The Keetons decided to make a trip to Disney World over spring break and invited us to come....we didn't need any coaxing. We decided to drive the Mirada and see some sites along the way. Last The last time we did this trip we skipped the gulf coast in Louisana, Mississippi, and Alabama so this time we decided to check it out. On March 4th we left Dallas and traveled to Beaumont, TX. From there we began our journey to explore the Louisiana coast.
On March 5th we took Hwy 27 down to the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge and followed it through the lowlands along the LA coast. This is a major bird watching area and we explored several boardwalks across the swamp looking for birds and alligators (we saw birds but no gators). That night we stayed in Lafayette, LA.
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| Sabine National Wildlife Refuge |
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| Bird watching stand |
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| Ferry Crossing at Calcasieu Lake |
Next day we headed to New Iberia and Jeanerette, LA, two very quaint towns of the old south. These towns were built on the sugar cane economy and a number of the mansions built by plantation owners have been preserved. Jeanerette has a French bakery called LeJeune's that sells amazing french bread and pastries. There is a little red light attached to the sign or their storefront. When the light is on they are open for business and have fresh french bread. We stopped and bought some bread and it was as good as advertised.
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LeJeune's Bakery in Jeanerette, LA
The red light is on so they're open for business! |
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| Mansion in New Iberia |
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| Shadows on the Teche - one of the historic mansions in New Iberia, LA |
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| Sugar cane field |
We drove through miles of sugar cane country along the Louisiana delta on Hwy 90 and then headed north to pick up I-10 where is passes through New Orleans. That afternoon we followed I-10 east to Gulfport, MS where we spent the night. The next day we followed I-10 to Mobil, AL and then dropped down on Hwy 98 to follow the gulf coast to Pensacola, FL. On Thursday (3/8) we again picked up I-10 east and made it to Tallahassee, FL. On Friday we headed for Orlando and arrived at Kissimmee RV park that night.
Saturday through Monday we spent at Disney World with the Keetons (John, Kathryn, Akston, Reayen, Elynn). We had a wonderful time with their family and thoroughly enjoyed the whole Disney experience.
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Grandkids with Minnie
(Akston, Reayen, Elynn) |
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| Swimming at Coronado Springs Hotel |
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| Grandkids on the rides at Disney World |
On Tuedsay 3/13 we said our goodbye's to the Keetons and Disney World and headed up the eastern Florida coast. We spent the night at Brunswick, GA. Then we went inland to Petersburg campground on Thurmond Lake in GA where we stayed 2 nights
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| Petersburg Campground near Augusta, GA |
On Friday 3/16 we stayed at Greenville,NC and the following day headed to Smokemont Campground in Smokey Mountain NP. On the way we stopped at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site. This site includes the Carl Sandburg home and surrounding property. We took a tour of the home and were amazed by the number of books he kept in his house....most rooms and hallways were lined with book shelves. We were also impressed by his philosophy of life.....his least favorite word in the English language was "exclsive".
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| Carl Sandburg Home |
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| View from hilltop near Sandburg Home |
At Smokemont Campground we met our friends Robert and Lani Graves. We spent one day touring the Great Smokey Mountain NP and one day touring Asheville, NC. Smokey Mt NP is beautiful and Robert and I took a hike to some pretty water falls. In Asheville we visited a glass blowing factory and checked out the Biltmore estate. We decided not to take the Biltmore tour at this time because it's very expensive and we didn't have the time to make the tour worth while.
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| Water Fall in Great Smokey Mt NP |
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| Original cabin in the GSM NP |
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Grave of William Parker (pen name O'Henry)
in Asheville, NC |
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| Glassworks in Asheville (they gave great demonstrations) |
On Tuesday (3/20) we headed to Harrison Bay State Park near Chattanooga, TN where we stayed 2 nights. On Wednesday we toured the Chattanooga Civil War battlefields including Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain. Then we ate at Uncle Larry's reataurant, a local fish joint.
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| View of Chattanooga from Lookout Mountain |
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| Robert, Lani & I |
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| Eating at Uncle Larry's Restaurant |
On Thursday we left Chattanooga and headed to the Natchez Trace. We stayed the night at Meriwether Lewis Campground and then drove down the Trace for the next two days. We've done this drive a few times before but we never get tired of it. On 3/24 we arrived at Vicksburg, MS where we stayed at the American RV park for 2 nights. On Sunday 2/35 we toured the Vicksburg National Historic Park and visited the Civil War battlefields located there.
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| Meriwether Lewis Monument on the Natchez Trace |
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| Fall Hollow Falls along the Trace |
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| Indian Mounds |
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| Liz, Robert and Lani walking the Trace |
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| USS Cairo ironclad Civil War Battleship |
On Monday 3/26 we parted company with the Graves. They headed east to visit Robert's sister and we headed west and back home. We had a great time and particularly enjoyed seeing the Great Smokey Mountain National Park for the first time.We added the Biltmore Estate tour and Blue Ridge Parkway drive to our "to do" list for next time we're in the area.
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