Water seems to be incorporated into my recent adventures. After our trip to Houma and points south, Linda and I headed to New Orleans. Again we decided to use the less traveled roads and followed the old highway (Highway 61) into New Orleans; stopping along the way to see the sights. The highway passes through the Western Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area. The water gave us a serene and peaceful driving atmosphere.
The highway winds through many small towns first fueled by sugarcane then oil field
businesses and today many are on the decline. One of these towns is Gramercy where Zapp’s Potato Chips now fuels the local economy. Founded in 1985, Zapps is the only kettle cooked potato with a Cajun crunch. The flavors include Cajun Crawtator, Cajun Dill, Voodoo, and many others.
The St. James Parish Welcome Center is an oasis on Highway 61. The center is housed in an 1800 French Creole house. Built in Convent, LA, it was home to the Sardegna family.
According to the welcome center, “The cypress lumber, beaded boards, bousillage walls, original iron grills and mantels on the fireplaces and bricks used in the fireplaces along with the rose head nails and techniques in construction date the home about the 1830-1840 periods.” The center has exhibits relating to the Christmas Eve bonfires on the levee lighting the way for Papa Noel, information on local plantations, as well as artifacts from the area.
The center also offers a look at the Louisiana Wetlands with a 
short walkway through swamp vegetation. There is a stand of wild Louisiana native iris, as well as many examples
of Louisiana trees. Although the walk is short, once on the boardwalk you are surrounded by trees and swamp and have the look and feel of the wetlands. The welcome center offers the traveler an oasis on Highway 61 along with a small bag of Zapps chips.
Just down the road from the Welcome Center are the 
communities of Garyville and Mt. Ary where the old post office has been transformed into a bakery specializing in cupcakes, The Bakery on the Corner. Lunch specials are also offered if you prefer to have a meal before dessert. We decided on dessert only, you can eat more! We purchased one of each available cupcake and all were delicious. Of course we had our favorites: Bubble Gum Boogie, Carrot Cake, Butter Pecan, and Chocolate. There is a vintage snowball machine that will be working hard come summer when snowballs are on the menu. The bakery has a corner dedicated to the old post office with memorabilia including mail boxes, posters, posted hours and other items. It was fun to read the old posters and get 
a feel of the times.
After leaving the bakery, we were ready to get to New Orleans for coffee, our cupcakes and balcony sitting.
