Spring Break 2016

So since John is in school he gets this thing called spring break, which as a homeschooled student I never experienced. We took the opportunity to go on a sort of second honeymoon, since the first was a rather short part of a very busy time.

We reserved a very private State Park cabin which was adequately clean and furnished. The only fault to the cabin was that too many people had already slept on the bed before us. The park had a beautiful garden with man-made lake and waterfall, terraced gardens, massive flower bushes, and lots of walking paths. It was perfectly serene and very pretty.

We spent one day sightseeing in Natchidoches, LA. It's an old, old French town with beautiful homes and several historic sites. Sightseeing is exhausting, so we confined ourselves to see Ft. St. Jean Baptiste and the American Cemetery. We ate Southern fast food for lunch and Japanese for dinner, with a root beer float in between. John bought soap for our souvenir- he has a weakness for soap.

Ft. St. Jean Baptiste

The Fort was a small compound of wooden structures. It was rebuilt some forty years ago based entirely on written records, since no archeological evidence of the buildings remained. Fifty French solders were stationed there, and there were no battles during the existence of the Fort. Apparently they have reenactments just twice a year, April and December.

The American Cemetery was a very diverse mix of tombstones and styles. There were a few older stone and a few stones that looked almost home-made, which I've not seen before. There were more raised beds and more cast-iron gated plots than I usually see as well. The cemetery was pretty, but slightly unkempt. Overall it was interesting to observe how many subtle, historically-influenced cultural differences there were everywhere we went. The French influence was everywhere, with lots of fleur-de-lis patterns for decoration.

Home made?

One of several raised brick beds.

This tree had fallen and uprooted the stairs, but it's still alive.

Hodges Gardens State Park

There were several large hunks of petrified wood.

The Gardens had several layers and lots of little paths.

The Lower section.

The one and only selfie we took on the trip.

The entryway had big old trees with Spanish moss.