New Orleans

The moment we conceived of this trip and purchased the camper van I had New Orleans on my mind…  having never been there. The moment we felt unencumbered by financial constraints, having sold the boat, the first thing we did was to treat ourselves to buying a piece of art from Kim Shepard who resides in New Orleans.

As we got closer I was so looking forward to seeing my artist friend… and my every expectation was way exceeded. Big BBQ party at Kim’s, meeting neighbors and friends and being given a tour of the French Quarter by Jeff Smoyer, a former King of the Parade (for his parish)! The Mardi Gras stories are beyond fun and give the city it’s high powered frenetic energy. Together Jeff and wife Karen, a former docent for the History Museum of New Orleans, gave us a fantastic day. We listened to street music, looked at sights, heard the history, all the while eating and drinking our way through town!! You can smell and taste the merriment.

 

 

Voodoo too. We saw the house that replaced the burned residence of Delphine La Laurie. A cultured high society woman in 1896, married to a well regarded doctor in town, hosting lavish parties, Delphine proved to be a very bad person whom no one suspected until the night of the fire in her home. It was then that authorities discovered the slaves chained and tortured in her attic and the cook who started the fire tied to the stove desperate to die rather than be beaten more!  Such cruelty… haunts the streets.

Current revelers cannot help but feel the pain inflicted by Hurricane Katrina… yet still the spirit thrives in this historic unique city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearby we visited the Battle of New Orleans Park where Andy Jackson beat a superior British force at the end of the War of 1812. Had the Brits won, it would certainly have compromised “Manifest Destiny” and the young nation’s plans for moving up the Mississippi River to settle the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase.