What's an interesting place to spend the night between New Orleans and Tulsa?
Sep 8th, 2005, 11:29 AM
#1
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What's an interesting place to spend the night between New Orleans and Tulsa?
It looks like we'll be spending a few nights at the Oak Alley Plantation on River Road in March, to tour the plantations and see Cajun country. The cottage we want is not available the last night, so I was thinking we could start our drive back to Tulsa a day early and stop somewhere else along the way. Upstate LA? Arkansas? I don't mind going a little out of the way, but we'll have a 3 and a 5 year old with us.
Sep 8th, 2005, 12:54 PM
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Hi Christie,
That's assuming NO airport is running at full speed by then...plus, any savings on getting there would be offset by the car rental. It's only 650 miles. We've driven to San Antonio and Denver recently without incident (talk about a boring drive, too, Tulsa to Denver? Woooo!). I've never seen that part of the country, so I'm actually looking forward to the drive.
THanks for the suggestion, Mikemo. I checked their website, and the lodge looks nice, although it may not be that interesting for the kids. I've got it bookmarked just in case.
That's assuming NO airport is running at full speed by then...plus, any savings on getting there would be offset by the car rental. It's only 650 miles. We've driven to San Antonio and Denver recently without incident (talk about a boring drive, too, Tulsa to Denver? Woooo!). I've never seen that part of the country, so I'm actually looking forward to the drive.
THanks for the suggestion, Mikemo. I checked their website, and the lodge looks nice, although it may not be that interesting for the kids. I've got it bookmarked just in case.
Sep 8th, 2005, 01:50 PM
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mikemo - In my previous life - er, I mean career - I was a truck driver for a Van Buren, AR company. After crossing the Ouachita and Ozarks a few times in a 18-wheeler, I'd rather go around them in OK and TX! 
But of course, in my current life, I'd seek out mountains and canyons to drive in. Hahaha... [And the Idaho state police didn't seem to appreciate my recent visit to their state, but that's another story for another thread.
]
But of course, in my current life, I'd seek out mountains and canyons to drive in. Hahaha... [And the Idaho state police didn't seem to appreciate my recent visit to their state, but that's another story for another thread.
]
Sep 8th, 2005, 02:10 PM
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rkkwan,
Previous lives: BMW Euro spec and enduro racers - older son had a full season in F-Renault in Euro and was a Bondurant and Barber racing instructor: he is famous here in MX for having "trained" many of the now senior Federales in high performance driving skills.
He still rides his two Aprillias in DFW - my BMW Motorrad days are long gone.
Hasta luego.
M
Previous lives: BMW Euro spec and enduro racers - older son had a full season in F-Renault in Euro and was a Bondurant and Barber racing instructor: he is famous here in MX for having "trained" many of the now senior Federales in high performance driving skills.
He still rides his two Aprillias in DFW - my BMW Motorrad days are long gone.
Hasta luego.
M
Sep 8th, 2005, 04:18 PM
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Jocelyn, I bet it is safe to say that the airport in NOLA will be up and running well by March, considering that is six months away from now. I do wonder if the south LA plantations and cajun country you're planning to visit will have cleaned up all of the storm debris by then, though. My husband is currently down in NOLA with his job, and he said many of the trees between NO and Baton Rouge were damaged.
Sep 8th, 2005, 04:23 PM
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According to the Oak Alley Plantation website and a local newspaper article (cited on the thread floating around here about Oak Valley), their famous trees are fine. We'll see what we can see, and worse things could happen if we had to just hang out on the grounds there for a few days. 
I'm anxious to give LA some tourist dollars.
I'm anxious to give LA some tourist dollars.
Sep 8th, 2005, 06:56 PM
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You might want to try Hot Springs, in central Arkansas. It may be a little out of your way, but worth stopping over. Spring will be underway, depending on the weather, giving the National Park mountains and lake here lots of beautiful views.
It's hard to imagine right now the total impact of Katrina. Hot Springs, and many many smaller towns, as well a the large ones, are playing host to people who have lost everything. I hope by March that things are on their way to full recovery but coming back from total devastation may take a little longer than many believe. And lots of money. I've listened to some of the stories that are being told here locally by people who lived through it--about those who didn't. I think we haven't begun to realize what has happened. More power to those to go back.
Have fun on your trip!
It's hard to imagine right now the total impact of Katrina. Hot Springs, and many many smaller towns, as well a the large ones, are playing host to people who have lost everything. I hope by March that things are on their way to full recovery but coming back from total devastation may take a little longer than many believe. And lots of money. I've listened to some of the stories that are being told here locally by people who lived through it--about those who didn't. I think we haven't begun to realize what has happened. More power to those to go back.
Have fun on your trip!
Sep 10th, 2005, 12:39 PM
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wsox, oooo, the diamond thing sounds great. I found a good website and have it bookmarked. Thanks all for the suggestions.
I appreciate everyone's concern, but I am under no delusions that LA or surrounding states will be back to the way they were by March. My desire to visit this area is driven primarily by the fact that I want my tourist dollars to be spent in a place that will no doubt need them. If we come across a few inconveniences on our vacation, so be it (hey, we're flexible), and we may even find some teachable moments for our kids.
I appreciate everyone's concern, but I am under no delusions that LA or surrounding states will be back to the way they were by March. My desire to visit this area is driven primarily by the fact that I want my tourist dollars to be spent in a place that will no doubt need them. If we come across a few inconveniences on our vacation, so be it (hey, we're flexible), and we may even find some teachable moments for our kids.
