New Orleans: (Beign)yay, We made it!
Table of Contents
Travel Day 5: Fort Collins, CO to Amarillo, TX – 483 miles
We had originally planned a stop between Fort Collins and Amarillo, but as I mentioned in another blog post (4 Crazy Days to Fort Collins), snow gave us an extra day with Louise and DB. However, that also meant we had THE longest drive of the trip on our 5th travel day. Even though most of the drive was flat, there was still some nice scenery.
An Appetite for the Big Texan Steak Ranch
Ever hear of the 72 oz Steak Challenge? Some of you probably have, but for those of you who haven’t, you can click that link and read about it. Long story short, at The Big Texan Steak Ranch, you can compete by eating an entire meal comprised of a 72 ounce steak and a few sides. The kicker – you have to consume it all in an hour or less. If you do, then it’s free!
I know y’all are wondering if Harry or I sat down at the countdown table for this, and to what is likely your disappointment, neither of us were up for it. Hell, I couldn’t even finish more than a 5 oz tenderloin steak! But, I’m here to tell ya, that steak and the sauteed mushrooms I had with it tasted fantastic!
Travel Day 6: Amarillo, TX to Hickory Creek, TX – 331 miles
Driving through Texas is sort of like driving through a foreign country; you never know what you’re going to see. For instance, we learned that duct tape indeed does have a versatility like no other – you can “write” on your car windows with it…apparently. And just look at that funky trailer! Maybe we should trade-in Ilene!?
Happy Hour
Hickory Creek was slightly out of our way on this journey, but I had some coworkers that I had only seen on Zoom since my job was one that was always remote. Since we were driving through Texas anyway, we decided a detour was in order so we could meet up with them and have some delicious food and beer!
3 Nations Brewing Company hit the spot. The Orange Creamsicle Witbier was a slight twist on their blood orange witbier – the Royal Blood – they added some vanilla, and let me tell you, that flavor took me right back to childhood and running out to the ice cream truck to get an orange creamsicle popsicle. The burgers were amazing, too!
The only thing disappointing about the evening was having to drink fast and rush off to get back to the campground. This is the one and only time we’ve ever had a curfew at a campground! Turns out, they lock their entry gate at 10 pm, and there wasn’t a code like most other places have. Nope! If you’re late, you can’t get back in until the next morning when they open it. Other than that though, it was great hanging out and chatting with everyone!
Two New Additions to Ilene
Harry got me a LevelMatePRO+ for my birthday this year. I have to say, this is the greatest gadget EVER+, and we were finally able to get this installed. Now I don’t no longer have to guesstimate our levelness with the 6″ bubble level! We also got a new grey tank cap that is easier on-off than the original one. If you’re curious, it’s the Valterra EZ Coupler Valve Cap with a handle that our dealer recommended.
Travel Day 7: Hickory Creek, TX to Austin, TX – 233 miles
One night at Hickory Creek wasn’t quite enough to enjoy the area, but was had places to go and friends to see. We didn’t have to get an insanely early start since the day’s drive wasn’t insanely long, but we got on the road again to head to Austin.
Reunited and It Feels So Good
It had been about 5 months since we had flown to Austin to see our friend, Tim. We’ve missed him a lot since he moved from Seattle. It’s nice to see him in his ultimate element though – heat and honky tonkin’.
After we got the trailer all set up at McKinney Falls State Park, we drove into town for drinks and dinner with Tim at The Little Darlin’ – go their hungry because 5 stars goes to their fried chicken sandwich and chorizo dates 🤤! Afterward, we popped into the Sagebrush for a few spins around the dance floor before we turned into pumpkins.
Have we mentioned how exhausting tearing down, driving, and setting up camp is when you only get a few hours at a stop the night before? Even for us night owls, it can get to us sometimes!
The Best Breakfast Tacos Ever
After a fun night of drinkin’ whisky and dancing, I needed my favorite breakfast tacos ever – the Migas Tacos from the Veracruz All Natural Taco Truck parked at Radio Coffee and Beer. If Veracruz ever comes to Seattle, I’ll be their number one patron. I can’t get enough of these insanely good tacos! Pro tip: add some bacon!
Two-Wheelin’
McKinney Falls State Park was a great place for biking. One day we did the Onion Creek Hike & Bike Trail (a paved 3-mile loop through the park) to see the Upper Falls. These falls are where Onion Creek pours over the limestone, which makes from some really interesting looking rock formations.
Bonkers for Brisket
In our travels, we’ve had plenty of BBQ, which means we’ve had plenty of brisket, but Harry’s has and always will be my absolute favorite. That being said, there has been one place that is almost as good, and that place is Terry Black’s BBQ in Austin, TX. Not only is their brisket insanely delicious, from their pork ribs, beef ribs, smoked turkey, and even the banana pudding, everything else is mouth-watering as well!
Touristing Towmads
We took a flight trip to Austin in October of ’22 to see our friend Tim. During that visit, we didn’t do much touristy stuff other than an overnighter we took to San Antonio. So this time, we decided to put on our walkin’ boots and people watch on Rainey Street, 6th Street, and the Congress Avenue Bridge to see the bats! When I say “walking boots”, I should clarify that those should NOT be the boots you JUST bought and haven’t worn yet. My feet were screaming at me after a few hours, but it was still worth it to check out some cool spots in Austin that we didn’t see last time.
