Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Louisiana

Posted in Birds, Louisiana, RVing, Tourist Attractions, Wandering around AmericaTagged , , , , , , ,

State 16:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is

Louisiana

Louisiana became the 18th state on April 30, 1812  and the capital is Baton Rouge.

Ever since I started working on this post about Louisiana the following lyrics from the Hank Williams song “Jambalaya (on the Bayou)” have been going through my head.

Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and fillet gumbo
‘Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou

Each time we visited Louisiana we tried as much of the delicious local food as we could get. We sampled everything – boudin, crawfish etoufee, gumbo, dirty rice, cracklins, shrimp po’ boys and more! Chef Paul Prudhomme’s K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen  in New Orleans served up one of the most amazing meals I’ve ever had. Is your mouth watering yet?

Acme Oyster House in New Orleans
Poche’s Meat Market and Smokehouse
Ralph and Kacoo’s in Bosier City
Lunch was delicious Boudin from the Tabasco food truck
Our meal at Poche’s – Crawfish Etoufee, Dirty Rice and Slaw – Sooooo good!

We’ve visited New Orleans three times – twice to watch our Georgia Bulldogs play in the Sugar Bowl and once to take our children when they were young. We wandered around the French Quarter, attended a performance of New Orleans Jazz at Preservation Hall, rode a streetcar to the Garden District, took a riverboat ride on the Mississippi River, chowed down on amazing Cajun food, and of course had coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

New Orleans Jackson Square
New Orleans Jackson Square
Cafe du Monde
Cafe du Monde
Calle D Borbon
Calle D Borbon

There is so much more to Louisiana than food and music. Our lake front campsite at Lake Bistineau State Park was perfect for watching the wading birds search for food among the huge cypress trees on the banks of the lake.

Great Blue Heron at Lake Bistineau
Great Blue Heron at Lake Bistineau
Great Egret in Lake Bistineau
Great Egret in Lake Bistineau
Lake Bistineau
Lake Bistineau

The rain didn’t stop us from enjoying our campsite on one of the ponds at Poche’s Fish N Camp. After a delicious meal at Poche’s Meat Market and Smokehouse I stocked up on Cajun goodies like homemade boudin, Andouille sausage and tasso ham to take home.

Pavilion at Poche's Fish N Camp
Poche’s Fish N Camp

We are one of the families who always has a bottle of Tabasco sauce on the table along with the salt and pepper. A visit to the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island was a must for us.

The world's best known hot sauce
The world’s best known hot sauce

We even took a tour of the Duck Commander headquarters in West Monroe.

Duck Commander Headquarters, about 3 blocks south of I-20 in West Monroe, LA
Duck Commander Headquarters, about 3 blocks south of I-20 in West Monroe, LA

I started writing this post right before Mardi Gras and have been hungry for Cajun food ever since. On Fat Tuesday I made a big pot of Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo using Alton Brown’s recipe (I added okra ). Yesterday I made Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Jambalaya (I left out the oysters). Now if I could just find some crawfish tails I’ll make that crawfish pie.!

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama      Alaska      Arizona      Arkansas      California      Colorado     Florida      Georgia      Hawaii        Idaho  Illinois      Indiana      Iowa     Kansas     Kentucky

18 thoughts on “Wandering Around America One State at a Time – Louisiana”

  1. I loved your comment about Louisiana being “so much more than….” I’ve travelled Louisiana a lot of times before we went full time and I’ve stayed in the homes of dozens of Louisianan’s and they have been some of the most welcoming and cordial people I have ever met. It’s funny, my first trip down there was the first time in my life when I stayed in a Black home and that did a lot to change how this white guy thinks about the Black population in the U.S. I was just part of the family, and ending up during that trip as the only white guy at a black funeral was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. It’s always the people I think of when someone says Louisiana.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. On the other side of the ethnic scale I find that Cajun folk have a very unique point of view. Their heritage means a lot to them — specially those with real Acadian blood. Seems being forced to do something as a group has a very congealing impact on people. Sometimes makes me wonder about where we are going as a people nowadays. I have to say though that they can be difficult to understand (their speech, not their ideas) 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  2. I just saved this blog article in my travel folder! Louisiana is one of the 5 states I need to cross off my bucket list. You shared the beauty and also where to eat! Thank You!
    Your eye for beauty is still shown in your gorgeous photos!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Nancy! We visited New Orleans before we got our fifth wheel. After we got it we drove straight through Louisiana a couple of times without stopping before we finally spent a night there. We enjoyed it so much we made a few return trips to see more.

      Like

  6. Such great photos and words to whet the appetite. You guys keep adding to our bucket list. We love it. You are keeping the dream in front of us and that’s what we’re suppose to do for each other. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. You made my mouth water. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities and I don’t think I’ve ever had a meal there that wasn’t amazing. Louisiana’s unique heritage is a great reminder of how our differences make us richer as a country. Your enthusiasm for it really shines through this post.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I loved the people of Louisiana and yes, it really is a unique place. Our first visit to New Orleans was for the 1983 Sugar Bowl (GA vs Penn State) and the only pictures we have from that trip are slides. I got out the slide viewer and have enjoyed looking at all those pictures from back then. I discovered the riverboat tour we took was on the Natchez.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. We spent some time in New Orleans when we lived in Mobile. What a great city with so much to offer! Not sure we’ll get there in our motorhome!
    Hope to see more of Louisiana one day.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.