Author: tepetravels

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, School, YouTube Video Link

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and Fontainebleau State Park

Written by tepetravels 2 Comments on Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and Fontainebleau State Park

One of the things we wanted to see while in New Orleans was the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. It holds the Guinness World Record of the longest bridge over water (continuously).

There was a toll on the north side of the lake heading south (back to New Orleans) for the bridge. The toll was $5/2 axles, or $3 if you had a toll tag. You could also take a different highway home to avoid the tolls, but it does add additional time to your commute.

When we went, it was a little overcast and cloudy. Luckily there wasn’t too much traffic on the bridge. The causeway has two bridges, one going North and one going South. Each side had two lanes. Around the middle of the bridge, there was a drawbridge to allow water traffic through, although we did not see it in action. The drive was fun. We saw a few birds roosting and a few motor and sail boats out on the water. At one point, we couldn’t see land in either direction! Lake Pontchartrain is large at 629 mi² and 39.77 miles in length, but averages only 12-14 feet in depth. VIDEO: Driving On Lake Pontchartrain Causeway from New Orleans to Mandeville (South to North)

Although the drive itself was our mission for the day, we also stopped at Fontainebleau State Park to stretch our legs. Admission was $3/person (daily), not the normal per car fee. The park had several offerings: campground, cabin rentals, playground, beach, walking trails. We headed to the Visitor Center first and learned some interesting information about the park. It was at one point a sugar plantation and was named Fontainebleau by its owner after a park in France. Located in front of the Visitor Center were the remains/ruins of the sugar mill. They were fenced off with a short picket fence, but they are in bad shape, so be careful walking near them. The Visitor Center had a campground map that had a park map printed on the backside. The Visitor Center was smaller, but worth a stop if you are in the park.

The windows looking out had an etching of the sugar mill. It is a little hard to see in the pictures though.

We drove down to the beach and it looked like a soft sand. There were alligator caution signs throughout the park. The beach also had a nice large parking lot, several picnic bench areas, and a large building with changing stalls, showers, and bathrooms. There was also a pier you can walk out onto, located at the beach area.

Walking trail to Marsh Boardwalk

It was a little muddy, so we only took the shorter trail near the beach area to the marsh boardwalk. We saw a few birds and ducks, but no alligators. It was a nice enough park, but I wouldn’t go back for more than one visit with the entrance fee. I would definitely prefer to go Barataria Preserve to get a look at bayou type of areas. However, their rental cabins did seem nice and were right on the water, so it would be a nice place to stay. (Click here for my Barataria post.)

Fontainebleau Park Details:

  • TICKETS: $3 per person for daily pass
  • PARKING: Lots of parking at beach, Visitor Center and near trails
  • BATHROOM: Yes, at Visitor Center and Beach
  • TIME RECOMMENDED: 1-3 hours

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Information Links:

Posted in: Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, Sightseeing

Woodlands Conservancy

Written by tepetravels

New Orleans is great for outdoor activities, which we tend to gravitate towards. Not only do the outdoors give the boys a chance to wear off some of their endless energy, but it helps keep us active while being able to socially distance during these COVID times.

We have found a lot of parks near the city. Some of them are walking distance depending on where you are, and some require a drive to get to them. The trails have varied from dirt to wood boardwalks to paved paths. One of the last parks we explored was Woodlands Conservancy. It is tucked between two schools off of a dirt road. There is a faded sign as you get closer, but we missed it the first time we drove by. The park has a couple of walking trails and one horse trail.

We got there a little late in the day, so we only took the Uplands Trail, which is a little over a mile long. It had rained earlier in the week, so it was pretty muddy in spots (all the trails are dirt). We saw a few animal tracks in the mud and found a tree swing in a clearing.

There are ten WWII ammunition magazines at the end of the Bottomland Trail! I am hoping that the weather dries out and we can hike to go see these. That trail is 5-6 miles long, so doing that in the mud does not sound fun.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, Sightseeing

We Found Crescent Park! (French Quarter, New Orleans, LA)

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on We Found Crescent Park! (French Quarter, New Orleans, LA)

Crescent Park is located near the French Quarter, right on the Mississippi River. The park is a little over a mile long. One of the entrances is by the French Quarter Market; it is tucked behind a wall, on the other side of the train tracks. If you are anything like us, you probably walked right by it and didn’t even realize it was there. There is also a parking lot at the other end of the park.

Two of the bridges you can use to access the park. The tall cement one has an elevator and stairs, and is by the French Quarter Market.

