Shared Illusions

On to the next adventures…

We left the New Orleans area via the Lake Pontchatrain Causeway, which is the longest continuous bridge over a body of water in the world! It’s 24 miles of huggingly close to the water bridge. I read that some people freeze due to the expanse of water and must be escorted off the bridge by the police. At one point, looking left or right, you cannot see land, just an expanse of water to the horizon. I was surprised to see nary a boat – neither motor nor sail.

We enjoyed the Louisiana State Capitol building so much last year we returned. It was equally enjoyable. Here are a few photos from the 27th floor observation deck. The building itself is 34 stories high. Huey P. Long had a vision and brought it to fruition. Unfortunately, he was assassinated here while serving as US Senator. It seems Huey was gerrymandering some area to preclude a rival from being able to be elected. Said rival’s son-in-law took issue with this and shot Huey. That probably didn’t help him get elected. And then he’s got a jailbird SIL; I’m sure neither killer’s wife nor FIL were happy about this. He was a very mild-mannered looking ENT doctor. Go figure. You really can’t.

If you ever find yourself in Baton Rouge, I highly recommend visiting the caitol building and the grounds. In addition we found a restaurant with interesting food, a great atmosphere, and cocktails: Cochairs. Check it out, too!

After settling into our digs (same place we stayed last year) in Breaux Bridge, we took a walk into town, about 3/4 mile. This time I picked up a few brochures at the visitor center. One was a walking tour of the town so we proceded to follow it. Truly worthwhile! We didn’t even finish it before heading back home to continue tomorrow (whcih is now today as i write this). Well, before getting the brochure, we visited St Bernard’s church as mass had just let out. Therein, we got to talking with a local Cajun/Acadian. Got a little history about the area, about the loss of French for some due to government policies (similar to what happened to Spanish speakers and Indians in the southwest). Talked with another woman waiting for her daughter who was making her First Confession. She remarked how nervous her daughter had been and now it seemed she didn’t want to leave the confessional! Must have been an interesting conversation in there.

We’ve been in three churches in these parts. In all three, the Stations of the Cross are in French. So, while the government tried to eradicate the language and the culture, it remains strong here.

Teche is the Chitimacha tribe word for snake. Bayou Teche was once part of the Mississippi which snakes ever so much through the territory. In fact there is a sculpture depicting the Bayou as a snake with towns listed along the snake. There’s a wonderful legend that goes along with it, but would take too long to go into here. It’s right by the Bayou Teche. There’s so much history in these small towns!