A Trip to Jefferson Parish Louisiana!

It took a trip to New Orleans to the Southern Travel Explorer’s (STE) conference to get us on a plane. This was the first time my husband Keith and I had flown since 2022 when we went to Ireland with my brother and sister-in-law. We flew out of St. Louis, and the flight was Easy Peasy with plenty of time to get to New Orleans. I was excited to go to an STE conference again. I went to the first one in Tupelo, but it had been a stretch. Thank you Melody Pittman (Wherever I May Roam) for luring me back again!

Our taxi took us to the wonderful Hampton Inn Elmwood. In our room was a very nice welcome basket with a cool Jefferson Parish ball cap included. They had Keith’s fashion sense all figured out. Charlene Hale of Visit Jefferson Parish was our hostess with the mostest for this preconference press trip!

Outside of each room at the Hampton Inn, is a picture and there was a Farmall M International tractor.  Maybe they know I write for a Farmall magazine Red Power! Very fitting.

With a list of restaurants in hand, and the help of the courteous desk clerk, the next morning for breakfast, we found our way to District Donuts Sliders & Brew for a hearty breakfast. It felt good to walk. For the first time all winter we saw flowers, and didn’t need a massive coat, gloves and hat shoved down almost to our eyes. While we had eggs and bacon, we also had an impressive impulse buy of a crème brûlée cinnamon roll. Oh my!

Back at the hotel we leisurely sipped coffee and tea and waited for our seafood lunch and swamp tour in Jefferson Parish.

Segnette Landing Restaurant

After breakfast and our walk, we met up with Charlene, and the delightful Liz Mays of Get Lost in the USA that I had not seen for several years! We also met up with Katy Mann of Indy With Kids, and Suzy Beehler of Sisters of the Spoon. Like Keith, Suzy’s husband Jeff came along for lunch and the tour.

Charlene shared local information and took us on a quick tour of the Westwego Shrimp Lot before we headed to lunch at Segnette Landing Restaurant.

She said you have to arrive early to get the best of the fish selections. When we were there, we had the pleasure of seeing blue crabs, oysters, crawfish was in season, but the shrimp were already gone.

The Segnette Landing Restaurant is part of a cool Oyster Trail and was marked by a neat crab statue!

At the restaurant, in Westwego along the harbor on Bayou Segnette, the owner Joe Spinato and his business manager Nick met with the group and shared some of the wonderful seafood and Cajun dining options.

I enjoyed visiting with Nick and hearing his stories about how he and Joe had met during his previous career in aviation. Nick had retired when Joe convinced him after several tries to join the team’s marketing management. During our meal, we tried several appetizers including seafood gumbo and Charlene shared how to make the roux for the gumbo.

Keith and I selected the seafood platter to get a taste of everything. I especially liked the crab cake on top.

The group had a great time dining and listening to Joe and stories about this wonderful seafood restaurant. Thank you, Visit Jefferson Parish, and Segnette Landing for hosting us.

A swamp tour!

Ultimate Swamp Adventure provided us with an amazing highspeed airboat tour in beautiful Bayou Segnette.

Keith chose a seat right next to the Captain, and I sat right up front between Katy and Liz where we had an AMAZING view. This fun ride took us into the Cypress swamp where we saw alligators, amazing water birds, and the beauty of the Cypress knees which always astound me.

The Captain also pointed out some cabins poised right along the water that you can rent. What fun, fishing from the dock!

Speed, karting.

Charlene was able to get us our very own highspeed thrill with karting and mini-golf at NOLA Motorsports. We were the only ones there; we were so spoiled. They offer 80 + track configurations. While I can go up as high as you want and have no fear, catapulting at a high rate of speed is not my forefront. Before you ever get into the cart, you fill out a plethora of information (i.e. if you crash and burn its your fault lol) then you need a head covering before putting on the helmet that makes you look like you are entering the Middle Ages. Once outfitted, away you go!

So, while the rest of the gang were zinging past me, I was crawling along at grandma speed so slow I didn’t even post at the end. I enjoyed maneuvering the track though and the wave that Keith gave me as he sailed past.

It was fun to learn that kids of all ages enjoy this fun and it is especially popular for bachelor parties. Needless to say, I wasn’t among the winners.

Then, there were the lesser winners, I guess we could be called, the LOSERS!

More seafood yay!

Dinner was at Seithers Seafood in Harahan, Louisiana. Charlene was a font of information about how this is crawfish season, and it is a big thing to get your catch, boil them, then eat them. We had a chance to try some of this seasonal delight cooked by owner Jason Seither.

He and his wife Tara own this popular spot that has been featured on Season 29, Episode 13 of Guy Fieri’s Diner and Dives. They have won several PoBoy Festival awards and sell their own seasoning.

This casual diner was hopping and thankfully we already had a seat saved on this busy Friday night. Keith stayed in recouping from his wild go-kart ride, but the rest of us forged ahead trying new seafood adventures. Jason said his wife loves sushi, so he came up with his own Snow Crab Salad with avocado garnished with an Asian sauce for us to try. It was yummy.

We had the crawfish boil, with Charlene giving us blow by blow instructions. Pull off the skin, twist pull out the tail and eat. Then for the braver ones of the group suck the head. The tail tasted a lot like shrimp to me. Good eats! He finished the meal off with bread pudding! My phone decided to freeze up, so thank you for these photos at Seither’s to Katy Mann.

Charted Fishing experience

Charlene who knows everyone and about everything loaded us up for our fishing adventure on Saturday morning. She shared some of the Cajun history of the area as we traveled through some of the smaller towns. Growing up with a Cajun grandmother she said that when they talk they sing, and demonstrated the lyrical French sound. She also shared that many from the New Orleans area sound a bit ike they talk with Boston accent because of the nuns that came south to teach the French Cajuns English. How fun to learn!

All through our visit to New Orleans we heard stories about the impact of several of the hurricanes and how they, especially Ida, had changed the dynamics of the swamps and bayous. I guess it is a bit like the tornadoes of the Midwest.

Charlene stayed behind and posed for a photo with me and the guide.

We arrived at Jean Lafitte Harbor where we had an amazing fishing experience.

We saw beautiful bird life, had a cool swamp ride, and we saw alligators.

In fact, Suzy twice caught a gator on her line. While our guide was disappointed that the Red fish were not running, we did catch some catfish.

Keith got five.

The owner Shaw Couvas provided us with a tour of this cool landing that offers fishing charters, lodging, boat rental, oilfield services, swamp tours, and a grocery store area with a dining option in front. We had the chance to have lunch and try out the amazing cooking.

After our wonderful days with Charlene, we headed into town for the conference and the rest of our New Orleans adventures. If you have not been to Jefferson Parish Louisiana, I suggest you make plans. The people, the culture, the amazing bridges, and the water all draw you in making you ask, “When can I come back?”