The park has several tables and chairs, lots of lawn space for a picnic, great views of the river, and a dog park. There were a lot of runners, bikers, and roller skaters. There is a large covered concrete pavilion of sorts on the French Market side where kids were practicing their on bikes and roller skates.

Foggy morning. Same views: top picture is at the beginning of our walk, bottom is at the end.

It was extremely foggy when we got to the park. We were standing on the walkway right next to the Mississippi River and couldn’t see the water, much less the city. Eventually it started to clear up. Towards the end of the park, the skies were pretty clear and blue, but on our walk back there was still some fog closer to the city.

It was a really nice walk and we enjoyed the park. It seems like it would be a nice green space to walk and enjoy some beignets. 😉 (Note: It would probably be pretty hot in the summer, as there were trees by part of the path, but it didn’t seem like they would really provide shade for the trail.)

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, Sightseeing

New Orleans: City Park

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on New Orleans: City Park

City Park is a pretty large park. You can drive and park there, or take one of the streetcars.

The park has a lot of things to do! Free things include playgrounds, walking trails, and picnic tables. Paid items include: Storyland park ($5.47, under 36″ free), Art Museum, Besthoff Sculpture Park ($5/adults, 19 and younger free), City Putt (starts at $10/ages 13+, $8/ages 4-12). There were also soccer fields, tennis courts (reservations/fee), and a dog park (permit required).

We really enjoyed walking around the park under the Spanish Moss.

On our last visit to the Park, we explored the Couturie Forest. It does not have a large parking lot, so you may have to park farther away. There is a little library nearby and a creek with a bridge to cross over. The trails are dirt/mulch. We did get to complete the arduous climb to the highest point in New Orleans: Laborde Mountain. It is a whole 43 feet above sea level! There were even chickens roaming around.

Walking around Couturie Forest: Trees, platform at top of Laborde Mountain, wild chickens, stick shelter, ibis

I would definitely get a copy of the park map on your phone before you go! It is a large park and we did not see a lot of signs with a map on them. It is a nice park to spend the day at.

Posted in: Exploring Louisiana, Museums & Tours, School, Sightseeing

Confederate Memorial Hall Museum

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on Confederate Memorial Hall Museum

One of the reasons for going on this trip was to learn/see new things and to expand the boys’ views of the world. We wanted them to be able to think and research, listen to both sides, and come up with their own conclusion, to not just take everything at face value.

And so we found ourselves one Saturday morning at the Confederate Memorial Hall Museum.

The museum is in a really neat building and is the oldest continually running museum in Louisiana.

DETAILS:

  • TICKETS: Due to COVID, you need to email the Museum to make a reservation for the day/time you want to visit. You pay for your tickets once you arrive ($10 adults, $5 kids ages 7-14). It was only open Thursday to Saturday when we were in New Orleans.
  • PARKING: Pay parking on street or nearby lots
  • BATHROOM: Yes, downstairs
  • TIME RECOMMENDED: 1-3 hours

The museum is on the main floor of the building, with the bathroom downstairs. They had some neat pieces of history on display. It was mostly reading with one video. There was a small gift shop as well.

We started on the left side of the museum and one of the first exhibits we saw contained a Dix! New Orleans has history to the city. Being on the water, the city had plenty of trading with ships coming and going. At one point, the city was separated into French and American sides. Canal Street separated the French and English speaking parts of New Orleans. Each side had their own currency (French bills and American/English). Per our tour guide at Sazerac House, people met in the middle of Canal Street to do business, as it was considered neutral ground. One bank there decided to create a new currency, the Dix (French for 10). It was printed in English on one side, French on the other, and was a $10 bill. It later was nicknamed a Dixie, and hence the name for the South was created.

Battlefield trees with shrapnel embedded
Top: Uniform and gloves of Daniel Merwin. He lost his right arm in battle. His “Invalid Fork”, and 2 Left Hand gloves. Bottom Left: Sucession Badge image.
We find the mention of Ohio in the strangest places.
Different artillery shells.
Silver crown given to Davis, link of chain (boats), Stonewall Brigade Medal, Seal of the Confederacy

It was interesting to see this perspective on the Civil War. There were some signs that definitely had a Southern slant to the way they were worded. There was no real addressing the issue of slavery, it was mostly facts and information about battles, soldiers, and Jefferson Davis. It did give us a few good talking points to go over with the boys.

The gift shop was an interesting mix of wooden toys (chess board, 9 pins, chalkboard, Jacob’s Ladder etc.), hats and t-shirts, patches, stickers, quill pens, and the Confederate flag.

