Natchitoches is the oldest town in Louisiana, the Bed & Breakfast Capital of Louisiana and home of the famous Natchitoches Meat Pie. On our way back from Houston, we decided to make a detour through Natchitoches (pronounced Nack-Uh-Tish) to catch the Christmas Festival of Lights before it ended on January 4. Although this is the 88th year of the festival, I’ve only been to see the lights once before – suprising considering I grew up only 60 miles away in Shreveport.

However, it wasn’t until the Christmas lights were featured in the 1989 blockbuster movie “Steel Magnolias,” starring Sally Field and Julia Roberts, that people in Shreveport started paying attention to Natchitoches – the sleepy (yet Lousiana’a oldest) town situated on the Cane River. Although I enjoyed the lights when I saw them for the first time in 1991,  things can change in 23 years. Would the lights be worth this crazy jaunt? (more…)