Wednesday 23rd October 2019

Welcome to Port Arthur!

We awake in our budget room, awash with bonus pillows.

We have slept well.

Most of the others in the hotel stay here when they are working, so come half eight once we are up, showered and dressed, they have left for work.

Just the question of what to do....

Alligators seems to be the answer. In particular, Gator Word, about half an hour out of town.

We aim to get there once the park opens at then, driving along the long strip mall out into the marshes and across the bayous to Fannet.

We drive past the farm once.

And again the second time and end up on the on ramp to I10. We could not turn round. So we mix with the traffic through roadworks to the next exit, take the road back, then find the entrance to the park.

And then find it is closed until November 1st.

Bugger.

What to do?

Even though we had only had breakfast two hours before, we go to the soul food place that was closed the night before. Jools has a burger, which looked stunning, made with hand made patty and secret sauce and so on. I had a fried shrimp sandwich, which was OK.

We went back to the national park down on the Gulf Coast, hoping for more insects and birds, and maybe staying there until sunset at half six.

We parked up, and wandered round dead slow. I was hoping to snap some dragonflies, but they just won't be settling. However, a mating pair landed in front of me.

I snap them.

There were a few birds about: Ibis, a blue heron and many seagulls including some kind of plover.

I snap them too.

At half two, we were done. We could not fill four more hours here. So we drive back to the hotel.

We tried to find a bar, but only succeed in finding a place that did canteen style meals. Te food was crap, but there was lots of veggies. We have had hardly any vegetables in the twelve days we have been here, so we fill our boots.

Only cost forty five bucks.

We go back to the hotel, listen to the radio, I write and edit shots. Jools goes to the gas station to pick up snacks.

We listen to more music.

I watch the World Series game 2. Until bottom of the 6th. The game was tied at 2 all. I should have watched more, but it could have gone for hours. We went to bed.