Posted in: Exploring Louisiana, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

New Orleans Cemeteries: Metairie Cemetery

Written by tepetravels

New Orleans is known for its above ground cemeteries. The water level is a lot higher here and if you dig too deep (even the standard 6 feet can be too deep!), the coffins can actually float up and escape the ground. The solution was above ground cemeteries. These cemeteries contain both simple wall vaults and elaborate family mausoleums. Because of the heat and humidity, after about 1 year, the body decomposes and can be placed in a special bag to make room for another family member. Some of the Catholic cemeteries also offer Perpetual Care, where you pay a lump sum and the interest of that amount is used to care for the plot even after your family line may die out. Some of these cemeteries are open to the public, but some like St. Louis No.1 require you to go with a tour guide. (They had a lot of vandalism.)

We had taken a tour of St. Louis No. 1 when we were here in 2017. We learned a lot and also saw Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau’s tomb and Nicholas Cage’s pyramid mausoleum. (The tour was definitely worth it, if you are in New Orleans.)

Due to COVID, St. Louis No. 1 tours were currently suspended, so we didn’t get an opportunity to take another tour. However, there are many other cemeteries in New Orleans where you can see the above ground tombs. It is so different than cemeteries back home. While we are here this time (2021), we did see the St. Roch cemetery and Metairie Cemetery. Metairie Cemetery is a bit of a drive from the French Quarter, but it’s not too far.

The cemetery was originally a horse race track! I read two different versions of the cemetery’s beginnings. One was simply that the race track was eventually closed and was later turned into a cemetery. The other story was that Mr. Charles Howard was denied membership to the Metairie Jockey Club and in revenge bought the race track and turned it into a cemetery.

Howard’s mausoleum

They have some amazing statues and plots. We saw a pyramid with a sphinx, a weeping angel, a horse statue, an anvil, and even a bison. The owner of the Saint’s Tom Benson, Popeye’s Chicken Al Copeland, some Louisiana governors, New Orleans’ mayors, Civil war soldiers, etc. are buried here. The cemetery also has a newer section that is still in use.

Some different types of headstones and mausoleums. Horse and rider is the Army of Tennessee Louisiana Division (including Confederate General Beauregard).
#2 marker I believe is the Civil War Washington Artillery monument, in-ground stone, and a Bison?!
LA Division Army of Northern Virginia
Weeping Angel/Angel of Grief, Chapman Hyams mausoleum
Brunswig pyramid mausoleum with sphinx. Gated plot.

We were curious as to how much these tombs/mausoleums could cost. According to the funeral home’s website a family/private stand alone starts at $50,000. A walk in mausoleum can cost $250,000 up to several million! Land prices, materials, decorations all effect the cost.

VIDEO: Driving Through Metairie Cemetery

Additional Reading On New Orleans Cemeteries:

Atlas Obscura: Metairie Cemetery

Cities of the Dead

New Orleans Cemeteries

Go Nola: Metairie

Posted in: Exploring Louisiana

Oh the Difference Four Years Makes: Nick’s Blog Post

Written by tepetravels 4 Comments on Oh the Difference Four Years Makes: Nick’s Blog Post

I was 8 years old when I got to see New Orleans for the first time. Four years later there are a lot of differences.

One really big difference that I saw was the amount of people there are. The French Quarter has very few people and Bourbon Street has a little bit more in the day time. Café Du Monde has a big line in the morning but not as big as last time. The trolleys are close to empty. The most people I have seen is about 5 to 6 on the trolleys. There are a lot of stores closing or closed. Some stores are even boarded up.

There is lots of cool stuff to see still. Bourbon Street and the French Quarter are still fun to walk down. There are a lot of restaurants to go and check out. The parking is still hard and we can go to places that are harder to get to now because we have a car with us this time. We have walked to Café Du Monde and the French Quarter. Mardi Gras is not happening this year but they still are selling king cakes which is cool. They have different flavors here than back home where they only sell the cinnamon. Here they have fun flavors like chocolate or apple. They are having floats as well for Mardi Gras, but just in house form.

Café Du Monde still makes beignets and coffee. If you do not know what a beignet is it is a powdered donut.                                          

That is my blog about what was different in New Orleans.

By: Nick

Posted in: Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, National Park, National Parks, School, Sightseeing

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve: Chalmette Battleground and Cemetery

Written by tepetravels

Chalmette Battleground and Cemetery is another part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. When we were there, the Visitor Center was only open on the weekend. The park itself was open until 4:00 pm most days.

