Gay N. Martin - Louisiana Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places

Contents

To my husband, Carlton, who remains wonderfulHere is for Papou.

Gay N. Martin

Thanks to my daughter, Kelly Rose, for helping carry the load and to my grandchildren: Sean, Emma, and Dylan Rose; Stefanie, Will, Trey, and Aianna Scott; and Logan and Grayson Peters. A special remembrance to my husband, Bill Finch, whose spirit goes with me every step of the way through lifes amazing journey.

Jackie Sheckler Finch

About the Author

Gay N. Martin, who has lived in several southeastern states, now makes her home in Alabama. She has published hundreds of articles in national newspapers and magazines and especially enjoys writing about food and travel in the Southeast.

Before she made a New Years resolution to turn her writing hobby into a career, Martin taught high school for eleven years, served as resource coordinator of her schools gifted program, and sponsored the school newspaper. Her work has appeared in Modern Bride, Boston Herald, Kiwanis, Writer, Seventeen, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Times-Picayune, Far East Traveler, the London Free Press, St. Petersburg Times, and other publications. She is the author of Alabama Off the Beaten Path (Globe Pequot) and Alabamas Historic Restaurants and Their Recipes (John F. Blair).

About the Editor

An award-winning journalist and photographer, Jackie Sheckler Finch has covered a wide array of topicsfrom birth to death, with all the joy and sorrow in between. She has written for numerous publications and has been the author of a dozen books. She has been named the Mark Twain Travel Writer of the Year by the Midwest Travel Writers Association a record five times, in 1998, 2001, 2003, 2007, and 2011. She also belongs to the Society of American Travel Writers and the National Federation of Press Women. She shares her home with resident guard and entertainer, a rescued pooch named Pepper. One of her greatest joys is taking to the road to find the fascinating people and places that wait over the hill and around the next bend.

Introduction

As the world knows, the 2005 hurricane season proved to be the most destructive in recorded history. Hurricane Katrina devastated coastal areas of Mississippi and Louisiana, leaving a legacy of death and destruction in her wake. Along with heavy damage to four parishes and New Orleans, the breakdown of city levees compounded the catastrophe. Less than a month later, on September 24, Hurricane Rita struck Southwest Louisiana, severely impacting six parishes and the city of Lake Charles.

A decade later, New Orleans proper is once again a great destination offering its usual superb cuisine, wonderful music, and a storied 300-year history. True, the historic heart of New Orleans escaped with minor damage, but the devastation of low-lying neighborhoods and surrounding areas remains a study in horrors.

My own love affair with Louisiana began about five decades agoand shows no signs of cooling down. During the late 80s, I started in-depth research for this guidebook, now in its tenth edition. At that time, the states welcome centers dispensed tourism literature bags touting Louisianaas American as crawfish pie . Since then, other slogans have come and gone, but this remains my favorite because it suggests something of the states uniqueness.

meet the louisiana family

Louisianas residents represent a rich ethnic mix. This includes not only the famous French heritage but also the ScotchIrishEnglish background common to many white southerners. Other groupsAfrican American, Hispanic, and Native American, along with Vietnamese, German, Lebanese, and even Hungarianadd to the cultural gumbo of the state.

Cultural distinctions jump out at you each time you encounter a word that appears unpronounceable at first (example: Zwolle, a small town near Toledo Bend on the states western border, rhymes with tamale).

A list of how Louisiana differs from other states could start with the legal system. As Stanley reminds Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire , we have something in Louisiana called the Napoleonic Code. And consider the Long dynasty and that cast of colorful characters associated with past political regimes. Consider too that much of our unique political activity is carried out in what we call parishes, not countiescarryovers from the original divisions drawn by the Roman Catholic Church.

Louisiana dishes up diversity in the arts as well. What other state could possibly serve as a setting for Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood ? And where else would you ever see an official portrait of the governor with Blue Dog? Its true. Blue Dog shared the canvas with former Louisianas governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.

And whos Blue Dog, you say? Internationally acclaimed Cajun artist George Rodrigue conjured up Blue Dog in 1984, and the image soon grew to pop-icon status. Both Rodrigue and former Governor Blanco hail from New Iberia, and so does novelist James Lee Burke.

weather -wise

Given the humid, subtropical (meaning not-quite-tropical) climate of the state, summers can be hot in Louisiana. Winters, blissfully, are mild. Hurricanes can be a coastal-area hazard. Whatever the season, prepare for rain.