Roller Coaster

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Well, I've been along the Gulf Coast for about a month now.  Most of my time so far was spent in coastal Louisiana, and I just headed east to Mississippi and Alabama.  It feels like I've been down here for ages.  So much has happened, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of it.  There have been times when I've laughed so hard my stomach hurt.  Moments when my eyes filled with tears. Days that I couldn't get the smile off my face, and days when I just wanted to scream in anger and frustration.  I'll start with the happy, fun stuff.  I still haven't quite figured out how to constructively talk about the parts that make me want to cry or punch through a window.

Erika (my sister) has been with me for most of the trip.  It has been great to have her along, not only for the company and shared driving responsibilities, but also because she is a total data nerd and was really excited when I "let" her do my coding for me.  You can see some of her work in the ideas section. 

We've had some great adventures, attending Mardi Gras parades in both Houma and New Orleans.

While visiting with the ladies at the town hall in Grand Isle, Louisiana, Erika "got the baby" in her piece of King Cake.  Traditionally, whoever finds the tiny plastic figurine in their piece has to bring the next King Cake.  So we made the 3 hour round trip drive a week later to deliver a new King Cake. 

We got to go on a wetlands tour with Captain Wendy, also know as Bayou Woman.  She wrote a really wonderful blog post about our visit, with some great pictures.  Until I have more time, you'll have to read her version. We saw TWO alligators!

And we got to meet some really amazing people that have inspired me to keep going through the rough days.  Especially the young people that are working to protect and restore the place they call home.  A shout-out to the amazing high schoolers at Sassafras LA and F.L.A.G. that have decided that they can and must do something for this over-burdened and under-appreciated part of the country.

Also getting some good press and feedback, which is nice.  Check out the article in the Houma Today.  Pretty spot on, although I wouldn't say I'm quite from a "family of fishermen."  I guess I've got dad and then Jim for a couple years, Erika for a few summers, me for one summer.  If you count all the folks that stayed with us this summer as "family" and the personal-use crab pot we used for two weeks as "fishing" then yeah, I'm from a family of fishermen!

Anyway, I'm off now but wanted to share a few of our continued adventures.