Inexpensive Louisiana Fall Getaway

Here's a Fall get-a-way that's both economical and makes you feel like you are traveling to a foreign country. One that's both friendly and where you can speak the language (sort of).

Travel down Bayou Barataria to the Cajun town of Jean Lafitte, named for the hero of the Battle of New Orleans. You thought that was Andrew Jackson? Non, non, non; he couldn't have done it without the man from Barataria - ask any of the locals they'll tell you.

Stay at Victoria Inn and Gardens, a 14 room Bed and Breakfast Inn where the debonair pirate would have loved to sleep! A room with queen bed is $110. a night. This isn't just any room at just any B&B. To start your stay off right you'll be given your own "pieces of eight", good for a drink at the well stocked bar. Then the room will have comfy robes, fluffy towels and French milled soaps. Each uniquely furnished room comes with a phone with dataport and voice mail, individual AC/Heat, a clock radio and coffee maker. Rooms with Jacuzzi start at $135.

You might be tempted to stay tucked away in your room watching premium cable TV or using the VCR to view a classic movie borrowed from the Inn's large library. Especially tempting if you've called for an in-room therapeutic massage or arranged to have the Inn's classic English Afternoon Tea. But that crisp Fall weather will entice you outside to the rockers and slow turning ceiling fans waiting for you on the Inn's Southern verandahs and galleries. Venture further and enjoy the array of gardens including a Shakespearean Herb Garden where quotes from the bard are reflected in the herb beds. Sip a margarita in the tropical patio or saunter out to the dock to find a lake which makes you think you're on the Gulf of Mexico. A swimming pool built from the dock down into a lake called "The Pen" offers fresh water swimming with lake breezes. You can find an in-ground pool at most hotels but only at Victoria Inn can you find an "in-lake" swimming pool.

Victoria Inn & Gardens could call itself a Boutique Hotel but sticks to Bed and Breakfast Inn so you would expect breakfast time to be an important event. You won't be disappointed! A continental breakfast, with fresh baked muffins, cinnamon rolls and croissant pastries, is set out from 5am but it's the full course breakfast served 8-10am that the Inn is known for. Each morning's offering is different and superb. You'll always be served at your own table complete with crisp linens, antique china and polished silverware.

Away from the Inn you'll find lots to do. There is no charge to enjoy hiking or birding in the Barataria Unit of the Jean Lafitte National Park or to visit the new Tourist Information Center where an animated puppet theater tells the life of Jean Lafitte! A nominal charge lets you visit the LA State Fisheries Museum. Several places rent canoes for about $25/ day so that you can go canoeing in the park. Less then $20 will get you a narrated 2 hour swamp tour that goes deep in the bayous to search for alligators and other critters. Moonlight Marine will let you pretend you are the proud owner of a spacious 25 ft Compaq Yacht. Crewed cruises start at $100.; or get checked out and sail away on your own for the day.

For years the Lafitte area has been about fishing and in the fall fishing moves from good to GREAT. You'll find many guides to choose from. A day fishing with guide, boat, tackle and all your fish cleaned and bagged is about $350 for 2 people. Victoria Inn's guests can bring their own equipment and fish right off the dock for redfish and trout. Come Fall local anglers will tell you that The Pen is the place to fish.

This is Louisiana and food is the highlight of any vacation. In our bayou communities you can enjoy inexpensive but great food at four local restaurants. Restaurant des Familles is the area's upscale dining experience. Its many dishes are impeccably served in a dining room featuring a wall of windows that look out into the bayou and swamps. Go on down the bayou to Boutte's or Jan's where it's easy to have a great meal and come out with change from a $10. Then there's Voleo's where you can sample both gumbo and wienerschnitzel. Voleo's new chef's has just returned to the bayou after spending 6 years under Paul Prudhomme. So don't be too surprised to see K-Paul flair and flavors at bayou prices. When dinner is over and you want to boogie you'll find several watering holes to visit and live music can be heard on the week-ends. So come on "down the bayou" and have some Louisiana fun.

Jean Lafitte is about 45 minutes from anywhere in New Orleans. Take the Crescent City Connection (Hwy. 90 Business). Exit at Barataria Blvd. Left onto Barataria Blvd. (Hwy. 45) then left again on Lafitte-Larose Hwy (Hwy. 3134) until you go over the Intercoastal Waterway bridge. One more left onto Jean Lafitte Blvd (Hwy. 45 again) and you have entered Jean Lafitte.

Call Victoria Inn & Gardens at 504-689-4757 (local from New Orleans) or 800-689-4797. Websites to visit are www.VictoriaInn.com and the Tourist Commission site at www.JeanLafitteTours.com