Louisiana, like all states, holds surprises. Today's journey showed us quite a lot of the state's less obvious treasures.

We left the interstate to traverse the "road less traveled"...
Alligators, over 400 bird species, marshlands teeming with life, 26 miles of natural Gulf of Mexico beaches, fishing, crabbing, Cajun culture and more can be experienced as you travel the more than 180-mile Creole Nature Trail All-American Road. One of only 43 so designated scenic byways in the USA, and affectionately known as Louisiana’s Outback, the Creole Nature Trail is a journey into one of America’s “Last Great Wildernesses.”
These gals were so fun to see. The Brahman is a breed of Zebu cattle that was first bred in United States from cattle breeds imported from India. Steve thought they looked like sweet-faced dogs. There were many herds of them along the way.

Okay, this made us curious. We passed numerous fields with these "pots". This is a local's pastime- catching crawfish in roadside ditches and setting these nets and traps in the local bayou or swamp. Interesting.
For miles, we passed these neat looking plants. Come to discover it's Sugarcane. This crop has been an integral part of the south Louisiana economy and culture for more than 200 years. When Jesuit priests first brought sugarcane into south Louisiana in 1751, little did they know that the foundation was being laid for an industry that now contributes $2 billion to the state's economy. Wow.

The area is prone to hurricanes, so all the houses are elevated. What cracked me up was the fact that they all had fun names like A Cajun High-Rise. Some were elaborate and others were just mobile homes on stilts. This is duck hunting country so many have clever names like Fowl Language School.

We love any reason to be on the water, so when we say we had two different paths to take, we took the one that included a ferry ride. For $1, we were able to cross The Calcasieu Ship Channel. Fun stuff and so worth every penny.




Our home for the night was right on the Intracoastal Water Way, between the towns of Hackberry and Sulfur. All the barges were like a nautical parade which provided us with quite an evening show.

As we head West, we are stopping, briefly, at various special places along the way. For TEN hours, we explored The Big Easy. It was exceptionally fun but not nearly enough time.

New Orleans (1718) is one of those cities one must visit every now and then. It has been almost 20 years since I was here last. It stills intrigues and delights me. It's the history, culture, 'characters', food, sounds, colors, architecture... it just has the coolest vibe.
Since 1862, Cafe Du Monde, world famous for its cafe' au lait, beignets, and the opportunity to people watch, has enticed the masses. While there are other places in town that serve beignets, this place just screams Nawlins to me.

A stroll through the French Market really made us feel somewhere else.
The city is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. We spent the day just exploring the French Quarter and marveled at all it had to offer.



Steve is standing by Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar. Hailed as possibly the oldest bar in the United States and most definitely the oldest building currently in use as a bar, Lafitte’s is housed in a French-built structure that dates from roughly 1722. So cool.
This "Do Not Climb" image was on the wall of an amazing home, right in the heart of it all. I loved the imagery.

I am a sucker for faded advertising murals on the sides of buildings. What a surprise for me to discover this Uneeda Biscuit Company ad. The company, founded in 1898, was a division of the famous New Orleans Nabsico Baking Company. This remnant of an old Five Cents Uneeda Biscuit sign graces a Dumaine Street building, just off of Bourbon Street.


No visit to New Orleans is complete without a visit to Pat O'Brien's which is not complete without a world-famous Hurricane! This delicious and strong drink was created during World War II when liquor such as whiskey was in low supply. In order to purchase just one case of these liquors, liquor salesmen forced bar owners to purchase as much as 50 cases of rum, which was plentiful. In an effort to use the abundance of rum that Pat O'Brien's acquired, the recipe for the Hurricane evolved with the help of an eager liquor salesman. The name came soon after when a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp was used to serve the fruity rum cocktail. Our pause for libation was a welcomed break in our day.
Louis Dufilho Jr’s most significant contribution to the history and integrity of the field of pharmacy took place in New Orleans in 1816. He was America's First Licensed Pharmacist. His pharmacy, right here, was the first United States apothecary shop to be conducted on the basis of proven adequacy. History is everywhere.
This town is known for its music and some of the best can be heard right on the streets. This is one element that I absolutely love.

A highlight of our day was taking a Culinary History Tour. For two hours, Preston led us through the town while we sampled the French Quarter's famously delicious dishes as we learned about the architecture of the buildings and its 300 year old history. We learned the historical facts about the city's oldest restaurants and discovered some secrets behind New Orleans creole cooking.
The Po-Boy was born from a 1929 transit strike where kind a restaurant owner, Bennie Martin, would provided large sandwiches to the strikers. He said, "We fed those men free of charge until the strike ended. Whenever we saw one of the striking men coming, one of us would say, 'Here comes another poor boy.'"
I really enjoyed the Creole jambalaya which originates from right in the French Quarter.

The St. Louis Cathedral (1794) is one of the city's most notable landmarks, a venerable building, its triple steeples towering above its historic neighbors. Truly, this is the heart of old New Orleans.
It was our goal to see the town in the evening. We were not disappointed. Wow.

What a fun final Cruise Day. We awoke to every deck chair being "occupied".

I loved this write up on Cruise Critic:

What's secretly handcrafted each night in your cabin by a skilled artisan and looks like a monkey wearing your sunglasses one day, a manta ray holding the TV remote another and an angry spider eating pillow chocolates the next? If you guessed "towel animals," you've been on a cruise before (or you read my first blog post). Towel animals, left behind by room stewards during turndown service, are one of cruise travel's longest-standing traditions. (The towel dodo bird reportedly made an appearance on Titanic). And it's clear that cruisers have a profound love affair with these creatures.

For many, the food is what cruising is all about. For us, not so much but I will tell you the most unique thing I ate was today's breakfast choice of french toast encrusted with cereal. While I chose Honey Nut Cheerios, our tablemate chose the Fruit Loops. It was all good- once.
The Chocolate Extravaganza was also fun- once. Where else can you eat as much chocolate as you could possibly dream of?

Art auctions, ice carving, a Q & A session with our entertaining Cruise Director, another visit to the Comedy Club and hours spent reading in a deck chair. Our final day at sea had us both doing what we wanted to do. It was a relaxing way to end the cruise. Tomorrow we debark at 8 AM. We will gather our Camper and begin our road trip home. So this is my final cruise post. It was fabulous and we are so happy we sailed away, if only for a week.