O.T.W. - Swamp People

It's Wednesday and I'm just now getting around to telling y'all about this past weekend. It was a big one.

In short, I celebrated Deidra's Birthday, harassed the Swamp People and lost a cookie cake.

Let me recap...

So you may recall me posting about being a big fan of the Swamp People (click the link to watch a clip.) It's a show that comes on The History Channel. Well, my mom also happens to love the show as well.

Mom caught wind that Troy and Jacob Landry, alligator extraordinaire, would be in Montgomery at the 2011 Annual Buck Masters Expo.  She sort of mentioned it one day while we were by the pool and the next thing I knew we were planning to head to Montgomery, AL to meet them sometime in August.

For those of you not from the South let me explain the Buck Masters.... It is probably the most stereotypical picture one could paint of Alabama. Lots of camo, deer, rednecks (but not all rednecks), lots of men who love all things hunting related, and a bow expo tossed in for good measure.

It's what movies portray Alabama to be. And I would say, yes Alabama is a lot of that, but Alabama is also pretty girls, good manners, kind gentlemen, football, family and God. Is that sterotypical too?

I digress. Saturday morning I tossed on my holiest jeans in an attempt to blend in with the crowd that was sure to be taking Montgomery by storm and we hit the road.

We were going to meet The Swamp People and we were stoked! Upon arriving in Montgomery I got a bit turned around which was cool because I was able to snap these pics:

I had the doors locked in this neighborhood.

Montgomery is our state capital and it is filled with history, but it can also be a bit sketchy in places as the pictures about might show.

The Buck Masters was everything I thought it would be:

Deidra and Aston and Mounted Deer

I think I'm testing a tree stand.

Ryan's cousin is having a baby girl... Baby gift perhaps?

More deer.

Camo bathing suits = taking it too far.

But I was there for one reason and one reason only. I wanted to know where they Swamp People were!!

I grabbed a man working one of the booths and demanded he point me in the right direction. And being the kind stranger that he was he walked us to the lobby and said, "See all those people, that's where the Swamp Folks are."

Now, I was fully prepared for a small wait. We were thinking roughly thirty minutes. We would grab a beer (because there was also a bar at the Buck Masters) and wait it out.

I see the crowd of people and decide I need to locate the line. I turned to a police office and inquired. He simply pointed down a hallway.... I followed the line which went down a hall, down a flight of steps, into a lobby, out a door, and wrapped back around.

It was CRAZYTOWN!! I did NOT realize The Swamp People were so popular.

I'm no fool. I was NOT about to wait in that line. NO Way!! So we did what any normal people would do. We posed in front of the booth and snapped pictures. In between one person's turn to meet them and the next, we said hey to Troy and Jacob.

This is what we learned:

• Jacob is much cuter in real life. Deidra should have been on that.
• Troy is also much more attractive in real life. He has very muscular arms.
• Their thick Cajun accents are really that thick. Troy would say, "Choot dat camera, man!" and would get big laughs.
• They are obviously making bank due to a little show on the History Channel. (yet another reason Deidra should have tried a little harder to sweep Jacob off his feet)
• People are batshit crazy for waiting in line for 4-6 hours to meet to ordinary alligator hunters.

Fmaily Affair.  Please note Dad and Justin rocked camo head gear.

After returning from our trip to camo country we met up with Ryan and friends for a birthday dinner for Deidra, as Saturday was her birthday. According to her dad she's entering in her late 20's. Deidra says she still in the mid-20's. 

Which was lots of fun!!

The night ran really late and turned into a sleep over at our house. We ended up with more people than we had beds so I busted out an air mattress in the kitchen.

It blew Maggie's mind!

On Sunday after lunch Ryan mentioned wanting something sweet... and it hit me. I ordered Deidra a cookie cake and hid it so that she wouldn't see it until Saturday on her birthday. For some reason I hid it in our office and never thought about it again. I texted Deidra a picture of it... and Ryan and I ate it up!! Yummmm!

Sunday I watched Steel Magnolias and cried. Gosh I hate that Shelby has to die. 

It was a good weekend with friends, famous folks, and fun.