We started the day off in the Barataria Preserve section of the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park. This is a must see NPS site as it provides trails that take you through a swamp/bayou. Due to recent rains only the trails that consisted of boardwalks and pavement were accessible. So after a walk through the visitor center display, we headed out on the 4-mile round trip walk (consisting of 4 trails that connect) through the wetlands. This turned out to be a wonderful walk and very easy to do as it is all flat. If you are in the area, please take the time to do the whole walk. Along the way we were in awe of the wetlands and the display of life that is so different from Arizona. There is one section that got a little boring – the Palmetto Trail – but stick it out if you go because it is so worth it in the end. The second mile of the walk is amazing as the scenery is very calming and peaceful. On this portion of the walk we saw a nutria (non-native rodent), approximately 5 foot alligator, a turtle, and an egrit. On the walk back, we saw a swamp rabbit.

Once back to the car, we headed on to the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, another portion of the Jean Lafitte NHP in Thibodaux, LA. This unit focuses on the Acadians; the ranger was very informative on the history of how the Acadians came to be here in LA and helped provide a good segue to the exhibit. The cultural center has a very well-designed exhibit and again is worth seeing to learn more about the Acadians and their unique culture. We wrapped up the visit to this unit by walking through an exhibit of paintings from a local artist. Kim found a couple of paintings featuring “Big Mama” that she would loved to have purchased.

Once again we hit the road, heading to our hotel for the night in Luling, LA. We checked in and took a nap prior to heading into the French Quarter for NYE. You know you are getting old when you have to take a nap in order to enjoy NYE.

Because it was NYE, and adding in the Sugar Bowl crowd, we figured we actually would not be able to find parking but we did. And it was FREE! We walked through the French Quarter, looking for a relatively inexpensive place to have dinner and after some time walking along the streets of this unique section of the city, we decided to return to Oceana for a second time. The food is THAT good.

We once again found it hard to decide on what to order but ultimately went with trying different items than what we ate the night before. Kim ordered the blackened chicken platter and Scott went with the seafood po’boy as he had been told it was a must have if in LA. The blackened chicken was ridiculously delicious. Scott found his meal to be just on the “ok” side but was glad to be able to say he had tried it.

A little after 11pm we headed out to the streets carrying our “drinks” (aka Coke and Dr Pepper) and made our way toward the river. This was an adventure because basically at one point you just couldn’t move. And yes there was a lot of naked breasts as women tried to entice people on the balconies to throw down some beads. Despite the crowd and noise it was great to be in NOLA for NYE.

We finally made our way to the river and found a good spot to view the fireworks with 12 minutes to spare. At the stroke of midnight we all yelled Happy New Year and then the fireworks began. And NOLA puts on a great show.

After the fireworks ended we made our way to the Café Du Monde, a coffee stand that had been running continuously since 1860. This was on Kim’s must do list. The café was super crowded as everyone decided that’s where they wanted to be as well after the fireworks. We opted for the “to go” line. Kim enjoyed a café au lait and Scott a hot chocolate. We also got an order of beignets, that we saved for the next morning.

To top the night off we walked all of Bourbon St and enjoyed the crowd, which was surprisingly light considering the circumstances. We got back to the car just in time for the rain to start and drove back to the hotel.

Spending NYE in NOLA was a pretty awesome experience overall.

We had already driven a substantial portion of the parkway during our 2008 summer roadtrip, so we knew what to expect. The pleasant drive offers plenty to stop and gaze at. We took full advantage, stopping as many times as we could during the more than five hours we spent on the parkway. The most surprising was at Emerald Mound, the second-largest temple mound in the continental United States. It was pretty amazing.

Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have enough time to see all that we wanted to at Natchez Trace, as we also needed to stop at Natchez National Historic Park. We made it just in time for the last guided tour of the Melrose mansion, the best preserved antebellum mansion in the South. The tour was quick but enjoyable, and we wandered the grounds for a bit afterwards. The Park has three units: an old fort that’s not open to the public, the Melrose, and the home of William Johnson, a former slave turned slave-owning barber. Yeah…weird, huh? We ran out of time and weren’t able to get to the Johnson home before it closed, though we did take some photos of the exterior and read more about the site and the man.

A little disappointed, we started the drive towards Baton Rouge, our destination for the night. It rained most of the drive – hopefully that’s all the rain we encounter on the trip, in spite of the forecast. We arrived in Baton Rouge and looked for an obvious hotel chain to steal some wifi and find a good hotel deal. It took a surprisingly long time to find a hotel; I think we were already outside the city limits when we were able to stop. Having already passed the city, we looked onward to New Orleans, found a nice but inexpensive hotel, ate some dinner, and finished the day’s drive.

Tomorrow and Wednesday, we’ll hit the Jean LaFitte National Historic Park and Preserve (there are several subunits) and the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park, and hopefully experience a bit of what the city of NOLA has to offer too. We’re still looking for a hotel for New Year’s Eve.