Mandeville, LA

After having service work completed on Nessie, we chose to relax for a day and do a whole lot of nothing. Our major outing on Tuesday was to the nearest Starbucks to use their internet connection and sip a sweet concoction.

Today we drove east to Mandeville, LA. Anchored in the north by Mandeville, and on the south by Metairie, the longest bridge in the world (continuous) spans Lake Ponchartrain. We were going to take Nessie over the bridge in a few days as we head south, but predicted high winds on the lake coupled with a low guardrail and 23+ miles over water without a turnout caused us to change our plans! We did want to see the bridge, or at least part of it, so we cruised over to Mandeville from our current home in Ponchatoula. This file photo of the center of the bridge will give you an idea of what driving on the bridge would be like.

We stopped on the abutment adjacent to the bridge toll plaza for a fish's eye view of the bridge disappearing in the distance.

The city of Mandeville has built a nice park along the seawall protecting the city from the lake during storms, and part of that is a very nice, easy bike path. We decided to take a quick ride.

The park and path are studded with stately Cypress and Oak trees, most of which are festooned with Spanish Moss.

The park is lined with magnificent homes, many of which date from the 1800's.

The Theodule Verret house dates from 1849.

And the Delfilho Poitevent home from 1840.

What a view from their front porches, eh?

After our strenuous 5 mile bike ride……we looked around for a place to have lunch, and by a stroke of luck happened on Liz's Where Y'at Diner.

The interior of the diner is eclectic, to say the least, as befits a diner whose motto is "Keep Mandeville Weird".

Liz Munson opened the restaurant after many years as a waitress, where she found that she loved people and food…what a natural! She's a N'awlins native, and settled on the North Shore where Florida Street (old town) is enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

One of the signs hanging on the wall caught Donna's eye right away:

A mural sums up the flavor of the decoration.

We're going to be a bit sad to leave our little slice of the south tomorrow, but if we stay much longer, Berryland Campers will wonder where to put the mailbox! It's off to NOLA tomorrow, or just a bit south of the City, and, no….not via the causeway!