On the Road to New Orleans

Hello all. I am glad to report we have hit the road for more adventures. We picked the trailer up on May 1 and parked in front of the house to load it up and left on Sunday May 4. Our first destination is The Crescent City; New Orleans. We took I-75 north and picked up I-10 west. We stopped about half way at Three Rivers State Park in Snead, FL which is in the panhandle west of Tallahassee. I think we will be using state parks more often. The campground was nestled in the wilderness on the shore of Lake Seminole. We had a perfect pull through site with a concrete pad that was ADA accessible. Plus it was only $8.92 for the night! What a deal.

We pulled out on Monday morning and proceeded into the central time zone then through Alabama and Mississippi into Louisiana and arrived in the Big Easy about 5 PM. The trip was fairly easy and my only complaint is the road surface in some of these states. I really think the surface is the original Eisenhower Highway concrete poured in 1957. The road noise and convolutions are annoying, especially on any type of bridge or overpass. We booked a site at Mardi Gras RV Park which is right off the interstate. 

 I have never seen anything like it in my life. It is literally in the 9'th ward of the city which is of course the setting for Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning play and movie A Streetcar Named Desire. Stelllla!  We can hear the traffic from Interstate 10 whizzing by, sirens blaring, and trains whistling. i have never heard of an RV park located in a city but it is perfect for our needs. I can be in the French Quarter in ten minutes. The view isn't too nice though. We are really in the 'hood.

Some people live this way 

 It looks like they got a good deal on leftover FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina and are available for rent.

I wouldn't call this camping. 

After taking our time getting the trailer set up and organized we finally ventured into the French Quarter Wednesday. We are here for two weeks so we can take our time seeing the city in small chunks. We jumped on I-10 and were parking the truck about fifteen minutes later. We made our way down Decatur Street and stopped at the Cafe' du Monde for some beignets then proceeded to leisurely walk around the French Quarter. 

First stop was Jackson Square. The square was renamed for Andrew Jackson, the defender of New Orleans during the War of 1812. Behind the square is St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the U.S.

The cathedral honors Louis IX, king of France who was canonized in 1297. After that we walked to the far end of the Quarter and stopped in Margaritaville for a refreshment.

We always make it a point to stop in a Margaritaville in anyplace we visit. This Margaritaville is a bit out of the way so we made our way back towards Bourbon St. taking some of the lesser known streets. 

We ended up on Bourbon St. finally and found the Hard Rock Cafe.

After having another refreshment we caught a bite to eat at the Cafe' Maspero on the corner of Toulouse and Decatur St.

I had the oyster Po boy and Doreen had the jambalaya. It was quick and easy but I think there are better places to eat. This will be the first of several posts about the Big Easy so stay tuned.

Miles this leg: 682.7

Total miles: 2424.9