Indian Creek, Louisiana

 February 18th 2023

We spent a week in Indian Creek which originally had been booked for two weeks but after our plans changed and the timeline was pushed back it was Mardi Gras season and we were lucky to be able to book for a whole week.

The drive was good despite a lot of rain and we stopped at a fun truck stop that had some great items in the shop.

The park was very old with worn out facilities but we had an awesome lake view. We have missed being near water.

https://www.ldaf.state.la.us/about/indian-creek-recreation-area/

The weather was not that good early in the week, we had a lot of rain and thunder storms but I managed to get a few big walks including to the local town. Well ok let's be truthful, I walked to the new bakery as there is nothing like the idea of a cake to get you to walk eight miles. And no, the cake wasn't that nice!

Weirdest thing on the walk back I found a Pokemon Energy card laying on the verge!

The weather perked up towards the end of the week, Morgan and I enjoyed the 4 mile hike around the reservoir a few times.

Misty early morning walk

John had a very busy work week but managed to get one walk with us

I saw an armadillo! Not the best picture as he was far away and very shy

Tried to get a bit closer but he ran away

New Orleans

 Saturday 4th February 2023

We drove into New Orleans on the causeway. What a great experience and it only cost $5. 

We had a brilliant time walking around the city but did not realize the distances between the districts we wanted to visit and we ended up walking eight miles. If we had not had Morgan with us we could have hopped on the tram to cover more area. We had wished to visit two times but the bad weather the previous weekend messed with our plans so we felt under pressure to see as much as we could in one day. We were unsure if Morgan would be ok with the noise and crowds of the city, but she was great.

Superdome

French Quarter

Banana Foster Beignet

St Louis Cathedral

Jackson Square

I had done some prior research and found a vegan/vegetarian dog friendly restaurant to have lunch! It was a nice treat to sit outside in February. 

Kathi Roll. Street food originating from Kolkata, West Bengal.

Thursday would have been John's Dad's 100th birthday, we raised a glass for him.

One of the things I love about wandering around a city is the places or events you see unplanned - like some people down an alley near the Lower Garden District performing a ritual or celebration (?) with rhythmic drums and movements. 

We were walking towards the Garden District but it was too far away in the opposite direction to the truck and at this point we were tired so we decided to head back. We did see some pretty homes and gardens.

Lighthouse on Camp Street

St Patrick's Catholic Church

Benjamin Franklin, Lafayette Square

We passed lots of people building bleachers on St Charles Street on the Mardi Gras route and saw homes and businesses with metal fencing erected to protect them from the crazy time that Mardi Gras is. This year it will be 21st February. In England it is Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day. We will have to watch the parade on tv now that we have seen where it is.