Carving a Niche
Glimmers of a December sun reflect wildly off the wet ground, a slick, dark floor of fallen leaves and mud left by last night’s rain. A hatchet that looks like it has earned its rust leans across a thin handrail…
Best Hunting
For the Birds
“Adventures of a Louisiana Birder, 1 Year, 2 Wings, 300 Species” by Marybeth Lima A tale of intrigue, a near-death experience, humorous mishaps and a year-long road trip. Does this sound like the most recent account from your favorite dashing…
Catch of the Day
Bonus: Louisiana seafood a local and sustainable food! But if you’re watching your weight and trying to stay heart healthy, is it something to embrace or avoid? The Good News! Local seafood is good for you! Molly Kimball, a registered…
Pelican Briefs
KEITHVILLE Expansion Underway for Refuge They react with indignation, laugh like us, wage war, they are selective at choosing friendships and their ability to remember numbers on a screen at age 5 is considerably higher than adult humans. When it’s…
Critical Conservation
In 2014, the Mississippi River Basin was designated a Critical Conservation Area by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The river is home to countless species of wildlife as well as a source of drinking water, recreation and industry for millions.…
Paradise Lost
Sitting in solitude, cross-legged, with the Gulf waters gently rolling onto shore, former president Theodore Roosevelt seemed at peace on the remote Louisiana barrier island. One can see why — he worked to save it, after all, and he had…
'Lake Charles,' the Song
I am willing to accept that there are lots of things in life that I don’t know. What bothers me however, is the things that I don’t know, but everyone else seems to know. As I stood near the front…
Jefferson Highway
Before his company created Better Homes & Gardens and other memorable magazines, Edwin T. Meredith covered America’s farms. Almost exactly 100 years ago he was reporting on transportation trends, noting the rise of the automobile and the completion of the…
Peachy Keen
The Louisiana Peach Festival has been around since 1951. The surrounding area is known for its wealth of peach orchards and the event has grown exponentially since its inception. It now includes a kid’s fishing tournament, tennis tournament, rodeo, parade,…
Take a Louisiana Staycation
Louisiana is home to culture like no other American state. From one corner of the state to another, visitors will find a rich gumbo of culture that is a blend of Native American, Canadian, French, Spanish, African, German and more…
Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
Stroll through the historic downtown of New Iberia and you’ll find gracious live oak trees, beautiful historic homes and the Shadows-on-the-Teche plantation, spots where James Lee Burke used in his best-selling novels and the cement Grotto of Our Lady of…
Visit Arkansas
With rugged mountains, quiet plains, active cities, and quiet towns, Arkansas offers a variety of experiences for travelers seeking fun in the great outdoors, one-of-a-kind learning experiences, delicious Southern food, and a vibrant arts, crafts, and music scene. From kayaking…
Summer Fun
Fun is warming up across Louisiana this season—festivals highlight the best of the state, applauding community, food, music and more. From Louisiana’s sweet corn and juicy peaches to slow-roasted cochon de lait, the state’s agricultural offerings call for delicious seasonal…
Sale on the Trail
If you love a treasure hunt, be it a garage sale, estate sale or searching through thrift and antique shops, you’ll not want to miss the 11th annual El Camino Real Sale on the Trail. This highway-long shopping extravaganza May…
Coca-Cola And Joseph A. Biedenharn
Atlanta claims Coca-Cola but Joseph A. Biedenharn was the first bottler of the soda pop sensation and he built his home in Monroe. Visitors can tour the elegant home and gardens built in 1914, plus view the neighboring Coke…
Boating the Basin
If you’ve traveled along Interstate 10 between Baton Rouge and Lafayette, you’ll have ridden across one of the world’s longest bridges. The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge — actually a pair of parallel bridges — stretches more than 18 miles and is…
Be A Doll
I’m not a doll fan, had a few small ones as a child but most dolls with their vacant stares or beady eyes appeared a bit freaky to me. Call me a geek, but I veered toward rock collecting and…
Magazine Street
Magazine Street is well known for being a shopping destination, but the thoroughfare also offers a wider variety of experiences that begin near Canal Street and extend all the way to Audubon Park. From school children learning French and…
Relive the siege at Port Hudson
My first battlefield experience was Bull Run in northern Virginia, the first full skirmish of the Civil War and one that would repeat itself years later. Listening to the park ranger talk of flanks and advances while staring at…
Eating Our Way Through Shreveport
Go ahead, twist our arm! The 318 Restaurant Week, a citywide promotion of local restaurants organized by the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau and its partners, returns March 18 through 23 at more than 50 participating restaurants. Lunch and…
The Hunt For Beignets In Acadiana
When fellow travel writers come to town, it’s on me to make sure they experience the best of Louisiana. Such was the case when Pamela Wattenbarger of Georgia arrived in Lafayette for Mardi Gras. Acadiana tourism folks planned to…
Farther Flung: Southern Hospitality
Atlanta may be the most-visited but rarely-seen city in America — its international airport calls itself the world’s busiest in terms of passenger traffic. But if you’re like many travelers and only visit Atlanta to change planes, it’s time to…
Traveler: Pirate Tales
The town of Jean Lafitte invites you to meet its favorite pirate and explore his Barataria wetlands with dry feet. Predictably, the town holds the title of unofficial guardian of its namesake’s place in history, but local bragging rights don’t…
Kitchen Gourmet: Crawfish Feasting
Sometimes crawfish remind me of shmoos. Remember them? The small animals Al Capp introduced in his Li’l Abner comic strip in 1948. They were so accommodating they would jump into the pot and transform themselves into whatever you wanted to…
------LOUISIANA CALENDAR------
