Monday, September 29 - Day 12

NOLA  Day 2

What a great day. Dave here. After breakfast at the hotel we headed downtown. Parking is always an issue here and the closer to the Quarter the more expensive. We decided to beat the system and found a parking lot for $6 all day off Tulane on Elk St. Walked two blocks and caught the Canal trolley all the way to the riverfront. We found the Creole Queen (not the one from last night) an actual stern paddle wheeler and got tickets (an early birthday present from Lisa, thank you, Dear) for a later river cruise. We took another trolley to Cafe Du Monde and had beignets and the best coffee, really exceptional. Maybe it's the chickory they add. We walked to Jackson Square and went into the Cathedral for photos and a quick hello. (That's probably one of the few places down here where people are praying. Reminds me of a T shirt we spotted on Bourbon St: Picture of the devil with these words: “God is busy. May I help you?”) Trolley back to Canal St and the boat. Sam A's mom and friends joined us for this cruise to the Chalmette Battlefield where the final battle of the War of 1812 was fought, the Battle of New Orleans. “We fired our guns and the British kept a comin' “ Yep, that battle. Actually the war had been over for 6 weeks but the combatants along the Gulf did not know that. In December 1815, the Brits wanted to seize NOLA to control the M River. American Navy blocked the river a few miles downstream (the battlefield is actually NORTH of NOLA because of the bend of the river). This forced the 10,000 British onto the land on both sides of the river. There were various small skirmishes. (History recalls them as “small” but if you were in it, it wasn't small.) Under Andrew Jackson 5,000 Americans of vastly mixed ethnic background deepened a small canal and used the dirt to build up the rear of the ditch. They got a few cannon, some from the ships, and faced the British infantry which was still considered the finest in the world. They had just come from defeating Napoleon. The left side of the battlefield was swamp and right was the M River so the Brits could not flank the feba and had to charge straight into the line which they finally did in January 1816. They lost 2000 in a matter of a few hours. The Americans lost 13 KIA. The British actually broke the line on the other side of the M River but it was too little too late and they left the country.

We said our goodbyes to our friends and trolleyed back up Canal to get our car then drove to Deanie's for a seafood dinner. Crawfish gumbo, corn and crab chowder and shrimp etoufee for appetizer followed by an enormous mound of softshell crab (a first for me and not to Lisa's liking), wonderful shrimp, pretty good catfish and oysters and some other stuff. Even with Lisa there we could not eat it all. We were only a block from Bourbon St so Lisa insisted and dragged me along and I found myself clutching a Hand Grenade (a fine ending to a great meal and full of memories besides). In case you did not know, New Orleans has an open container law: You must walk around with an open container of booze. I sipped and enjoyed the scenery while Lisa accumulated beads. She actually bought a huge bag of them but we did end up with some around our necks from a friendly stranger.

Trying to figure out what we are going to do on Day 13, stay or continue. I did not get my Willie May's fried chicken. I wonder if I can find fried chicken anywhere else in the South? We need a day of down time, lying on a sandy beach on the Gulf and Panama City sounds pretty good. We will see where the wind blows us!

Photos 1 - authentic fossil; 2 - Cafe Du Monde - beignets; 3 - Jackson Square The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France; 4 - St. Louis Cathedral; 5 - line of donkey drawn carriages; 6 - Sam's mom along with Sandy, Carol and Cheryl; 7 - Chalmette Battlefield; 8 - Deanie's Seafood; 9 - Soup of the day - Whiskey; 10 - Bourbon Street at night