Hey Guys!
This post continues our 8 day trip through Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Read Days 1-3 here, Day 4 here, Day 5 here & Day 6 here
We started our morning with beignets from Cafe Du Monde since it was the closest restaurant to our hotel and we wanted something quick since we would be checking out this morning.
Tip: This is a cash only restaurant
After our purchase, we headed back to the hotel to have our beignets and coffee in the courtyard.
Once we were finished with our breakfast, we checked out of our hotel.
My hubby had really wanted to do a swamp tour before we left New Orleans so, we booked a tour with Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours.
Click here for the best swamp tours in New Orleans
After checking out of the hotel, we made the 30 minute drive to Marrero, LA where the tour company was located.
As we were leaving New Orleans, we passed this cool mural on the side of a building.
Tip: Click here to book a mural walk in New Orleans
After arriving, we went inside the office to check in.
They had a huge mounted gator in the office that they had captured in 1989. It had weighed 510 lbs!
We were the first ones to arrive so, they told us we could go ahead and board the boat.
As were walking to the boat, we spotted a metal tub that held live baby gators.
I had read where they used to let people hold them but apparently, they don’t do that anymore.
We were on boat #3.
Tip: They sell snacks and drinks on the boat
As we were waiting on the boat, we spotted an alligator that popped his head out of the water!
This area is part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve called the Barataria Preserve.
Tip: 5 mins from the swamp tour is the Barataria Preserve Visitors Center
Once everyone had boarded the boat, we made our way down a small canal.
This area encompasses more than 26,000 acres of wetlands and has over 200 species of birds.
Of course, there are also plenty of gators in this area and we saw several on our tour!
There have been a few celebrities that have also taken this tour!
Click here to see movies that have been filmed in this area & Click here to see the filming locations of Where the Crawdads Sing.
Heading out to open waters
The tour guide pointed out a huge eagle’s nest in a nearby tree….sadly, no eagles were in the nest.
It wasn’t long before we spotted a gator….most of the gators we saw were not very big.
Our second spotting happened right in front of a sign that said, “Now entering Gator Country”!
We saw a few birds on the tour…
We spotted a total of 5-6 gators on this tour!
Shots of the preserve
The company owns several boats so you will see other boats in the area….we only saw one other boat on our tour.
I loved all the moss covered trees!
Heading back towards the boat dock
This area sustained damage during Hurricane Ida and are still recovering.
I loved the tree covered canal!
After about 1.5 hrs, we were back at the boat dock.
Read reviews here
We couldn’t leave without having our picture made in front of the sign!
My hubby had asked the tour guide if he could recommend a place for lunch and he recommended Cajun Daiquiris and Cafe so that’s where we headed next.
The restaurant was located approx. 10 mins from the swamp tour.
After arriving to the restaurant, we were a bit apprehensive as it didn’t look like much on the outside.
We walked in and there was only one couple sitting inside….not a good sign!
After looking over the menu, we decided to order the shrimp po boys in hopes they would be better than the last ones we had!
Our sandwiches came with a side so I ordered the baked macaroni while the hubby opted for fries.
We also decided to order a bowl of chicken gumbo to share.
Y’all, this food was delicious! It was some of the best food we had on our trip!
This is what po boys should look like!
The lady that owned it, was there and she was 90 years old and had been cooking for over 50 yrs!
After leaving here, we started our 5 1/2 hr drive to Tupelo, MS!
Shortly after leaving the restaurant, we passed the beautiful Hope Haven Church.
This building was built in 1925 and started as a home for orphan boys and those from impoverished families.
In 1932, Madonna Manor, built across from Hope Haven, was built to accommodate more students, including girls and all the students from the Chinchuba Institute for the Deaf.
There were several buildings that made up the campus at Hope Haven.
Today, the Hope Haven campus houses numerous services run by Catholic Charities.
On our drive, we had to pass back through New Orleans.
We passed the National WWII Museum.
We also passed the superdome.
Crossing into Mississippi..
We arrived to our hotel around 6 pm.
I booked a room at the Hotel Tupelo.
Our room was very spacious!
We had a king size bed and a very large bathroom!
Read reviews here
After getting settled into our room, we headed out to dinner.
We had researched some of the restaurants in this area and had found one called the Blue Canoe so we decided to eat there.
After arriving, we had to wait about 15 mins before getting seated.
The restaurant was not very big on the inside but they had a few tables outside as well.
After being seated, we looked over the menu.
We decided to start with the Crack Dip Fries.
These were fries covered in a spicy sausage cheese dip and they were delicious!
For my main course, I ordered the pork and greens which was pulled pork over grits with turnip greens and cornbread and the hubby ordered their award winning BC Burger.
Their BC Burger had been voted in the top 10 burgers in the state and they are a 3 time winner of the Best Dessert in MS from Mississippi Magazine.
The food was so good!!
See their full menu here
After eating, our sweet waitress brought us out a free dessert!
She said we just had to try it!
It was the Connie’s blueberry donut bread pudding and it was out of this world!
The dessert was made with Connie’s famous blueberry donuts...a five time winner of best dessert in MS Magazine.
These are made at Connie’s Chicken in Tupelo.
See reviews here
After our dessert, we headed back to our hotel and called it a night!
Thanks for reading!
Stay tuned for Day 2 in Tupelo!
Click here to see links to all of my blog posts