Sunday March 1, 2020 through Friday, March 6, 2020

I’ll tell you something, the roads into New Orleans from Houston are pretty rough. Lots of construction, very narrow areas with concrete blocks boarding each side and inches from the line- not much leeway for sway! There were a few times that I really wanted to pass, but had to bag it- passing a semi with such little give wasn’t worth it! Safety first!

On our route to NOLA, we decided to stop by Gander RV & Outdoors of Breaux Bridge, LA to see about a few parts we were considering. It was such a windy drive that day that their massive American flag was front and center of our attention when we pulled in. We decided that we absolutely had to have a picture of it with Big Red and Imagine Dragon to commemorate our cross country road trip!

We rolled into Ponchartrain Landing and were very pleasantly surprised by the site. There was a dog park for Riggs, a clubhouse complete with a hot tub and swimming pool, lots of areas to walk around and plenty of scenery of the sound. Izzy and I were up early quite a few mornings to take Riggs for a run and we saw a few crew rowing teams out early as well. We continue to bump into a ton of snowbirds; Canadians out from Quebec and Ontario. Our neighbors included a doctor from West Virginia and his wife from Belize. We truly have met people from all over! I forgot to mention that when we were in San Antonio, there was a couple there from France who had shipped their rig overseas and were touring the US.

Monday 3/2– We did some homework at the clubhouse in the morning. This was basically the restaurant and bar together, but early enough in the day that our only company was the cleaning crew. The kiddos decided that even though the pool water was only 60 degrees, it was sunny outside and they were going swimming! We also headed off to explore City Park that evening. We saw our first alligator! We also saw a little salamander outside on the palm tree by our kitchen table window. We considered him to be our good luck charm while in New Orleans.

Tuesday, 3/3 – We decided to try out the local library and get some quiet time. There were before and after pictures from Hurricane Katrina showing the water damage to the library. The library has reopened, but it’s amazing to me how many people haven’t moved back to LA. If you Google Map the Lower 9th Ward, also one of the poorest parishes in NOLA, you will see many areas where houses used to be, but nothing but the house footprint now remains. Many simply left and never came back. It was really unnerving to drive in neighborhoods that were lower than the canals.

That afternoon, we headed to the French Quarter to check out Carl Mack’s Mardi Gras Museum. After parallel parking the truck on the first try on those narrow streets LIKE A BOSS, the only one that saw was the kiddos. Darn it! Everyone seems to be watching when I struggle to back in the trailer, but no audience in the French Quarter?

We started a self-lead tour through the museum, but shortly into the tour we met Elton, the one in charge of putting out all of the costumes as well as getting them ready for Mardi Gras and other events. They were all still recovering from MG the prior week. Elton really helped explain what Mardi Gras is, it’s importance to NOLA, how someone joins a krewe and why they were started. Did you know MG actually started in Mobile, AL in 1703? Me neither. We watched a biography on Chief Allison “Tootie” Montana which explained why the dance-offs replaced the brawls between krewes as well as the homage it paid to Native American cultures. Elton also had some opinions about the aftermath and clean up of the city. Depending on who you talk to, there’s still quite a bit of distrust of those who allocated the post-Katrina resources, the timing it took to help the poorest of the city and why certain areas were rebuilt quicker than others.

While we were at the museum, Clark was in the French Quarter moving on from the coffee shop he was at that morning. He had found a good NOLA places-to-go website and used it to scope out a few places to get some work done. He’d taken the 10:00am shuttle from Ponchartrain Landing in to the French Quarter. When we checked in with him he was done with his second cup of coffee and moving on to the beer and Irish whiskey- all on an empty stomach. Still working. I see how it is- all liquid diets in NOLA. LOL. He also fit in a little church time walking by The Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France.

Wednesday, 3/4 – We decided that we didn’t want to wait for the library to open at 10am to get started on our work, so we went back to the clubhouse to see about finishing up everything for the week. Thursday’s plan was to do the WWII museum and Clark was taking the day off to join us. We did schoolwork in the morning and then drove into NOLA, parked at a public parking lot with the truck (Izzy loved that the app was called Parking Panda, so we included a picture of their logo below) and walked to one of the streetcar stops. We decided we’d take the St. Charles Avenue route and check out the parks and the houses. We left off from the tip of the French Quarter and traveled through . We made it all the way down to Loyola University and Tulane University as well as the Audobon Park. $1.25/person and off we went. Izzy saw a few parks she liked, so we hopped off so they could play with some of the local kiddos. I ended up sitting next to a great gal from Australia who chatted me up about where we’d been. Turns out she and her family had been taking 3-6 week trips through the US on and off for a few years before they decided to move to the US. We talked about some of the places we both had been, starting kids in new schools, etc. The kiddos and I continued on to two other parks, walked under 100-year-old oak trees and I treated them to some ice cream from the food carts before hopping the streetcar back. These streetcars are legit- they are historic landmarks and have been in continuous operation since 1835. We watched the drivers shift, pop the clutch and cruise along the lines.

Thursday, 3/4– Today we visited the NOLA WWII museum. It was the most impressive history museum I have ever been to. We did our best to get through all the exhibits in the 7 hours were were there. We simply couldn’t get to everything. There was so much I learned that I never knew about the war; like the Ghost Army, the Enigma (code), the statistics about those for and against the war and how drastically they shifted as time when on and how unified the country became despite the intentions of the Japanese when they bombed Pearl Harbor. My hats off to the foundation- they did an incredible job presenting the information and obtaining incredibly rare artifacts to add authenticity and tangibility to the experience. We all have a very deep and profound sense of gratitude for our amazing military men and women who served then and now- in whatever capacity, to keep us safe and free. Freedom is not free.

Friday we finished up some school work and Clark with some work work and we packed up to head to Biloxi, Mississippi! Thanks NOLA for the history lessons!