Farr Park 2009
Baton Rouge, LA – The first leg of this RV adventure began at Farr Park in Baton Rouge, LA, the weekend before Thanksgiving 2010. We met friends for tailgating for the LSU – Ole Miss Football Game. Farr Park is just south of LSU on the River Road and is perfect for tailgating. Continue reading
Tickfaw State Park — Birds chirping, wind rustling in the trees, and a beautiful blue sky, what more could you want for relaxation. That is what we experienced and more at Tickfaw State Park in Springfield, LA. Our time spent at the park was very relaxing and that is exactly what we needed.
“Feel the wheels rumblin’ ‘neath the floor”. Where will the rails take us – a grandchild’s birthday party, a short vacation on the rails, going home after a family visit, for me it was a reunion with my sisters in Elgin, Tx. It was the adventure not the destination for me riding the rails. Continue reading
Rabbits are everywhere! Where did they come from and what are they doing in the middle of a cosmopolitan area? We were in Bayou Segnette State Park in Westwego, Louisiana across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. The rabbits were the first thing we noticed driving into the RV Park section. A Park Ranger told us the rabbits have few predators and lots of feeding ground. There was a fox in the area until Wildlife and Fisheries relocated him to the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. Every so often Coyotes will come through the park and get a few rabbits. We enjoyed watching the rabbits feed and play. In fact, we could get within four or five feet of the rabbits before they scampered off. At one point we counted 75 rabbits before we decided to stop counting. Continue reading
Ferriday, LA – “Great Balls of Fire”
What could possibly attract us to the small town of Ferriday, LA? How about, ”Jerry Lee Lewis’ birthplace and drive through liquor store?” I mean, come on, how do you get close to Ferriday and not go? Ok, so it was not just the drive through liquor store which attracted us, hence we began at the Delta Music Museum. Originally the Ferriday Museum, build to highlight the three famous cousins of Ferriday, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, and Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, the museum is now a state museum. All about music, it has a Hall of Fame honoring Mississippi Delta musicians from Memphis to New Orleans. Continue reading
Vidalia, LA – Where the hell is Vidalia? Across the Mississippi River from Natchez, MS. Ah, Natchez – Antebellum homes, hooped skirts, Confederate uniforms, Southern grace. Yes, Natchez has all that and more. Yet one thing it does not have is an RV Park on the river. Vidalia, on the other hand, has River View RV Park which sits on the banks of the Mississippi River, just down river from the bridge. There is a walking trail along the river, no bikes, which is great for exercising and enjoying the view. Continue reading
Two words describe the weekend – HOT & HUMID! Once you get past New Orleans in June, the Vieux TO DO Festival in the Vieux Carre is a favorite just behind The French Quarter Fest. Being hot is a way of life in the Big Easy and during the heat of summer we move slower and take a little longer especially outdoors and that includes festivals. This year the Vieux To Do Festival was the weekend of June 11th and is three festivals in one – Creole Tomato, Seafood, and Cajun Zydeco. Continue reading
LaPlace, LA – Water lilies, we hardly notice them in South Louisiana because they’re everywhere! But they were in full bloom this week as we returned from ‘The Big Easy’ via Hwy 61 instead of taking our usual I-10 route. At times the beautiful purple was so intense they looked surreal between New Orleans and Laplace just before the Bonnet Carre Spillway. They were in a small waterway which parallels the highway – another good reason to call ourselves Cajun from South Louisiana – if you just stop and look, LA is a beautiful state.
A little ways down the road from the wild flowers, as we rolled in to the city of LaPlace, is Jacob’s Smokehouse — been smoking since 1928 and is hailed as having world famous Andouille. We are always leery of “world famous” anything and at the same time curious. We stopped, we tried, we are fans. I don’t know about world famous; I do know the Andouille is delicious and some of the best we’ve had. Entering the smokehouse, the smell will tingle your senses and make your mouth water. Along with the Andouille there are many other types of smoked meats from sausage to chicken. Boudin and Cracklins are also available. I was not a fan of the Boudin, too much liver; John enjoyed it. He says Boudin is like gumbo – all different yet most is pretty good.
Bristol, LA – Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. So it was today. The Cest la Vie Camping Club was having their annual crawfish boil this weekend at Leo’s RV Park in Bristol, LA. Bristol is just a fork in the road and Leo’s is a very small RV Park with a very large clubhouse and outdoor pavilion. We (John and Laurie) were not able to camp for the weekend yet decided to drive over for the Crawfish Boil on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Between Port Allen and Bristol is the Atchafalaya Basin and the Butte La Rose (Small Rose Hill) Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is worth a stop anytime one is passing by. The 5,856 square foot Visitor Center resembles a south Louisiana home including a huge front porch and gazebo. The Center serves as a cultural history museum with information on the Atchafalaya Basin Swamp, South Louisiana culture and the geographic region, featuring exhibits, animatronics and a video theatre presentation. The center offers the best coffee around and has rockers that beckons one to sit and sip coffee.
