Day 54 Friday September 27, 2024
Today is the last travel day as part of the Caravan. We have 172 miles to drive to New Orleans LA for our last stop on the tour.
It was a good travel day, not too hot and mostly good roads except through Baton Rouge where there was a lot of traffic and the roads were rough. That seems to be the pattern in most bigger cities.
We saw a first for us today. We have seen more road kill than you can imagine, mostly raccoons, deer, dogs and today our first ever alligator. Yep, an alligator. Luckily he was off the main part of the highway. His snout was just inches from the travel lane.
We stopped about 25 miles from New Orleans for fuel and a driving break. We stopped at a TA Truck Stop where we can get a discount on our EFS fuel card. Also this one had pull through parking that we could get into after getting fuel because we needed to get out and stretch our legs. Normally the TA Truck Stops are fairly nice. This was definitely the exception.
If we had not of checked the maps ahead of time we would never know this truck stop was here. Normally there are billboards a few miles before the exit and then the roadside signs show the fuel stops available. There were no billboard signs and the roadside signs did not show this truck stop. The transition from the highway into the truck stop driveway was lower than the road and there was standing water in it. When I eased my way through the water there were severe potholes in the pavement.
The fuel island had ten sets of pumps and only 2 1/2 of them were working. Some had yellow ribbons across the lanes, some had red or yellow bags over the fuel nozzle. We pulled into two different lanes and had to pull through and come back around again. We pulled in a lane behind one of the RVs in our group. But when I got to the pump it would not work so I had to go around again. So finally the fourth lane I tried worked and I was able to get fuel. Then we parked and walked over to McDonald’s to get a latte and an apple pie and rest for a while and let my frustration calm down.
I went into the men’s room to wash my hands and the two sinks were so dirty I could write my name on them with my finger. I have never seen a McDonald’s restroom that dirty. We used the kiosk to order because no one was working the register. We set down with our numbered tent card so they would bring our order to us when it was ready. The girl brought our Apple pies and told us they didn’t have lattes but she could bring us some regular coffee. Well that was the last straw and I guess I was a little rude to her when I said this whole places just sucks. I ask for a full refund so she got a manager and after trying 3-4 times she was finally able to get my refund. So we got back on the road for our final 25 miles.
We got to New Orleans RV Resort & Marina and set up in site 125. This is a nice campground but the last 2-3 miles getting here looked kind of sketchy. We are just a few hundred yards from Lake Pontchartrain. After we got setup we joined Gregg and Judi and walked over to Lighthouse Bar and Grill which is above the RV Park office. The food was really good. Sure glad because I was not ready to deal with more crap today.
I should not be complaining able our issues when so many people have been devastated with Hurricane Helene. Two in our group left this morning to head home because they got word their house in Key West was under water.
Day 55 Saturday September 28, 2024
We were back on a bus again this morning at 7:45 with our driver Jordan for a ride of just over an hour to tour two plantations. We found out this morning that one of the men in our group is in the hospital in intensive care here. So that is two couples that are not with us at the end of the tour that started with us.
We had a nice ride out of New Orleans and into the countryside. New Orleans is basically located at sea level so there is water and wetlands about everywhere you look. Our GPS in the motorhome gives us the elevation and yesterday before we got to the RV Park it registered 4 ft below sea level at one place.
It must cost a lot of money to build roads here because a lot of the roads are built out over wetlands and have to be built on concrete pilings. We saw an air boat running through the water between the divided elevated highway.
There are levees all along the Mississippi River here. The ones in the area of our RV park are concrete walls but the one along the road to the plantations is dirt covered in grass. They appear to be about 20’ higher than the road we were on.
Our first plantation was Laura Plantation, which is a Creole sugar cane plantation. They had a nice little museum with lots of educational displays on the walls that explained a lot about the life on the plantation for the slaves and also what some of the slaves cost and what their jobs were on the plantation. Slaves were kept here from 1805-1865 and many remained and work at the plantation after the Civil War and into the 20th century.
We were separated into two groups and each group had a guide that took us through the “big house” and explained how the house was built and how each room was used. There was a fire in this house but they were able to save the house. They left the kitchen area unrestored so they could show some of the damage. They fixed the floors by taking up the wood from the floors, turning the wood over and put the wood back down. Pretty smart.
We visited one of the slave cabins. It is hard to believe there were several families of slaves crammed into one room that appeared to be only 15’ by 15’. How does one human treat another like that.
