Two weeks ago, my mom, dad, Wade and I took a short road trip from our home here in East Texas to Louisiana. We are all into history so we included a little history in this trip. Our first stop was at Fort Jesup State Historic Site outside of Many, Louisiana. This fort served as a border outpost on the edge of the frontier. On this day, we were the only visitors there at the time. The docent was a young man who took his job very seriously! He was a font of information when it came to the fort and life during that time period. He spent quite a bit of time with us and even showed Wade how they made the shingles that covered the roofs of the buildings.
Our next stop took us to the Bayou Pierre Alligator Park outside of Natchitoches. What a site! We got to feed and observe several types of animals, including alligators. Then it was lunch time for the 'gators. All I can say is "Wow!" Watching them eat was unbelievable, and I was really glad that they weren't after me!
While at the park, we had appetizers of fried alligator and fried boudin balls, but we were hungry and ready for lunch when we left. We headed into Natchitoches for lunch. If you have never been to Natchitoches, it is worth the trip. The historic downtown area is situated along the Cane River and has numerous shops and restaurants. Our destination was Lasyone's Meat Pie Kitchen. We have been coming here since I was little...probably at least 30 years at this point! We come here to eat meat pies, dirty rice, and (my favorite!) bread pudding with rum sauce. It was wonderful, as usual!
With our appetites satisfied, we hit the road again heading back to East Texas. On the way, we made a stop outside of Mansfield, Louisiana at the Mansfield State Historic Site. This battlefield was the site of a major Civil War battle. Wade and my dad are very interested in anything related to the Civil War so they were excited to get to roam through the small museum. It had many first hand accounts in letters and diaries of battle participants. This was especially interesting to me because, according to anecdotal evidence, a great-great-something-or-other grandpa of mine supposedly fought in this battle.
All in all, it was a great trip, and we were only gone approximately 12 hours. I'm glad that I decided to take some short, local trips this summer. You never know what you might be missing close to home. But remember...
