Catching Up

We’ve moved quite a distance, covering about 800 miles in a week! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed our last few days with our new friends in Magnolia Springs, at the end-of-season picnic put on by the RV Park,

and playing games with Woody and Santa.

When it was time for us to move on, they came over to watch Tom and the boys pack up the garage,

and we said our good-byes.  Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone!

We drove across Alabama, across Mississippi, and into Louisiana . . . where we decided to spend Easter weekend at Bayou-Segnette State Park in New Orleans. 

The drive to the park was a little hectic, since we had to drive through New Orleans

and across this bridge!

We made it to the park, though, and got one of the last open spots for the weekend!

We had a nice couple of days exploring the area – see our posts on the French Quarter and Jean Lafitte Barataria Preserve – and spent the rest of the time getting ready for Easter.

We colored eggs,

made Easter Bread,

and enjoyed our “Easter Baskets”.

We had planned to take the Algiers Ferry over to the French Quarter again on Sunday morning to go to mass at St. Louis Cathedral, but due to the heavy fog, we found that the ferry wasn’t running in the morning.  We had to quickly come up with a “Plan B” and find our way across the river and find a place to park.  We lucked out and got a place on a side street near the Cathedral, and made it to mass in plenty of time to get a seat.

Sunday was another busy day in the French Quarter, but we had seen enough, so we headed back to the Algiers Ferry, which was running by then, and put the car on for the ride back across the river.

Again, the ride was FREE . . . I don’t know how they do that!

Rain was expected later Sunday afternoon, so as our ham baked in the crockpot, we got the garage packed up to save us some time on Monday.  This allowed us to get an early start for our drive to Texas, but it was still a really LONG day!  We covered 420 miles and spent the night in a Walmart parking lot.

We were originally going to an RV Park in Kerrville, but Tom had gotten a call from a guy looking for some help at Top of the Hill RV Resort in Boerne, TX, in the heart of the Hill Country, so we made that our destination.

We arrived early on Tuesday afternoon, and were all settled in before the thunderstorms moved in Tuesday night and Wednesday.  Yesterday, the sun came back out and warmer temperatures moved in, and I was finally able to get some nice pictures of our home for the next month.

We’re not quite at the top of the hill, but we’ve still got a great view in our “backyard”!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, there we are . . . all caught up and ready to start exploring the Hill Country!

Exploring the French Quarter

Originally, when we were thinking about where to stop in Louisiana, I had no real interest in visiting New Orleans.  We heard some really nice things about Bayou-Segnette State Park, though, so we decided to make this our Easter weekend location.

Saturday was the day we designated to visit the French Quarter.  We had heard from numerous sources that the best way to get downtown as to take the Algiers Ferry across the Mississippi River, leaving the car on this side and walking around the French Quarter.  Nicolas and Bryce were familiar with the ferry from an episode of “Top Gear” and were excited to retrace the steps of their favorite “car guys”.

We made our way to the Ferry Terminal, and found a spot to park on the street.  There were plenty of other cars parked along the street, so we were pretty confident that the car would be just fine.

We made our way into the terminal,

and waited to take our FREE ride across the river!

We had a great view of the city as we approached.

After some initial confusion, and a somewhat shocking protest group,

we got our bearings and began to explore the streets of the French Quarter.  I really enjoyed the contrasts in architecture – the mixture of old and new,

and Tom’s favorites were the street musicians and other characters we saw!

Overall, I was impressed by the French Quarter.  The “normal” streets, like Chartre and Royal,

were interesting and entertaining, and felt completely safe – especially in the middle of the afternoon!  There were some great little shops, and if I still had a house, I would have been SO tempted to do some serious shopping!  But I don’t, so we didn’t buy anything . . .

We really enjoyed Jackson Square – the garden in front of St. Louis Cathedral,

which is surrounded by various artists selling their merchandise, and the row of carriages waiting to take people on a tour of the city.

Right across the street from Jackson Square is the Riverwalk,

and the famous Café du Monde.

Of course, so trip to the French Quarter would be complete without beignets and café au lait . . .  so we stopped for a snack! 

