This leg of our trip takes us west to New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s about a two-hour drive. It will take us through Mississippi, but we’ll be stopping there until the later half of the trip.
Mississippi Travel Tip
All three rest areas we passed in Mississippi said they had 24-hour security and a dump station.
Where We Stayed
After a short drive, we arrived at the next campground, Sun Outdoors at Reunion Lake. This campground is basically the exact opposite of the previous one (All About Relaxing RV Park). It’s bigger, busier, and louder. It has more amenities. There are lots of kids.
Our site is pretty centrally located. It’s near the entrance and backs up to a small fishing pond. On one side, a fence separates us from the lazy river area, and there are more RV sites on our other side.
The electric pedestal and sewer connection are closer to the front of the site. We wanted to put the RV further back, but our power cable wouldn’t reach!
| Campground Name | Sun Outdoors North Shore |
| Location | Ponchatoula, LA |
| Dates | April 1-4, 2024 |
| Site Number | Site 142 |
| Hook-ups | Full hookups + 50-amp electric |
| Cost | $104 per night (including taxes) |
| Water Pressure | ~50 psi |
| Voltage | ~115 V |
| AT&T Speed Test | 25 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up |
| Verizon Speed Test | 240 Mbps down, 90 Mbps up |
| T-Mobile Speed Test | 730 Mbps down, 105 Mbps up |
| Campground WiFi | 10 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up |
What We Did
Fountainebleau State Park
This 2,800-acre park is about 30 minutes from the campground, on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We went for the hiking trails, but there’s also a fishing pier and beach.
While we were on the pier, we saw a helicopter fly over. It was pretty low, so of course we took a few pictures.
This park also has some of the most amazing trees! (Corona included for scale in some of the photos.)
This sunscreen and hand sanitizer dispenser was an unexpected find! I’ve never seen one of those before!
New Orleans
Mule-Drawn Carriage Tour
That’s right, mule-drawn carriages only. Since the 1980s, only mule-drawn carriages have been allowed to collect money for tours in New Orleans. The city council approved this change as an alternative to banning carriage rides altogether. Mules are said to tolerate the heat better. Jellyroll the mule showed us the sights while his human talked about the history of the area.
Our guide lived in the area when Hurricane Katrina came through. She said her home had 12 feet of water, 2 feet of mud, and 6 inches of oil in it.
Southern Paws
We stopped here to get a cake for Corona’s 12th birthday. She licked the bowl clean, so I’d say she enjoyed it. This cake left a lot more crumbs than I expected, so it’s probably best to serve it in a room without rugs. Max finished his piece, licked a few crumbs, and walked away. Corona ate her piece, cleaned up all her crumbs, and then went over and cleaned up Max’s crumbs. I think she approves.
Baton Rouge Zoo
Large sections of the Baton Rouge Zoo are under construction, so it doesn’t seem fair to form an opinion of the zoo based on our one visit. They have a recently opened pygmy hippo exhibit that is very nice. This one houses pygmy hippos and Colobus monkeys together, and I always enjoy seeing mixed-species exhibits.
We were there around lunchtime, so we got a hot dog, soft pretzel, and drink from one of the food places. All I’m going to say is I hope they revamp the food during construction.
USS Kidd and Veterans Museum
On the USS Kidd, you take a self-guided tour. You’re given a brochure with a map, and there are numbered paragraphs that correspond to numbers on the map that explain a little about what’s there. After touring the ship, there’s also a museum to explore. There are cases with a variety of military artifacts and a room with lots of models of ships. They were so detailed and really interesting to look at. If you’re traveling with a kid (or adult) who likes models, miniatures, etc., they’ll probably really enjoy this part.
Wildlife
Happy travels!
