Gliding across the water, the heron took flight, floating above the Cypress trees. An alligator lazed on a tree stump eyeing us as we passed by in an airboat. This happened during my stay in the Louisiana River Parishes. I took a swamp tour, devoured seafood, and learned about a rare form of tobacco. I walked through a historic Catholic church and grotto, and experienced the wonder of an extraordinary form of local entertainment at the Dr. Rodney Lafon Performing Art Center.
The Ultimate Swamp Adventure
Ultimate Swamp Tours take place in Westwego, Louisiana, part of beautiful Jefferson Parish, in the heart of Cajun country. A professional guide will take your group on an airboat ride through the swamp. You will most likely see an alligator or two.
Cypress trees, with their knees lifting out of the water, simulate an ancient water dance. We drove slowly through the thickened trees. The guide ran full throttle through the marshlands, making the grass part where it floats above the water in a green island. The marshland was filled with the rustle of bird life, including owls, egrets, and herons. The wind whipped our hair as we moved past. We spied a turtle slipping off a log and caught a short glimpse of a deer fading into the trees. While we flew through the water on our small airboat, Ultimate Swamp Tours also offered a more sedate scenic ride in a pontoon.
The Ultimate Swamp Tour is a scant 15 minutes from New Orleans, yet a world away. In those same swamps, you can rent floating cabins. They were rebuilt after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. I could picture myself sitting on the porch, watching the sun rise and set, dipping above the tranquil scene.
Tour Details
The swamp tour offers opportunities to learn about this unique ecosystem that vanishes each day. Our guides shared that Louisiana loses square miles each year due to erosion, gradual caving in, rising sea levels, hurricanes, and, of course, human intervention such as oil drilling.
The Ultimate Swamp tour travels through Bayou Segnette. The guide’s narrative highlights the history, beauty, and natural features of the swamp and marshland.
The tours offer opportunities to learn about this unique ecosystem. Bayou Segnette is a waterway that connects the Mississippi River to Bayou Lafourche and the Gulf of Mexico. History, beauty, and nature—it is a win-win.
It’s All About the Seafood!
Westwego also offers the fascinating Westwego Shrimp Lot. Here you can view fresh-caught fish and shellfish. It has been operating since 1978. I could see why they use the motto “From Sea to Table” after visiting this lot, where fresh catch goes straight from the net to the market. Charlene Hale of Visit Jefferson Parish said you must arrive early to get the shrimp; they go quickly. We were there before lunch and saw the seasonal crawfish, crab, and oysters.
Segnette Landing Restaurant
Dining in the Jefferson River Parish was a great opportunity to indulge in fresh seafood. We dined at the Segnette Landing Restaurant, which is along the Oyster Trail. The trail is marked by a series of three-foot-tall oyster statues. The one in front of Segnette Landing is shaped like a baseball glove.
The Oyster Trail was started after the 2010 BP Oil Spill. Visit Jefferson Parish partnered with the Louisiana Tourism Recovery Program for the first-ever oyster trail. The group estimates that 12 million pounds of shucked oysters are harvested annually.
At Segnette Landing Restaurant, you can order traditional seafood gumbo or an amazing seafood platter with a delectable crab cake on top.
Seithers Seafood
Another restaurant with delicious seafood is Seithers Seafood in Harahan, Louisiana. Owner Jason Seither brought out a steaming platter of freshly boiled crawfish. Charlene Hale provided a lesson in how to eat the fresh, seasonal fish. Seither’s was featured on Season 29, Episode 13 of Guy Fieri’s Diner and Dives. Besides cool indoor and outdoor dining, they also sell their own seasoning so you can try your hand at a few dishes at home.
St. Rose Tavern
St. Rose Tavern, a Cajun/Creole restaurant in New Sarpy, Louisiana, has a family-friendly, laid-back atmosphere. We enjoyed a wonderful seafood plate. The delectable bread pudding was my favorite part of the meal. The restaurant is also known for po’boys and other southern specialties.
