Wheelin' and Rockin' with DIanE

New Orleans was one of the destinations I was most looking forward to. It met my high expectations. 😊

Our site was just a few blocks from the French Quarter, so we could come and go easily. It was also right next to the Lafitte Greenway, which is a multi-use path that connects major areas of the city for cycling.

In terms of the site itself, this one was a little different than those nicely wooded lots we’ve had on this trip. Oh well, it may not be picturesque, but the location relative to where we spent our time was perfect.

We spent lots of time in the French Quarter, and enjoyed much live blues music in different venues over our four days. Even the street performers are unbelievably talented. Bourbon Street on a Friday night is exactly what you think of during Mardi Gras: musicians, psychics, buskers, beads, people on the street and all the balconies, streamers, and so on. No pics of that because none of the ones I took could capture the experience.

On one walk home, I pointed out a cemetery and mentioned that I’d like to see one here. It turned out that this cemetery was one of the ‘famous’ ones: St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. We toured it the next day with our guide Clarence, and saw the tomb of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau and — oddly out of place — the future tomb for Nicolas Cage. 😯

I headed out on my bike a couple of times. The first day I found the city park, that includes the New Orleans Museum of Art, botanical gardens, a carousel, etc. On my second outing, I wanted to get to the Garden District, but gave up at the Superdome. I thought that Ottawa had some bad potholes, but New Orleans is literally sinking. I have first-hand experience with the effects that sinking has on asphalt.

We also took a tour of the Oak Alley Plantation. It’s about an hour from the French Quarter, and our tour operator had us laughing the whole way as we drove past the levees on the Mississippi River. The plantation house was beautiful, with oak trees estimated to be over 250 years old. The tour guide here did a great job of contrasting the life of the plantation family with the life of their slaves.

After the tour, we had reservations at Broussard’s, where we enjoyed an excellent French-Creole dinner.

On our last day, we wanted to go to the New Orleans Jazz Fest. Eyeing the ominous grey clouds, we walked to the festival, which was held at the racetrack. Almost as soon as we purchased our tickets, the skies opened up and it poured.

We toughed it out, and enjoyed many great groups. The headliner was Steve Miller, but I have to say that the Gospel Tent was a highlight, with the full experience of singing, clapping, swaying and shouting to the music.

Saturday morning, we headed off to Memphis. I was sorry see this on the map:

On the backend of the trip now.

-Stay posted, Di