New Orleans

It was late in the afternoon and I was glad to be driving into Bayou Segnette State Park, our home for the next few nights, where everything looked lush and green but at any moment I expected water to rise up from below and turn it into a lake.

Like most places, New Orleans is rich in history and both France and Spain have laid claim to it. But as fate would have it Napoleon needed cash for his war with the Brittish and the US needed land for its expansion west so voila….the Louisiana Purchase was made.

Not so easy to understand was the local language. I wondered why Cajun and Arcadian were used interchangeably but after some reading I think I’ve got it. Cajun - the French People exiled from Nova Scotia or Arcadia (still unsure which) by the English. Arcadian - the Parishes of French Speaking people in Louisiana. Then there is Creole - descendants living in Louisiana from French Speaking Countries…..but it seems to me that if you’re a French descendant in Louisiana you have to have a way of distinguishing your roots.

With all that merging of cultures I was excited that we would be visiting New Orleans tomorrow.

In the meantime we found a boardwalk through a natural swamp in the middle of our campground that was full of birds, armadillo’s and cottontail rabbits so we watched them as the sun was setting. It was about now that I discovered a little critter called the No-See-Um crawling around in Dude, but I didn’t think much about them until I found myself itching for days from their bites.

Our joy at seeing the sun the next morning was short lived because by the time we drove to the Algiers Ferry the clouds had moved in. The ferry shuddered and shook on its journey across the Mississippi to Canal Street at the edge of the French Quarter.

St Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square

We walked along the waterfront as loud music filled the air from a musician playing steam pipes on top of a Paddle Steamer. Looking around I felt I had stepped into another world. We filled our day sightseeing the unique buildings with their decorative balconies and shutters. Some places still had gas lanterns burning out the front. We ate Beignets and sipped coffee then tried the local cuisine for lunch….Po’Boy with Alligator Sausage and Jambalaya both tasted great.

Sipping coffee taking in the atmosphere

The Spanish influence

Unique architecture

Enjoying our day....

Shabby Chic charm

Our local coffee house Enve

Interesting balconies

Beautiful architecture and tree lined avenues

Time passing

Small and colourful

Lots of planters

We had quite a storm that night with big chunks of hail pounding the roof and heavy rain so there was not much sleep as I nearly jumped out of my skin every time the thunder clapped which meant that John didn’t sleep much either.

We woke to see our campground had turned into islands and there was more rain on the way.

Our campground

There was no point sitting around all day so we drove back to the ferry and parked Dude in the same spot hoping we wouldn’t find Him floating down the Mississippi when we got back.

The storm hit just as we boarded the ferry but we were not deterred and we ended up having a very enjoyable day sightseeing all the streets in the French Quarter and managed to navigate the roads and pathways awash with water. We relaxed in a local coffee house and for lunch we feasted on Crawfish Etouffe and Prawn Creole at the French markets.

State Museum with a boat that rescued
 over 400 people during Hurricane Katrina

Artists and Fortune tellers in Jackson Square

Queen for a moment

Voodoo Shop

Musicians 

Everything Hot....Peppers, Tobasco Sauce...

Say no more...

A day in the Office

French Marckets

More musicians

Gas Lanterns

The rain wasn't going to stop the music...

Great sounding live music

Colourful shutters 

Beautiful woodwork

Space conscious or health nuts...

Interresting features

Our ferry ride..

Sightseeing  in the rain

We visited Armstrong Park in the Treme District to see the Louis Armstrong statue and the slave square monument.  

We listened to lots of musicians playing under the cover of eaves during the day and watched the party people in Bourbon Street carrying their drinks as they staggered from bar to bar listening to very loud music.

We crossed the road to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Bar and enjoyed listening to Brint Anderson playing the Blues on his electric guitar sipping Hurricane and Mojito cocktails with the rain pouring down outside.

On the drive back into the campground all the armadillo’s were out and about looking for food it was quite a sight to see. Then by the time I went to bed I could see grey clouds out our back window but when I looked out the side window stars were shining. It seemed to promise a fine day tomorrow.

Watching the armadillo's in our campground

We took the car ferry to Chalmette the next day. Although the journey to the ferry was interesting as the GPS took us along some very narrow tree lined streets that had large bumps in them.

Dudes ferry ride

There was still evidence of Hurricane Katrina as we drove along the coast where driveways lead to concrete pads where homes used to be. New homes have been built high up on stilts in anticipation of the next storm that will come their way.

A new home with the purplish hue
of the Gulf of Mexico behind..

More new homes built after Hurricane Katrina

Water features prominently here

We crossed the bridge at the Bay of St Louis in Mississippi where we saw the purplish tinge to the Gulf of Mexico and the white sand, reminding me of home, all along the drive to Biloxi.

The Gulf of Mexico

It took no time all to drive through Alabama and before I knew it we had arrived at the Welcome Centre in Florida.