Cruisin the Bayou

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Our bayou journey started last week when we entered Louisiana and continued through Mississippi, Alabama and now into the panhandle of Florida. One thing that has become painfully evident (in both our wallets and waistlines), is that our activities out east are centered around eating versus out west where they were centered around hiking and other outdoor activities. There is so much good food out here that you just cannot go through an area without trying their local cuisine!

Nest stop.....New Orleans. Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street, Katrina, the Saints.....these are some of the things this city is known for. Our knowledge of the city is limited to what we have seen on TV and really did not know what to expect when we arrived.

Bayou Segnette State Park is located within a few minutes of downtown, there are about 100 sites all with water and electric. Off season the rates are $20/night, free laundry and Wi-Fi are the same as we have experienced in our other Louisiana state parks although not as clean. The sites themselves are fairly open and well spaced.

Site #46

We spent our first full day in the city, we wanted to do it on the weekend to get the full affect. We drove to a parking area about 20 minutes from the park and took the $2 ferry across the river. I have to say the city was cleaner than expected. Although Mardi Gras is still several weeks away, the streets were bustling with street performers, musicians and people taking in the sights. Most of the musicians and performers were pretty good but there were a handful of really bad ones trying to make a buck. The streets are very narrow and are lined with bars, restaurants and small shops. Beignets, Po` Boys and Pralines were the most common items advertised at the restaurants. We were told that we had to try the beignets and chicory coffee at Café Du Monde and the charbroiled oysters at Drago's in the Hilton. All three were outstanding. Most of the street musicians and performers were on Royal Street while Bourbon Street had most of the musicians in the bars. It was fun to experience but once is enough and we decided this was not a place we would want to experience after dark.....too many drunk stupid people.

This group was pretty good!

The entertainment committee (Barb) said she had something fun planned for the next day. She would not tell me what it was but she seemed pretty excited about it. This is usually bad news.....bad news for our pocket book. She had the coordinates plugged into the GPS and told me to follow the directions to our destination about 30 minutes from the park. We took the freeway for 15 minutes, when exited we were guided through some pretty sketchy areas until we finally arrived at our destination........The horse race track!

We had not been to a horse track in years! Best of all, free to get in but this could still get expensive in a hurry. They run on both dirt and turf at this track and there were 9 races total for the day. We had a great day studying the stats sheets, watching the horses pre-race and picking our favorites. We lost most and won a couple and just before the last race we were down about $16.....not bad for a days entertainment. For our last race we decided to go crazy and bet $3 on the two longshots to win, place or show. I know some of you are thinking we lost our minds......$3 on longshots?!?!?!? But we like to live on the edge, it is all or nothing here in crazyville. The horse I chose was 19:1 while Barb's horse was 22:1. At the bell they were off......at the first turn Barb's horse was in the pack while mine was last by a couple of lengths, on the back straight away Barb's horse was actually leading! My horse.......well it was still last. Coming to the last turn Barb's horse was still leading and mine had caught up to the pack and was coming around the outside. Down the final stretch Barb's horse and the favorite were neck and neck and mine had moved into 4th........At the wire, Barb's horse won and mine came in 3rd! We were both in the money and were rich! Well maybe not rich but we were definitely ahead for the day. Fun was had by all!

The next day we packed up and headed to Gulf Shores State Park in Alabama. Along the way we stopped for lunch outside of Ocean Springs Mississippi at The Shed BBQ. Our friends Scott and Detra (The Wandering Whelan Wagon) turned us on to this spot and said we HAD to stop there. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dive, The Shed BBQ is well know for their eclectic atmosphere and and outstanding BBQ. Becoming BBQ snobs, we would rate their food ahead of Rudy's and equal to The  Saltlick in Austin.

The exterior

Doors to get in and out

The floor is actually gravel

A beautiful beach town along the Gulf. We had a great site right along the water. We stayed a day and a half spending most of our time walking the beaches and campground.

 

Sand Plover

B

This guy was the greeter at the pier

She made me do it!

The next leg of our trip brought us into Florida to Grayton Beach State Park where we again stayed for two nights. We had originally reserved site #28 but after pulling up, it was obvious we were not going to fit so we went back to the office and moved to site #57. In reality, almost any site in the front loop would have suited us but #57 was a probably the best one on the loop.

While at Grayton Beach we hiked and relaxed. We also discovered that fellow RVillagers and bloggers, Jen & Deas (Nealys on Wheels), were in the park. Jen & Deas stopped by as they were walking their dogs we chatted for a bit and then made plans to go out to lunch at a local restaurant. Since they lived in Grayton Beach for quite a while, they knew the area restaurants and suggested The Red Bar. We had a good meal and a great time getting to know each other.

Lunch with "Nealys on Wheels"

 

Beach Selfie!

We once again moved on to our next destination we packed up the next day and arrived at Ochlockonee State Park in Sopchoppy Florida. Again we stayed for two days. It is a nice little park that is quiet but very tight for big rigs. There are probably only 2-3 sites that I would feel comfortable pulling into and low hanging branches and your sides rubbing as you drive through. That night we went into town to see if we could catch the Superbowl at one of the local bars, we went to the gas station and asked where in town we could catch the game. The response?.....no where. We had to go to the neighboring town where we were able to get a good meal and watch the game.

Site #28, one of two pull thrus

The next day we had hoped to break out the kayak and float some of the channels but the wind was so strong that we stayed on dry land and went geocaching instead. We had a great walk through the forest, saw lots of wildlife and found a half a dozen caches.

Barb and Daisy logging a geocache

Little Blue Heron

There were several white squirrels in the park

and lots of whitetails!

We leave tomorrow for Rainbow Springs State Park outside of Dunnellon Florida where we will be visiting some good friends Dan and Jeannie who have a winter home in the area. Can't wait!