The original plan was that Trish would fly back today from Tallahassee this morning and then I would drive back to New York over the next few days.  I realized a couple days ago that the big Salton City and Glamis Fly-In is coming up next week and I’m already 600 miles closer to California than I would be in New York.  If so, what’s another 2,400 miles, right?  Trish green-lighted the trip and so this morning, saying goodbye to Trish at the airport, I headed west instead of north.

The first stop of the day was the Chalmette unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, home of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, where Andrew Jackson convinced local Native Americans to help him defeat the British before expelling then from their lands on the Trail of Tears 15 years later.  Classy guy.

Another great visitor center:

British forces lost thousands of troops as they repeatedly threw themselves from right to left against the US fortifications built atop the berm to the left of the ditch:

The other end of the US defensive position, looking back towards the visitor center.  The British attacked from left to right here:

Next stop, the French Quarter of New Orleans to visit New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.  I parked and hoped I would still have wheels when I returned:

The visitor center:

I continued west to overnight at a Cracker Barrel in Sulphur, Louisiana:

See the trip map for today’s drive.