Traveling Louisiana Back Roads, Plaquemines Parish

The end of the road, our drive was to the end of the finger that sticks out toward the right

New Orleans was great fun but on this day we decided to see the other side of Louisiana. I wanted to see the Delta, the land formed and changed by the flow of water where the Mississippi River enters the Gulf of Mexico. Plaquemines Parish Louisiana is that place.
We turned left on Louisiana route 23 as we left the base and drove to the end of the road.

Louisiana route 23 also known as the Belle Chasse Highway is the main road on the West bank of the Mississippi heading south. In fact after driving about 20 miles it's two lanes of hardly any traffic was the only road.
Route 23 was a straight drive past houses and farms and small groves of citrus trees. It is a rural area populated by small communities with exotic sounding names like Gretna and Venice and Port Sulpher. There were a number of fish camps that catered to sport fishing vacationers.

We saw evidence of Louisiana's oil industry, from large black piles of oil field waste to helicopters flying crews out to the drilling rigs. That has to be a complicated relationship as the oil industry provides the only employment to the area besides fishing, yet that waste is endangering the wetlands that provide for the fishermen, shrimpers and oyster farmers.

Route 23 is surrounded by water. We drove for miles with Levees on both sides of the road and even passed a Corps of Engineers crew working on the complicated drainage system. Even on a calm day it was an eerie feeling to know that those earthen walls were the only thing between us and very large bodies of water. We now understand why locals call it "living in a bowl".




Toward the end of the road we crossed a causeway that was part of the Woodlands Trail and Park Bird Sanctuary. We stopped to watch Herons and Cormorant's and Egrets swim and fish. There were a few Roseate Spoonbills wading too. We were told by a resident that in March the trees are pink with them as they migrate to their Summer home. We saw a few people fishing and one kayaking.

Past the bird sanctuary the road narrowed even more and in parts was covered over by water but we made it to the end. The sign at the top of the page marks the spot. There was no magnificent view of the delta but we felt fortunate to be standing right on part of it.

There was no place left to go so we turned around and headed back North.  Just before we got to Triumph we came upon Fort Jackson. The red brick fort in the shape of a star and surrounded by a moat sits on the bank of the Mississippi River. It is named after Andrew Jackson who recommended it's construction after the War of 1812. Fort Jackson and Fort Philip (on the east bank of the river) provided coastal defense for New Orleans and the Mississippi.  They are positioned at a bend in the river so that approaching ships had to slow down and were vulnerable to cannon fire. These forts were the site of a 12 day battle during the Civil War. They, and a series of boom chains south of the forts were the only defense against a Southern approach to the city. The forts fell to the Union on April 28th 1862 and the Union Navy under the command of  US Navy Flag Officer David Farragut sailed into New Orleans. Fort Jackson became a Union Prison.

The fort is closed to the public and these Ibis guard the entrance

Fort Jackson is closed to the public due to water damage from Hurricanes. We were able to walk around the outside and to climb to the top of the levee that protects it. the view of the river with its strong current was impressive. The beautiful brick masonry structure had several visible cracks. We stopped at the museum a short distance away to learn more about the history of the fort.

Cracks in the wall of Fort Jackson

The Museums curator, whose family was responsible for finding many of the artifacts displayed there, told us of the Forts recent history. The museum and gift shop used to be located inside the fort. They were badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina and then Hurricane Rita in 2005. Many artifacts were damaged and lost as they sat in sea water for 6 weeks or more until they could be accessed. The new museum (opened in December 2015) is in a modern climate controlled building that was built by FEMA, after the Fort was deemed an unsafe environment. we had a wonderful conversation with this local woman and her daughter who described to us their experiences of living in Plaquemines Parish and the effect that the massive storm damage had on their families.
Fort Jackson is owned and operated by the parish, Fort St Philip, badly damaged and not restored, is on private land and not accessible to the public.

We continued our trip back North to Belle Chasse but stopped once more at Hank's Road Stand. Hank and Fred had quite a good time talking about "What the heck are ya'll doing down here?" while
I discovered Satsuma oranges, Louisiana's sweet local citrus that tastes like mandarin oranges.


Saying goodbye to Hank we turned North and completed our journey with a stop at PJ's Coffee and large cups of Viennese Blend.

Louisiana Route 23 was a great ride. We recommend a trip to the end of the road.

To see more photos of Plaquemines Parish visit our Flickr Album.

New Orleans

Barge on the Mississippi from the Algiers Ferry.

