Drivers Touring Europe....and Beyond

This weekend we vowed to do it like a native Louisianian. Firday night we tried Catfish Junction - a restaurant about 3 minutes from our house. We had heard mixed reviews but gave it positive ones ourselves. The waitress could tell we didn't know what we wanted so brought our samples of ettoufe and fried alligator. She went on to tell us that if you are going to eat alligator you have to make sure you are eating tail meat - the belly meat is greasy and not as tasty.

Jean Lafitte

Next we went to a local festival in Lake Charles. It is called Contraband Days and celebrates the pirate. The annual festival celebrates the legend of pirate Jean Lafitte. The story goes that pirate Jean Lafitte docked his boat right on the sandy shore of Lake Charles and buried his treasure somewhere along its banks.

margarita stand

We had some local food - tamale slammer and a meatloaf sandwich with BBQ sauce, bought a picture with the fleur de lie and took advantage of the margarita stand.

pirates with beads

The boat parade featured people dressed as pirates and throwing beads at the crowd.

boat parade

Like they say - you can definately be a traveler and see unique things even in the US.

us at Contraband Days

Fullerton Lake Recreation complex is about 20 minutes from our house and was once the site of a sawmill and small community. It was put on the National Register of HIstoric Places in 1986 but for us it would be a night to camp.

hiking

This is Emma's first camping trip and I think her last atleast until the fall. It was cool enough for us but the hiking got Emma panting pretty quickly. She did great though - we didn't even put her on the leash but once the whole time.

camp chair

She enjoyed her hike by the lake (mostly used for fishing - not one you can swim in) and her camp chair. She didn't have any problem helping with a hamburger and slept like a baby in her first tent.

Emma's first tent

Emma enjoying the tent

The location was great since there was only 2 other groups camping and all were pretty quiet. Each site had a picnic table and fire pit with running water and bathrooms a short walk away.

Due to my latest addiction Curt and I drove 8 hours to just outside Tulsa for the Aquarium Run. Fleet feet sponsored the run but had two different start times on their info documents.

Aquarium Run start

Here was the start line when we expected the race to start! Instead of 0715 it kicked off at 0740. IT was quite breezy and cold but finally we got going. Most of the run was on a running path along the water. The out and back course is the best kind for me so my time ended up being pretty good.

Aquarium run medal

I loved the medal and we also got hamburgers, hot dogs and chips in the aquarium. We took advantage of our free entry and walked around the aquarium before leaving.

jellyfish

Nemos

eel

white turtle

finish of Angies half

Today we secured our entry in the half marathon maniacs by doing our second half marathon in 2 weeks. No, this is not an April Fools joke. We hit Houston for this really great event. Angie is a fire fighter and coordinates this run. Her swag is excellent with a bag, t-shirt, hat and water bottle. THe start was even fun with the fire engines honking and using their sirens. The route wasn't much to look at but the end had a humongous medal and girl scout cookies!

Angies half crazy medal

finish of Rock n Roll Dallas half marathon

On our Antarctica trip a lot of runners were irritated with the rock n roll series of runs saying they give nothing back to the community. I thought it was interesting to find out that 75% of the profits went to the Susan Komen Foundation for breast cancer - doesn't that count for something. These are popular events because they are really fun. I would guess about 20,000 did this one. THe expo is massive and drained my already weak finances
The route took us by some of the prettiest houses - old Dallas money I guess. And then there was this guy..

Rock n Roll man

The finish had plenty of food and the greatest invention -the ice towel! Our only complaint for this one was that it should have started earlier - the 0800 start meant but the finish it was pretty hot - probably atleast 80 despite the fact it is still march!
I loved the sparkly medal and I'm pretty sure Curt loved the beer at the end. I went home happy!