Road to fun

It would be easy to overlook nearby New Roads as a great weekend destination, but the truth is it’s a fascinating, fun getaway that’s just a short drive northwest of Baton Rouge.

Quaint and historic, New Roads has fine restaurants, beautiful homes, great boating, excellent fishing, hundreds of camps on the shores of False River, and, most importantly, friendly people.

And there’s no better time than July to make the 45-minute jaunt to experience New Roads in all its patriotic glory at its annual July 4 boat parade.

In New Roads they love their cooking, eating, party barges, Mardi Gras (its first parade rolled in 1881) and other outdoor activities.

It really is perfect for “Louisiana Day Tripping.”

So on a recent fine day, my friend and fellow shutterbug Dave Hanchey and I hit the road, jacked up the oldies and headed out in search of great culture and food.

Along the way, we made time for a quick stop at Andre’s Cajun Cracklins on Highway 190 in Irwinville, where we loaded up on some savory boudin and decadent cracklins.

We headed for the Point Coupee Museum and Tourist Center for some trip ideas, and we enjoyed the history of the old cabin that was originally a part of Parlange Plantation c. 1750. A tour of Bergeron’s Pecans was next, a local business owned and run by the same family for more than 100 years. Bergeron’s still employs locals and maintains a family environment while shipping pecans all over the country.

Then it was off to beautiful St. Mary’s Church, where we photographed some interior shots and explored the cemetery, a history lesson dating back to 1865. We zipped over to visit the old Poydras Public High School, now a museum and cultural center on Main Street.

Uh oh—lunchtime already. So it was off to Satterfield’s on the River for a fabulous seafood platter and a great view of False River.

After visiting the aging castle-like Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse, we headed north of False River into countryside dotted with old barns and ancient tenant houses.

Then we took one last little jaunt through old New Roads, where narrow, tree-lined streets show off beautiful 19th-century Victorian and Creole architecture.

On the way out of town, we stopped at a few old Creole plantations. Several in the area include Parlange, Pleasant View, Mon Coeur, North Bend, River Lake and Austerlitz. Some date from the 1700s.

To think all this started in 1776 when a dirt road was built from the Mississippi River to the 22-mile-long oxbow lake, False River—hence the name New Roads.

The rest, as they say, is interesting history.