Alligators and driving through Louisiana

This morning I went to an alligator park.  There were all sizes and sorts of alligators about in various types of watery surroundings.  The one thing they all have in common is that as soon as they realize that you are anywhere near them they quietly and slowly sink below the surface of the water.  It makes it rather difficult to take a picture but then if you have seen one alligator you have pretty much seen them all.  They had a short movie that explained how they discovered how to farm alligators for their skin as a by-product of studying them to increase the wild population.  Interestingly enough they managed to do both.  They have created a very lucrative farming system for meat and skins and increased the wild population 10 fold and still increasing.  The swamp that they set up for some of the alligators also attracts birds like Red Wing Black birds and Night Herons.  I was the only visitor this morning but it was a cold rainy morning.

Then it was on to driving to New Orleans.  Louisiana is a strange state.  I think it is more water than land.  Everywhere you look is a stream, river, lake or inlet to some body of water.  You are constantly going over bridges because there is so much water.  It is really quite pretty because everything is so green.

I had grilled catfish in some sort of shrimp cream sauce for dinner.  This is supposed to be real New Orleans cooking.  Well no one ever lost weight on New Orleans food I guess.  Tomorrow is the big day - I venture into the real New Orleans.