It is a battleground site. This was our first battleground visit on our trip. There is not a lot to see: a Visitor Center, the obelisk monument, a memorial urn statue, and a plantation house. If you climb the levy, you can look at the river. There is a nice paved walking trail around the monument to the house. There is also a driving path (I did see lots of people walking it too) that leads further back on the battlefield and to the cemetery.

Pano of the Park grounds

The Rodriguez Plantation house is still on the property, although the second story staircase is gated off with a danger sign. We saw that the second story balcony was missing several boards.

The Park’s grounds also contain a National Cemetery, although only 4 from the War of 1812 are buried there. I didn’t know until after our visit, but there is also an audio tour available by calling on your cell phone (number is 504-799-0803 per their website) and there is also a virtual tour.

Cemetery: Can be accessed by walking or driving on the “self-guided driving” path

As a side note: Will saw one of the paintings featured on an informational plaque at the park in his history textbook. He thought it was pretty funny that the image included in his textbook had a National Park Service plaque memo that the image was inaccurate, as the river “was not crowded with ships during the battle”.

Posted in: Exploring Louisiana, Sightseeing

New Orleans Cemeteries: St. Roch Cemetery

Written by tepetravels 2 Comments on New Orleans Cemeteries: St. Roch Cemetery

We found this cemetery on Atlas Obscura. There was only on-street parking. The cemetery is on both sides of the street and is free to go through (unlike some of the older cemeteries close to the French Quarter).

The thing that makes this cemetery unique is the backstory. Yellow fever hit New Orleans hard due to the mosquitoes in the summer. In 1867, the Reverend in the parish prayed to St. Roch (patron saint of invalids) to spare his parishioners. If no one died, then the Reverend would build a shrine to St. Roch. The parish did not lose any of its members to yellow fever and the shrine was built. People who prayed to St. Roch and recovered from their illness would leave things at the shrine. The items left would be medical devices (dentures, crutches, prosthetics).

The St. Roch shrine was closed for repairs, so we could only see the outside and peer in through the windows. We could see a few of the items left.

Posted in: Animal Sightings, Exploring Louisiana, Hiking, National Park, National Parks, Sightseeing, YouTube Video Link

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park: Barataria Preserve

Written by tepetravels 1 Comment on Jean Lafitte National Historical Park: Barataria Preserve

SUPER BONUS – Brought to you by the National Parks. Call (504) 799-0802 and learn about the Barataria Preserve.

We wanted to take a nice walk, so we headed to the Barataria Preserve (part of the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve).

Our first stop was at the Visitor Center at the Barataria Preserve (the Jean Lafitte Visitor Center in the French Quarter is currently closed due to COVID). Unfortunately, we went after work/school, so we didn’t get there until 4:30 and they closed the gates at 5:00pm. We took the shorter Visitor Center Trail, which took about 20 minutes. We really liked the park and decided to come back on the weekend when we had more time. There are several trails that were closed because of damage, so I would recommend stopping at the Visitor Center to see which ones are currently open.

Our second time there, Nick got his Junior Ranger Badge. We took the Bayou Coquille Trail and Marsh Overlook. The trail began as a dirt/gravel path and once you got to the marshy bayou, it switched to a wooden plank trail.

It was gorgeous. We didn’t see any alligators, although we did see lots of caution signs for them. It was probably too cold, as it was in the 60’s. We did see a turtle sunning on a rock, several great egrets, a nutria eating and swimming in the bayou, and a deer.

Part of the bayou was covered in a flotant, which is a floating mass of plants. It looks solid, but is not always strong enough to hold a human’s weight. It certainly looked like you could walk on it, it would be a huge surprise to find out it wasn’t solid and end up in the water!

Although I was disappointed we didn’t see any alligators, going in the cooler weather probably saved us from a few mosquito bites. And as a friend pointed out when they saw the pictures, probably from seeing a few snakes too. (I am glad we missed the snakes, especially since they have cottonmouths and copperheads down here.)

I could spend several days there. I loved seeing the Spanish Moss on the trees and hearing the different bird calls.

The park did a nice job with the informational signs around the trail as well. Several stops had an audio tour that was a great touch. You called a number from your phone and entered your stop number to hear the information. It was really neat (see beginning of this post to experience it for yourself).

There are a few other trails on the other side of the road by the Educational Center. We were told those trails are mostly dirt, so if it had rained recently they would be muddy. We didn’t have the shoes for mud, so we may go back another day.

VIDEO: Clips From Our Walk In Barataria Preserve in Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

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