We took a road trip to Ponchatoula, an hour's ride north of New Orleans. Ponchatoula strawberries are delicious. The town sponsors a strawberry festival annually. There are not as many antique shops as before Katrina, but enough to be interesting. We found a few things in the craft shop in the old railroad station and smiled at the alligator lounging in his cage out front. Click the link above to see pictures.
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Upon entering the town, we spotted a model train shop. NJ's son is heavily into model railroading, so of course we made a stop.
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Upon entering the town, we spotted a model train shop. NJ's son is heavily into model railroading, so of course we made a stop.
A GM&O locomotive left the shop with us and will soon be shipped on to Arizona.
The next stop was at the Louisiana Furniture & Art Gallery, where the work of artist Bill Hemmerling is on display along with the art of other Louisiana folk artists. Click on the gallery link to learn more about Bill Hemmerling.
NJ's sharp eye spotted this little construction using a couple of postcards with Hemmerling's art. What a perfect project for a miniaturist.
There were many pieces of handbuilt furniture on display. This inlaid table top is but one of them.
We stopped for lunch at Rockefeller's Restaurant. Yum!
After lunch we wandered through some antique shops and visited the tiny local museum.
There is a delightful sculpture of a Native American holding out an ear of corn to a little deer outside the museum. The deer didn't get into this shot, but a little chameleon did. [Click on the picture to enlarge it, then look at the top end of the staff the man is holding. The lizard is circled.]
By this time we were parched and headed for a soda shop but discovered it was closed. We popped back into Rockefeller's bar for some soft drinks. We must have looked pretty ragged, as the bartender refused our offer to pay for the drinks. Thank you, sir!
On the way home, we crossed Lake Pontchartrain on the Causeway. The Causeway is nearly 24 miles long and consists of two parallel, low bridges that run between Mandeville on the north shore and Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, on the south shore.
By this time we were parched and headed for a soda shop but discovered it was closed. We popped back into Rockefeller's bar for some soft drinks. We must have looked pretty ragged, as the bartender refused our offer to pay for the drinks. Thank you, sir!
On the way home, we crossed Lake Pontchartrain on the Causeway. The Causeway is nearly 24 miles long and consists of two parallel, low bridges that run between Mandeville on the north shore and Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans, on the south shore.
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