Day 23 – 6275 miles … Bayou’s, French and The Big Easy

We must all have been tired, and knowing that we didn’t have to leave early no one set an alarm. It was about 930A when our RV starting stirring … this is incredible in a way, as the Jack and Genna are almost always awake before 7 … sort of natural alarm clocks. We take our time this morning, making breakfast and getting things packed up.

This kampground (as the KOA people like to write) is very close to Lafayette and apparently is invaded by locals using the facilities … so we must all have wristbands (like a theme park) to use the playground and swimming pools. The other interesting thing is the language … this is Creole / Cajun country and although I think they are speaking English, much of what is said is difficult to understand. Jaci came up and asked what language they were speaking :) … English we said … she looked confused.

We headed out to explore southern Louisiana around 1130A, our goal was to make it to New Orleans, but we wanted to stay off the main highway, so we opted for the lesser roads. Now, I can attest that Louisiana has the worst maintained interstates that we have yet to experience. They are truly painful on us an the RV. The drive from Shreveport was so bumpy that the lens for one of our outdoor lights was shaken off. We also shook off the grills of the speakers and a couple of screws. I put back the things that fell off inside … but we are one lens cover short :(. The secondary roads make the highways look great … but since we are driving an average of 35mph, it isn’t al that awful.

Southern Louisiana was a surprise to both Michelle and I … we  have both been to New Orleans, but never to this part. It is, in a way, like going to a different country. We turn on the radio, and French (although Kelly claims it isn’t her French) music is playing. We look at the signs and they are also in French … the large oaks, the old stately homes, the little shacks … the sugar plantations … all contribute to a great drive. We will definitely come back to this area of the country and explore in more detail and with more time.

We stop at a State park (the oldest in Louisiana) and while I stay with the sleeping little ones, Michelle, Kelly and the older 2 head in to explore … they are gone a good hour and come back very excitement and happy. The park/museum offers a view of plantation life and of what living in that timeframe would have been like. The staff is extra attentive and really engaged. The girls get to dress-up in traditional clothes and get shown around. They loved it … although they found it hot in the clothes. All agreed that they wouldn’t have wanted to live back then without AC.

We continue on our way stopping to take pictures and admire the Antebellum homes … beautiful. We drive past acres and acres of sugar cane … which the girls become interested in. So, we pull over and I cut a stalk to try to explain how they convert this “grass” into sugar … they each take a turn licking it :) … on another trip, we will need to arrange to tour one of the many sugar mills that we passed.

It was a Sunday, so it probably was quieter than normal, but still … this area is very sleepy. We find a city park in Morgan City to spend some time in and burn off energy … then we push the rest of the way into New Orleans. We make it into the city by 7P and it takes us another 40 minutes to find parking within walking distance of the French Quarter. The tough part was making sure that we didn’t get down some street which narrowed … also, once outside the “quarter”, you got a definitive sense of “danger” … “roll, em up”, as Clark Griswald would say.

Jaci quickly spots a horse drawn carriage … which we MUST ride. To be fair, it was a great idea … we took a 1 hr stroll through the French Quarter … the guide provided great stories, interesting bits of information and kept us entertained. While the French Quarter looked like what we remembered, you could still see lots of signs of Katrina, with m any buildings boarded up. Our guide told us that tourism is at 20-30% of what it was before Katrina. The upside, no waiting! As it turns out our carriage, just the week prior had hosted Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (who have a house here) … so we felt like “stars” … we also got to see Nicolas Cage’s house … highlights for the star struck for sure.

The quarter isn’t really kid friendly, and we passed by a couple of bars that where a little risqué. Luckily the kids didn’t understand what they saw … and the tour guide never pointed that stuff out … my favorite was a second story window, that had 4 TV’s clearly visible, all showing porn … yikes!

Our guide dropped us at a restaurant for dinner, which had a live Jazz band. Meal was Ok, a little expensive and very slow, considering the few people around. We stay and listened to Jazz and all the kids danced for the people there … was very nice. We bought a “keepsake” CD and walked back to our RV.

We left New Orleans around 1030P and headed onto I10 for Florida.  I made it as far as Mississippi and stopped at a rest area for the evening. Our generator continues to be plagued with problems, and rarely runs for more than 1 hr. At night, to help it … I open the enclosure it is in to let it cool and breath easier. By 1A we are all buttoned for sleep.