Lake Pontchartrain (11/2) New Iberia (11/3)

It is cold again this morning, 47 degrees, but not much wind so it feels a little warmer.  We are out early to beat the crowd at the Cafe Du Monde.  This is suppose to be the best place in New Orleans to get beignets.  This is where the wait was one and a half hours yesterday.  We arrived there at 8:30 and there is already a line but not a long one.  We had to wait about 10 minutes.  Beignets and coffee, hot chocolate and cold drinks is all they serve here.  I thought the line was to order but is is to get seated.  I place my order and I can see from the other tables that the beignets here look much better than the ones I had yesterday.

 The beignets here are thick and yummy, no at all greasy.  They must own stock in powdered sugar, they put tons of it on them and the plate.  I had a Cafe' Au Lait, never had one before and quite like it.  Just the right mix of coffee and half and half.  Joe just had a fresh squeezed orange juice.   Once done we walked around a bit and went back to one of the shops we liked.  In talking to the owner he was telling us that the Cafe Du Monde is open 24 hours and if you go later in the evening like 9 or 10 pm you have a good chance of seeing celebrities.  It is not crowded then and that is when the celebrities come out for beignets.

When we get back to the park we decided to drive across Lake Pontchartrain.  This is a 24 mile long bridge that you drive across and for a little bit you see nothing but water.  It is a little spooky not being able to see land.

The bridges go up high then plunge down the other side as you go over them.  This is to allow boats to go under it.

 Once across we looked for some place to have lunch but didn't find anything but fast food you can get anywhere.  We like to eat at local places that have a different flare to them.  So we decided to go back across the bridge instead of taking the long way around which would take several hours.  As we approached the bridge we see to go back across the bridge there is a toll.  Only $3 so not bad.

The sky line of New Orleans from the bridge.  The roads are so bumpy that it is hard to get a good picture.


Back at the park Joe went back into the French Quarter for lunch, I wasn't really hungry just tired and didn't want to walk any more.  He ate at Huck Finn's and had a shrimp poor boy sandwich.  He was in and out of bars and the casino for most of the afternoon watching the NASCAR race on TV.  He finally gave up on it and came back to the park.

We leave in the morning for New Iberia LA.  It is not a long drive so no need to be up early or hurry.
The morning is really nice about 10 degrees warmer than the last few days.  We take our time getting ready and leave around 9 am.  It is a hectic drive until we get out of rush hour traffic and get on hwy 90.  Now it is very pleasant accept for the road being so bumpy.  I don't know what they do to there roads here but you always feel like you are bouncing down the road.  It is impossible to read or sleep.
We have to go over the Huey P Long bridge, this is a really cool looking bridge.


There are two bridges that go across the river, one to hwy 90 and the other into town.
The pic on the right shows how all the other bridges on this road look.  Way high over the bayou and then down they are not very long.


Once in New Iberia we arrived at the KOC RV Park.  That is right it is KOC not KOA, just in case you thought I hit the wrong letter.  It is not a bad park we have nice park area at our back window.  Most of the people here appear to be permanent.  We get somewhat set up and go into town for a lunch of gumbo.  I really like chicken and sausage gumbo.  Then to the visitor center to get an idea of what we want to do while here.  There is Avery Island, where Tabasco Pepper Sauce is made.  They have a Jungle Gardens you can go through as well as tour the Tabasco plant and many other things.  We have heard from people we met in New Orleans that is worth going to.  Also there is Jefferson Island noted for it's garden's and restaurant and the Joseph Jefferson Mansion. We plan on doing both of these if the weather permits.  It is suppose to rain one or both of the days we will be here.  We also plan on driving through some of the Bayou's here.  Hopefully tomorrow won't be nasty weather!!!!!