We boarded the bus and rode out 4 miles to Oak Alley another sugar cane plantation. The “big house” on this plantation was more elaborate but I liked the one at Laura Plantation better. Again we were split into two groups for the tour of the “big house”. We walked some of the grounds, took photos, bought a Mint Julep and then watched a video about how sugar cane is farmed and processed. Like all modern farming there is not as much manual labor involved now.
The tour of the “big house” was good but disappointed that we were not allowed to take any photos inside the house. This is the only place we have toured that did not allow photos inside the house. All of them restricts flash photography due to the flash damaging the wallpaper, etc.
Then we walked over to the dining hall for a Creole style buffet lunch. One of the options was crawfish etouffee with rice. It was very good, just a tad spicy, but good. I did find it kind of ironic that we were in the South eating lunch on a sugar cane plantation and they only served unsweetened ice tea and water with the meal and the sweetener on the tables were the stuff in pink and blue packets.
After lunch we had some time to explore the blacksmith shop, reconstructed slave cabins and of course the gift shop. There is always a gift shop.
Then our driver took us back to the RV Park.
Day 56 Sunday September 29, 2024
What a day we had today. We boarded the bus with Jordan again at 7:45. Our first stop was about an hours drive to Southern Seaplanes for a seaplane ride over New Orleans and the waterways around it and the Mississippi River. We had to breakup into 13 groups. The planes only held 3 or 4 passengers. There is not much room in the plane and it is somewhat of a struggle to get into the plane especially as it sets in the water but we all made it in and out without mishaps.
Everyone had provided their weight several days ago so the pilots could determine who would be in each plane. Lena and I were in the first group to fly and John our Wagonmaster was with us. They were using four seaplanes. A couple of them could take off from a runway or water. Our plane took off and landed on the water. Our pilot was Vince Panepinto in seaplane N522SS. We all had headsets and could listen to the pilot and we could also talk to him. He explained what we were seeing as he flew us around. It was a perfect day for flying and the flight was very smooth. The view was very interesting. The flight was an hour long.
After the flight we went back inside the office/terminal for a break and then at 11AM we went into a conference room for a lecture from a local Naturalist. He had a PowerPoint presentation about how the waterways and wetlands in the area have changed over the years and how the Corps of Engineers are trying to control the waterways to prevent flooding. There is a lot of flood walls, levees, dams and huge pumping stations to help with the flooding from tides and storms. One pumping station that we flew over can pump enough water in 5 minutes to fill the Superdome in New Orleans and that thing is huge.
When we finished the lecture our box lunch from Jason’s Deli was waiting for us. This was the best box lunch we have ever had. We both ordered the sliced turkey on marble rye bread. Most places put about 2-3 slices on a sandwich but ours must have been piled at least 2” high, also had a pickle, a bag of chips and a big brownie. All really good.
Then we boarded the bus for a ride to Jean Lafitte Swamp Boat Tours. Captain Jason took us out into the bayou where we saw several alligators, great blue herons, a hawk and an owl. Captain Jason said that alligators are not aggressive and when you hear of someone being attacked by a alligator it usually is because the human did something to provoke the alligator or got to close to a mama alligator and her offspring. They do not chew their food they crunch down on it and swallow it. They have about 3,000 pounds of crushing power with the jaws but very little upwards pressure. That is why you see people that capture alligators hold their jaws closed with their hand and wrap electrical tape around their jaws. They don’t have the strength to open the jaws with the tape around them.
There is an alligator hunting season in Louisiana to control the population. Any person that wants to hunt gets a certain number of tags and they can kill one alligator for each tag and sell it. Usually the price is about $10 a foot and the average alligator killed is about 7’ long.
One the way back to the RV Park Lisa, Mrs. Wagonmaster, announced the three top winners in the photo contest that was announced near the beginning of the tour. Each couple could enter one photo and everyone was allowed to cast one vote. I won second place with a photo of the arch in St. Louis. There were 15 entries and they were all very good photos. Sandra won with a photo taken on the diner cruise we did of the American flag flying on the back of the boat at night with the bridge over the Mississippi River lite up in the background. When we got back to the RV Park Gregg and Judi asked us to join them at the Lighthouse Bar and Grill that is above the RV Park office. When we got there about 9 other couples from our group were already there so we pulled a table up to theirs and joined them. Then another couple come in and joined us so we had 12 out of the 20 couples in the group there. Lena and I shared a bowl of the Gumbo. I had it a few nights ago and it was good.
