Louisiana

Lousiana was HOT!! We drove through some wild weather in Texas and thought we had escaped the worst by the time we arrived in Lousiana, only to be told that it was following us :-) Our first tent site actually had a little shed for us to put our tent under, so evidently they are prepared for the weather and know how to handle it :-) We loved checking out the amazing plantation homes along the Mississippi River, and had a great day in New Orleans exploring the French Quarter and chilling to some jazz at an open street cafe.



State No. 9 for this trip :-)





We hit some pretty strong wind in Lafayette! Fortunately this died down after about 1/2 an hour, and then the muggy heat returned.

The Great Mississippi River - very high, you can only see the tops of the trees here. We were standing on a 41' levee bank too! The river flows very fast.

Cottaway Home - this home was finished in 1859 after 4 years of construction, and miraculously survived the Civil War (rumour has it that an Army Lieutenant on a Union gunboat asked the ship's Captain to stop firing in the direction of the house, and even disembarked to make sure the "lady of the house" was okay!). There are 64 rooms in the house, 150 doors (all 11' each!), and ceilings of 15 1/2'. There were even flushing toilets, and running hot and cold water through all levels of the house - exceptionally advanced for the mid-1800's!

Oak Alley Plantation Home - 28 oak trees that are close to 300 years old line the approach to this amazing home.

New Orleans - people truly do just appear out of nowhere and start playing in the middle of the park! This was such a "New Orleans" moment.

Jackson Square, New Orleans. This is the site that the United States officially took control of Louisiana as part of the "Louisiana Purchase". We have had a great time learning lots of history as we've been travelling, and this piece of Louisiana history was pretty cool.

French Quarter, New Orleans

Great little band and a guest from the crowd jamming together