Elberta, Alabama

We took a vote and Alabama is by far our favorite "Deep South" state.  As Braden said, "The vibe here just feels better".  We all wholeheartedly agree!  Alabama is just more "us"...more so than Biloxi, Mississippi or New Orleans, Louisiana  anyway!     

Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to in Alabama

Hello, Yogi Bear!!!

Yogi has this great pond!

Our little piece of Jelly Stone - we even have the cool neon lights!

Yogi gives hayrides!

Never too old for a hayride!

Alabama has HOT doughnuts!

Hot off the press!  We saw the whole process!  Made us love doughnuts that much more!

O-M-Gosh!!!!!!  

Yeah, we made him wear the hat!

He WANTED to wear the hat! Lol!!!

We drank sweet tea!

We are major fans of the Waffle House!  Like we should have our picture on the wall... It's that serious!

(Yes, we did other things besides EAT!!!)

We visited the USS Alabama...

Aaron said, "I feel so small!"

Me & my boys!

It was amazing and we were able to explore the whole ship

There's Aaron walking confidently aboard the USS Alabama

Aaron trying out one of the guns

Do you see how GiNorMoUS this chain was???????

Aviation Museum within the park

Aaron Bear

Bezeel Bones

Visited the USS Drum Submarine

The boys "driving" the sub

Super close quarters!

Definitely NOT "Serta Perfect Sleepers"

Cool document from the USS Drum

The whole park was awesome!

View of the USS Alabama as we were driving away

We also visited the Alabama beach!

Ahhhhhh, the beach!!!!!

Aaron making a "sand angel"...he's an artist, really!

Bryan and Braden playing on the beach!

The best boys in the world!  (Lighting sucked, but I love this picture of them!)

Me & Bry

The whole damn family!

Don't forget Bodie!  He was back at camp, holding down the fort!  He's really enjoyed Alabama too!

Bayou Segnette / New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana has been quite an experience for the Thomas Family.  The swamps, marshes, and bayous are beautiful and mysterious.  Pictures just don't do it justice... We enjoyed learning about the culture and history of this area.  The boys and I especially enjoyed visiting the Jean Lafitte National Preserve.  There's nothing like a 4+ mile walk t the bayou to bring you closer as a family - snakes, turtles, alligators were a large part of this memorable experience!  The boys even earned their Junior Ranger patches/ certificates at the park that day!  

We also visited the legendary French Quarter.  It is a fascinating place - W.O.W!  The city was vibrant and alive!  It's almost Mardi Gras and things were in full swing.  These country folks were amazed by the sights and sounds, but we were thankful to head home when the sun started to set after a full day :-)

Our campsite #2 - We were in a great location! 

Two words...FREE LAUNDRY!!!!!!!!!!!!

We took full advantage of this lovely service!  I was looking around for things to wash after everything was clean LOL!

That's Braden fishing off a bridge in the Park

Putting on the Louisiana sticker

Downtown

If one person told us about these beignets... Well, everyone told us about them...very famous & very delicious I'm sure!  We bought the mix & will make them when we get back to Md.

Pictures from the city...

Local cuisine

Unique sights & sounds

One of my favorite places from this part of the trip

Walking through the Preserve

Becoming one with nature 

One of the MANY snakes we saw on the hike 

The largest alligator we saw - it was a mama with her babies ( you can see them directly under that log!)

See the alligator?

The boys & I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon!  Their young eyes could make out the camoflauged creatures much better than my aging eyeballs!

We completed a scavenger hunt throughout the park and then completed additional activities, and the boys earned their Junior Ranger Patch/ Certificate from the Jean Lafitte National Preserve!  I was so proud as they said their pledge with the Ranger!

PS- Aaron is not sweating in this picture, he had dumped his water bottle over his head- it was warm & humid!!!

Back at the campground...

We're having a blast, but miss our family sometimes!  Love you guys!!!!