“There is no place on Earth even remotely like New Orleans.
Don’t even try to compare it to anywhere else.”
— Anthony Bourdain
La Vernia to Chattanooga
After I convinced Barry that New Orleans was really kind of definitely on the way to Chattanooga 😉 we were off – the last leg of our trip!
Saturday – La Vernia to Beaumont
With all the laundry clean and packed, and the interviews complete, we gave out good-bye hugs and got on the road again – still heading east through Texas. First up was the obligatory Buc-ee’s stop for gas and provisions! 😂 Buc-ee’s is something you have to experience to truly understand – part gas station, part country store, part food festival – all on a Texas-sized scale. Do you need a wedding gift for someone? Craving fresh, in-house brisket or fudge? Forgot to pack a swimsuit? Buc-ee’s has it all, and a million things more! (Be warned though – the swimsuit will have a cartoon beaver on it!) They also boast the cleanest restrooms in America, a valued commodity on a road trip!
We continued on, driving through Houston, until we got to Beaumont. Today’s trip was only four hours, so we arrived early enough to check in to our hotel and then visit the Cattail Marsh Wetlands. This park includes 900 acres of scenic wetlands and is a wildlife refuge for 300 species of birds, and other animals as well, including… alligators! I’ve always looked for alligators “in the wild” on our many trips to Florida, but it was here in Beaumont that I had my first sighting! He (or she – I didn’t ask) was just lounging in the shallow water near the boardwalk, trying to escape the Texas heat.
After that little adventure, we went back to our hotel for some pizza and college football.
Sunday – Beaumont to New Orleans
Barry lived in Beaumont for a few years pre-Navy, so we went on a little trip down memory lane before leaving town. We drove through his college campus, the setting for some of the rowdier stories I’ve heard over the years. Then we stopped at the little Baptist church he went to, much bigger now, but still recognizable. Seeing the exact location in the parking lot where he first trusted Christ as his Savior was honestly a little emotional for me.
Around noon we left Beaumont for New Orleans. Today’s trip was even shorter than yesterday’s, so we arrived in plenty of time to get settle in our hotel and walk around before dinner. We stayed in a little boutique hotel in the French quarter and strolled along Bourbon Street while the sun was still up. (It does get a bit crazy after dark!)
Hotel Mazarin
This hotel is only half a block from Bourbon Street but was still surprisingly calm. The rooms are beautifully decorated with antiques and chandeliers, and it has two courtyards. It has both a cocktail bar with live music, and a wine bar.
Pro tip: some hotels will list rooms on airbnb for a lower cost than even their own website, so check all your options! Also, we saved over $200 checking in on a Sunday instead of Saturday, so if you have some flexibility in your schedule, you can score a good deal!
New Orleans is a foodie paradise, especially if you love seafood and/or Cajun food. (We do!) For dinner we tried the Court of Two Sisters Restaurant, built in 1832 and featuring a beautiful courtyard for outdoor dining. I tried turtle soup for the first time (not my fave), but Barry loved their gumbo, and the crab cakes and shrimp & grits were excellent. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying a glass of wine in the lovely courtyard of our hotel.
Monday – New Orleans
Earlier this year Barry and I had talked about wanting to go back to New Orleans for a weekend – funny how things work out sometimes, huh? We found a great little breakfast spot near our hotel, and spent the rest of the morning wandering through some of the shops in the French Quarter. By midday we went back to the hotel for an hour so Barry could do another interview, and I did some writing in the courtyard. After lunch, we walked towards the Mississippi River and toured the St. Louis Cathedral. We crossed through Jackson Square, the site where Louisiana was made a United States Territory. It’s marked with a large statue of Andrew Jackson in the center, and is filled with street artists and performers. Just a little way down the river is the French Market – an open-air market with several blocks of food stands, specialty art, locally made crafts, and retail shopping. We finished our shopping with some beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, a New Orleans destination since 1862.
The city is much more than just the French Quarter, and there are all kinds of tours and shows and music clubs, but since we’ve been here before and we only had a day, we kept things simple. We found dinner at a place called Oceania Grill and ate some gator tail bites (both fried and blackened – delish!) and other Cajun specialties. Our night ended with a few more glasses of wine in the hotel courtyard.
Tuesday – New Orleans to Chattanooga
Oh my gosh, this is our last day! It seemed surreal that we had finally come to the end of our trip, and today we would end up back where we started.
Since we had a 7+ hour drive, we focused mainly on driving and reaching our destination. Also, we were traveling through Mississippi and Alabama, which is familiar territory for us, and we didn’t have anywhere specific we wanted to explore.
We spent much of our drive reflecting on this epic road trip – favorite places and people, and what we learned along the way. I’ll write more about that tomorrow.
For now, we’ll be staying in Chattanooga for a bit, until one of these many interviews turn into a job offer. Our hearts are full of memories, and our phones are full of pictures. And we are glad to be “home”, even if just for a bit.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back.
So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
– Terry Pratchett
Til next time, shine bright friends!
~Dawn 🌻
