I could have stayed in the French Quarter drinking and exploring for a long time but I felt like I needed to get going. And I’m not even sure why. I’m not sure what was making me feel like I needed to push through from here or even when I met Alison. But I did. So I did. I guess I was thinking there was so much more to see and it was true. Just in this area alone I wanted to see the swamps that seemed to be a given whenever anyone mentioned Louisiana. Every place has something that sets it apart and these swampy marshes were no doubt the area’s most distinctive feature. Wandering around a place like this makes you feel like you’re in another world. The plants are oversized and the whole place seems to be encrusted in at least a few inches of water, but usually more. Half the time I thought a dinosaur was going to emerge from the brush and start to chase me. I thought about doing one of those boat tours where you go with a guide on a trip through the
swamps but I hate the concept of having someone lead you around and show everyone the same thing to give everyone the same experience. I wanted to see and do things on my own. Although it was nice to have the bridge that let me easily go from one side of the marsh to the other. Still, being able to just wander out like this was really something I enjoyed and strove to experience and there were plenty of other things I had earmarked to see and do out here. But just like when I was walking through the French Quarter I couldn’t shake the lingering feeling that this still wasn’t enough. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else I needed to be doing. Maybe that was just because ever since I left Margie and Will in Florida I had really gotten a sense of how much there was out here. Or maybe it was because only now was I realizing how much I had missed when I wasn’t in the mood to take in much of anything. You can’t change the past though so as I pushed on through Louisiana I was determined to make the most of being here and not let such thoughts ruin my experience…again. That seemed to be the attitude to have as I quickly found plenty to see and do. Even from across the country Adam continued to influence me as I saw the capitol building and couldn’t help but stop by and check it out. And I have to say, I did like how you could just walk into these places and see things like the officials’ actual offices and the actual congressional chambers. Much as I had come to appreciate such things I was also starting to get bored in seeing the same things but I did get a kick out of the state posting their members of Congress like they were a class from high school. There were even guys making funny faces in some of the pictures although I don’t think they were doing it on purpose. The capitol was just another example of how much there really was to see in a particular place because that wasn’t even what I was here to see. I was here to check out a former plantation because I couldn’t resist