Lake Pontchartrain and a Visit

My sister Kathy flew into New Orleans to spend a week touring Lake Pontchartrain with us. It was more about the visit and Jill getting some girl time than the trip really….

Kathy got in Sunday night so we spent Monday in New Orleans and went into town for a bit then provisioned for the week. Tuesday we crossed the lake to the north shore and the town of Madisonville. On a clear day you can see the high-rises across the lake but Madisonville is a whole other world. Their town dock charges $20 a night with power and is paid at city hall.

We were greeted by some folks measuring the dock for their Mardi Gras boat parade and they really wanted us to stay till the weekend and join in, it was tempting. Next morning we woke to keys left on our side deck to a truck parked nearby and a note to help ourselves…what a great town and people!! We didn’t need the truck to explore the town but really appreciate the gesture. We did tour a nice museum giving the history of the lake and how it has effected the towns around it through history. The building is raised and the area underneath is a shop devoted to building and restoring wooden boats. The town hosts a wooden boat festival in the fall that is supposed to be fantastic.

We spent 2 nights in Madisonville and then moved east back to Slidell. The entrance to the Tchefuncte (cha-funk-ta) River and the town of Madisonville is tricky and it was nice to be guided in by the lighthouse even in the daytime.

After Slidell we had to exit the east side of the lake and enter the intercostal waterway for the trip into the industrial canal and New Orleans. As we passed under the I-10 bridge we saw some nice detail that people driving on the bridge have no idea is there.

Along the ICW we passed through part of the new flood wall system that completely circles the city. Hopefully this will prevent the flooding that Katrina brought to the city when the next one hits. 

Once in the industrial canal we were treated to the sight of PT 305 going through her sea trials before moving to the lake and giving rides. It’s part of the National WW II museum and the story about her restoration can be read here.

Saturday morning we headed into town to catch our first real New Orleans Mardi Gras parade. This was the weekend before the big Mardi Gras weekend so the crowds and parades were much smaller, fine with us! Kathy got into the spirit and took tons of pictures and caught some beads (OK, we all did).

I’m saving Mardi Gras for its own post, can’t do it justice otherwise. We did get a bonus night with Kathy when her flight was cancelled. Unfortunately, it was the NBA All Star weekend in town so no other flights were available till Monday. Oh well, roll with it!

Jill & I left New Orleans Wednesday and headed west to Houma LA for Mardi Gras weekend and Fat Tuesday, done well, but without the crowds of New Orleans. That’ll be for the next post as well. I’ll leave with a couple more pictures of the girls and their Mardi Gras bounty.