{mississippi}
From Mobile, it was a short drive across to the Mississippi state line, where I again stopped off at the visitors centre and armed myself with a stack of brochures. Once I was into Mississippi, I got off I-10 and took the coastal road across to Biloxi. In some parts you could really see the destruction caused by recent hurricanes, and in other parts it was so beautifully kept that you would never know. As I approached Biloxi, the coastline got quite built up with casinos and lots of large resorts. I stopped off in town to see the lighthouse and visitors centre, then headed inland a little ways for the night with friends there; Rachel and her mom & cousin. They made a delicious tex-mex dinner, and it was really great to get to know them.
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| Biloxi Lighthouse |
The next day I continued west along the gulf coast, stopping off a few places to check out the beach and coastline. The sand is gorgeous and stretches for miles and miles of prime long-walks-on-the-beach, but the murky water leaves much to be desired.
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| Mississippi Gulf Coast |
In Gulfport I stopped off at the local university to see the friendship oak, which with the help of some structural support, is still standing after over 500 years! It's quite an impressive old tree, and the entire campus was full of oak trees that had to also be quite up-there in years.
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| Friendship Oak |
After Gulfport, there were many more miles of gorgeous coastline, and for a while i wasn't sure whether to look at the sandy beach or the impressive beach-homes (or the road...)
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| My trusty Montana |
The last bit of highway on the west side of the state cuts inland and turns a bit swampy, so there wasn't too much else to see, but it was only a short drive over to Louisiana and around the bay to New Orleans!
{louisiana}
My time in Louisiana again started with a stop at the visitor's welcome centre to pick up some brochures and get some ideas of how to spend my time in the state. From the state line, it was not a very far drive around the bay to New Orleans, where I had plans to spend the night with Richard & Charlene. They were a lot of fun to visit with, and were working on a 1000pc. lighthouse puzzle which I really enjoyed helping them with. For Sunday lunch out, we went to Acme Oyster House where Richard & Charlene ensured that I was introduced to chargrilled oysters, po-boys, crawfish tails & gumbo! It was all delicious, but I was especially pleasantly surprised by my enjoyment of the oysters!
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| Welcome to Louisiana! |
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| Chargrilled Oysters |
After lunch, we went for a quick drive through the Metarie Cemetery, which has a lot of large, above-ground shrines and mausoleums. Afterwards, I headed down to the French Quarter for a walk around to explore the historic neighbourhood. I walked most of the roads through the area, and found a few gems but generally found most of it to be gaudy, very touristy & trashy. The utter lack of control over alcohol consumption doesn't help the atmosphere, but the street-corner musicians are incredible! Architecturally, there are some very intricate and interesting buildings which are worth a look, and the beignets at the historic Cafe du Monde were definitely worth the wait (although in hindsight, I wouldn't advise wearing black!).
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| French Quarter, New Orleans |
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| Jackson Square, French Quarter |
The next morning I headed off to continue west, but first went for a little drive through the lower ninth ward, which was one of the hardest hit area's during Hurricane Katrina. It has been partially cleaned up, leaving entire city blocks empty and overgrown. Some of the remaining homes are abandoned, with spray-painted search-marks on the front. Some people have returned, rebuilt, or are living in temporary homes on their old lots, but the lived-in homes are the minority.
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| Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans |
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| Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans |
From New Orleans, I followed the winding Mississippi River to Baton Rouge for a look at some historic plantations. There were a few along the way to see, but the one I decided to stop and have a close look at was the Oak Alley Plantation. It was a cotton plantation that was acquired by the Roman family in 1836 and had 202 enslaved labourers over the course of it's operation. It was fascinating to see the slaves quarters, the Roman's home and the stunning oak-lined lane!
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| Oak Alley Plantation |
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| Slave Quarters, Oak Alley Plantation |
In Baton Rouge I spent some time sitting by the river watching the large ships going up and down the Mississippi, and walked around the Louisiana State Capitol. The capitol building is a castle-like building which looks out over the river & is quite unique! There's a very nice walkway that follows the river along the top of the flood levee.
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| Mississippi River, Baton Rouge |
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| Louisiana State Capitol |
As I continued west, Randoll's seafood in Lafayette had been recommended to me, so I headed there for some gumbo & live zydeco music! From Lafayette west to the Texas state line was very swampy, and mostly spent on bridges passing over alligator-infested marsh land; not a place I would like to find myself in a storm!
J.
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