December 28, 2017 - Thursday
St. Bernard State Park
Braithwaite, Louisiana
We had a wonderful time, for the first 10 days, at Potters Creek COE Campground
in Canyon Lake, Texas. However, the last 4 days of our stay there was cold with
rainy weather. We were planning to go to McAllen, Texas for a few days, but the
cold front had reached McAllen dropping the temperatures into the 50s. We
decided we would visit McAllen another time and headed to New Orleans, Louisiana where they
were having warmer weather.
St. Bernard State Park in Braithwaite, LA is located within 20 miles of downtown New Orleans. This will be our homebase while we visit some of our favorite places in New Orleans.
We will spend four nights here before moving on to Florida.
12/29/17
We have lunch at Katie's, a restaurant housed in a two-story home within a residential neighborhood, located about three miles west of the French Quarter. This is one of our favorite restaurants in New Orleans.
This is a very popular, local restaurant that usually has a waiting line for lunch. Today was no exception. The wait time was 45 minutes. While we were waiting outside we struck up a conversation with a couple who had arrived after we did. We discovered they were both school teachers from Chicago. She had retired in 2016 and he was going to retire in 2018. Our name was subsequently called to announce our table was ready. We said our goodbyes to the couple from Chicago and went to our table. Our table seated four. Sharon and I agreed we should ask the couple to join us. I went back outside and invited the couple to join us. They accepted our invitation and we had the best time ever enjoying a wonderful conversation and delicious food.
During one of our conversations the couple discussed their desire to live on a sailboat and sail to the Florida Keys and islands in the carribbean. They currently have a small saliboat they sail in Lake Michigan. They plan to sell their home and purchase a 40 to 50 foot sailboat in 2018 or 2019. I told them about three or four couples I follow on YouTube that live full time on sailboats and sail the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It turned out he follows the same couples I do! What a small world!
12/30/17
Following a walking tour of the French Quarter, we have a late lunch (3:00 pm) Pierre Maspero's in the French Quarter. We go there because we have heard they have the best Shrimp and Grits (Sharon loves this dish). I order my favorite, Crawfish Etouffe. They do not dissapoint! The food was delicious. We will be back!
12/31/17
We have lunch at Parkway Bakery & Tavern. We had read reviews that they had the best Po Boy sandwiches. We were warned to get there early, they open at 11:00 am. We arrived at 11:30 am and there already was a long line slowly shuffelling along to place their order at the order window. After about 30 minutes, we arrive at the order window to place our order: Two regular Surf & Turf Po Boys, dressed (we will eat them on the premises) and one large Surf & Turf Po Boy, dressed (we will split this one between us tomorrow). Once again, we have found another establishment in New Orleans that has been added to our favorites list. Their Po Boy sandwiches are the best!
12/31/17
If you enjoy Beignets (fried dough with powdered sugar on top), Morning Call is the place to enjoy them. Morning Call is a coffee and beignet stand located in New Orleans City Park that is operated by Cafe du Monde.
We visited Morning Call late this afternoon and enjoyed an order of delicious beignets with a cup of coffee. A perfect ending to our visit to New Orleans.
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
Travel Details:
Departed: Canyon Lake, TX
Departure Time: 7:20 am
Arrived: Braithwaite, LA
Arrival Time: 7:00 pm
Miles traveled: 552
Campground: St. Bernard
Type: State Park
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: 29.86425 N
Longitude: 89.90042 W
Camping Fee: $25.33 (No Senior Discounts)
Campsite: 32
Campsite Hookups: Electric and Water
Campground Amenities:
Flush Toilets, Hot Showers, Water Spigots, Trash Dumpster, Sewer Dump
Verizon Cellular Service: 4G-3 Bars
Verizon Internet Service: 4G-3 Bars (JetPack)
Dish TV Satellite Service: Excellent
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