What to do in Louisiana in February/March - Non-Tourist Approach

[coolpool]

Hello Southern brethern. Thinking of a warm vacation down South this winter and was leaning towards LA. Trying to think outside the box on what to do besides barfing on Bourbon St. which most Canadians probably do. We'll visit there one day but was thinking of sights around the state that would be better suited for 55 year olds who still like to have fun without large crowds. A swamp boat tour would be nice, good food..YES, fishing...always....maybe visit some plantation type properties. IDK...what do you think?

[ATC King]

I spent about half an hour replying, but the website farted and lost it all.

Maybe I'll do it again later this week

In short:

Food-everything, allergic to shellfish (too bad)
Music- WWOZ, Bong Hits for Geezers
Travel-Small towns, Zwolle last alphabetically in US?

Stay out of big cities. If in NOLA try taking the barge to Algiers Point and the Old Point Bar.

Want to experience Voodoo history, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1

Dangerous narrow, rough, elevated roads through swamp. Paint eating love bugs. Drive-thru daiquiris.

[TexFest]

Check out da restorations


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[big specht]

Shoot hogs from a air boat :w00t:and drive around and check out the land it’s a lot different from up there

[coolpool]

Check out da restorations


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Can you elaborate on this?

[ATC King]

Swap air boat rides, for sure, but have you ever taken a paddle boat trip on the Mississippi River? Maybe even one that has a casino on it?

Samuel Clemens would approve.

[TexFest]

Can you elaborate on this?

A trike restoration shop


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[ATC King]

D&A Restorations, LLC

https://www.da-restorations.com/

[coolpool]

Swap air boat rides, for sure, but have you ever taken a paddle boat trip on the Mississippi River? Maybe even one that has a casino on it?

Samuel Clemens would approve.

Looked into an all exclusive paddle boat tour....$8K US which would equate to over 10K Cdn....ouch. Might look into a day trip though.

[coolpool]

Shoot hogs from a air boat :w00t:and drive around and check out the land it’s a lot different from up there

I would approve but the wifey....not so much, lol. Although we're a hunting family, we eat what we shoot and she definitely isn't present for any kills. I tried explaining that they are vermin but nope. I'd like to tour some backwoods for sure and maybe swig a beer at a local pub, could be fun. I had a blast in Indiana at TF2015 and have travelled in 18 states thus far to varying degrees.

[coolpool]

A trike restoration shop


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Ah I see, thanks. ATC King sent me a link also.

[ATC King]

If you like pubs and are going to be in NOLA, may as well drive across Lake Pontchartrain to the Abita brewery. They're one of the better known craft breweries outside of the state. Purple Haze is probably their flagship beer, but Andygater is on top of my list. Turbodog is pretty darn good too.

https://abita.com/

I'm a nut for collecting growlers. If I've got room in the vehicle while traveling, I'm getting a new growler. It seems like more breweries are using crowlers though (can growlers). Glass or pass for me.


I didn't realize riverboat tours could be so expensive. When the casino boats were new in Shreveport they had to travel on the river to be legal. That's the Red River though. Later, they could be docked while gambling was open, but still had to undock periodically and travel to be legal. They'd call it out over the speakers ahead of time in case anyone wanted to get off before. They also had employees walking the casino floor with a small beer keg on their back, pouring free beer. The keg pump was a handle over their shoulder and the cups were carried on a dispenser. Free Suds! was their call.

Those days are gone though. Free beer and free river boat rides as long as you were gambling. It was fun while it lasted.

[DAM shop]

Depending on what kind of time you are looking at head to Daufin island Alabama. It’s a nice quiet Island couple hour drive from New Orleans.

[Shep1970]

Well if your bringing the wife its not gonna matter what "you" want to do anyway:D I bet she's got your trip half way planned already and just maybe can fit "your" ideas in.

As long as you have a nice hotel, pool, hot tub/jacuzzi and a pool bar and a good burger joint your all set.......:beer
crap now i want to go........

shep

[rettespeedup]

I found this list, but most of the stuff that was mentioned in the article is done by tourists:

https://travel.usnews.com/New_Orleans_LA/Things_To_Do/

[ATC King]

As long as you have a nice hotel, pool, hot tub/jacuzzi and a pool bar and a good burger crawlfish po-boy joint your all set.......:beer
crap now i want to go........

shep

Note to anyone traveling anywhere in the contiguous US states is to remember how large most of them really are and all the small towns with their own celebrations and activities. Like traveling through the west and hitting a bunch of the local rodeos, all kinds of wonderful things can be found in lesser known places. Sometimes the most direct or easiest way to find those gems is from flyers posted in the local convenience store window or in the post office (which most have pin boards just for that). Not everything is online and not every city or town wants to attract hordes of selfie taking, brain-dead tourist, but they'll most certainly welcome people with a genuine interest to enjoy and participate in local events.

Want to really have a unique and non-tourist experience? Local events are usually run by volunteers and they appreciate all the help they can get. Got a different accent...going to have a lot of people asking where you're from and likely thank you for visiting and certainly for helping.

[coolpool]

All great tips folks thanks.
As life would have it, our daughter has just announced her wedding is now next September so the money pool will now flow another way as expected. We will get down there at some point as we're full of the all-inclusive Mexico route having done it a few times.