Weep for the Living by Anne Butler is a mystery writer from the small town of St. Francisville in southern Louisiana. She was married to a respected retired criminologist who used to work for the infamous Angola prison nearby. One day while relaxing on her porch her husband comes home with a .38 gun. Amazingly she survived multiple gunshots without hospitalization for 2 hours before help arrived. Anne is a survivor and this story provides … [Read more...]
McGees Landing, Louisiana – January 2009
McGees Landing Louisiana - McGee's Landing is located in the heart of Cajun country and is a must visit for anyone traveling in the southern part of Louisiana. Floating guesthouses, a full restaurant serving a variety of authentic "swamp meals" including crayfish and alligator, live music at times, and their infamous swamp tours makes any visit here a memorable experience. On private high powered fan air boats you go deep into the heart of one of … [Read more...]
New Orleans
Welcome to Southern Louisiana! Or if you prefer, Laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll). Here, in the "south" the people are friendly, the food is amazing and music is an ingrained part of people's daily life. It has been many years since the disastrous events of Hurricane sisters Katrina and Rita. Today there is little evidence of their disastrous swaths - now you actually have to look to find it. Time heals physically but … [Read more...]
Day 1 – New Orleans
Any trip to this part of Louisiana should start with a stay in New Orleans, specifically in the French Quarter. What better a place to call home for a few days than the Hotel Monteleone . This hotel dates from 1886, is still family owned and is located in the heart of New Orleans's French Quarter. It is definitely "the" hotel to stay at in this part of the city. In the mood for decadence and elegance - Hotel Monteleone serves this up by the … [Read more...]
Day 3 – Donaldsonville
Donaldsonville is a small town along the Mississippi River about 55 miles west of New Orleans. With friendly locals, quaint shops, galleries, two museums (Historical Donaldsonville Museum and the River Road African American Museum & Gallery), a historical district and good restaurants, one can easily spend a half day here. The nation's first African American mayor was elected to office in Donaldsonville in 1868, merely three years after the end … [Read more...]
Day 4 – Plantations, Bayou
Rosedown Plantation is located at 12501 La. Hwy. 10 in the West Feliciana Parish; this is the quintessential Southern Louisiana plantation experience. Rosedown was established in the 1830's by a wealthy couple. At the height of their prosperity this plantation contained over 3400 acres and several hundred slaves. The grounds are gorgeous - in the summer full blooming pink crepe myrtle trees are draped with long hanging Spanish moss. In the … [Read more...]
Day 5 – Breaux Bridge, Music
Travelers who enjoy crawfish and or Cajun and Zydeco music, a visit to the town of Breaux Bridge is mandatory. Restaurants in this town were among the first in Louisiana to offer it on their printed menus, the crawfish etouffe, now common in southern Louisiana was invented here and the annual Crawfish Festival is held in the first week of May. You haven't seen a festival like this one before; features a crawfish eating contest (current record is … [Read more...]
New Orleans – More Info
A must visit site to help with your trip planning is the Louisiana Office of Tourism: Visit - www.louisianatravel.com Click the thumbnail to the right to view a full size map of select locations highlighted in this guide. New Orleans is one of America's most unique and culturally intriguing cities. with it's own 'culture', food and music, the city attracts people from all over the world. Plenty of events are held throughout the year … [Read more...]
Isleton Crawdad Cajun & Blues Festival California – May 2007
Isleton Crawdad Cajun & Blues Festival California - The Crawdad Festival, an annual event held since 1986, is a real party! This is the largest single event consumption of crawdads outside of the godfather state of Crawfish, which of course is Louisiana. Literally tens of thousands of people converge on this very small town which has a population of under 1000 people (California's Delta Region - east of the San Francisco Bay Area). Over 24,000 … [Read more...]
Walking with Ghosts
Hurricane Katrina had no favorites. She picked equally on the weak and the strong, black and white. She stomped on the rich and the poor and she stopped life in its tracks. Imagine life with all your possessions in the front yard or in the gutters. Worse yet, imagine you have no possessions, no house. Imagine searching for your friends, your family or your pet weeks after they disappeared. Yes, just imagine! This is the reality for thousands … [Read more...]