Bossier City, LA

This past weekend Tim had to take a work trip to his job site in Bossier City, LA and the girls and I were lucky enough to get to tag along for the ride and get a little escape from Columbia to some warmer weather.


Rolling bags are ready to go. The girls were very excited and extremely well behaved.....we hope it continues to next weekend!



Here is our plane - yep, we drove right up to it. No security, no checking baggage, it was fabulous. Unfortunately next weekend we'll be back to flying commercial :(

Our red carpet entry.

All ready for take off and ready for warmer weather.

In flight entertainment. We just got Megan's DVD player, heaven forbid if the girls would have to share and it was the best investment ever! They watched movies the whole time and Tim and I got a nap in.

After we checked in to the hotel, Tim went to work, and I had to work, so Megan took a nap and Abby watched a movie. Finally around 4:30 we hit the Louisiana Boardwalk. There was a high school band there that the girls found entertaining. The cheerleaders and drum majors were very animated so that was fun to watch.

We ended our evening at an Italian restaurant and walked the river walk back to the hotel. Bossier City is also known for their casinos and this bridge that has lights - not sure what it's called exactly but it was nice to look at. The weather was perfect for an evening stroll.

Of course on our way back we made a stop at the carousel. We had to ride that the following night as well. The girls were given the choices of the carousel or ice cream - Abby's first answer was both, then when forced to pick one chose the carousel.



Saturday morning Tim was at work early so the girls and I got up and were out of the hotel by 7:30. Little did we know that nothing is open or available until 10 AM!! So we walked to the IHop and we were the 2nd group there at 8 AM! We wasted as much time as possible eating there then found this playground connected to the Joe's Crab Shack (that was closed). Sneaky Papke that I am, we found a way in so the girls could play until the stores opened for some shopping.


All this playground to play with and they preferred to play in the rocks and bury themselves and make "rock angels".

They are cute sometimes!

After a little shopping we headed over to Tim's work site to check out the job. They had poured concrete that morning so we stayed out of the way until later. Had to get all geared up with our hard hats!


Can't forget the orange vests - Abby was pretty excited - at least at that point.



Ready to cross the railroad tracks and see the job.


Here are some of the concrete forms they poured earlier.

After lunch Tim was free to spend some time with us so we went to Gators & Friends alligator park and exotic zoo. What else are you going to do while you are in LA? Plus Tim's new favorite show is Swamp People.

Yes I am holding an alligator. It is about 3 ft long and that is my "take the picture fast because if this thing moves I will throw it" smile. Megan and I had waited in line for this picture opportunity and she bailed/bolted as soon as we sat down so I sucked it up and held the alligator. I would prefer them on luggage, boots, or a purse.


On to the "exotic" zoo portion. There were some white deer. We purchased some food to feed them. Tim would hand feed the animals and Abby would throw some through the fence about a foot away from the animal.



The closest you'll see Tim to a live buck!


The Shetland ponies were adorable and there was a baby one as well. Megan finally got closer to the fence to see them. She was not that thrilled about the live animal aspect of this trip after the alligator experience.

The nicest camel we ever met.

The closest Megan will get to an alligator - at the gift shop. It took her a while to actually hold these. Abby was holding them like I did with the live one and saying how cute they were.

And what trip wouldn't be complete without a trip to Bass Pro Shops. They actually had alligators as well but we were there to late to see them. We had gone swimming after the Alligator park, then ate dinner at the Salt Lick Steakhouse (delicious!) then Tim wanted to check out Bass Pro. It was still a gorgeous evening and we were out walking past 9 pm but the girls were fading and we had an early flight in the morning.

We had a great time and it was a very nice escape from reality for a short while. This weekend is the beginning of our DISNEY WORLD VACATION!!! Yes that is how Abby says it every time, apparently DISNEY WORLD must be a louder word than everything else. I am sure we'll have plenty of photos and updates along the way as it's going to be a great trip with many memories. Maybe a couple of princesses too!