Sunday, July 7, 2013 -- I woke up at 7:00, got ready, had breakfast (a bagel, yogurt, apple juice), and headed to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church. It's where my mom's cousins (that we visited on Saturday) all go. It was a traditional service with hymns, liturgy, patriotic songs, a nice sermon, and communion. The pipe organ was beautiful! We had a quick tour of the church and surrounding buildings, then we went back to the hotel to change clothes and get on the road at 10:30. I slept until 2 PM, where we had a stop for gas/bathroom/fixing lunch northeast of Houston. I had a tuna wrap, crackers, cheese sticks, applesauce, and pineapple juice on the road.
We arrived at our destination in Gilliam, Louisiana, at 6 PM. The people whose house we stayed at are my first cousins twice removed. Their daughter, my second cousin once removed, joined us for a delicious supper of lasagna, salad, homegrown sweet corn, garlic bread, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream! Prior to supper, we had gone up the road to see some skydivers!! We also looked over their thousands of acres of corn, cotton, and soybeans. The land is so flat compared to Missouri and the crops look beautiful. It's like STL weather...warm and humid with slight breezes. They also have 10 sweet little goats, which we visited with after supper. The sun was setting and the air was cooler...so beautiful in Louisiana!
Monday, July 8, 2013 -- Slept in until 9 AM, had breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast, cinnamon rolls, fruit, orange juice), and started our nice and relaxing day. We talked, walked around outside a bit, and met another second cousin once removed and two of my third cousins before heading to lunch at the Main Street Restaurant. The grilled shrimp salad is excellent! After that, we went for another drive to see equipment, grain bins, storage areas, and a cotton gin, plus a quick overview of the crops. My mom and I went for a longer walk after that to look for the goats and the two donkeys (the donkeys actually escaped before we arrived!)...found the goats. They are so cute and funny. We also looked at the irrigation method (A flexible white vinyl tube attached to a pipe with a valve, which they could turn on to start the water flow. Half-inch-diameter holes along the tube allowed to water to come out, which then went down every other row of the crop to keep them irrigated) and the cotton buds.
After a wonderful day exploring on a true southern plantation, we said good-bye and headed for Arkansas at 4:30 PM. I drove the whole way to our Comfort Suites in Hot Springs. We had supper at Belle Arti, a wonderful Italian restaurant. The three-course meal ($12.95) had a variety of options, but I chose cheese sticks for the appetizer, chicken Parmesan for the main course, and cheese cake with strawberry sauce and whipped cream for dessert. The food was amazing. This concluded our wonderful day in Louisiana (and evening in Arkansas!).
~Anna~
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