Traveling with the Jones

See and hear glaciers in this National Park.   

• It’s in the United States 

 

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Get up close with an alligator with Cajun Encounters Tour

From New Orleans, it is only a 40 minute drive to Honey Island Swamp.  Cajun Encounters offers a tour from New Orleans, with pick-up from your hotel.  Or, if you have a car, you can drive to the swamp for the tour.  See prices and details here.

Never having been to a swamp, it was easy to imagine creepy things and lots of mosquitos.  I was pleasantly surprised — no insects, and a fascinating, peaceful tour of the swamp. 

Of course, there were up close encounters with animals: first, some young pigs from a wild hog’s litter.  They were practically in the boat to get the marshmallows the boat captain/tour guide tossed to them.  While these young hogs were friendly, he said adult wild hogs are not.

As we progressed through a river into the swamp, our guide charmed up with tails of swamp life, explaining the history of the Cajun people in the area. 

We traveled in a quiet boat with about 20 people.  Soon we arrived in an area with alligators.  The other Cajun Encounters tour boat was ahead, so we watched as the alligators came out to greet the boat, and to jump for the hot dogs and/or marshmallows the guides gave them.

We learned the difference between alligators (docile animals) and crocodiles (not docile). Honey Island Swamp only has alligators.  

Our boat also glided through a nature preserve in the swamp.

This is a great tour for kids young and old; we all enjoyed it.

We enjoy exploring unusual sites, and always enjoy a guide who’s knowledgeable and passionate about their subject.   What’s your favorite tour?  Please share in comments   

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This island has inspired creativity and endured occupation.

Located 30 miles from France and 70 miles from England, Guernsey is a 25-square mile island in the English Channel. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands.  These semi-autonomous islands have a formal allegiance to the British crown but not to British parliament. They are not a part of the European Union. The Channel Islands are considered a British Crown Dependency and are made up of two administrative regions: The Baliwick of Guernsey and the Bailwick of Jersey.

Guernsey fosters a favorable tax climate, resulting in many offshore banks, fund managers and insurance companies establishing on the island. Guernsey has its own stamps and currency.  While British pounds can be used on the island, Guernsey pounds cannot be used in the UK.

St. Peter Port is the capital of Guernsey and the primary port of the island. Guernsey has a diverse landscape with 28 miles of spectacular cliff-top paths open to the public.

German Occupation During World War II

World War II left a heavy footprint on Guernsey in language and traditions.  Half of the island’s population, including its children and some adults were evacuated to the United Kingdom on June 20, 1940. Eight days later, St. Peter Port was bombed, leading to German occupation on June 30^th that lasted five years until liberation in May, 1945.

During the occupation, Hitler feared that the Allies would try to regain the islands.  He became fanatical about fortifying them, spending significant resources on infrastructure:  walls on the beaches, bunkers, bomb depots, miles of tunnels and an underground hospital, and a railway across the island.

Today, fascinating museums in some of these fortifications vividly recreate everyday life in the occupied islands.

This island’s beauty has inspired painters and authors

Between 1856 and 1870, Guernsey was home to exiled French author Victor Hugo, who penned Les Miserables and other novels during his stay on the island.

Hugo’s home – the Hauteville House in St. Peter Port — is now a museum administered by the city of Paris.

In 1866, Hugo published a novel set in Guernsey, Travailleurs de la Mer (Toilers of the Sea).

French impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir

French impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) created 15 paintings in Guernsey during his summer stay in 1883.

Children on the Beach at Guernsey is one of Renoir’s paintings featuring the varied landscape of Moulin Huet.

 A New York Times Bestseller 

A holiday visit inspired U.S. writer Mary Ann Shaffer to write a novel set in Guernsey during the German occupation of World War II. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, written by Shaffer and her niece Annie Barrows has sold more than 7.5 million copies worldwide.

A Breed of Cattle

A famous icon of the island, Guernsey cattle are prized for their rich creamy milk, and their meat which has a distinctive yellow fat and flavor. We saw the reddish-brown cows grazing as we were hiking the island’s public trails.

Getting to Guernsey       

We visited Guernsey on Holland America’s Heart of Bordeaux cruise aboard the ms Prinsendam in 2008. See our post detailing our visit here.  Princess, Holland America Line and Seabourn call at St. Peter Port, as well as other cruise lines.  It’s an ideal cruise stop since it’s possible to visit multiple sites of the compact island in a day.

Flights only take 45 minutes from London-Gatwick and ferries connect the island with Weymouth, Poole and Portsmouth and well as French ports.

Learn More About Guernsey with These Resoures:

Guernsey Handbook 2016: An essential Guide for Visitors to Guernsey

Guernsey Evacuees

We enjoy exploring destinations with an interesting history.   What’s your favorite destination discovery?

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