We departed Memphis on Saturday October 18 for Louisiana with
the halfway stopping point in Jackson Mississippi, the capitol of the state,
but with a somewhat small and declining population of under 173,000. From here
we drove part of the Natchez Trace, a historic 440 mile path from Natchez,
Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. It
was created and used for centuries firstly by native Indians and later by early
European and American explorers, traders and emigrants.
After driving these last two days thru tree-lined highways
from Memphis to an hour outside of New Orleans, the bayou started; such
different terrain than we are used to seeing. The interstates became numerous
bridges over the swamps.
In 1803 the US purchased 828,000 square miles (529,920,000
square acres) of land (highlighted in green) including, Louisiana, from France for $15 million or 4 cents
an acre (in today’s dollars that would be roughly $236 million or 42 cents per
acre). Also included in this purchase
were the southern portions of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Our home for the next five nights was at the French Quarter
RV Resort on the north perimeter of the French Quarter and just a few blocks
from the Superdome. Every day we were able to walk around, but were told to
take cabs back at night even though it was just a few blocks....hence the
‘razor-wire’ atop the walls around the RV Park! We must say that not once were we nervous during
the day or night. The next eight nights
are at another nice RV park on a canal near Lake Pontchartrain, but still only
5-10 minute drive to the French Quarter. The reason we had to move was that the
New Orleans Saints were at home against Green Bay Packers and due to the close proximity our site went up to
$190.USD per night....yikes!!
We visited the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. This is a must see when visiting New Orleans. Many of the exhibits and videos are very moving and emotional.
The sights, sounds, and flavors of New Orleans....where do
we start.....
the food and drinks are amazing. A few times Linda would
have the New Orleans samplers: crawfish etouffee, jambalayas, gumbos, and rice
and beans. Ron, being less of a seafood lover enjoyed various po’boys. And
desserts.....wow.... bread puddings and pecan pies.
Pat O’Brien’s, famous for their original Hurricane drinks,
was a fun stop at the dueling piano bars. The Brennen’s Palace Cafe on Canal Street
for their White Chocolate Bread pudding. Cafe au lait and Beignets at the
famous Cafe Du Monde.
Hop on- Hop-off open-air bus 3 day pass, gave us the
overview of the city. A walking tour of the Garden District told us their
architectural styles and pointed out a few of the celebs homes; probably one of
the nicest ones was John Goodman’s. The
pass also included the St. Louis Cemetery #1 with the above ground crypts and
tombs. Many voo-doo priestesses and
queen stories and the largest tomb shaped like a pyramid belongs to Nicholas
Cage.
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St. Charles streetcar |
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| Crypt owned by actor Nicolas Cage |
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| One of many homes decorated for Halloween |
The experience of the Royal House Oyster Bar for lunch with
its sloping balcony and having to hold onto our drinks(a French 75) and food so
it didn’t slip off to the street below. (Later in the week a 200 year old
building in the French Quarter collapsed....huh.....we can see whyJ)
The music is an experience too. We were able to get into Preservation
Hall, albeit standing room only for the hour, and hear a terrific jazz band.
Street musicians of varying talents are numerous in the daytime and early
evening.
The River walk is very refreshing from the noise and smells
of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter.
Our neighbors in the
RV Park for one night were Enriques Iglesias and Pit-bull. Now they have some fancy rigs, not only for
themselves, but for crew also. Apparently they are on tour together in the
south right now. Hmmm.....too bad Linda
didn’t recognize Enriques when he came into the pool area;) NCIS New Orleans was filming several days
around the French Market and the waterfront area too.
Another highlight was attending the New Orleans School of
Cooking for a demo class with Big Kevin; what a character and so much fun. And
of course we got to eat a full lunch of everything made: gumbo, jambalaya,
pralines, and bread pudding.
After moving out to the Lake Pontchartrain RV Park we did
some day trips from there. First was to see some plantations. Oak Alley with
its’ beautiful oak tree lined drive way and majestic home and grounds with the
slave quarters. Next stop was a Creole plantation called Laura’s; far less extravagant,
but steeped in history and stories. We
then drove deeper into the south Bayou and the town of Houma. We have a better
understanding of the differences in Creole and Cajun history.
