On day 3 we decided to get out of the city and head into the swamps. But before we did, we made a quick stop at the “Insectarium” downtown. Kenzie checked out the butterflies and was even brave enough to try eating some of the real bugs they had on the menu. She and Jodi both ate “Cricket King Cake” and some wax worms.
After the Insectarium we drove south out of town and into the swamps for an airboat tour. The tour company is was a small family run business, and the guide was fantastic! He was definitely a good ol’ boy from the swamps. As we drove up to the place a couple of guys came walking out of the office with shotguns slung over their shoulders. Turns out the guides brothers were going out rabbit hunting while he was taking us on the tour. They were hoping to make a stew that night. You can see from the picture that hunting is definitely a family tradition here. During the tour we heard lots of hunting stories about going out for dear, pigs, nutria, alligators, etc. He told a funny story about when they first started the company taking some people out on a tour and seeing a wild pig out in the swamp. Naturally he grabbed his rifle and shot it. He said he realized pretty quickly that not everyone on the trip had the love of hunting that he had. 🙂
The tour through the swamp was amazing! Learned a lot about the area, the animals living in swamps, and the people. And for Kenzie I think flying through the swamp in an airboat was probably more fun than a Disneyland ride! I can’t recommend this enough. Not only the airboat tour, but the people at New Orleans Airboat Tours in particular were excellent!
We finished the day back in New Orleans and stopped at Cafe Du Monde for some more beignets and more walking around the French Quarter.
