May 5 and 6 Travel to Pigeon Forge
We spent the first night at a Wal-Mart in Attala, AL. There were lots of big rigs that pulled in and out of here. Wal-Mart has signs up that say they could not park here but they must allow them to stop for a nap before going on down the road. None stayed over-night but there was always some there through the evening and the next morning before we left. In the morning we left about 8:30 and soon were we in Tennessee. As we get closer to Chattanooga we are reminded of our stay here in 2004. At that time we did a little site seeing and took an Incline Railway up to the top of Lookout Mountain. There is a beautiful view of the city from there. These pictures were taken from Lookout Mountain in 2004.

A little further up the highway we saw signs for the Ocoee River which brought back memories of our drive through the Ocoee River basin and the Whitewater Center where some of the 1996 Summer Olympics were held. It is a gorgeous area too.

April 13 thru May 4 New Orleans Area

We traveled just 200 miles today to the New Orleans area. We had hoped to stay at the State Park in Madisonville but it was full and we backtracked about 25 miles west to the Hidden Oaks RV Park in Parker, LA. We will stay here until next Monday when we have reservations at another State Park in Mandeville, LA. We have stayed there in Mandeville many times when in the New Orleans area. It is a very nice park with lots of places to walk, right on the Ponchetrain Lake, and has special rates for Golden Age Passport members, only $8 per night. We can only stay 2 weeks at a time but that is all we plan to stay this year. The park was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Katrina and has been restored quite nicely with new bath houses and a big beautiful fish pier and beach on the shore of the lake. The trees really took a hit and are just now coming back, looks sort of like a tornado went through.New Orleans is having their well known annual Jazz Fest while we are here and Gene’s brother and wife who live in Florida will also be here. On Friday, April 17, we went to NO to the French Quarter Jazz Fest which is not the same as the NO Jazz fest. Gene found out about it while talking with a lady here in the RV Park. She told him it was free and there would be several bands. It was just as she said, about 10 band stands across all of the French Quarter and River Walk in NO….and about a kabillion people. They changed bands about every 2 hours so there was lots of different kinds of music. We had a great time. Got there about noon and were still walking and enjoying the music at 5. We decided to ride the St. Charles Street Car just for fun which was to opposite direction of where our car was parked, about 10 blocks. We got to the pick-up stop and waited nearly a half hour but it did not show up so we walked all the way back to the car. Needless we say, we were tired after being on our feet 6 hours today. We walked about 17 blocks to get there and another 16 in a different direction to get back to our car. On Friday April 24 we went to the Destrehan Plantation just west of New Orleans. It was established in 1787 and is the oldest documented plantation home in the lower Mississippi Valley. Its original owner only lived in it for 2 years at which time he died. The noble Destrehan families purchased it in 1792. At the time of purchase the plantation was growing and refining indigo but very soon the Destrehan family changed to sugar cane and the family perfected the granulation of sugar. This plantation, like many, was like a small village comprising 6000 acres stretching for 2 miles along the Mississippi River and north to Lake Ponchetrain. Everyone worked including the family and the slaves who were treated quite well. The slaves were not over-worked and in their free time had a garden and sold their crops back to the owners, to other communities and to farmers markets. In 1864, while the family was living abroad, the Union Army seized the house and established the Rost Home Colony where newly freed slaves learned trades. After the war it was returned to the family. But in 1910 was sold and at that time the cash crop became refining of oil. In 1959 the oil refinery closed down and for twelve years the house decayed. Then it and four acres of land were deeded over to the River Road Historical Society. Renovation began in 1971. It now has been completely restored and filled with early to mid 19th century furnishings. The guided tour was very interesting and full of info about the lifestyles of the families and the slaves.

On April 24 we drove to New Orleans to go to a very boring small Civil War Museum. We expected much more or would not have gone there. After, we found a restaurant serving Mexican food on Magazine Street near the Garden District and then drove through the 9th Ward that was nearly wiped out by Katrina. It looks much different but still many houses are just standing there, empty and broken. It appears to us that about ½ or less of the homes have been restored and are being lived in. It seems like many of them had new roofs put on but then did nothing else. We assume insurance may have covered that but not the flood damage. Most have cleaned up around the homes but a few have done nothing and the weeds are about 5 to 6 feet high. It would be hard living next to some of the areas. Many shopping malls and some Wal-Mart’s are still standing vacant. But it looks so, very much better than when we last saw it.

Gene’s brother did not come for the NO Jazz fest so we will not be going there either since we saw the French Quarter Fest earlier. We left Fountainbleu State Park on May 5. This is one of our favorite campgrounds across the USA. First of all we get a very special price here, there is no extra fee for a park permit, and it is beautiful. Hurricane Katrina did lots of damage here but they have rebuilt the campground…even better than before. The beach along the north shore of Lake Ponchetrain is beautiful and they have added a very nice decorative fishing pier. We love walking and riding our bikes along the many roads through the area. Most of the big very old Live Oaks withstood the winds. Many of them lost upper branches but they are growing back. We will be back here again someday. Thanks, Louisiana, for making your state parks affordable for senior citizens.