Twelfth Anniversary Adventure, Part 1

DH and I celebrated our 12 happy years together by embarking on a small road trip. How many times have you driven down the road, through a small town, passed a little road going somewhere, and thought, "I wonder what this little place is all about?". Well, I had been looking up some info about Louisiana's Hwy 1. This historical roadway was once the main route from the most southeastern tip of Louisiana at Grand Isle, to the most northwestern community of Rodessa. The route is dotted with small communities and quaint little church houses.

We began our adventure in Vacherie, LA. "Vacherie" means "Cattle Ranch" and the place is a regional area of St. James Parish settled by the Germans and early Acadians. Near Vacherie are a number of old plantation homes such as Laura Plantation, St. Joseph Plantation, and perhaps one of the most photographed plantations, Oak Alley. Built between 1837 and 1839 by Jacques T. Roman, this example of Greek Revival architecture is famous for its alley of 28 evenly spaced live oak trees. They are believed to be at least 100 years older than "Big House".

The other photographers around there.

Nottoway Plantation, another jewel along Hwy 1.

From there, we moved north through historic Donaldsonville to Plaquemine where we stopped to look at and learn about the Plaquemine Locks. As long as I have lived in this area, I have never seen the Locks and had no idea about the history of the area. Did you know that the man who designed it, Colonel George W. Goethals, is the same man who went on to become the chief

engineer and builder of the Panama Canal? I didn't!!!

Inside the Plaquemine Museum.

Bayou Plaquemine - Passageway of Acadians after

deportation of 1755 from Canada to the Southwest Attakapas.

At this point of our trip, I had WANTED to stop in Port Allen but it was getting late and we wanted to get on into New Roads. There were also some things I wanted to see there but we made the decision to just get some dinner and a room and move on the next morning. Port Allen and New Roads are close enough to our home that we could make a day trip to see the attractions and learn more about the history of that area.

In New Roads, we ate dinner at Satterfield's, which is right on the banks of the False River.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by a humongous preserved alligator sporting a spectacular grin. Our waitress seated us near the window wall overlooking the water. Surprisingly, we were only the 3rd couple seated in the restaurant. I had expected many more on a Friday evening. However, just below the restaurant is a bar where there were a good many patrons hanging out and enjoying the evening.

Our food was wonderful and quickly served! We started our meal with a shrimp cocktail, followed by a seafood platter for hubby which featured fried shrimp, catfish, oysters, soft shell crab and stuffed shrimp along with parsley potatoes. It also came with a garden salad. I opted for the crawfish pie with a puffed pastry shell which soon appeared in front of me accompanied by fresh steamed vegetables of snap beans, squash, zucchini, and sweet red bell pepper strips and a stuffed baked potato. I cannot even imagine how many calories this meal had but that was the flakiest pastry crust I have ever bitten into!

There are several B&B's in New Roads to choose from. I certainly recommend you do your research and make reservations before you visit the area, as the two hotels here are not where you really want to lay your body down. We ended up in Neal's Cypress Inn located right there on Hwy 1. I really can't say much about the place. Don't let the website fool ya. The pictures make it look much better. The only positive thing about our night there was that I didn't see any bedbugs!! **shudder**

Part 2 of our adventure begins here.

Part 3

Part 4