Lake Pontchatrain, Louisiana

New Orleans sits just south of Lake Pontchatrain, a very large but shallow brackish lake - more of a tidal basin than a normal lake.

I still remember very well the summer when I was about 12 years old when my Dad took me and two of my brothers on a drive over the amazing Lake Pontchatrain Causeway. At almost 24 miles it is the longest overwater bridge in the world. Dad is the king of hype, and he had built us boys up to the a point of open-mouthed, wide-eyed wonder as we started across a lake so wide that we could not see one side from the other. We were almost hyperventilating with excitement as we drove several miles from the north shore before the southern shore came dimly into view. I felt it was like taking a bridge across the ocean.

When I saw Lake Pontchartrain again more recently - 50 years later - I viewed it with fond memories - and still a sense of wonder.

Sidewalk Art at Jackson Square

On the broad sidewalks around Jackson Square in New Orleans, Louisiana, we saw several sidewalk artists displaying and selling their artwork. To me, such art bought directly from the artist is one of the best souvenirs of a place one can get.

Okay, I'll be honest and say that we did not buy any art on this trip. I didn't have an easy way to get it home. But the walls of our home are loaded with art - both original and prints - which I have bought from sidewalk artists in many different countries of the world.

Support small time artists. Cut on the middle man. Give yourself a treat. Preserve a memory. You do all of this and more when you make a purchase from a sidewalk artist.

Creole Delicacies in New Orleans

The quaint little Creole Delicacies shop on Jackson Square in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a great place to buy gifts, souvenirs, culinary items and New Orleans' famous and delicious pralines. We got a refrigerator magnet, postcards, and a box of pralines here. The pralines, a deep south delicacy made of pecans, brown sugar and other good stuff, didn't make it even as far as the New Orleans city limits before they were all consumed.

I well remember my very first praline which I had in New Orleans as a young teenager on a trip with my dad and brothers. I thought it was the best thing I had ever eaten up until that point in my life. And they are still very good. However, according to my own subjective assessment, the pralines on River Street in Savannah, Georgia and those at the Old Market in downtown Charleston, South Carolina are the best. Still, if you happen to be in New Orleans, the pralines here are excellent.

Grave of a Voodoo Queen

Most locals in New Orleans can point the way to the Grave of Marie Laveau in St. Louis Cemetery #1. Marie was the notorious "Voodoo Queen" of a mystic cult. Superstition says that visitors who scratch XXX on the concrete Greek Revival crypt will not be bothered by the evil spirits which reside therein. X's were already all over the tomb, so Karen and I left our own.Voodoo is a primitive religion of African origin. It was brought to the Americas by slaves and came to New Orleans via Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

Voodoism flourised in New Orleans during the 19th century and still remains to some extent today. Marie Laveau was the most widely known of many practitioners of the cult. Actually there were two Voodoo Queens named Marie Laveau, mother and daughter. They epitomized the sensational appeal of Voodooism in New Orleans during the 19th and 20th centuries. They taught and used the religion’s magical powers to control one’s lovers, acquaintances, enemies, and sex.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Among many other claims to fame, New Orleans is world renowned for its lavish and decadent Mardi Gras celebration. It just happens that our recent visit to New Orleans coincided with this annual event. Neither Karen nor I enjoy crowds and we are not party animals so we weren't too disappointed that our short visit did not allow us to take part in many of the festivities.

One of the traditions of Mardi Gras in New Orleans is women flashing their breasts - which I probably would have enjoyed more than Karen. We missed the bare breasts - however we did see signs of Mardi Gras everywhere - including this tomb which was all decked out for the celebration.

Winnsboro, Franklin Parish, Louisiana

Franklin Parish formed in northern Louisiana in 1839 and named for Benjamin Franklin. The parish seat is Winnsboro with about 5,150 residents. The entire county has a population of around 21,000. The Franklin Parish Courthouse, pictured above, sits on Main Street (Hwy. 17) was constructed in 1951 on the site of a former bear hunting camp.

Madison Parish Confederate Monument, Talullah, Louisiana

This Confederate Monument, on the Madison Parish Courthouse lawn, Tallulah, Louisiana, stands as a memorial to the brave men who fought to defend their homeland against northern invaders during what they called the War for Southern Independence.

Tallulah saw action during the Vicksburg Campaign. Two of my many kinfolk who were Confederate soldiers (uncles from Alabama) fought in that campaign. One was killed and the other was captured. My uncles, like the overwhelming majority of Confederate soldiers, were poor dirt farmers who owned neither slave nor plantaion. they fought for the principles of the Declaration of Independenc and the Constitiution and to defend themselves against an out-of-control federal government.