The lines were really long, but we were given a tip by another tourist that sped up the process considerably . . . they told us to just tell a server what we wanted while in the carryout line and he would bring it out to us . . . and it worked . . . no waiting in line!

After our snack, we continued to walk around, and saw more interesting sights . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and a few fun T-shirts.

One that would be perfect for Little Joe,

and one for Dave!

We eventually made our way over to Bourbon Street, and I can say that I’ve been there . . . but I could have done without it . . . and it was still early in the afternoon!

After all that walking, we were getting hungry and looking for a place to get some dinner . . . and none of us wanted seafood, so that was a challenge!  We eventually made our way to a small restaurant that we had passed in the morning . . . Mena’s.  They were really crowded early in the day, but by the time we got back there, they were getting ready to close and we were the last to be seated.  We had a great dinner, at really reasonable prices . . . and then had to walk some more in order to work it off!

The boys had seen enough of the city, though, so we made our way back to the Ferry and waited for our ride back across the river.  The river was a really busy place in the afternoon, and we saw freighters,

and riverboats

while we waited for our turn to cross.

It was a fun day, and we enjoyed the French Quarter more than I thought we would!

Jean Lafitte–Barataria Preserve

Just south of Bayou-Segnette State Park in New Orleans is the Barataria Preserve, part of the Jean Lafitte National Park.

On Friday afternoon, we were looking for something outdoorsy to do, knowing that we would be spending Saturday in the French Quarter.  We looked up some options online, and finally decided on the Barataria Preserve, just a few minutes away.

After a quick stop in the Visitor Center, we decided to hike the Bayou Coquille Trail.

This trail is one of the preserve’s most diverse. It begins on high ground deposited by flooding from Bayou des Familles, once a major distributary of the Mississippi River. An American Indian village was here about 200-600 A.D. As the trail descends, walk through hardwood forest with live oak trees, stands of dwarf palmettos, the swamp with its baldcypress trees, and finally the freshwater marsh’s floating prairie of grasses and aquatic plants.

Right off the bat we saw an alligator swimming in the water,

and a few snakes as we moved further along.

 

Most of the trail was a raised boardwalk above the bayou, and was a fairly easy hike.  Along with the critters we saw, there were also some interesting trees and pretty flowers blooming.

 

We reached the Kenta Canal at the end of the Bayou Coquille Trail, and continued on along the Marsh Overlook Trail.

This continuation of Bayou Coquille Trail sits atop a bank formed by dredged material from Kenta Canal. Originally used for irrigation and drainage of plantation fields, the canal was deepened and widened in the late 1800s so loggers could gain access to the bald cypress swamp. This is a good place to see American alligators on warm days. The platform at trail’s end overlooks the marsh, a nursery for shrimp, crabs,
oysters, and fish, and a habitat for waterfowl, wading birds, and deer, otter, nutria, and other mammals.

We followed the boardwalk through the towering Bald Cypress trees, along the Kenta Canal, where we spotted several alligators, a turtle, and numerous green anoles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We reached the Marsh Overlook at the end of the trail, and climbed up to the overlook where we could see the marsh out in front of us, and the Kenta Canal to either side.

The trails are not loops, so we took the same path back to the car, and continued to drive south through the Preserve to the little town of Jean Lafitte.

It’s a quaint little fishing village, and we were hoping to find someplace to stop for dinner.  The boys were skeptical that we were going to find any restaurants!

We were surprised by the number of new homes we saw in this little town, but found out later that Jean Lafitte had been wiped out by a hurricane a few years ago, and it’s still in the process of being rebuilt.

 

 

One interesting thing that we saw were above-ground cemeteries -- not unusual in a river delta area like this . . . but the graves were not in a single area, they were scattered among homes on several residential streets!

They do have a restaurant, too – and it’s pretty well-known for their food!

We joined the locals in the small dining room, and enjoyed our meatless “Good Friday” meal.  Several of our fellow diners struck up conversations with us, and one man even shared part of his meal with Tom!  Boutte’s is apparently home to the “the best” fried oysters, and when Tom commented that he wouldn’t mind trying one, the man behind us took one off his plate and handed it to him!

We enjoyed a delicious meal, and the company of some very friendly people!