When I first looked at this resort, I thought it probably wasn’t our sort of place because it looks like it’s primarily geared for families with kids to have a great time. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, but we don’t have kids traveling with us and prefer a more low-key environment. Well, at least one of us prefers low-key. The other one likes lively places.
Nonetheless, as the person doing the booking, I figured that a stay at Reunion Lake RV Resort from April 28 to May 1, 2019, as Stop #7 on Road Trip 2019 would be a good time to stay here because kids would be in school during the week. When we arrived on a Sunday, it was a zoo! Unlike the average park that has a noon checkout, this one has a late afternoon checkout. As the day progressed, the RVs started disappearing and the place was transformed! Now one of us was happy.
One of the interesting amenities of this park is the swim-up bar in the adult pool. There’s seating outside the pool, too, so you don’t have to be in the pool to get a libation.
The downside of our timing was that the bar is only open on the weekends and shuts down at 3 pm on Sunday. After Memorial Day, hours of operation are longer and it’s open every day.
Next to the bar, there’s a patio deck overlooking the lake.
There’s also a lazy river for tubing. Adults can stop along the route for a cool one at the tiki bar which is accessible only from the river. Although the lazy river was open during our stay, the tiki bar was not. The web site does not currently show the off-season hours for the tiki bar, so I’m not sure if it was open on the weekends. However, post-Memorial Day, both the pool bar and tiki bar are open all week from 10 am to 10 pm.
Although some RV parks call themselves a resort, this place most definitely qualifies. It has lots of activities and amenities for all ages to enjoy. You can rent kayaks and paddle boards, and there’s a floating obstacle course on the lake. The playground equipment for the kids is quite nice, and shaded, too. And there are poolside cabanas for rent.
Besides the resort amenities, an important feature for me is the type of space available for me to walk the dogs. There is plenty of room, and I do mean plenty of room, to wander around. Near our rig was a big field that we could walk around and there’s also a trail along one side of the lake. It was especially nice to walk here in the morning. I could sit a bench by the trail and enjoy a view of the lake — just me and the girls! On the other side of the lake, we could walk along the boardwalk.
My Verizon cell signal was not particularly strong here, with 7.2 mbps. On the other hand, AT&T was much stronger with 42.6 mbps. The campground charges extra for WiFi, but only delivered a whopping 1.60 mbps. Ouch. Not worth it, in my opinion.
Ristorante Foodies
I wasn’t sure what to think about a place named Ristorante Foodies, but the reviews looked good so we went into downtown Ponchatoula to investigate. I’m so glad we did. The service was top notch, and the food experience was everything that foodies like us could want. There’s a parking lot nearby that fit our big beast of a truck, always a challenge when visiting small towns.
We shared a couple of appetizers. One was Pecorino Polenta Frittata which was stewed apples with gulf shrimp, prosciutto, and grayer cheese over polenta. The other was Bocconcini di Melanzane, eggplant and ricotta cheese. Flavor bomb! I tried the special, fresh strozzapretti, which was absolutely divine, bathed in garlic butter sauce. It was an amazing combination of texture and flavor. And Dean had the baked eggplant parmigiana with feta cheese. Truly a gem of a place!
Pecorino Polenta Frittata 
Bocconcini di Melanzane 
Strozzapretti 
Baked Eggplant Parmigiana and Feta Cheese
Next Time
We were in Ponchatoula for only a short while, but we’ve already made plans to go back in 2020. Which should tell you that we liked it. We were able to pick the site that we want, right next to the lake! And we’ll be there post-Memorial Day so that we can have a more… active?… experience.
And we’ll have enough time to cross Lake Ponchatrain to go into New Orleans where I used to live in the mid-1990s. I can’t wait to introduce Dean to a whole ‘nother experience in Louisiana.
For now, we’re continuing to our first primary destination of Road Trip 2019. We’ve been dreaming about this for months, especially because we got robbed of beach time earlier in the year when our cruise never went to any beaches after all. Next stop – Pensacola Beach!
