Second day at the beach, at low tide

Hello again,

We're still at the A+ Motel and Campground in Sulpher, LA, Saturday, August, 31 through Monday morning, September 2.  Yesterday (Friday) at the beach was such a success the kids all wanted to go again.  We chose to go at low tide this time, as supposedly, low tide is the best time for shelling.  We just hung around the campground and visited the pond and the fish cleaning station again and the kids and I went back to the pool.  We had a late lunch/early supper of marinated chicken on the grill and sliced potatoes in foil on the grill.  It was wonderful, Mr. C is a great camping cook.  After eating and cleaning up, we headed for the beach.

We chose to go back to the same beach, but since it was Saturday, there had been more traffic and M was able to get their car onto the beach, too.  It was low tide and we found some great shells, even some without inhabitants.  M, B, and K walked all the way out to the rock breakwater and found tons and tons of hermit crabs in their purloined beautiful shells.  Since it was low tide the highest the water came was to their mid torsos.  The water was a bit rougher today, and more stirred up, so the visibility was even less (about 4") than yesterday.  The water was still warm and wonderful.

J learned that salt water burns sunburned legs, but once I got him all the way into the water he was fine.  There were some very large swells and even some small waves to teach K about body surfing.  She is just a fish and loved every minute of it.  Eventually, after trading J off to M and B, Mr. C, K, and I took our turn to walk out to the break water.

   It wasn't a very pleasant walk, LOLOL.  The "sand" on the shore side of the breakwater apparently gets a lot of silt settled out and there were areas it felt like we were walking through mud, it was slick and sticky and we would sink until our water shoes almost came off and stuck in the muck.  That part was pretty gross, but still funny and we had a lot of laughs as we tried to help each other find firmer sand.  I almost lost my foot and water shoe under one of the rocks at the breakwater.

 But I did get to see all those hermit crabs that were inhabiting "MY" shells (at least the shells I really wanted to collect, LOL).  We finally got back to firmer sand and B, M, and J came and joined us and we all just rode the swells for an hour or so, as the tide turned and started coming back in.  A did not even get in the water today, but told me these two days were "the best ever".

This big partial shell has the skeleton of a dead coral colony on and inside it.  I think I'll boil it to be sure it's "clean" and then put it in my reef tank.  It should be beautiful covered in coralline algae.

Sunday, our last full day in Louisiana, B & M picked up donuts and kolaches for breakfast and then we went out crabbing.

In Louisiana, a person does not have to have a license to crab (fish) for Blue Crabs as long as you do it with a string and net.  If you use any method of taking LOTS of blue crab then you have to have a license.  So, this is how it works.  You get chicken necks (or parts) and tie a string to them and then dangle it in the water.  The idea is that the crab grabs it to eat it and you pull him/her up a bit, slip the net under him/her and you have yourself a crab.

Supposedly they are good eating, but we had no intention of eating them, we just wanted to catch some and look at them and let them go.  So we got our string, got our chicken necks and other parts and away we went (notice, we did not have a net, LOL).

Those other people's catch!!!

We chose a place where other people were fishing and crabbing that had good parking and proceeded to try our hand at crabbing.  We didn't catch anything.  We were getting nibbles, but only saw one crab.  We must have been doing it wrong, though, because the people that were there right before us caught LOTS.  Of course, after about a half hour, the kids were thoroughly bored.

Mr. C was bored, too, but he was a good sport about it.  Although B and M wanted to keep on and I would have liked to also, in the interest of keeping everybody happy, Mr. C and I took the kids and left.  We took them to McD's and Walmart and to get Fuel in the truck.  Then we went back to the trailer.  I checked my FB and saw these pictures. . . BOOO!!!  B and M had decided to move to another spot and had great luck and a youngster there brought over his net for them to use.  Oh well, something for me to try another day.

 Mr. C, the kids and I all watched a movie, another animated one, The Dragon Hunters.  It was kind of odd animation, almost like caricatures, but the story was a cute one and well played out.  About halfway through the movie B and M came back and regaled us with the "right way to catch crabs", LOL.   They went to a place that the land met the water, rather than off a dock.  Then when the crab grabbed the chicken you could kind of tease him into following the chicken right up to the shore and then scoop him up with a net and you have yourself a crab.  They caught several and had fun playing with a smaller one.  Well, now I know how to do it some other day.

We finished watching the Dragon Hunters movie, and then, because we weren't willing to cook crabs, we had a great steak and baked potato meal.  Snuffles was patiently hoping for some handouts from Mr. C.

 

We ended the evening with s'mores again, which you can tell J obviously enjoyed.

 We sat and chatted until dark and M & B and 2 kids went to their room and we all went to bed.

Snuffles was all worn out from all the fun and excitement.

Monday morning, we were going to go back to Ryan's for Labor Day breakfast, but they weren't open, so we opted for Burger King for breakfast and then went back packed up the trailer and room and we all hit the road.  J doesn't seem too happy with the final good-bye picture.

B and family headed home and Mr. C and I headed for Baton Rouge, LA for the night and then on Gulf Shores, AL for the next 2 weeks.



In Baton Rouge, we stayed at a fairly nice, but older run down KOA.  It was easy in and out, was a fairly large campground, and they had a VERY nice looking pool.  There was a Golden Corral in Baton Rouge, so we had dinner there and then hit Walmart for groceries and some other things we wanted.

Plywood across pot holes in the road???

Tuesday, we headed for Gulf Shores, Alabama where we will be staying at Gulf State Park for the next 2 weeks.

Hey, I'm almost caught up, tomorrow I'll give an update on our Gulf State Park adventures.  Until then, smiles, Sue C