Vacation to N’awlins (AKA: New Orleans)

The Zimmer Home recently traveled to Grand Isle, Lousiana, near New Orleans, for a final summer outing before school starts. Home Parents Al and Rachel Howell share about the highlights of the trip:

boy holding baby alligator | coyotehill.orgWe had a blast!!!  All ten of us (seven kids, summer missionary Paige Brokaw, and Al & Rachel) stayed at a church on Grand Isle and were able to go to the beach four out of the five days that we were there.  The kids were amazed as we were getting into the water and saw dolphins swimming just past the wave breaks!  At one point, they all got within ten feet of one.  Our 8-year-old saw the dolphins and was convinced they were sharks.  He refused to get into the ocean the entire first morning we were there.  The kids found out pretty quickly that the Gulf was home to thousands of hermit crabs. They caught many of them each day and made hermit crab zoos, then we’d turn them loose.  They built sand castles and buried each other in the sand.  They practiced synchronized swimming and played something called the Color Game.  There was a gym at the church where we stayed, so the kids had a blast playing there in the evenings.  We played kickball and “Steal the Bacon” as a family.

On Friday, we went north and got a tour of an alligator farm.  The kids held, swam with, and wrestled alligators!  Some were more timid than others, but they each tried all of it.  This was definitely the highlight of the trip!  One of the gators our guide put in the pool with us was a lot more aggressive than the others.  The kids named him Bullet, and it was almost a test of bravery to prove yourself and see if you could pick up Bullet.  The kids described him (as well as all the very active hermit crabs) as “feisty.”  The word was used frequently throughout the week and sounded really funny coming from our 5-year-old.  After our day with the gators, we went to Bubba Gump Shrimp for dinner!  The kids didn’t understand any of the references, and the oldest and youngest were the only two who ordered any seafood, but they thought it was a really cool place.  On our way back home, after we had just gotten into Missouri, one of the kids asked if we could go back to Bubba Gump for dinner.  Al explained that would be really cool, but probably not worth driving ten hours back to it.  He was mildly disappointed.
 
During our tour at the gator farm, they told us that it was a farm and not a zoo, so sometimes the animals escaped. If we saw one, we were supposed to tell the guide.  As we neared the end of the tour, we heard our 5-year-old saying, louder and louder, “Loose gator, loose gator, LOOSE GATOR!!”  Sure enough, there was a 500 lb. gator named Sally.  The guides calmly corralled everyone elsewhere, but it was moderately alarming at the moment. After everyone was safe, it was super entertaining.
 
Remember, it’s your support of events like our Pancake Breakfast and Boots ‘n Bids for Kids that make these wonderful family trips and memories possible for our children. Thank you!
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