State 46: Louisiana

To be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed with Mississippi and I didn’t have high hopes for Louisiana. These were both states that I didn’t really have a desire to go to other than wanting to check them off my list. 

In fact, I have always disliked New Orleans ever since I was a kid. When I was little, my parents took me to some fundraiser that was New Orleans themed. I hated the food and I remember getting in trouble at the fundraiser so ever since then I’ve despised New Orleans. (totally valid reasoning, right??) Not only that, but I know it’s a party city and that’s not really my style. 

If there was one thing that I was looking forward to though, it was the swamp tour. I booked through Cajun Encounters and had a great time! We took a boat through the Honey Island swamp and got to see alligators and raccoons! I even got to hold a baby gator! 

Gator sighting! 

I love raccoons! 

Holding a baby gator!  He was so sweet!

I know the swamp tours are such a touristy thing to do, but we don’t have that in Ohio so to me, it was worth it and still cool! 

After that, I drove the rest of the way to New Orleans and checked into my hotel. It was going to be getting dark soon, but I really wanted to see Bourbon Street. Bourbon Street is iconic New Orleans and I always thought the architecture looked cool. I decided to take an Uber to a restaurant I knew was close to Bourbon Street.  That way, I could walk to Bourbon Street, eat dinner, and Uber back. (can’t drive on Bourbon Street.)

Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street

The restaurant I found was called Mona Lisa and it was excellent! Not only that, but I made a friend! 

I don’t know his name, but he lives within biking distance of the restaurant. We had a lot in common and talked about travel, picky eaters, his children, and it was a very enjoyable evening! 

The next morning, I woke up and headed to the World War II museum. I only had a couple hours before I had to catch my flight so I didn't have nearly enough time to explore everything. I quickly breezed through the exhibits and it reminded me of a museum I went to in London. People could spend days here just looking and reading through everything.

While I was in New Orleans I saw a billboard for Mardi Gras World. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit, but it seems like such a touristy New Orleans thing to do and I kind of wish I had more time! It showcases the history and craftsmanship of Mardi Gras. If I'm ever in New Orleans again, I will probably try to stop here!

Also, the tour company that I did the swamp tour with, offers other tours (including bus and walking tours) of New Orleans that would be interesting. Again, if I had more time, I would probably add on one or two of those as well! 

Overall, I enjoyed my time in New Orleans more than I thought I would! I don't know if I'll go back, but I wouldn't be opposed! :) 

State 45: Mississippi

Let me start out by saying…I did not intend on visiting either Mississippi or Louisiana this year. 

The plan for 2026 had been Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. (Idaho with the girls and Washington/Oregon with Mike)

At some point I learned that Oregon and Washington are the only two states that my dad still needs to complete his 50 states. I asked him if he wanted to come with us and he seemed interested… that got me to thinking… what if my dad and I could complete our 50th state together?! 

I’m now on a mission to get my other three done so I can complete my 50th state the same time my dad completes his. How special would that be!? 

There was a weekend of opportunity in which I wasn’t dog sitting so I planned that weekend for MS/LA. 

Mississippi:

Stupid me booked a flight for 6am so I had to wake up at 3:39am Friday morning. Not cool. 

I landed in Jackson, Mississippi around 10am which was nice because then I pretty much had the whole day to explore. 

I had an interesting seat mate who I thought was going to get herself arrested. As soon as the plane landed (we weren't even at the gate) she jumped up and sprinted down the aisle so she could be the first person off the plane. (she had a tight connection) They yelled at her over the announcements and a flight attendant eventually came after her. So bizarre. 

First order of business was getting my rental car which smelled very strongly of weed. Thankfully, they let me exchange my car. My new car had two different license plates on it. The front said Illinois and the back was Missouri. I wasn't going to go back in a second time so I just went with it and prayed I wouldn't get pulled over. 

The main thing I went to Jackson for was the Civil Rights Museum.  The museum itself was just okay. I think it was fairly well done, contained LOTS of information, but I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, I woke up at 3:39 that morning.... I had a hard time focusing and reading everything. Not to mention it was swarming with school groups. 

I ended up eating lunch at the museum - the Nissan Cafe by Nick Wallace. It took OVER an hour to get my food!! They didn't warn me when I first ordered so I bonded with some of the others who were annoyed at the wait. The food was good - just not worth waiting that long for! 

Civil Rights Museum- Jackson, MS

Civil Rights Museum- Jackson, MS

Next up, I drove almost 3 hours south to Biloxi, MS. I didn't have anything really planned there- I just wanted to walk around a bit. I saw the lighthouse and the beach and the Hurricane Katrina memorial. 

Biloxi Lighthouse

Sign at the beach- Apollo 13 astronaut was from Biloxi

Hurricane Katrina memorial 

Biloxi sign-proof I was there!

I was so tired by this point I checked into my hotel in Gulfport (20 min away) and probably went to bed by 8:00.

Next morning I woke up and went to TrainTastic. TrainTastic, for those of you who don't know, purchased EnterTRAINment Junction's American Railroad Museum and a few other things.  They have train displays in ALL gauges and it was better than I thought it would be. Unfortunately, I'm still incredibly biased because EnterTRAINment will forever be the best. 

I remember my dad always saying that he didn't want to just have a table with a train running around on it... and that's pretty much what TrainTastic was. EJ was immersive and you could never see what was coming around the corner. I really liked that aspect of our facility. 

TrainTastic was still good for what it was - and they had some cool things like a train simulator.  I took more videos than photos, but I'll post a few of the photos down below: 

One of many displays at TrainTastic

One of many displays at TrainTastic

This was from EnterTRAINment!

It was good being able to see some of our stuff - they only had a small piece of the American Railroad Museum on display, but hopefully they'll add the rest later this year!

That is all for Mississippi- next up: Louisiana!