Pensacola behind us we headed west through southern Alabama and Mississippi on I-10 right into New Orleans. That bridge was fun in a big rig!

We stayed in Belle Chasse at the Naval Air Station so had to cross the bridge, and pass through a tunnel to get there. It was our first experience in NOLA and we quickly learned that everything relates to the water. The Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain and , the levee's. It was quite and education. 

It;s hard to believe the amount of power these tugs have to move those barges against the current.

Belle Chasse is on the West Bank. We could have driven into New Orleans but it was more fun to take the 15 minute ferry ride across the Mississippi from Algiers. It dropped us off right at Canal Street near the Aquarium and the Casino. It was an easy walk to the French Quarter and the Business district where you can pick up street cars to more remote locations.

Of course we stopped for coffee!

We walked right up Decatur street to Cafe DuMonde for cafe au lait and beignets that we carried down to Jean Lafitte National Historic Park to breakfast. We were sitting in the sunshine watching the horse drawn carriages and local artists when a military band marched by. It happened that there was a ceremony taking place to commemorate The Battle of New Orleans (War of 1812). The battle itself was to be reenacted the following day at Chalmette Battlefield complete with cannons and campfires.

Wrought Iron railings and balconies everywhere.

We loved the architectural details but the artfully exposed brick was a little much

 Our bellies full we started to walk Chartes and Royal and honky-tonk Bourbon and all the short Saint named streets in between. We admired gardens and were happy to see roses and pansies blooming. We looked up to see wrought iron railings and balconies full of greenery.

French Quarter Antique Store

 The buildings were small with beautiful architectural details. We stopped to listen to buskers and even met our grandsons favorite transformer Bumblebee!

Gas lights

Pat O'Brien Hurricaines

Fred had visited New Orleans 45 years ago when he had just gotten out of Air Force basic training. One of his favorite and most talked about memories was visiting Pat O'Brien's for Hurricanes, their signature rum filled cocktail served in a Hurricane lantern shaped glass. We stopped at Pat O'Brien's and each enjoyed one while spending an hour of conversation in their enclosed garden with live jazz drifting over from the restaurant.

My brother in law Eric had talked of his visits to Orleans and shared how much he liked Aunt Sally's Pralines. Fred loves his sweets so we wandered over to St. Charles Avenue to visit the store and sample some of those pecan filled delicacies.

On our second day in New Orleans we had a long wait for the ferry. The water was rising and the Mississippi was running very fast. There were murmurs of closing early and we were warned to make our return trip before dark so not to get stranded in the city. The water levels were nearing flood stage and the Corp of Engineers was planning to open the Bonnet Carre Spillway to divert water into lake Pontchartrain the next day.

Interactive dog tags were part of the museum experience.

Our goal on that second day was to visit the National World War II Museum. We started our Museum tour by watching Beyond All Boundaries  a 4D movie experience of the war that changed the world. The museum produced film narrated by executive producer Tom Hanks was a moving experience and a great introduction to the exhibits. When we bought our tickets to enter we each received a dog tag shaped like a credit card. We activated the dog tags at a computer terminal on board the train that started the tour. Fred and I were then able to follow our soldier through then museum and listen to his story at terminals in the exhibits that represented the battle theaters he was involved in. My soldier/pilot was Jimmy Stewart. 

Fred in the Museum's welcome Center

The museums exhibits are extensive and fill five pavilions. Our favorite was the immersive experience of Campaigns of Courage: European and Pacific Theaters.  

Road to Berlin had us walking through actual battle settings like bombed out villages and falling down walls and caved in rooftops. The glimpses of the lives torn apart was heart breaking. The sounds were realistic and the air conditioning on high to emulate cold winter conditions as we walked past snow covered jeeps and encampments. There were many video screens playing actual news reel footage of the time period. My favorite part of the exhibit were the kiosks with personal information about a particular combatant or support person. They made history come alive.  We were pleased to realize that so much personal history of the war had been preserved through an Oral History project that recorded interviews with combatants. 

Road to Tokyo had us travel a different path through Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia where soldiers fought a war in an environment totally foreign to all they knew, struggling against tropical diseases like Malaria, Typhus and Dysentery.

One of the Personal Stories along the way

We highly recommend the Museum Experience. If you are fortunate enough to travel to New Orleans put it on your must see list.

This building on the way to mothers need some windows.

We made it back to the ferry before dark after a quick stop at Mother's to pick up sandwiches to go. Our return trip was uneventful and the Ferdi Specials were delicious.

To see more photos of New Orleans visit our Flickr Album.