February 3, 2017. Down on the Bayou

CAMPGROUND:  Cameron Parrish Jetty RV Park.  At the end of a long fishing pier.  Brand new, built by FEMA after one of the hurricanes.  Electricity and water.  Nice toilets, but no showers.  Great picnic area.  $25.  8 stars

LOCATION: Cameron, Louisiana

WEATHER:  Mostly sunny. Windy. Highs mid-60s  

We "entertained" our friend Heather with a good-bye breakfast in the Airstream.

We drove about 6 hours, including straight through Houston.  We had been worried about Super Bowl traffic, but it wasn't too bad. I tried to keep my gasping at a minimum.  

As soon as we could, we got off Interstate 10 and drove south along the bayou.  We passed through acres and acres of oil drilling fields.  

I volunteered to drive, and sure enough, this huge bridge appeared out of nowhere...

Why does this always happen to me?  I pulled over, insisting that George drive over it.  We made it! 

The road followed the Gulf into Louisiana.  We drove along the bayo, at or below sea level.  All the houses, churches, libraries, etc are on stilts.  Interesting.  The road ended and we boarded a ferry to cross another river.  

 

We ended up in Cameron, Louisiana.  

We stopped at a shack to buy some shrimp.  The owner informed us it is not shrimp season yet, but told us where to find a campsite.  We had a hard time finding it....no signage. When we pulled in, there were only 2 other campers.  The clerk asked us how we found the place.  He said it is well-known by fishermen and locals, but tourists generally don't come here.  

We are surrounded by water.  We took a walk on the fishing pier to watch the ships go by. We talked with two guys fishing.  They had already caught two big drum fish, and as we were chatting with them, they pulled in a huge 35-pounder.  I hadn't realized that the fish are called drum because they emit a noise that sounds just like a bass drum when they are pulled out of the water.  

  The two guys kindly cut us off a filet from one of the drums, and also gave us a crab that had clung to their line.  We grilled them on the BBQ grills. Wow!  Can't get much fresher!

DINNER:  Grilled fish and crab with Asian udon.