But first let me state why I am not the best swamp tour in Louisiana.
Because I don't want to be the best. If you are the best, you begin to think you have no room for improvement, and that could be boring, but worse, when you are the best, someone is always trying to knock you down.
For instance I just got a notice from Trip Advisor of a review of de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours , and you can click the link here: to go to the Trip Advisor site and read the rave reviews of my tour along with the two suspicious ones who attempt to knock me down. Regarding the on titled: RUDE... I assume if that really happened to them, that they dailed a wrong number, as in one similar to mine, and some one yelled at them, and the reviewer thought it was me doing the yelling! Things are not always what they seem.
Now to get on with today and my imperfections. It started with me changing the impeller in my outboard motor that pushes my tour boat. The impeller is the rubber core of the water pump which keeps my 4 stroke engine cool. Of course I have done this simple repair before, but not on this make.
To make a long story short, I installed the propeller but pulled something out that I could not get back in. Despite my best efforts, I knew I needed some professional mechanical assistance. So I left a couple hours ahead of time to head for the repair shop. My first stop however was not the repair shop, it was at my front gate where I picked up a couple of stray dogs coming out of the woods and put them in the kenneel in the back of my truck along with the Catahoulas that were already on board. I did not want to go back to the house to kennel them, because I was already pressed for time, and I did not want to leave these dogs loose near a highway. We then stopped at the 1st outboard repair shop which was already engaged in a rush order. That ain't happening
So, plan B, I went on down the road to another outboard marine repair shop on the way to the tour, where they attempted to help, but were basically suggesting I get on a waiting list for two weeks, and leave my motor with them. NOT two days before the 4th of July weekend.
Plan C: resulted in me going by a friend's house to borrow his 25 HP outboard and notified my guests, now waiting at the landing, that I was on the way. After arriving there and being unable to start my friend's borrowed motor, I was unable to launch my boat and do the tour. At this point my guests were a bit disenchanted with my imperfections and two ladies advised me they were leaving due to my unreliability to launch this morning's tour. Before leaving, they took pictures of the overcrowded conditions of the dog kennel in the back of my truck. And,I could tell by the look on their face that they have probably been watching too much Animal Planet and would most likely report me for being cruel to my animals in the overcrowded conditions. Oh well, at least they were not subject to the possibility of being run over by a high speed moving vehicle!
As I continued to attempt to start the motor, the next group decided to pull out. Unfortunately, neither of these gave me an opportunity to discuss options such as my friend who was about to come in with a tour boat ready to go, and take them out. I let these folks leave and took the rest of the people down in the swamp to visit the mama gator who was guarding her nest on the bayouside.
Let me be the first to admit, I am not perfect, but I did my best to provide for a swamp tour for my guests who had a reservation to do so. Obviously, I let them down.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day, and I did end my day, by reassembling my outboard after visiting a third repair shop in Henderson and borrowed a tool to make it all happen.
So here it is I am facing a new day and a new month, with beaucoup Lake Martin swamp tours scheduled for this 4th of July weekend. And I have a working outboard motor with a working water pump!
We press forward in spite of our imperfections and unfavorable reviews of unreliability and rudeness.
It is a beautiful day, and I'll see you at the lake!
