I really like to explore places that I've never been or that often get overlooked as they are off the beaten path. Couple that with the fact that one of the things I've always been fascinated with is the area south of New Orleans. Being a meteorologist, you hear about these places being hit with hurricanes all the time. Somehow, the people there are resilient enough to quickly get back on their feet and resume life. For that reason, I decided to head down to Southern Louisiana, going as far as you can drive, to the end of the Mississippi River. I wanted a better understanding of the land and people down in this area.
Before heading out, I grabbed an iced tea from a local coffee shop / bookstore and walked around Pass Christian, Mississippi for a bit. It's a really neat town with some great people. So I was glad I stayed there.
From Pass Christian, Mississippi to the end of the road along the Mississippi River, it's about a 2 and 1/2 hour drive. First you pass from Mississippi into Louisiana, through New Orleans, and head south along the Mississippi River.
As I made my way past New Orleans, and down Louisiana Highway 23, you can see many of the homes and structures start to being built up on stilts or supports making them anywhere from 10 to 20 ft off the ground. It's crazy when you see a school built on columns 20 ft off the ground, but that is life in Southern Louisiana.
The drive was flat but fun. I had a good time looking at everything and taking it all in. Eventually I made it all the way down to Boothville - Venice where the road ends. This is as far as you can drive along the Mississippi River until it reaches the Gulf of Mexico.
There really isn't much when you reach the end. There are a few restaurants and places where you can charter a boat to go fishing. I decided to turn around and go back to a sandwich shop called Maw's Sandwich and Snack Shop that I saw a few miles back.
At Maw's, I ordered a fried oyster platter. It was really good. However, as I've seen with many places I travel, people outside of the East Coast work at a different rate of speed. That's okay with me, as I was there to enjoy myself and relax. However, it took a while for lunch to be prepared.
After lunch, I drove up the road a little further and stopped at Fort Jackson. This is a fort along the Mississippi River that was used by the South to defend points north on the Mississippi River. The fort was beautiful. It had a moat around it and although you couldn't go into it, you could walk around it.
It was next to the fort that I found an area to hang out in and watch the boats go up and down the Mississippi River. I used vesselfinder.com to find out information on the boats.
Finally, before I left the area, I went to the Fort Jackson museum and learned about the role the fort played in the Civil War.
After that, I decided to head north to check into my hotel room and see what was going on down on Bourbon Street.
For this trip I stayed at the TownPlace Suites along Canal Street. The hotel was a short 10 minute walk from Bourbon Street with easy access to get on and off I-10.
Before hitting up Bourbon Street, I needed to get some food in my system. So I walked around to see what I could find. I settled on the Gumbo Shop as they had a 3 course meal that started off with some Chicken Andouille Gumbo, a main course of red beans and rice, jambalaya, and shrimp creole, and finished up with some bread pudding with whiskey sauce. It was so good!!!
Bourbon Street was pretty quiet considering it was a Thursday night. You had your usual groups. The bachelor / bachelorette parties were out in full force. The guys in the business suits grabbed their drinks to walk up and down the street. The street performers and hustlers were out doing their thing. It was a typical night on Bourbon Street.
One of the highlights of the night were checking out a Jazz band at Maison Bourbon Jazz Club. The band playing there was outstanding.
The other highlight was finding The Drinkery. I don't ever remember this bar being on Bourbon Street on past trips, but the craft beer selection here is the best! There was also a great classic rock / blues guitar player rocking out here.
I played it smart this time and stuck with just beer. The last few times I've been there I have indulged in hurricanes and other sweet drinks and it never ends up well.
Overall it was a great day exploring the Mississippi River, Southeast Louisiana, and Bourbon Street. It reminded me why New Orleans is one of my favorite places to visit.
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