Goats On the River

June 13, 2013

A quick stop in the Walmart bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth preceded a phone call from Mrs. Richard, another contact from family friend, Angie. Mrs. Richard lives in Covington, LA with her husband, D, 3 boys, Peyton, Hayden, and Graham, and big white Labradoodle named Beans. They graciously agreed to let me stay in their home for as long as I need to. When I told her I didn’t have any plans for the day, she asked if I would be interested in coming over and joining her oldest son, Graham, on the river a bit later. Looks like I have plans now!

Mrs. Richard was very helpful and shared a few spots in Slidell where I could take some pictures on my way to Covington. After stopping by the park and a canal for a few shots, I continued on my way. Before I could get out of town, I spotted a sign for Dippin Dots. Since I have been craving Dippin Dots for about 4 months now, I immediately made a u-turn and headed toward the dots! I quickly learned that even though Dippin Dots may be mouth-wateringly good, the burgers at this joint were supposed to be better. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Russell, a funny, friendly and outspoken man who did not approve of me calling him, “Sir.” When I explained a little bit about my trip to him, he was shocked. “Give me your parents number right now, I’m calling them and telling them what you’re doing!” he joked. He insisted that I sit down and talk with his good friend, Ben, who would be able to give me some directions to Covington. Ben told me about him and Russell’s friendship and how he’s been coming to the restaurant for 30 of the 100 years it’s been in business. He told me that he drives for an hour just to come eat the burgers, so you KNOW they must be killer! After chatting with Ben for several minutes, it was time for me to continue on my journey. I thanked Russell for the Dippin Dots and told him I wished I had never ordered them after hearing about the burgers. Russell promised that if I ever came back my burger would be on him, and with those kind words, I was on my way.

As soon as I walked in the door to Mrs. Richard’s home she offered me some of her homemade jambalaya. YUM. I knew at that moment this was going to be a great place to stay. She was so welcoming and upbeat and very on top of things, which I suppose is a must when you’re the mother of 3 boys. I met Peyton and Hayden who made impressive first impressions with their manners, but D and Graham hadn’t quite made it home yet.

While eating my delicious jambalaya, Mrs. Richard told me about some great places to take pictures in Old Covington and other places around the town. Since I was planning to go on the boat with Graham and his friends, I tucked that information away in my brain and saved it for the next day. Not too long after finishing my food, Graham got home with his friend, Jordan, and after a quick introduction, we were off to meet up with the rest of the boys for some river time. Timmy, the guy who owned the boat, wasn’t quite ready for us to come out, so Graham, Jordan, and myself went to pick up another friend, Will. To pass the time, the boys took me to get my first Louisiana Sno-Ball. The weather in Texas is hot, but Louisiana heat is different. It was very humid and on days like today, there was no wind for reprieve. With that in mind, I’m sure you can imagine my heavenly experience with the finely shaved, sour-watermelon flavored ice. It tasted like little baby angels were dancing around on my tongue.

After wasting a bit more time, Timmy was finally ready to take the boat out so we headed to the ramp on the canal.

Now that the whole crew was together, the funny times commenced. They each had such unique personalities and even though 60% of their jokes were inside jokes between them, I thoroughly enjoyed our time. Timmy gets picked on by the boys from time to time, but he knows it’s all in good fun and accepts the beating with a smile on his face. Will is kicked back and I would pick him as the mellowest of the group. Jordan is the goofiest of the bunch. Graham is the cool guy without even trying and I feel like the boys look up to him in a way. And all of them together are a hilarious time and had me dying from laughter the entirety of our hang out.

Once we were on the water, we putted through the canal and eventually ended up in the river where two rope swings were located. All of the boys, minus Will, jumped off the boat as soon as we pulled up and started to make their way to one of the ropes so I went, too. A few other people were out there enjoying the water as well, so we waited our turn to swing. A younger boy climbed up the boards nailed on the tree and grabbed hold of the rope. Right before he jumped, he completely freaked out and couldn’t make it off! Everyone was hollering commands at him on how to jump and telling him it would be okay, but even still he couldn’t seem to ooch his toes to the edge. “Come on, you got this! It’s easy!” I shouted along with the others. After about 5 minutes of coaxing, the boy finally swung and plunged into the water. “See, that was nothing.” I thought in my head, but boy was I wrong. Only once I had shimmied my way up the tree did I realize why the poor little dude was scared. This rope swing was extra sketchy! The boards were barely nailed into the tree and some of them turned whenever you grabbed hold. I had the rope in my hand and shoved the knot at the end of it between my legs. I was just going to go for it when I heard Timmy from down below telling me to climb a little higher so it would be safer. I shakily stepped up a few more boards and felt my heart racing. Now I was the one up there with everyone else yelling at me! Graham and Will shouted words of encouragement and I knew I had to stop acting like a girl and just jump. With a big push off from the edge, I swung high in the air and penciled straight into the water. Geez, I definitely didn’t think that was going to be so hard! It was fun, but not fun enough for me to go again. Once the boys finished with the swing, we jetted down the river for a cruise while jamming out to some music before stopping in an opening for a swim. Timmy conjured up the idea to put life jackets on like diapers so we could float without effort in the water. These boys were so entertaining and a blast to hang out with. Everyone put on their diapers and continued to laugh and have a great time.

 

 

Rope swing- Covington, LA

 

Awesome dudes, (from left to right) Timmy, Jordan, Graham, and Will- Covington, LA

 

At nightfall, we headed back to the boat ramp and dried off to go to dinner at a restaurant called The Chimes. It was located directly on the water and if you walked out on the board walk, there were goats. Yes, I said goats, and yes, that’s kind of weird, but it was awesome. After placing my order for boudin balls, we all walked out on the pathway to hang with the goats and listen to the water pass. This place was so cool. When we came back to the table, another one of the boy’s friends, James, had arrived and planned to chill with us the rest of the night. We all decided to go to Timmy’s after eating. That’s where the adventure really began.

Timmy lives in a town about 30 minutes away from Graham and has a place in a more remote location right on the water with a forest of swampy trees surrounding. Will came up with the plan to go on an adventure walk in the woods on the way to the neighborhood pool. This was probably not a good idea, but we did it anyway. After barreling into the forest, we quickly realized we could not see ANYTHING and had no idea where we were going. The weeds that reached the tops of my knees and bugs that bit me every 2 seconds were a constant reminder that my flip flops and shorts were probably the worst outfit choice for this journey. After walking for only a short amount of time, we all voted to get out of the woods and find a better way to get to the pool, but of course, we wound up lost. The trek out of the forest lasted for at least an hour before finally finding a concrete road. THANK GOODNESS WE MADE IT OUT ALIVE.

We made it to the pool, but the swim was short lived since it was infested with bugs and even a toad or two. At 1:30 in the morning, we made it back to Timmy’s house. The boys decided they were hungry and decided to go to Butter Crisp, a local donut shop that remains open 24/7. The greatness that is Butter Crisp was explained to me the entire way there, and after eating the ooey gooey fresh glazed donuts, my expectations were deliciously met.

The boys taxied me back to Graham’s house where I quietly crept up the stairs and snuck into bed. What a day.