Mini-reunion in Mississippi (Bayou and Ocean Marine Park)

Jake, Malea, Colton and Gil had to go back to Texas, so we had to party on without them.  We were a bit sad they left, but super grateful that they came.

These are pre- swamp tour pictures.

Here we are on the swamp tour boat.  Our guide was the best Karrie had experienced. 
We boated up the East Pearl River.

The gators were abundant and rather "friendly.?"

Cool facts:

Alligators are reptiles and are cold-blooded.  They can weigh over 1000 pounds! Alligators have a powerful bite but the muscles that open the jaw are relatively weak. An adult human could hold the jaws of an alligator shut with their bare hands. Alligators eat a range of different animals such as fish, birds, turtles and even deer. Alligator eggs become male or female depending on the temperature, male in warmer temperatures and female in cooler temperatures.

The guides coaxed them up to the boat by offering small hotdogs on a stick.

We saw several turtles.

We saw a Great Blue Heron Crane!

A couple of cool facts: 

Despite their impressive size, Great Blue Herons weigh only 5 to 6 pounds thanks in part to their hollow bones—a feature all birds share. Great Blue Herons can hunt day and night thanks to a high percentage of rod-type photoreceptors in their eyes that improve their night vision.

This is what living in the Bayou looks like.

This is in a ritzy section of the river.

This bridge can be lifted for larger vessels to get through.  There is a phone number provided, but you have to give them 4 hours notice.  It is lifted by cables. 

The Bayou is beautiful.  The vegetation is amazing.

Cyprus knees!

We went to a near-by marine-biology park.  This group rescues animals and provide a place to learn about marine animals.

Grandpa and I with Bradley, Daniel, Eliza, Nathan, Josh and Hanna.

This was a petting pool where you could touch sting rays.

The seal  and dolphin shows were as good as any at Sea World and much cheaper.

The bird show only featured one bird, but he played basketball and could roller skate.

The murals throughout the park were gorgeous.

Feeding the parakeets was a hit!

Grandpa and Nathan

Karrie and her girls: Eliza and Hanna

Bradley

Nathan and Josh

Daniel attacked two at a time.

These birds loved Grandpa's hair and hat.

Eliza was finally brave enough to try it and she liked it!

This is the park commuter train.  It would take you from building to building.

Hanna got a little hot and tired.

Nathan and Daniel demonstrate how to rescue a dolphin.

The kids shifted through the sand to find shark teeth. Then a worker helped identify the kind it was and attach it to a card for save keeping.

There was also a fun playground.