Back to Nature
Arkansas is well known for its outdoors adventures, from pristine rivers to top-notch state parks, which is why it’s nicknamed the Natural State. But many people don’t realize that a visit to the bustling capital city of Little Rock…
Author: Cheré Coen
Island Hopping
Summer means head-to-the-beach time, but how about taking that one step further? There are numerous islands located throughout the Gulf South and along the Atlantic coast that offer crystal clear waters and pristine beaches. Here are five excellent ways…
Northern Exposure
Travel restrictions are loosening up, which is good news for those wishing to escape the Deep South’s apex of summer and head to cooler destinations, such as Alaska. While foreign-flagged cruise ships may not have returned full force to…
Gulf Getaway
Visitors come to Panama City Beach for many reasons, but mostly for the attractions, seaside accommodations and fun water sports. I got stuck on a live oak tree. I was exploring St. Andrews State Park, a 1,200-acre peninsular park…
Arkansas Adventure
It’s a long drive from the Louisiana border to the Arkansas highlands, whether visiting the Ouachita Mountains near Hot Springs or the Ozarks blending into Missouri. If you’re…
Down South
Oxford, Mississippi’s a small town with a whole lot of enjoyment. You’ll want to spend at least a long weekend in this Ole Miss haven to have enough time to follow in the footsteps of William Faulkner, dine your…
Plight of the Honeybee
In the ‘70s when many Americans were making a return to nature, Jeff Horchoff thought raising bees might be a fun idea. Bees require little attention once established so Horchoff thought beekeeping…
Louisiana’s Historic Byways
Boom or Bust Industry moved in and out of the northwest corner of Louisiana over the past two centuries. Oil and gas, timber, farming and more brought prosperity at its inception and…
Traveler: Loving Louisiana
Eulizabeth Nehrbass of Lafayette watched news reports of the Louisiana coast disappearing for years, viewing the aerial shots of land loss in newscasts and slipping into fatalistic thinking that a problem that…
Batter Up
It’s April, which means Major League baseball swings into high gear this month. In a perfect year, that is. At press time the baseball gods seemed to smiling down upon the nation’s less-than-active baseball stadiums. Despite the ongoing threat of…
Beachy Keen
Gulf Coast Tourism reinvented itself since the pandemic began, luring visitors to its emerald waters and white sandy beaches while promoting strict safety measures. New hotels and restaurants continue to spring up, attractions such as the new Mississippi Aquarium and…
Florida Bound
Until the end of March, things slow down significantly at Blue Spring State Park outside DeLand, Fla. Water activities such as paddling and swimming cease in this central Florida park, but visitors don’t seem to mind. Most come for the…
Beach Please
Hurricane Sally did a number on Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, flooding properties and halting businesses already…
Traveler: Rustic Life
There’s not much…
History Lessons
Montgomery is a city of dichotomies. A telegram by Jefferson Davis to order the bombing of Fort Sumter that began the Civil War was sent from the Winters Building on one side of the Montgomery’s Court Square. On the other…
Travel: Geaux Skiing
Travelers this time of year are usually looking to escape Carnival. While there’s not much to escape from this year, there’s still the invigorating slopes for those looking to getaway. Many New Orleanians head west to the Rockies, but great…
Travel Resolutions
Forget those diet resolutions. When do those 10 pounds ever come off? Especially with Carnival following the holidays. Instead, resolve to visit cities and towns in one of America’s most fascinating states — Louisiana! Here are suggestions to put on…
Floating Along
My mother always sewed my Mardi Gras costumes growing up, leaving room for turtlenecks and T-shirts should the weather turn cold. One never knows what Louisiana winters will bring. The weekend could prove warm and mild, our faces basking in…
Farther Flung: The Path of History
There’s so much on the horizon for Natchez this year. Dunleith, the historic plantation with its sprawling estate and cozy fine dining restaurant, opens this spring after a long renovation. The historic home built in 1885 was acquired by the…
Travel: Coastal Holiday
The weather outside on the Gulf Coast this time of years sits on the good side of frightful. For the most part, the rain and bitter cold have yet to rear their ugly heads. This month on the Mississippi Gulf…
Socially Distant
As we head into fall, and the heat abates, thoughts turn to the outdoors. What better place to enjoy the cool, refreshing weather than Louisiana’s…
Travel: Park Place
With its endless strip shopping centers, freeways and urban sprawl, Houston may appear to most as just another concrete jungle. What may surprise many is that the nation’s fourth largest city is home to 580 parks, including two of the…
Travel: Lookout Mountain
If you plant a finger on a map of the U.S., aiming for the heart of the South, you’ll likely hit Lookout Mountain. Rising up from the Cumberland Plateau in Georgia and Alabama and stretching into Tennessee where it overlooks…
In Play
When casinos reopened in May, they followed many other Louisiana businesses by limiting their offerings — in this case gaming positions — and decreasing the facility’s capacity to allow for social distancing. Safety precautions were put in place, including requiring…
Hike and Bike Y'all
Tammany Trace Abandoned train corridors can be reincarnated into excellent biking and hiking paths, and such was the case in St. Tammany Parish. The parish government purchased land once owned by the Illinois Central Railroad and created the Tammany Trace,…
Best $3 Ever Spent
You would think that an introvert who works at home would perform ok in this pandemic. At first, I did fine, although having family members constantly at home proved challenging at times. But last week hit me hard. I…
The Great Lakes of Acadiana
Thank goodness for the endless outdoor opportunities located throughout South Louisiana. Take lakes, for instance, great bodies of water that provide excellent fishing, boating, swimming and birding. Not to mention they’re cool and refreshing should you wish to dive in.…
Grace Episcopal Church and Cemetery, St. Francisville
We all know that war is hell but sometimes there’s a brief pause in the suffering when the light shines through and we remember our humanity. U.S. Lt. Cmdr. John Elliott Hart happened to be commanding the Union gunboat…
A Trip to Natchitoches and a Few Historic State Parks
Folks travel to Louisiana from around the world hoping to find French culture and language. After all, Louisiana as a European settlement was founded by the French. What tourists discover is that Louisiana’s unique heritage expands beyond its French…
Fishing is Hot at Cool Toledo Bend
I’m not into fishing, although I won’t pass up a chance to get out on a lake, especially during the Dog Days of summer. So, when tourism officials invited me out on a guided fishing excursion on Toledo Bend,…
