May 11,2010 Bellingrath Gardens

We read about Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile,Ala. and decided we'd go over there today.More than 75 years ago the Bellingraths started the gardens and home on the Foul River.There are 65 acres of beautiful flowers,shrubs and ponds.Here are some pictures of the flowers and the grounds.

When you purchase your tickets for the the gardens youcan also get tickets for their 45 minute boat ride on the river.This was a very enjoyable ride and we passed many beautiful homes.

After we finished at the gardens we took a ride over to Dauphin Island.There isn't much there except they have a old Ft. We drove around and then ended up at a golf course on the water where we had a very good lunch and view.Another great day of Livin'ez.

May 9,2010 Happy Mother's Day

Today we left and arrived at Gulf Shores National Park and Davis Bayou Campground. This is located in Ocean Springs,Mississippi. As we drove the Mississippi coast line you can see where Katrina had wiped out miles and miles of homes. These were big beautiful homes and you can see driveways going to nowhere.Every where you look places are for sale.The beach is a beautiful white sand beach and now they are being threatened with this oil spill. The oil hasn't reached the beach but all the shrimp boats and fishing boats are not going out because of the spill.This is a high resort area and there tourism is way down.

Since today is Mother's Day we went to a BBQ joint for dinner.Now this a one of a kind place to eat. It's called the Shed and this place is not fancy ,it's a experience.The guy that owns this place graduated from Ole Mississippi and he liked to go dumpster diving in garbage bins. He collected lots of junk over the years and moved to Ocean Springs and opened The Shed from all the junk he collected.The ribs and chicken were good but didn't care for sides. They were featured on the Food Network show Diners,Drive-In's and Dives.

That's it for today.

May 8,2010 Ft. Pike

Today Sam went to Ft.Pike and since I wasn't interested in going I had him drop me off at the mall. Here's a little history on the Ft. Ft. Pike was named for General Zebulon Pike and was the 1st fort built by the U.S. government.It was the 1st of 3 permanent fortifications and the 1st State Historical Site ever purchased.The fort was built to withstand attack by land or sea.
That's it for today,tomorrow to Ocean Springs,Ms.

May 12,2010 Mississippi Gulf

Today we took a ride down the coast just to take our time and take in the view. With the oil spill there aren't many out on the beach. The beach is a beautiful sugar white sand. We drove around the area and you can see where homes from Katrina had been wiped out. Here's the beach.

Homes after Katrina and stairs leading to nowhere.

That's about it for today.

May 7 2010 New Orleans

We arrived in Slidell,La. at the Eks Lodge where we will stay for 2 nights. They have a large park setting with hookups,grass and beautiful trees with moss hanging from trees. Once we got set up in the RV we headed off to New Orleans. We got down to the French Quarter and started in the French Market. Lots of things to buy.

I had to have my fix of Beignets at Cafe Du Monde so we went there next.

Love those Beignets! We started walking and houses are amazing with their wrought iron grill work and hanging plants.

When walking down the side streets we came across K-Paul's restaurant,Chef of New orleans fame.We considered eating there but after seeing the prices decided against it. There are many great eating places here so went elsewhere.

Walking around we came upon Cuban cigar shop and they were making hand made cigars. It was very interesting.

We stopped at Jackson Square and there is a fountain and statue of General Jackson on his horse. In the background you can see St.Louis Cathedral.
We had a great day in New Orleans.We've been here before so we didn't go to Bourbon Street.New Orleans is a unique city and like no other in the U.S. We're livin'ez on the road you do the same.

May 6,2010 Baton Rouge

The first thing we did this morning was to go to Louisana State Capitol. The legend was the dream of Huey Long the Governor at that time. It was during the depression and was completed in 1932 in just 14 months.it has 34 floors and 450 feet high,it is the tallest capitol in the United States.It has a observation deck at floor 27 and you are able to see the Mighty Mississippi and the Capitol Gardens. Huey Long was assassinated in the capitol in 1935 and he is buried on the grounds where there is a statue of him. We went into the senate chambers and were amazed how beautiful it was.On one end is the Senate and the other end the House.Here are some pictures of the inside.

Here's the House

Beautiful Chandelairs and ceilings in the foyer.

The Pentagon Barracks were built in the 1800's and are still used by LSU students and legislators.

Next we were off to the the Old State Capitol.High on a bluff overlooking the Mighty Mississippi sits this Gothic looking old Capitol. It is over 160 years old and has withstood fire,war and scandal. It has a beautiful cast iron circular staircase and black and white fossilizes marble floors. It is now used as a museum of Louisiana political history. It also has a section on Huey Long which is very good.

The gun that supposedly killed Huey Long.

We finished up and decided to go to see the USS Kidd our namesake. We couldn't leave without buying hats with our names on it.
Next we went to the casino and ate dinner at Shucks.Food was good but service was lousy.Hardly anyone in there and we waited 45 minutes to get our food.Well that's it for our day see what happens tomorrow.

May 5.2010 Livingston,La.

Today we left Abbeville and drove 108 miles to Lakeside RV Park in Livingston,La. On the way we drove above the Atchafalaya Basin.This is the largest swamp in the U.S. It is filled with bayou’s,  bald cypress swamps and marsh land.

On the way we stopped at Bass Pro and that was a mistake,$200. later we back on the road to Lakeside Rv Park.This is a Passport America park and were we surprised.This a very clean and pristine park.It has a small lake and the rvs circle around it. The spaces are all paved with grass in between and a table.We are staying 2 days so we can see Baton Rouge. 

Tomorrow we will be off to see Baton Rouge.