Travel Day 8: Austin, TX to Carencro, LA – 382 miles
After a fun few days in Austin, we packed up the crew and an honorary Towmad – Mister Tim and started heading East toward Carencro, a pit stop for a few days before heading to New Orleans! I couldn’t leave without getting one last migas breakfast taco from Veracruz and a latte from Radio!You know what else we couldn’t pass up? A stop off at Buc-ees! The Wall of Jerky was no joke! We were sure to pick up a bag to have for some road snacks!
Gumbo, Gumbo, Gumbo
We pulled into Bayou Wilderness RV Campground a bit later than we’d planned, but after having a tiny issue getting the trailer unhitched from the truck (the ball was stuck in the receiver, so Harry had to pull forward ever so slightly to get it to come loose.)
But anyway, things worked out of course, so we got our rig set up (much more easily thanks to that LevelMate Pro+ I might add! By then, we were all starving so when in Rome – or well, southern Louisiana, we sought out some Cajun food!
If you are looking for delicious drinks (check out the smoked old fashioned video below) or even more delicious gumbo, then Prejean’s is the place you want to go! We had some other tasty treats but for me, the duck and andouille gumbo outshined everything else.
See Ya Later, Alligator
One thing we really wanted to do was take an airboat tour of the swamps in Louisiana. Luckily, there was some available tickets on the Atchafalaya Basin Landing & Swamp Tours in Henderson. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect, but it was a crazy fun tour. Our guide/boat captain, while sometimes difficult to understand with his southern drawl, was a good storyteller and also good at getting some of the gators to come close to the boat, much to my chagrin.
Crazy for Crawfish
When in the “Crawfish Captial of the World” (according to a declaration by the Louisiana Legislature giving Breaux Bridge, Louisiana the title in 1959)….Harry and Tim indulged in a fiery bucket of mudbugs while I tried one but then enjoyed some sausage, potatoes, and crab cakes instead at the Crazy ‘Bout Crawfish Cajun Cafe!
Travel Day 9: Carencro, LA to Westwego, LA – 137 miles
The Big Easy – Naw’lins!
We spent some time exploring the New Orleans and listening to some live music at lots of interesting venues, did some dancing, of course we drank delicious wine, beer, cocktails, one of which was Harry’s favorite, the vieux carre. We did most of the popular touristy things like:
Bacos (think bao meets taco) for dinner at Ba Chi Canteen with our good friend’s parents and walking around their beautiful neighborhood.
The St. Louis Cathedral and The St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 – We didn’t make inside the cathedral to look around, but we had to get some up-close views of the three steeples that tower above the square.
And while we weren’t able to find an available tour (RESERVE EARLY!) to get inside the cemetery, we were able to walk the perimeter, and thanks to my husband’s long arms, we snuck in a few photos as best we could.
Bourbon Street and the French Quarter
Bike riding and silly portraits in City Park
And of course, beignets and coffee from Cafe Du Monde!
New Orleans Ghost Adventures Tours – while we did end up missing out on a lot of tours of things in the city, we were able to get in on a haunted tour, our favorite, that was actually dubbed a ‘haunted pub crawl’. We all tried absinthe for the first (and last for some of us) time at the Old Absinthe House. We also saw some other eerie venues with spooky pasts, including what was said to be the home of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans.
Lake Pontchartrain, the Bucktown Marsh Boardwalk and dinner at New Orleans Food & Spirits – the lake is so gigantic, we really had to squint to see the bridge that runs across it while we were walking the marsh boardwalk. And dinner at New Orleans Food & Spirits was delicious. I highly recommend the chargrilled oysters and the marsh pasta (how could you not be curious about a dish with that name!)
A late dinner at Dat Dog – nothing like a greasy brat to end the night out in the city of New Orleans. The best one was definitely my Son of a Saint ‘Dog – check out those toppings listed on the menu! Delicious!
The Westwego Shrimp Lot – Westwego’s first open air seafood market, since 1978, we couldn’t believe how much fresh, local seafood we saw. From fresh gulf shrimp, crawfish, and even blue crabs. It’s actually zoned as a “cajun village” – a 10-acre lot that is home to dozens of independently owned vendor stalls. Harry and I also stopped in the Wego-market from some fresh fried cracklins!
Venice, LA – Not to be confused with Venice, Italy, but a quaint place nonetheless, it was a fun drive down to the southernmost point in Louisiana. We ended up stopping at the Venice Marina for beers at Crawgator’s and people watching everyone who was coming in off the fishing charters. They brought in an exorbitant amount of fish (the fish might have even outnumbered all the pelicans flying around)! They told us what they were and what method of cooking them was best, but we’d forgotten all of that helpful information after they told us about the sheepshead fish. They are the things nightmares are made of what with their human-looking teeth and all!
Dad’s Restaurant in Empire, LA – after all the fish talk and beer, we were all starving so we popped into Dad’s Restaurant (which, oddly, also had laundry service, and campsites and cabins for rent). The south is definitely known for all of their delicious fried food, and Dad’s had it in spades! While we munched on gigantic chicken wings, fried okra, cauliflower, and shrimp, a fellow at a table nearby gave us a quick lesson on how to quickly and effectively eat crawfish. These tips would have come in handy at our last destination, Bayou Wilderness RV Campground where we visited the crawfish capital of the world – Breaux Bridge.
And like I mentioned before…a LOT of food, drinks, and sight-seeing!
