LifeOfLindsay: September 2012

Drum roll please...

I got the awesome opportunity to go ALLIGATOR HUNTING with the Alligator Man himself! About two weeks earlier he called me up, said he had a free day coming up and wanted to know if I wanted to come hunting! Obviously, I immediately booked my plane ticket and began counting down the days.

If you aren't familiar with this sport, but have heard of a little show called "Swamp People", then yes - that is what it is really like. Well, actually, we shoot with a pistol and are often standing in the marsh or the water when we shoot, but they are on a line and are MAD.

I wasn't really sure what else to expect since this was my first time. I flew into Houston, my partner in crime - AKA Dad - picked me up from the airport and we started towards Lake Charles. Per my very sweet and convincing request, we stopped at Best Buy so I could buy a GoPro head cam, then scooted over to Academy to buy some legit swamp boots. We then got to Lake Charles, but RW was still out on a hunt, so naturally, dad and I went to the Casino. :) After losing a few of my "lucky quarters", we conceeded to watching the A&M game at the famous Jack Daniel's bar. I know...I watched an A&M game. But, we know their new Freshman quarterback, so I was guilted into supporting him.

Sunday morning rolled around and it was ALLIGATOR time! We were headed towards the marsh by 5:45am and I was pumped! Still not completely sure what to expect, I had my boots and headcam donned and was ready for a rodeo. Basically, it went a little like this:

1. We drive to each line to see if it's down

2. If so, RW and his wingman begin to pull the line up

3. You stand there, armed with your pistol, ready to cock it at any moment

4. When you see the gator's head, you aim right behind the eyes

5. CHOOT HIM!

6. Then you get to drag him to the trailer, tag him, load him, and hope you got bragging rights!

I shot 4 of the total 14 that day, and my biggest one was just under 9 feet! It was a rush and I am already counting down to next year!

After the hunt, we got to do a little Red Drum fishing and that was a blast as well! I caught a few monsters.

Enjoy these shots!

Game Watching

We cleaned up!

My big one!

Me with my kill!

My first Red Drum

Don't mind the "Absolutely NO fishing" sign

Dad at sunset

The gang

Stopped to take in the sunset

The hook is the size of my hand!

My Alligator Man!

I apologize for my recent absence of correspondence. But maybe you'll forgive me after you read THIS:

It's been a very fun, busy, and adventurous month or so...

First, my sweet baby nephew turned 4! He was such a big boy and we had such a fun LSU TIGERS birthday party! Geaux Tigers! Here are some pictures from the party...

Aunt L, Kade and Cole in our LSU gear

The bouncy house! I was sore for days.

Lunch time with baby C

That smile makes me feel like the luckiest Aunt alive!

Aunt Chels and Kade showing off their muscles!

Secondly...my dad and some of his friends flew in for a Ft. Worth filled weekend. My dad and I had a father-daughter date night that Friday night where he spoiled me with dinner at Eddie V's then we caused a little ruckus with cocktails at Whiskey & Rye. If you aren't familiar with Whiskey & Rye, it is at the bottom of the Omni Hotel in downtown Funkytown. It was the evening of the Michigan vs. Alabama game at the Cowboys stadium, and the hotel was hosting the Michigan fans...so my dad felt like it was the best idea to pay the band at W&R to play the Texas Fight song. Love that man.

His friends arrived on Saturday, and I was able to pull a few "strings" to get us dinner reservations at Del Frisco's. YUMMMM. Then they decided they wanted to dance...so we went to the Stockyards. Now stop for a second and picture this... Me...My dad...and three of his friends. Now one is only a few years older than me but they are all happily married (minus my bachlor-life loving father) with children and they don't get out very often. Oh Lord. It was really a fun night.

The next day was the Stockyards music festival, which is the real reason they were in town. My dad's friend, RW, is good friends with Hank Williams Jr, who happened the be the headliner for this festival. Now, RW is known as the REAL alligator man. He has built a very profitable business hunting and selling alligator. Hank Jr wears a gator necklace, vest, and boots from RW. Ok, I know this is getting long, but let me give you a little back ground... I went to a Hank Jr concert in May because RW got me tickets and I happened to get asked to come on stage and ended up going backstage and on the bus and hanging out with the band that night. No big deal. So, when they figured out they were coming to Ft. Worth for a concert, the road manager called me up to make sure I was coming. I happily told him that I was and that I was coming with the Alligator man! So fast-forward...we spent all day with the band, hung out backstage, and I got to meet and hang out with Pat Green, Shooter Jennings, Merle Haggard, among others. We ended up going to a little bar before Hank went on and the guitarist played an impromptu acoustic set at the bar to kick the night off. Here's just a few pictures: