For those who haven't heard of this adventurous holiday vacation before, a tugboat pulls 4 houseboats 2 miles into the swamp, ties their front porches all together and then ties each boat to a cypress stump, so we don't float off. The only way to get back to the dock or to even leave the houseboat at all is by a small 6 ft. bateau or the party barge.
We had quite the group attending and knew it would be a fabulous time. Mom, Dad, Mae Mae, Mark, Curt, Scott & Abby, Bratton & me all stayed on the Hospitality Ship Colinda. Hanemann and his son Spencer teamed up with Cottontop, Sharon and lil Jack across the way. Newfield, Gail, John Paul and Sydney resided beside us, and finally the Dobson and Wanda had their own boat.
Please don't be fooled when you see land around us, it's not stable land, it's just marshy, gator-infested land. We were also amongst many Loup Garou's, which are equally dangerous. All you non-coonasses might need a little insider's secret to the Loup Garou...he is the swamp ware wolf.
By late Wednesday night, all parties were accounted for and it was time for the festivities to begin. Okay, well actually they had begun when we first arrived - we didn't even think twice about waiting for the brothers before starting the cocktails. We all gathered on our porches and offered up our best bullshit stories and were laughing until we couldn't laugh anymore. We also were privileged enough to feed on Dobson's wonderful Seafood Gumbo, Bratton's amazing Hog's Head Cheese & Cracklin.
After many many frosty beverages, taking countless boat rides in the freezing rain and staying up after my bedtime, one would think it would be tough to get up early the following morning. Quite contraire my friends! It is very hard to sleep in on a houseboat when you hear constant cross fire between duck hunters, and not to mention the occasional banging and shaking of an alligator trapped under the boats. So up and at 'em we were as Mae Mae and I headed for a nice 5 mile run on the levee. Man, was it cold!!!
Lucky for us, breakfast was ready to be served by the time we made it back to the houseboats. MMMMM, was it delicious!!! We ate 'Swamp Omelettes' which is basically Shrimp, Crab, Trilogy (sauteed onions, celery & bell peppers) Eggs, Crawfish Grits, Smoked Boudin (pronounced boo-DAHN,) and French Bread Toast. I was in HEAVEN!
After a short nap, cleaning up, and a few more cocktails, it was time to start preparing our feast.
Hanemann, Newf & Cottontop peeling shrimp
Dobbs starting to make dat 'Eggplant Gawd-Damn!'
Daddy and me making Doc's infamous Oyster Dressing.
Dad making sure that Turducken is dead. And I mean all of them.
So Newfield took a little break from cooking to show off his beloved LSU bowling shoes.
Abby and me making her ever-popular Pumpkin Crunch Cake.
Bratton carving up the turducken. That means it's almost time to eat!
This is what a carved turducken looks like. Originally was a turkey stuffed with a duck that was stuffed with a chicken that was stuffed with jambalaya.
Now, every Thanksgiving meal has its staples and we did have some of the traditional dishes, but those were few and far between the fine cajun cuisine we were blessed with this holiday. We had turducken, cajun fried turkey, rolls, crabmeat au gratin, au gratin potatoes, oyster dressing, snapped green beans, corn mache choux, crawfish pie, shrimp remoulaude, sweet potatoes, 'Eggplant Gawd-Damn' with crab and also 'Eggplant Gawd-Damn' with oysters. Don't forget the traditional pumpkin, pecan and apple pies.
We had consumed so much food and plenty of wine and drinks, it didn't take us too long to hit the sack, but not before the traditional game of Bouree. Mae Mae was my trusted advisor. I think I even walked away from the bank with $1.25!
Friday morning we were up again, this time with excitement for the LSU/Arkansas game ... and of course the tailgating. It proved to be a very sad day for us Tiger fans, but we still had fun none the less.
After a long and devastating day, we headed back to the swamp. Saturday morning we woke up early to clear off the boats and head home. Although I was ready to get home and rest, it was sad to leave this place my family loves so much. Most people think we're crazy when we tell them we spend Thanksgiving on the swamp, but really, it's so nice.
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