The inscription on this monument reads very simply:

In Memory Of Our

Confederate Soldiers

Of Madison Parish La

Who Enlisted and

Served During The

War Between The States

1861-1865

Tallulah, Madison Parish, Louisiana

There are only two places on earth named Tallulah, the beautiful Tallulah Falls and Gorge in the mountains of north Georgia, and this small town in Louisiana. Tallulah, Louisiana has a population of just over 8,000 people and serves as the seat of Madison Parish. It is located in the northeastern portion of the state, about 24 miles west of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The Madison Parish Courthouse, pictured above, is located in the heart of downtown Tallulah and also in the center of Madison Parish. It sits at the junction of US 80 and US 65.The white columned building was built on the Colonial Revival Style in 1925. It was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1989, due to it's historic significance in both architecture and engineering. It is not a tourist attraction but is the functioning seat of government for Madison Parish. However, visitors are welcome to visit the facility.

Tallulah was founded as a town in the sovereign state of Louisiana in 1857. Five years later it was an important telegraph and railroad station on the Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Texas Railroad. That's when the people of the fledgling city found themselves facing the brunt of an aggressive and northern army which was bent on forever changing the structure of "these" United States, turning the several sovereign states into a single empire called "The" United States of America.

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A historical marker on the Madison Parish courthouse lawn bears witness to the fateful day, August 18, 1962 when Lincoln's invading Federal troops, under Col. W. D. Bowen, destroyed the depot, telegraph office, and several railroad cars. The depot contained a large amount of sugar and supplies for the Confederate Army. When I read the historical marker (above), I took note of the fact that this was many months before Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which did not actually free a single slave but was what Lincoln called a "war measure."

Slavery was not the cause of the war and did not become a major issue in the War Between the States until the Lincoln began to seek a justification for his illegal, brutal, and conscienceless attack on the Southern states.

Andrew Jackson Statue in Jackson Square

The centerpiece of Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana, is a statue of General Andrew Jackson, mounted on a rearing horse. Jackson is a Tennessean (originally from North Carolina) who became a national hero after decisively defeating the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. He went on to become the seventh president of the United States.

Andrew Jackson is not to be confused with Confederate General Stonewall Jackson who won fame years later during the War Between the States.

It was during the War of 1812 that Jackson earned his nickname of "Old Hickory." He had been ordered to march his Tennessee troops to Natchez, Mississippi. Upon arrival, Jackson was told to disband his men because they were unneeded. He refused to disband the men and marched them back to up the Natchez Trace to Tennessee.

Because of his strict discipline during this march Jackson's men began to say he was as tough as hickory and the nickname stuck. I have mixed feeling about Andrew Jackson. He was a leader who had many admirable qualities and was known for his common touch. Yet, as president, he was also instrumental in the "Indian Removal" which resulted in the infamous "Trail of Tears," one of the most shameful episodes in American history.

Historians say he was a "man of his times." Those times are difficult for those of us who live in a more tolerant age to comprehend.

Oak Alley Plantation

Lousiana is noted for it's antebellum plantation homes, and among them none is more picturesque or ideally situated than Oak Alley, "Grand Dame of the River Road." It sits on the banks of the Mississippi River on the Great River Road, about half way between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

One thing that sets this particular home apart is that it is framed with a quarter-mile driveway lined with magnificent live oaks, thought to be 300 years old. The canopy of evergreen trees make a magnificent avenue leading from the Mississippi River to the Greek-revival plantation house. It was built in 1839 by a wealthy French Creole sugar planter, and is today owned and operated by the private Oak Alley Foundation.

Oak Alley is the most photographed of all Louisiana plantations, and has been featured in numerous movies as well as print and television commercials. A tour here offers a fascinating glimpse into a lifestyle and an era in the history of America's deep south that is now "Gone with the Wind."

There is a gift shop at the plantation and a restaurant which serves breakfast and lunch daily. Four cottages on the grounds serve as a Bed-and-breakfast Inn, offering respite from the three Ts of modern living: television, telephones and traffic.

Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana

The centerpiece of Jackson Square is a statue of General Andrew Jackson, mounted on a rearing horse, backdropped by the Saint Louis Cathedral.

Jackson is a Tennessean (originally from North Carolina) who became a national hero after decisively defeating the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. He went on to become the seventh president of the United States. Andrew Jackson is not to be confused with Confederate General Stonewall Jackson who won fame years later during the War Between the States.

It was during the War of 1812 that Jackson earned his nickname of "Old Hickory." He had been ordered to march his Tennessee troops to Natchez, Mississippi. Upon arrival, Jackson was told to disband his men because they were unneeded. He refused to disband the men and marched them back to up the Natchez Trace to Tennessee. Because of his strict discipline during this march Jackson's men began to say he was as tough as hickory and the nickname stuck.

I have mixed feeling about Andrew Jackson. He was a leader who had many admirable qualities and was known for his common touch. Yet, as president, he was also instrumental in the "Indian Removal" which resulted in the infamous "Trail of Tears," one of the most shameful episodes in American history. Historians say he was a "man of his times." Those times are difficult for those of us who live in a more tolerant age to comprehend.