After leaving New Orleans, we decided to travel along the Gulf coast to see what we could see. We all really, really wanted to take an airboat ride in a bayou. It was not really THE season for airboat rides due to the cold temperature of the air. Quite a few of the operators had their boats hauled out for annual service. But we found one in Lafayette, Louisiana that was still open. Let’s go! It was time to cruise through the Atchafalaya Basin.
Airboats! They needed at least four people to take an airboat out. We were three people, fortunately a nice lady from Pennsylvania wanted a ride too. That made four!And here’s our boat. There was plenty of room for four. Alas, it was a bit chilly out which would make cruising at high speeds a tad uncomfortable. But the tour operator provided us all with blankets to bundle up in. So we were plenty warm.This was supposed to be a selfie of Janelle and me. But something didn’t work right. You can just see Janelle over my left shoulder (look for the lime green jacket and sunglasses). Oh well, at least the picture shows you how we were dressed warmly, had ear protection, and were having a ton of fun!Our first stop was in a still part of the swamp.Cypress trees.Even in January, there were some blooms present.The turtles appreciated the sun.An Egret. Janelle informed me it had it’s mating plumage on display. I’ll take her word for it.Gator!!! Yes, there is an alligator in here. It is right smack dab in the middle of the picture. The cold makes the gators semi-dormant. This guy was going nowhere fast.This was unexpected! It turns out I-10 goes right over the Atchafalaya Swamp! I can honestly say this was the first time I have even been the median of a freeway…in a boat!
We had a great time on the airboat. I would highly recommend the experience. After our two hour tour, we headed back to the RV where we were once again parked at a Harvest Host brewery. Unfortunately, the brewery was closed that day. Bummer, no beer pictures.
I’ll leave you with a short video I took while we were zipping around on the airboat. You can also find the video at https://youtu.be/hKaWtfPsjOE.
Nice pictures — thanks!!! Glad that you were able to ride in an airboat — even if it was a little “chilly.”
Must have been great to be the only boat out that day and to have plenty of sunshine!