Bourbon Street

We have been in Louisiana for several days now.The weather has taken a slight turn for the worse, cloudy and showers with temperatures in the low sixties. Our condo is in Abita Springs on the north side of Lake Pontchatrain, we are out in the tule bushes about an hour from anywhere. The condo is nice, not real new, but spacious. There is even a sauna which I have enjoyed, though Linda who is often too hot, just shakes her head. We have done two excursions, one into New Orleans and the other to  a plantation along the Mississippi River.

To get to New Orleans we traveled across Lake Pontchatrain on the twenty-four mile causeway (the longest in the world). It is strange setting out on a bridge when you cannot even see the far shore. Once in New Orleans we visited the French Quarter. The last time we had been there was in 1969 after i got out of the service. We felt we hadn't spent enough time there the last time. Truth is, the area looks pretty shabby. We walked around for several hours along Bourbon Street. The Saints were playing the Philadelphia Eagles that day, so there were lots of folks walking about in their team jerseys. We stopped for a drink in a pub that was overwhelmingly catering to Eagles fans, a little strange in the heart of New Orleans. Many of the streets were being repaved, perhaps part of Katrina's legacy. The other streets were dirty and ill kept. Overall New Orleans did not live up to our memories and we really had no desire to spend more time there.

Oak Alley

Our other excursion was to some plantations along the Mississippi southwest of New Orleans. The best of them was Oak Alley. As the name implies, there were beautiful oak trees. Three hundred year old Virginia live oaks line the property, they were incredible. unfortunately the light was not very good so my photography is only so-so. We took the tour and got the full history of the place. It was interesting and the grounds are very well maintained. 

Oak Alley roots

We have decided it is time get serious about getting home. So, even though or condo i paid through Saturday, we will be heading out on Wednesday and making tracks for the Northwest.

Happy birthday Verland!