Last weekend, there was an airshow at the Lakeshore Regional Airport, just across the canal from our park. We enjoyed watching the vintage World War II aircraft flying in and out of the airport. The airshow is hosted by the Commemorative Air Force, a Texas based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and showing historical airshows in the US and Canada. I went over Sunday morning to view the aircraft and see if I could purchase a ticket to ride on one of the aircraft. Flights were available on the B-29 Superfortress (Fifi), the last remaining flying B-29 in the world; however, at a cost of $600 to $1,600 (depending where you sat) I declined. It was tempting however, as when will a person ever get another chance to fly in such an aircraft. The most famous B-29, the Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan.
We took a drive across Lake Pontchartrain on the Causeway,
which are two parallel bridges measuring 24 miles long. By comparison the Confederation Bridge is 7.8
miles long (albeit in much deeper water). The Causeway was listed by the
Guinness World Records as the longest bridge over water until 2011 when the
allegedly longer Jiaozhou Bridge in China (26 miles) opened.
Next day trip was to Gulfport and Biloxi Mississippi thru
the back highway along bayous. Almost all houses are on stilts, sometimes 20 or
more feet high. As we neared Gulfport we drove past miles of white sandy
beaches. It is 80 degrees and the beaches are vacant the entire way, expect for
us! There are gorgeous mansions and newly renovated Casinos in Biloxi (the mini
Las Vegas of the south?), but the area remains depressed from Katrina. A
highlight of Biloxi was going out on a tour boat and trawling for shrimp and
other fish. Ate at McElroy’s seafood house on the waterfront for lunch; the
best fresh fish and shrimp and deep fried okra. The restaurant sits on stilts
29 feet above sea level. The friendly staff recounted tales of Katrina and their
rebuilding process. A memorial, in the park across the street, is a collection
of trinkets and treasures, found in the area.
A swamp tour is a must in the Bayou; Cajun Pride tours....... Alligators, Egrets, Racoons, and snakes!
We have had one round of golf here, booked on Golfnow for $15 pp including a cart at a nice course; does not seem to be a big pastime here.
And now our most ‘interesting’ story from Linda about our last dining experience:
This is a long story but gotta tell ya!! No luck catching up with the Drago fire truck restaurant (famous for its attendance at the Saints tailgating parties) but thought we would go to their original restaurant in Metaire. (About a 15 minute drive from our site) I went in while Ron was parking. As I'm checking in a rat falls out of the ceiling and hits the floor in front of me!!!!!! dead!!!! The rat not me. No NOT a Halloween prank, a real freakin rat! I didn't scream but felt a few palpitations. Ron comes in and we decide to still go in for dinner (would you have?!?!?). The hostess / managers brought us their house specialty, a dozen charbroiled oysters on the shell and wine and beer right away. Yummy by the way!!! Dinner and bread pudding was great and the whole meal and drinks were comped!! Then the owner Drago's wife, Klara came over and visited for half an hour..... What a memorable experience... When they came over from Croatia they lived in Vancouver and Lillooet, BC before moving here to NO. Drago is 92 years old and was there tonight. She was a remarkable lady and told her life story to us. She is planning to write their memoires and took our email address to send to us. And I believe her....an amazing, sweet, lady. So glad we stayed and I almost forgot about the RAT!! ALMOST!!! But then on our way back to the RV park we just about hit a very large rat as we passed under a bridge. I thought Linda was going to pass out.
This is a long story but gotta tell ya!! No luck catching up with the Drago fire truck restaurant (famous for its attendance at the Saints tailgating parties) but thought we would go to their original restaurant in Metaire. (About a 15 minute drive from our site) I went in while Ron was parking. As I'm checking in a rat falls out of the ceiling and hits the floor in front of me!!!!!! dead!!!! The rat not me. No NOT a Halloween prank, a real freakin rat! I didn't scream but felt a few palpitations. Ron comes in and we decide to still go in for dinner (would you have?!?!?). The hostess / managers brought us their house specialty, a dozen charbroiled oysters on the shell and wine and beer right away. Yummy by the way!!! Dinner and bread pudding was great and the whole meal and drinks were comped!! Then the owner Drago's wife, Klara came over and visited for half an hour..... What a memorable experience... When they came over from Croatia they lived in Vancouver and Lillooet, BC before moving here to NO. Drago is 92 years old and was there tonight. She was a remarkable lady and told her life story to us. She is planning to write their memoires and took our email address to send to us. And I believe her....an amazing, sweet, lady. So glad we stayed and I almost forgot about the RAT!! ALMOST!!! But then on our way back to the RV park we just about hit a very large rat as we passed under a bridge. I thought Linda was going to pass out.
One more night here.....for Halloween (should be interesting!!).....then off to the Texas gulf coast for the month of November!
