know I'm nocturnal? I don't like the street lights so much. The park was Tickfaw State Park just outside Springfield, LA. It was a very nice place but it rained a lot so we stayed in the trailer. The rain was really, really loud on the metal roof! I'm glad my peeps got me a heated bed so I can sleep through those icky times and others.

I guess it was New Year's Eve but really, the stories and the reality are not the same. My peeps watched a Netflix movie (Iron Jawed Angels) about suffragettes and went to sleep early. When we woke up it was a new year. It doesn't seem that different except that I got some salmon and shrimp in gravy. Yumm

Back in the car again this morning but I think we have arrived at the place the peeps call the final destination, Bayou Segnette State Park in Louisiana. The peeps unpacked my water fountain so I think that means we'll be here for a while.

I didn't know this until now but, Linda and I are going to stay here until next month. She is going to be a campground host but - seems like she has her first two days of the job, off. Sounds like her kind of job alright. Anne will only be here for another two weeks so she is going to need to pay special attention to me.

Well, I too excited so I need to post this and take a nap. G'nite, yaw'l