Day: December 28, 2011

Fontainebleau State Park

December 28, 2011
We saw lots of deer at Fontainebleau State Park.

I recently spent a three-day vacation in Covington, La., visiting my cousin Stephen (see here) with my parents. The majority of our time was spent at the seminary, although we did take time out to visit Fontainebleau State Park.

The state park is home to the crumbling ruins of a 1829 sugar mill near Mandeville, La. The 2,800-acre park abuts Lake Pontchartrain and is also the home of Bald Eagles (which I unfortunately never saw). It is filled with live oaks with Spanish moss draped across the branches and is absolutely teeming with wildlife — we especially saw an abundance of herons and deer.

I absolutely loved the visit. My only complaint was that I didn’t have enough time to spend at the park. I am hoping one day I’ll be able to go back for a second visit.

Live oaks with Spanish moss.
It was easy to spot the moon in the blue sky above the state park.
A heron flies overhead.
The cabins I hope to stay in one day within the next year.

St. Joseph’s 86th annual bonfire

December 28, 2011
The bonfire raged all night long.

I’m proud to say that my cousin is in his final year at Saint Joseph Abbey and Seminary School in Saint Benedict, La. (which is right outside of Covington, La.). Stephen is the student body president and organized Saint Joseph’s 86th annual bonfire this year. He invited my hometown Knights of Columbus to cook for the event. The KC’s (of which Stephen and, really, all the men in my family are in) said yes and ended up cooking 16 Boston butts to feed the seminarians and their families as well as the attending monks and priests. The bonfire took place after the annual football game between the St. Joseph Seminary Ravens and the Notre Dame Seminary Hunchbacks. Unfortunately, the Hunchbacks won the tough, but fun flag football game. Continue reading “St. Joseph’s 86th annual bonfire”