Day 57 Monday September 30, 2024
Happy Anniversary to us today. 57 years of marriage bliss but it only seems like 56. 😇
Darlene was our driver today for our trip into downtown New Orleans for a walking tour of the French Quarter and lunch at the New Orleans School of Cooking.
We broke up into four groups and each group had a guide for the walking tour. We walked mostly through the residential section of the French Quarter but we did see some museums and a cathedral but we didn’t go into any buildings. Some of the buildings had businesses on the ground floor and then apartments on the two or three floors above. Several buildings had balconies and terraces on the upper floors that provided outside sitting areas. Our guide said in years prior to air conditioning sometimes the occupants would sleep outside on them.
Our guide told us that the French Quarter was the highest ground in New Orleans and it didn’t get flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
We really had to watch our step because the sidewalks were not in very good condition. Not to mention the places on the sidewalks where people had puked 🤮. We saw several homeless people roaming around. Watched one man across the street from us rummage through a trash can looking for anything of interest. He just pulled the trash can out of the holder, pulled out the trash and threw it on the sidewalk and when he didn’t find anything he wanted he just walked away leaving the trash where he threw it.
The tour was interesting but it was getting rather warm before we finished. The history of the French Quarter and the historic buildings were interesting but I sure would not want to live here. No Way.
Our guide took us to the building where the New Orleans School of Cooking was going to put on a cooking demonstration by Chef Michael who has been working there 30 years. As he cooked he explained what he was doing and also gave a running commentary about the culture of New Orleans and about the blending of cultures and the different foods from the different cultures. The school started in 1980.
The first dish we had was Corn and Crab Bisque. Then as a digestive he prepared pralines for each of us. Then we had Chicken Etouffee followed by Bananas Foster.
They sold the different seasonings that the school makes and several in our group bought some.
The Wagonmaster had told us about a dessert called Beignets that are made here in the French Quarter that is very popular so Gregg and Judi and us made our way there after we finished at the cooking school. She said the best ones were at Cafe Du Monde. It has been in the French Quarter since the 1860’s and is open 24hrs a day year round per their sign. You get three per order so we ordered two orders and coffee au lait. They are referred to as French Doughnuts. They are covered in white powered sugar. We were warned to not wear a black shirt when you eat one. Also to eat them hot when you get them. They are not as good when they get cold.
Then we walked down to the vendors market and Greg and Lena both bought a New Orleans tshirt. Then it was time to return to the bus for our return trip to the RV Park. We got caught by a train that was really long and stopped, blocking the road we needed to get on about two miles from the park. Our bus driver knew the backstreets so she made a couple of sharp uturns and got us on a road that went above the train and we were soon home. We got 3 miles of walking in today.
Day 58 Tuesday October 1, 2024
Today is mostly a free day until about 5PM when we board the bus again for a ride over to board the Steamboat Paddle Wheeler Creole Queen for a dinner and cruise. We did laundry and other odds and ends to get ready to leave here in the morning after our farewell get together.
Darlene our bus driver took us back downtown to the waterfront where our boat Creole Queen was docked. This lady can drive a bus. She had to maneuver through narrow, crooked streets and turns to get us there but she didn’t miss a beat.
Mrs. Wagonmaster got our tickets and we boarded at 6PM. As expected it was a buffet dinner but the food was much better than the last dinner cruise we had. There was a band playing on the top deck but there was a speaker in our dining room so we could hear them.
After we ate we went out onto the open deck to watch the lights from the city and watch the other boats on the Mississippi River. We saw two very large container ships and several smaller local boats. The city had the bridge over the river lite up in what I would call lavender colored lights. It was really pretty at night. Our boat went under it so we got some good night photos of the bridge.
The dinner cruise was two hours. Then it was back to the RV Park. This is our last night with the tour. We have had a great trip and a good group of people that got along very well. I think I mentioned there are 22 RVs in the group from 15 different states.
Mr. Tailgunner, Don, told us a few days ago that we had crossed the Mississippi River 28 times on this tour as part of the group not counting the times we had crossed it on our own while we were out exploring after getting to a campground. So I could probably add 10 more crossing to that total while we were out exploring.
I haven’t mentioned it but one of the men in our group has been in the hospital here in intensive care ever since we arrived in New Orleans. He has been really sick with a couple of infections but they have just about got all that cleared up and have taken the ventilator off him and he is doing much better. But yesterday his wife was in the RV Park walking their dog before returning to the hospital and fell and cut one of her small fingers open. The Wagonmasters took her to the ER at the same hospital her husband is in and got it stitched up. It took 5 or 6 stitches but she is doing good.
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