Swampland

To get into New Orleans we had to drive through many miles of swamp. Its remarkable that the city can exist in such a location. To connect with the rest of the country they had to construct many miles of bridges, one of which is 20 miles long.

This morning we woke up early and drove to the town of Houma, where we went on a boat tour of the swamp. It was thickly filled with trees, lichen, lily pads, turtles, herons, egrets... and gators.

Down in Louisiana

We just arrived in New Orleans today, and our first stop out on the town was to get some jambalaya (Louisiana Creole dish) and etouffee (Cajun dish) at "Coop's Place" in the French Quarter. Here is Eran enjoying some of this delicious Louisiana feast... Oh boy... Both dishes were amazing and unique, and contained a number of vegetables and meats (including shrimp, crawfish, sausage, and.... rabbit). It also had a nice kick of spice to it. The celery-bell pepper-onion combo in both of these dishes, central to the Cajun and Creole cuisines of Louisiana, is known as the "holy trinity" of ingredients.

Bugs

Throughout our drive in Texas we had numerous encounters with all kinds of bugs. It began with the mosquitoes that preyed upon us when we camped by Amarillo. Our next campsite, between San Antonio and Houston also had mosquitoes, but an additional bug added to the irritation. There were some kind of crickets in the trees that chirped so loud that it sounded like helicopters were circling outside our tent. The next morning we found a visitor in our tent, that we are pretty sure was a brown recluse. We think it came in when we were setting up our tent, and temporarily had our bags laid out on the ground outside. It must of crawled on a bag, which we then brought into the safety of our tent. As we were packing up the next morning, Sarah found it hiding in a corner and I caught it in an empty orange juice container.

On the Road

This being a road trip means we spend a lot of time on the road. Our car is packed with useful gadgets, food, and music. The video below provides a very short tour of how we arranged the car.

We Remembered The Alamo

This is the Alamo, considered to be the birthplace of the Republic of Texas (which lasted for about 9 years before they decided to join the US). In this fort many Texan patriots died in the fight against Mexico, amongst them the famous Davy Crockett.

The Alamo sits in the center of the city of San Antonio, which is the capital of Texmex culture and the delicious Texmex cuisine.

Also in San Antonio is the Riverwalk. This is a man-made river that winds around the central area of the city. It is filled with plants, walkways, restaurants, and hotels.

Yummy Texan Steak and Ribs

Last night, we decided to make some steak skewers on a barbecue at our campsite in Amarillo, Texas. Though the steak was from the local Albertsons, it was the best we've ever had. Apparently the Texans keep the really good beef to themselves! We were so amazed at how good it was that we decided to continue sampling the meat in Texas, and stopped in the small town of Abilene for some BBQ ribs the next day. MMM!

Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch: an art installation consisting of multiple 1950's Cadillacs planted face down in the ground. It is meant to demonstrate the evolution of the car at what the artist considered the signature era of the American automotive industry. Spray cans are left around, and visitors are encouraged to make their mark.