Atchafalaya Welcome Center - two wings up.

We start looking for nesting sites by 4PM, and yesterday that landed us at Atchafalaya Welcome Center,  exit 121 off I-10, if you're taking notes.  We parked in the truck lot and went over to ask permission to stay overnight.  Louisiana policy is that parking is limited to two hours, and Louisiana policy is to ignore that policy.  The staff treated us like we were walking in to register at the Walduck-Astoria.  They encouraged us to come park in their RV-only section (oo-la-la!) away from the noisy turnover of the big rigs.  Free wi-fi, coffee in the morning, 24 hour restrooms, and an all-night security guard.

If you don't want to stay the night, stop in anyway, especially if you're traveling with children.  There are some nicely-done displays, a Country Bear Jamboree gone Cajun, and a short movie in a theater.  BONUS FOR PARENTS:  there is nothing to buy!  Your backseat bandits can't even hit you up for a candy bar here.

My name is not Louisiana Coffee.  

No, you cannot have me.

Jennings, LA, on the other hand, seemed downright RV-unfriendly.  We just wanted a quick stop, and the Walmart had one of those unwelcoming steel low-clearance warnings.  Yes, I see there's a low clearance because you put it there.  That's not very Walmartish, and so we blame Jennings.  RV parks often put pressure on local politicians, and then legislation is passed forbidding parking anywhere besides a privately-owned campground.  So, when you see Exit 64 beckoning you to the Jennings Walmart Superstore, clench a little tighter and drive on by.  

We've made it to Orange, Texas, my ancestral stomping, hunting, and coffee grounds.  I have dozens of cousins in these parts, and possibly one or two may want to meet me.  Literal, all around.  The ones who want to see us will have us, the ones who don't will have their piety.  Everyone wins!  No one leaves empty-handed!  This is also the stop where I leave my father's ashes behind.  He wouldn't let me do anything for him while he was alive, and this is about all I can think to do for him now.

WHOA!  RETROACTIVE BUMMER ALERT!

We might want to stay a few days, and would love to find some green boondocking site, but we're coming up empty.  Thirty to 45 minute radius from Orange would be wonderful.  Does anyone have a secret spot they'd share, just this once?

Tell me a story. I don't feel funny.

Chalmette (top) and Algiers (bottom) with ferry line marked

It's easy to see how living on the banks of the Mississippi would inspire wanderlust.  Everyone going somewhere, and you're the only one staying where you are.

Erratum:  We didn't stay overnight at the eastern Mississippi Welcome Center Friday night.  They don't have any official overnight parking (but, I wouldn't discount it entirely unless I talked to security, which is on-duty 24 hours).  I've heard that real people working at rest stops are much more sensible about sleepy driving than those grumpy "NO OVERNIGHT PARKING" signs are.  The welcome center does have free RV dumping on the way out.

We stayed in the parking lot of the Island View Casino ("more winners, more often") in Gulfport, MS.  There were several other RVs parked in the lot already, and as we pulled in, security pointed toward where we should park.   It put us a quick walk from the sand beach, but it wasn't a quiet boondocking location - lots and lots of trains.  But, it felt safe and we slept well.  The only walkable restaurant food was the casino buffet, but at $22 per person we didn't feel hungry enough to indulge.  

Here in Chalmette, we're back at the Walmart.  It's not my idea of long-term parking fun, but it's perfect for an overnighter, and man! is this spot level.  It's propane refrigerator heaven. I waited in line at Customer Service to ask permission, and the girl just said "no."  I kept looking at her for a couple of beats, and the older woman at the next station told her "You have to ask a manager."  Which she did, and I did, and he was friendly and accommodating.  Thanks, Shawn!  I'll totally recommend your perimeter lot out past the Lawn and Garden Center to friends!

Elaine, Annie's cousin, works for a construction company.  She told us that apartment buildings here dig 70 feet to pour footers.  Digging, you can begin to hit water at one foot.  There's a Lowe's just down the street that has gone out of business because locals developed a strong loyalty to any business that survived Katrina and first opened for business afterward.  That's why people in Chalmette shop at Home Depot and eat at Burger King.   

The Army CoE blew up the levee here in 1927 to save greater New Orleans.  Post-flood racial attacks triggered a massive migration of African-Americans to northern cities.  Hurricane Betsy flooded the adjacent Lower Ninth Ward when a levee broke in 1965.  And, you know what Katrina did there in 2005.

[a few hours later]  We left the city by way of the Lower Ninth Ward, on Claiborne.  Lots of houses still wear their "X."  Chalmette neighborhoods are clean and tidy, even though the vacant lots tell a story.  In the Lower Ninth, there's no need to read between the lines.

I'm obsessed with New Orleans, especially what happens here when the levees break.  If you have a story, I hope you'll tell me.

A local wrote me:  New Orleans is cold now, but by this coming weekend, she should be warm and showing off like the old whore she is.   I'm sorry I'm going to miss that.

In 1814 we took a little trip (singing optional)

You people have been cracking me up lately.  I was going to ask you to caption these photos for me, but I have control issues.

Add caption

Annie's aunt and cousin live in Chalmette, a suburb of New Orleans.  We rolled in early afternoon and they met us to show us their town.

Good looking family!

A ferry on the Mississippi River!

The Mississippi River!

A Carnival Cruise ship in the Mississippi River!

The Mississippi River!

I should have let you caption.

Crawfish po-boy.  Gumbo did not survive until picture day.

Why, Roxanne? Why? Because we stared at him until Elaine figured out it was a Corvair.  

A twofer.  Annie's relatives demonstrating the proper use of our new living room furniture.

I asked goofy questions, like "What does a levee look like?" and Elaine drove us to some.  We saw neighborhoods that had been under nine feet of water.  Many people abandoned homes after so much destruction, so the town tore them down and removed the slabs;  now they're empty lots.  Every house had sustained enough damage to be completely gutted or razed.  

The Battle of New Orleans?  Fought at Chalmette.  I displayed my extensive knowledge of the battle by asking if it was part of the Revolutionary War.  Then I sang a bit of Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans" to further impress the crowd:

Thanks, Elaine and June, for a fun time!  I don't know if you read this, but big wave!