Chapter 6 Dad's Visit

My dad came down to help me get a doctor's appointment.

It's not that I'm not a grown woman, just that it's hard for me to find motivation to do doctor things. And my progress was too slow I guess. Dad was worried. Which would just make me feel worse if it turns out to be nothing.

Sooooo I got this:

It's a Medicaid card!! I thought I'd feel more ashamed and stuff, but I'm honestly just relieved that I can get kidney work done if need it and I won't go broke if I get another UTI. I can also get medicine!

So I have an appointment on the 17th to get my marks looked at. It would be another week or two to get biopsy results if they decide to do that. 

So while dad was here, he met most of Juan's family. That was cool! He stayed a night in a dangerous area of town lol. And the next day he took me on a swamp tour! 

This is a cinnamon colored racoon named Blondie

They had swamp raccoons, lots of turtles and birds, a snake, mini capybara thingies, and they usually have pigs, but the pigs didn't come out because the water was high. We also saw a 5 foot alligator. He looked tiny! But apparently when the water is warmer, there will be bigger gators out. There was also a "swamp panther" (an orange housecat) just sitting out by some houses near the bank. 

That was really fun. I got dad hooked on Popeyes, so I think he had a chicken sandwich all but one day he was here. He likes the one in Slidell best because of the doo-wop music inside. He also really liked driving on the causeway. Like a LOT. 

Another day, I took dad to get beignets at Café du Monde. Dad calls them "ben-ays". But we got some of those and he got some milk. He really enjoys them with milk. 

We walked around and saw the Mississippi river, and we listened to some jazz street performers for a couple minutes (not long enough), and walked down Bourbon Street. There weren't that many people compared to at night time. Not many drunks, either! 

The next day, we tried out a Chinese Buffet in Slidell. It was AWESOME. Good was really good, and the seafood was BOMB. I can't imagine what expensive seafood tastes like astound here. I need to get out more lol But dad and I were both impressed by how the Cajun seasoning got through the shell and into the meat of the crawfish. 

So I wanted to take dad and Juan to the Fountainbleau park, but made a wrong turn and ended up in Mississippi. Slidell is very close to the border apparently. So dad wanted to go to the visitors center off the first exit. He requested a map and was really excited to see how close he was to Clark County, Alabama. He wants to see some records there, so he's gonna rent a car and make the hours-long drive over there. It's where his dad's dad lived? Anyway, he was so excited. That was a cool little happenstance. 

So anyway, we got to Mandeville beach. It's a created beach at this beautiful park with spanish moss covered trees everywhere, and a little pond with gators. We saw like 5 gators. 

Dad walking on water

So yeah, we had a lot of adventures and stuff. There's more visits to come, and a death museum and war museum to visit. Cajun food to try. I'm excited!