©Cindy Ladage
Perique Tobacco Heritage
As a farmer’s wife used to Midwest corn and soybeans, this was my first time seeing the dark, fragile looking Perique tobacco. During our foray south, we learned about this distinctive and rare type of tobacco during a tour at 31 Farms. Our visit took place in an open-air barn where they hang the tobacco leaves from the beams to dry.
Working the Land
31 Farms is owned by Ricky and Derek Roussel, whose third-generation farm is one of the few remaining that still grows this rare tobacco. Perique tobacco grows only in a 30-square-mile area in St. James Parish. Native Americans originally grew this tobacco. Today, it’s used mostly in pipe tobacco.
The Rousells shared how the seeds are started, then placed in a greenhouse in water. Ricky held up a flat of seeds, showing how the water helps germination before the seedlings are planted in the fields. Derek shared that after the tobacco is picked, stripped, and de-stemmed, it’s placed in barrels under pressure. This was demonstrated with a machine that pressed the lid down on the barrel. The barrel will be opened repeatedly until the leaves are ready to dry. The musty pipe smell and the tobacco’s mahogany color made me appreciate this very labor-intensive process. Handed down through the generations, it has changed little over the years. Tours can be arranged through the River Parishes Tourist Commission.
A Plantation, Church, and Cemetery Tour
Several historic plantations in the Louisiana River Parishes share the story of the people who lived on the land. There, you can learn about Creole history as well as the plantation owners and the enslaved people whose labor made their wealthy lifestyles possible. One example is the Oak Alley Plantation, which has, over time, served as a sugar plantation, rice farm, chicken farm, and cattle ranch.
Poche Plantation
Sugar cane was referred to as “white gold,” responsible in the mid-1800s for making this area of Louisiana along the Mississippi River one of the largest concentrations of millionaires, all built on the labor of enslaved people they owned.
During our visit to this part of the world, we learned that the plantations here are not typical southern cotton plantations. They’re Creole and have their own unique story. South Louisiana was a different culture. The people who lived here were a mixture of races; many were French-speaking and Catholic. The Creole culture predates the English arrival back in the 1700’s. Tours share this history in detail.
Poche Plantation in Convent, Louisiana, was built following the Civil War by Judge Felix Poche in 1867. He lived here until 1892, when it became his summer residence. Tours are available at this Plantation, which also offers dining, bed-and-breakfast accommodations, and an RV Park.
St. Michael’s Church
Tours of the magnificent St. Michael’s Church and Grotto of Lourdes are just a short walk down the Poche Plantation property. Listed on the Register of Historic Places, the Roman and Gothic-style church was built in 1809, along with a parish cemetery. Christophe Columb, a resident, built the grotto. He was an artist, builder of stone and pottery. Florian Dicharry, a parishioner, served as architect. This is the second church to be built near here. The original church and cemetery are now at the bottom of the Mississippi River because the channel has shifted over time.
The Grotto
The church is beautiful, with its stained glass and Henry Erben organ, the oldest continuously operating pipe organ in Louisiana. The Grotto, constructed in 1876, has a fascinating history. While it is based on the design of the religious site in Lourdes, France, the local parishioners built with what was available—bagasse, or crushed sugar cane bricks. The altar consists of clam shells from the Mississippi. Also fascinating is a walk through the nearby cemetery.
Entertainment at the Dr. Rodney R. Lafon Performing Arts Center
©Cindy Ladage
Our time in the River Parishes ended with a visit to the Lafon Performing Arts Center in the town of Luling. Only about 30 minutes outside New Orleans, St. Charles Parish students can work with the center and discover their creative potential. The center’s mission is to provide all St. Charles Parish Public School students and the surrounding community members access to artists from around the globe. We enjoyed a riveting performance by Cece Teneal’s Divas of Soul, a group that mixes gospel with contemporary pop.
Sugarcane gold, luxe tobacco, olive colored marshlands, and a harvest of crawfish—those are just some of the things I will long remember from my visit to the beautiful Louisiana River Parishes.
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Read more from Cindy Ladage on Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl.
