Mississippi and Louisiana

We’ve been gone a week and it is time to do laundry (you can’t go on vacation from everything). Back in Mississippi, we found a state park campground that has a “Washeteria.” We arrived just after 5:00 o’clock, so the office was closed. We picked an empty site near the bathroom and settled in for the night. Shortly later, a truck camper came in and took the only other empty site.

Next morning, we found that our site was reserved starting that day; however, the truck camper left and we were able to move into that space. Later in the day the person who reserved our space showed up with a pickup towing a large fifth-wheel, towing a bass boat.  It looked like a train. It was interesting watching him back in and set up. Actually, he and his wife were a well-oiled team. They obviously had done this before.

This is a lay-day for us, we spent much of it doing laundry (one washer, one dryer) and just relaxing. Gene even took a nap. He just tossed his glasses on the bed. When Jean came to join him she laid on the glasses (they are hard to see). One lens popped out and the frame was twisted. We had not had to put a lens back in these glasses before. It was difficult, but we managed to accomplish it. However, the frame was still skewed. We are about out of supplies, and haven’t been in a campground with cell service for several days. So tomorrow we need to get back to civilization.

Next morning we got up early (for us) and went to the office to settle up. Then we hit the road, heading for Vicksburg. The Great River Road through here follows US-61, which we were on all day. The land is still flat, with large, bare fields spreading on both sides. The road is not close to the river, and when it is all you can see is the levee. Occasionally there are extensive flooded fields visible from the road (which is raised a few feet). The farther south we got, the more flooding we saw.

At one point, it looked like there was some thin smoke across the road. When we got to that point we were treated to a close-up view of a crop duster just clearing the utility wires as he crossed the road. The “smoke” was whatever he was laying down on the fields. What does a crop duster dust when there are no crops? There was some standing water so we guess he might have been spraying for mosquitos.

We got to Vicksburg about 11:00 and went into a bakery in the old downtown area for some breakfast.

Walking around afterwards, we spotted what looked like an old courthouse, so we went to investigate. The problem was that it was two blocks up a steep hill. It showed us how out of shape we have gotten. It was indeed, the old (no longer used) courthouse, so Gene took some pictures.

Old Vicksburg Courthouse

After walking around a little more, we needed to get some errands done. The GPS guided us to the Vicksburg Mall, where there was a 20/20 Eyeware store. “Was” being the operative word; the store was closed, as were many other stores in the mall. It looks like the mall’s days are numbered. We passed a Kroger on the way there, but Jean thought we could get more done at a Walmart. The GPS led us to a Super Walmart, where Gene got his glasses fixed and we picked up a lot of groceries, and Jean found a birthday card for her great nephew. We wrapped everything up in one place.

Back on 61, we headed for Baton Rouge. Vicksburg seemed to mark a transition. Gone were the bare fields. Instead we were in rolling country, with green grass all around, the trees leafing out, and lots of red azaleas. Suddenly, it was really spring. We even saw some Spanish moss to convince us we were finally in the South.

Baton Rouge was not as charming. There were refineries on the approach, and we endured miles of rough, crowded streets lined with second-tier commercial establishments. We eventually reached our goal, which was a Cracker Barrel restaurant, where we could get a meal and a night’s sleep.

Next morning we found ourselves surrounded by big fire trucks. We never felt so safe. We jumped on the nearby interstate for a quick trip across the Mississippi, and turned off on the GRR on that side (there is a River Road on both sides of the river). This took us through small towns close to the river. The town of Onward seemed to consist of one country store. It’s main claim to fame was that the teddy bear was invented here. There a couple versions to the story, involving Teddy Roosevelt but both seem to be inventions.

 We spent much of the day driving next to the levee. The Mississippi was just yards away, but we couldn’t see it, only an occasional ship’s bridge or the upper works of a big towboat peeking over the top. This area of Louisiana is “plantation row.” There are old, and not so old, plantation houses along the road. This is sugar cane country, and the plants were just starting to come up in the fields. It could be a very profitable crop, as attested by some of the big, impressive plantation houses. We drove in to a couple of them, but you could only get a glimpse of the glory. The best ones are open to the public, and things are arranged so that if you don’t pay to go in, you don’t get to see much. Admission is $20 and up, which was a little rich for us. We aren’t that eager see old buildings, since we both had worked for Colonial Williamsburg and had “been there and done that.”

Near one of the plantations, the top of the levee was set up as a walking and bike trail, with parking and access at the road. We went up, mainly to get a close look at the river. We could see that the river was well over its banks, with a tug and big tow parked just beyond the trees.

 We walked down the levee to get a clear look at the river, and discovered a big, modern five-deck Mississippi cruise boat, the kind that looks sort of like an old steamer (without the paddle wheel) and takes passengers on long, expensive trips down the river. Basically a Mississippi cruise boat. They were maneuvering to put the bow against the side of the river, running up on the underwater bank.

 Eventually, they were happy with their position, and lowered the big gangway at the bow.

We talked with a uniformed chauffer from a limo parked alongside the levee. It turns out he was carrying some supplies for the ship’s galley. Eventually, they got the gangway set, and drove a golf cart down it, and down to the limo. They brought up a large quantity of cardboard boxes and nonchalantly tossed them aboard. After that some of the passengers came off and went down the levee to the plantation house across the road.

We came to a very big, very old (1770) Catholic church, set in an old graveyard. Cemeteries in this part of Louisiana are more above ground than in it. This is due to a very high water table. Go down a short ways and you hit water.

St. John Roman Catholic Church

 By now we were getting hungry, so when we came to a country shack that said “Food,” we stopped. It was a very small place with a limited menu. We had the daily special, which was fried fish, shrimp pasta, peas, and salad. The fish was good, the pasta delicious and a little spicy, the peas were canned, and there was thankfully very little salad. We each got a lot of food for $10, and we have enough in the refrigerator for another meal. This was our first exposure to Cajun cuisine and we liked it. Our conversation with the gentleman at the next table was also a first exposure to a Cajun accent. He was hard to understand, but we did well enough to be able to find our way to New Orleans.

Going further down the back road, we spotted the road he recommended, and shortly found ourselves in heavy, interstate traffic. Jean had called ahead and contacted an RV park in the outer bands of New Orleans. After some effort and driving back and forth, we found it. It is pretty well hidden. It is basically a gravel parking lot tucked in next to a motel (and not too far from a major rail switching yard). But the site is level and the owner friendly and helpful. We took three nights. We plan to set up more permanently than usual, and take the bus into the French Quarter. We hope the good weather holds for the weekend.