New Roads and a False River - Part 1, Sunday, January 16, 2022

I have been behind on my blogs for a long time. Today, February 11, 2022, I am writing about January 16, 2022. This blog will again be in two parts because otherwise, it would be too long.

Our drive this morning from Zachary, Louisiana, to New Roads, Louisiana, was 32 miles. We crossed the Mississippi River on our way there. 

As we approached New Roads, our drive took us over a swampy area alongside the Mississippi River. Then we crossed the Mississippi on the John James Audubon Bridge.

The John James Audubon Bridge 
to the east of New Roads.

The swampy portion near the river.

The Mighty Mississippi River.

As we drove into the town of New Roads, we were less than impressed. It looked like a very poor town and the outskirts were very slummy - trashy, old, falling-apart manufactured homes.

Neither Susan nor I were excited to be walking in the frigid cold this morning. It was 32 degrees and felt like 21 degrees. Brr! We have both experienced the freezing temperatures on Louisiana Parish walks before. Layer-up time! On went the sweatshirt, the heavy winter coat, the knitted scarf, and warm gloves. Even that barely kept us comfortable. Whenever we turned the corner and put our faces into the wind, we got chilled to the bone.  

In New Roads, we parked at the Pointe Coupee (pronounced pon kupee by the locals) Courthouse. The history markers here are interesting. Our impression of the town changed once we actually got into downtown New Roads. 

Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse.

History of Lt. Gen. 
John Lejeune.

Susan was going to do the 10k walk and I opted for the 5k. We walked together until the split came where the 10k branched off. At that point, Susan decided to stay with me on the 5k. We shivered our way through the rest of the 5k. 

We started our walk along Main Street for six blocks. This blog will be mostly pictures.

Painting on a business next
to the courthouse.

The front of the building above.

A lovely neighborhood.

A large French Colonial plantation house.

The homes here are on False River.

"What on earth is a False River?" I wondered. So I looked it up online. False River is an oxbow lake. This lake was once the main channel of the Mississippi River in this area but was cut off in about 1722 when seasonal flooding cut a shorter channel to the east. This lake is 65' deep and 10.5 miles long. You can fish here for largemouth bass, striped bass, channel catfish, and blue catfish.

First United Methodist Church.

First United Methodist Church.

The Cottonseed Oil Mill below dates back to 1900 and operated until 1979. The building was restored in 2011. Today, the building hosts The Market at the Mill biannually. It is a shopping extravaganza that has 135 vendors and up to 5,000 shoppers on a weekend. 

The Cottonseed Oil Mill.

Some "historic homes."

A side view of the multiple rooflines
of the parish courthouse.

A Mardi Gras "Porch Pardi" theme.

A lot of homes had cute bird house or 
church-replica bird feeders.

A very charming home.

A very blue home.

This is such a beauty.

The front of the house in the photo
 above.

Great wrap-around porch.

Julien Poydras Museum and Arts Center
and Chamber of Commerce.

St. Mary of False River
Catholic Church.

Morel's Restaurant overlooking 
False River.

This is a very nice spot to walk down to see the river. There is a gazebo up by Main St. and a public restroom near Morel's restaurant. There are also a few shops down by False River in this area.

The prettily painted public restroom 
by the dock.

When we went back up to Main Street, members of our group were motioning for us to visit the building they were in. We crossed the street and found that the Pointe Coupee Visitor Center opened for us on a Sunday. They provided King Cake, coffee, hot chocolate, and let us use their restrooms. That was a wonderful gesture on their part and greatly appreciated by our frozen walkers!!

I think that might be Ruthie hiding
behind her arm, and Susan Medlin.

I got the very last piece of King Cake!

In the Visitor Center.

Look at this big bad boy!

Display in the Visitor Center.

Display in the Visitor Center.

Mardi Gras decor.

An Indian motorcycle.

New Roads Visitor Center in Pointe
Coupee, Louisiana.

I dilly-dallied a little too long in the Visitor Center and forgot that Susan Medlin had given me her car keys at the beginning of the walk because we thought we were going to split up and she would be doing the longer walk. I was trying to purchase a gorgeous T-shirt, but they only had my size locked up and the key to open up the cupboard was in the church. While I was trying to buy the shirt, I received a call from Susan reminding me that I had her keys. It was still very cold outside, so I told her I'd be right there. The car was about a block away. I apologized that I forgot I had her keys and hurried back to the car.

Everyone else had finished the walk and drove to St. Francisville to have lunch at The Francis Restaurant. We took off to have lunch with them. The restaurant looked pretty crowded, but our group already had a table upstairs and we joined them. It was a lot of fun. The food was exceptionally fresh and good. The service was excellent. I had a chicken strawberry salad with a jalapeno jelly dressing. OMG, it was delicious. The fresh strawberries were so sweet. I have no idea where they got their strawberries in the middle of winter. 

Casey and Suzanne.

Ken and Susan Fine.

The waitress's shirts.

Left to right: Casey, Suzanne, Ken, Susan,
Jerry, Ruthie, Steve, Susan Medlin and me.

Bonnie and Helen. 

After lunch, we checked into our hotel which was just across the street from the restaurant. After changing clothes and shoes and a short rest, Susan Medlin and I headed out on our St. Francisville 5k walk. It was a short drive to the start point at the West Feliciana Parish courthouse. 

To be continued in my next blog...