Veterans Day parade, Biloxi

Today Rudy & Linda went with us to Biloxi's Veteran's Day parade. It lasted an hour & 15 minutes but much of that time was spent with many stops and delays, probably when they went by the reviewing stand. There were over 80 groups and military equipment. I believe that every high school in the area had an ROTC group in the parade. It was an excellent parade!

Sure wish this program would organize the pictures like I entered them!

Gaters & an air boat ride

Today we went with Rudy & Linda for an air boat ride to check out the gaters in there home. The ride was nice but could have lasted longer but we saw lots of alligators. It would be nice & relaxing to just sit for an hour or two in the swamp and quietly listen to the birds and animals while taking in the sites.

We went shrimping, caught some too

Since we have been here for the last week we have seen Jody & met her new husband Renato, who is a very nice guy that also knows how to cook. Jody will have to introduce him to everyone. Stay tuned for pictures!

Wednesday our friends Rudy & Linda arrived here for a week and today we took a short trip on a tour boat that shows and explains how shrimpers shrimp. They drag a chain in front of the net to "stir things up off the bottom" so they capture whatever is at or near the bottom.

It was another beautiful day and when the net was brought in you can see some of the critters that were captured.

Biloxi, MS

Today we made the 150 mile, 3 hour trip down I10 across the Big Muddy (Mississippi River) again to Biloxi & Southern Comfort. This is where we were this summer when Jody moved here from Mobile. Not our favorite CG but the best we have found in the area. The weather continues to be in the 70s & 80s but it's windy. All is well!

Angola State Prison Rodeo, Louasiana

We had a great time Sunday at the prison rodeo. Sorry there's no rodeo pictures; cameras, cell phones, food, coolers, etc are not allowed in the prison. The place was a sell out (9400 seats) and there were acres of inmate crafts for sale. The most common were wood (chairs rockers, bird houses/feeders, basic furniture), leather (belts, purses) and jewelry. The rodeo was interesting, there were traditional events such as bareback riding, barrel racing (the ladies were not inmates), bull dogging, & bull riding. Considering that all of the 5200 inmates are there for a minimum of 40 years if not life or execution ....they have nothing to loose and free health care. The fun events were pinball, buddy pickup, convict poker, and guts & glory. I really enjoyed pinball! 8 inmates each stand in 8 hoola hoop and a 1500 pound bull with very big horns is turned loose. The last man inside their hoop wins. The first pass by the bull usually takes out 4 or 5 inmates. It wasn't unusual to see 2 or 3 inmates 10 feet in the air at once. One time there were 2 inmates left, the bull was 20 feet from them, it's head down & kicking dirt with it's front hoofs. It was a stand off for 15 or 20 seconds, can you imagine what those 2 convicts were thinking while they stand there with a 1500 pound bull getting ready to send them flying? They have to be thinking of their buddies that limped or crawled or were carried out of the area. Sometimes the inmates think with their heads and run like mad to get out, sometimes the guys have more guts than I could imagine and stand there staring back at the bull.

Buddy pickup has one inmate standing on a barrel while another rides bareback to have him jump onto the horse and ride out of the arena, most made the jump successfully but ended up falling off the horse as the rode out. Convict poker has 4 inmates sitting on plastic chairs around a table and the bull is again released. The last mad sitting wins. Again tables, chairs and inmates go flying, mostly inmates. The guts & glory event has 25 or 30 inmates in the arena trying to get a chip off a bulls forehead tied to its horns. The fellow who gets the chip gets $500, a lot of $$$ for an inmate.

I haven't mentioned the monkeys riding dogs herding the goats.

Just wish I had some photos, there's a good chance we'll go again.

Port Allen, LA

Today we made another short 3 hour drive to Port Allen, LA. It's just across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, LA. Lots of oil refineries & sugar cane around here. We spent the afternoon doing lots of nothing. Patches is becoming something of a night critter, loves going out after dark and a lazy stroll on her leash.

Gulf shore in LA

We took a ride down to the gulf to see what it looks like, not as nice like the wide white sands of Biloxi or Gulf Shores. Not nuch down here, if you work here it's either in the oil or fishing industry. We did take a nice 5 minute ferry ride for a buck as there was no bridge crossing one river.