World Travel Guide Online

Easy Living
Louisiana
November 16-21, 2001

After a while all cities begin to look the same. By the time we got to Austin, TX we were starting to get bored with the whole Sixth Street, Beale Street, South Street…whichever street was supposed to be a real “party”. We blew through the rest of Texas and some of Louisiana feeling burnt out and headed in search of a place that might help restore our enthusiasm. Louisiana has some of the best tourist information centers in the country so we stocked up on free information and got to work. We knew we weren’t ready for New Orleans just yet but we didn’t want to go too far out of our way. Was there a place to rest inbetween Lafayette and New Orleans? Louisiana has plenty of small state parks and we narrowed it down to one that seemed to suit our need for a peaceful weekend.

Grand Isle State Park is a small island in the Gulf of Mexico. It looked like Exxon owned half of the island (we could see the oil rigs in the distance) but the rest of town is as low key as it gets. Since we were there off-season just a handful of cheap restaurants were open for business but not a single kitschy souvenir shop and most of the summer homes were closed down for winter. It looked perfect so we signed on for two nights at the state campground (the small fee included free Cajun seasoning) and settled in for the weekend. To our surprise the campsites were actually on the beach and everyone had their tents (RVs were confined to a separate campsite off the beach) set up just a few yards from the water. There’s nothing better than waking up to a clear view of the water right from your sleeping bag.

Camping in Grand Isle State Park, Louisiana

For the next two days we hung out on the beach (getting a tan in November is something new for us) while our fellow campers fished in some of the best water in the world (so we were told). We realized this was our last opportunity to camp on the trip (since it was the end of November and we were heading north). Brian and I celebrated our last night camping with a big fire fueled by our gigantic Campground Directory that we fed into the flames until there wasn’t a single page left. We stayed up late, letting the batteries in our flashlights and lanterns fizzle out one last time (only this time we didn’t curse them). Our final morning we took our tent down slowly, letting each piece dry in the sun and tried our best to sweep out the sand, before we neatly stuffed into its sack. We had fully recuperated and we were ready to be in a city again.

When you’re sick of typical American cities, New Orleans is the remedy. Not only is New Orleans an escape from high-rise monstrosities and bland nightlife but it’s also an escape from the South. The architecture, food, and accents are all unique to this area so you won’t feel like you’re in Atlanta or Charleston – you’ll know you’re in New Orleans. Once again we knew that this would be our last major stop on the trip. We were planning to drive through Mississippi and stop off in Alabama and North Carolina (to see friends and family) before heading home, so we had a bit of traveling left, but New Orleans was the last destination on our list of “must-see places”. We were in no rush to leave and spent four days (the longest we’d been anywhere) making our way through the city’s districts, and eating and drinking in the French Quarter.

It felt strange to be heading north as we headed out of New Orleans on Thanksgiving Day. We took things slowly that week in Louisiana, trying to drag out the remainder of our trip. Although we were looking forward to seeing Brian’s sister in Alabama and our friends in North Carolina, we could feel the main portion of our trip coming to a close. We were no longer driving aimlessly but with specific destinations, all leading towards home. We had taken our much needed break and we were feeling recharged. Funny that we felt so good when we were on our last leg.

Louisiana Info
Lafayette does not have a hostel but is loaded with budget motels along the main drag. Check out the Acadian Village for a look at real Acadian homes and paintings by George Rodriguez. For the best lunch (breakfast and dinner too) try Dwyer’s Cafe in town.

Grand Isle State Park is well equipped for campers and judging by the crowds in November, it’s a popular spot for the locals. Try to get there on a Friday morning before the crowds arrive. The campsite costs less than ten dollars and that includes hot indoor showers.

The Bayou outside of New Orleans, LA