Bayou Road

    It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 2001. I took
off of work for the week. I planned to spend some quality time with my boys. At
the time Jeff was seven and Nick was three.

    I did my best to keep them occupied for much
of the week. It wasn’t easy. I couldn’t just be dad; I had to be more than that
- I had to be entertainment director. We planned a bunch of things to do. On
Monday, we went to the movies and then we did some sightseeing at the Chalmette Monument. The boys always enjoyed going there.  We went to the Jackson Barracks Military Museum on Tuesday. I recall how Jeff was really into military stuff back then. Wednesday was going to be the day I cleaned the house. My mom and dad, along with my brother and his family, would be coming over to celebrate the holiday.

   “I don’t care what you got planned this week,” Lisa said. “Just be sure to help me out with the house on Wednesday.”

   “Sure babe,” I replied. “I’ll do my best.”  I knew it wasn’t going to be easy with our two
young boys and our Basset Hound puppy named Rockne, that I gotten for my birthday
three weeks earlier. I knew  it was going to be a tall task.  But I managed to have the house cleaned and straightened by three o’clock Wednesday afternoon.  Now, what we do? I was sick of the scent of house cleaners. And the kids – lets just say that cabin fever was setting in. I wanted Nick to take a nap, but he was having none of it. And Jeff kept asking, “When are going to go somewhere? I wanna do something.”

    Earlier that day, Lisa had asked me to drop off the gas bill when I got a chance. I figured it would be a good time to do that. Besides, it was a great excuse to get out of the house. So the boys and I hopped in the Golden Boy and headed to the Gas Company. Golden Boy was the name I gave my metallic gold Chevy S10.

  After I dropped off the bill Jeff said, “Daddy lets not go home yet.”

  “Well Jeff – where do you wanna go?” I asked.

  “Lets just take a ride,” Jeff replied.

  Right off hand I couldn’t think of anyplace to go. Since we were already in Meraux, I figured it would be a good idea to keep riding down the road. All of sudden I got an idea.
I’ll get over on Bayou Road and just keep driving south.

  Bayou Road is actually part of LA Highway 46; which starts in Orleans Parish as St. Claude Avenue. Once you get cross the parish line in Arabi, it becomes St. Bernard Highway. As you continue to drive southward, LA 46 becomes Bayou Road. And that what it is called until it ends at Shell Beach.

  It was a pleasant afternoon. We were actually experiencing our first real cold front of the
season. The air was fresh and cool and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We
rolled down the windows and enjoyed the ride.

    As you drive further down Bayou Road, the view gets more picturesque. You almost feel like you’re going back in time, because you pass several plantation-style houses such as the Kenilworth Plantation, which was built it 1759. You also pass other historic buildings
such as – The Beauregard Courthouse, Islenos Heritage Museum, and St. Bernard Catholic Church, which has been in existence since 1852. The one thing you’ll notice about the folks in lower St. Bernard is that they seemed to lead a simple life. Most of them are commercial fishermen. Fishing isn’t just a business for these folks – it’s a way of life.

  While driving it occurred to me that this place reminded me of a room in your house that you rarely go into, but it’s there, and there are many neat things in it. I was
really enjoying the cool breeze. I also recall that there was this wonderful
smoky smell hanging in the air. The smell made me feel a certain kind of peace
that you feel during the holiday season. It was getting so peaceful that I noticed that Nick had fallen asleep –I guess he was going to get that nap after all.

    I had this strong urge to keep driving onward – to get to the end of road. But I glanced at my watch and saw that it was probably a good time to head back. Lisa would be
getting off of work soon and we would be going to my folks to eat dinner like
we usually did on Wednesday nights in those days. However,  in the ensuing years I always enjoyed taking
   

   Jeff and Nick on this trip - the ride down Bayou Road. Eventually, we would even go to the end of the road. We sort of made it a pre-Thanksgiving tradition. But we would also take the ride if we were bored and could think nothing better to do. The long peaceful drive always seemed to take the edge off.