R. Craig Collins >
Web Page Design >
Portfolio > New Orleans,
1998
R. Craig Collins >
Web Page Design >
Portfolio > New Orleans,
1998
New Orleans, 1998 © R. Craig Collins, 1999/2007
New Orleans: June 14-18 and
Fiesta Texas: July 31-August 1
The trip out:
Day One:
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
| Tuesday, | 4:45 am: | DEPART Leave for donut shop (always have to have donuts before a road trip) |
| 5:30 am | ON THE ROAD Leave donut shot for Love Field in Dallas |
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| 7:15 am | SURVIVING DALLAS TRAFFIC Drop car in parking lot, take shuttle to airport to check in |
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| 8:20 am | UP UP & AWAY Board a 737 using tickets set up on the Internet with Southwest Airlines Vacation packages; it is a quick flight to Houston, then another hop to New Orleans. |
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| 10:45 am | ANY LANDING YOU CAN WALK AWAY FROM IS A GOOD ONE Land after a short delay circling New Orleans waiting for rain to end. Of course, it takes forever to get to the baggage return, find ours, and haul them to the Alamo rent a car counter to get the car we had received with our vacation package. At this point, they tell us to go back about half a mile to get on a shuttle, as the cars are now off the airport property. |
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| 11:30am | START THE OJ AIRPORT RUN After grabbing shuttle, we wait for 45 minutes to get rent a car (One lady ahead of us turned down 3 cars, and a German group just had problems with the process). We got a pale gray green Nissan Altima, and begin the process of getting to town during lunch traffic; it takes about 45 minutes to get to the hotel. On the way, we pass the Metarie Cemetary, Xavier University, and the Superdome. |
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| 1:00 pm | ROOM SERVICE We arrive at the Hampton Inn, on St. Charles, in the Garden District. We then find out our reservation, with its 28 day head start with Roomfinders on the 'net still hasn't arrived. Evidently Roomfinders misplaced the reservation, or faxed it to Hampton who then misplaced it. At any rate, the Reservation did not go from point B to C successfully. We fooled with Roomfinders and the front desk staff, and finally get our room at the desired rate. (There was a Full Gospel Baptist Church convention in town, and rooms were hard to find, and expensive... we wound up with promised 50% off on a King sized bedroom with sofa sleeper, seperate dining area, view of St. Charles, whirlpool tub, and free parking.  |
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| 2:00 pm | ONE WAY, WRONG WAY We throw our bags into the beautiful room, admire it for 12 seconds, and run back to the car to catch a 2:30 tourbus down in the French Quarter. We knew that the Westbank is on the east side of a town whose streets follow a curving river, therefore make no logical sence. We discover this by driving all the way to the wrong end of St. Charles. We make it back all the way to the other end to find that it becomes one way the wrong way at Lee Circle, and then changes name to Royal once it crosses Canal at the far edge of the Warehouse District. None the less we parallel the street through the French Quarter until we get to Toulouse, and down to the old Jax brewery (now a mall) at the riverfront, and actually make it to the bus on time.  |
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| 2:30 pm | THE TOUR, PART ONE: CITY OF THE DEAD We drive around the Quarter, past Jackson Square, Cafe Dumond, the French Market, and the Old Mint to Esplanade, and up to St. Louis Cemetary #3. In New Orleans, burials are above ground, due to the high water table in the old day. Graves would fill up with water before the casket would drop, and many times after a rain bodys would surf downstream. They are usually stuffed into a family tomb that can range from the size of a dog house to the size of a small Northeastern State. The way it works is one casket is entombed solo for at least a year. If someone else needs to join in later, the original inhabitant is moved (dumped) at the rear of the tomb, the casket burned, and the new guest is then delivered, and the tomb gets buttoned back up. Some tombs run $30,000 grand or more, but may eventually house more than 200 family or group members. We saw a new tomb being prepared as well as some very nice tombs, and some very run down tombs. If a tomb has not been cared for for say 50 years, you can 'buy' it from the Catholic church, fix it up, and move in when the time comes. You just move the old marker to the side, and start your new marker on the front.  |
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| 3:30 pm | THE TOUR, PART TWO: CITY PARK 1,500 acres bounded on the east by St. John Bayou, the north by the old Spanish Fort and Lake Pontchartrain. We drove past the Dueling Oaks, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Botanical Garden, some classic architecture at the Peristyle and Bopp bandstand. We stopped near the Band Stand at the Pavilion of Two Sisters were we saw a lot of ducks, geese, pidgeons, and even some crippled birds that were still able to get around. We then drove by kids Story Land, and exited by the Carousel Garden. |
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| 3:45 pm | THE TOUR, PART THREE: GARDEN DISTRICT We then drove near our hotel, looking at the Garden District. Near the Audibon Zoo and Audibon Park, this area has a lot of beautiful old houses, Loyola and Tulane Universities, and of course the St. Charles street cars. |
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| 4:15 pm | THE TOUR, PART FOUR: THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT We drove past the Arts district, the abandoned casino all on the way back... |
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| 4:30 pm | DINNER IN THE QUARTER We strolled up Toulouse, and ate outside in a quaint patio coffee shop and bakery, near the Court of Two Sisters.   |
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| WALKING AROUND JACKSON SQUARE After walking back down to Decatur, we looked about at the Patalba Apartments, the Cabildo, Jackson Square and the Statue of Andrew Jackson, and the Presbytere. Then we went over to Artillery Park, and of course, over to Cafe Dumond.  |
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| CAFE DUMOND What can I say, beignets and cafe au lait, a stroll on the moonwalk by the Mississippi, and then back to the car. |
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| WHIRLPOOLS AND BED 'Nuff said. |
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| Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Images |
More details and pictures soon  
 
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How to spend $260 in about 30 hours ($8.50/hour)
Left Home at 4:30 pm, Friday Ate at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill, Austin $31 Stayed Hampton Inn Fiesta Park, San Antonio $96 Breakfast in Hotel (free) Arrived Six Flags Fiesta Texas 9:30, Saturday Roadrunner Express Roller Coaster 3 times Wagon Wheel (ferris wheel where cars on top are upside down 2 times Train Ride 2 times
Little Roller Coaster 1 times (girls only) Car Driving 1 time Truck Driving 1 time Airplane Flying 1 time (girls only) Enclosed Teacups 2 times Water ride 2 times Ferris Wheel 1 timeScrambler 1 time Spinning Platform 1 time Comic Book Action Hero show 1 time Legends of Rock Music Show 1 time Entrance to park (kids free) $56 Drink $3 Lunch $18 Drink $3 Photo on coaster $8 Photo in park $35 (Park total $123) Left Fiesta Texas at 5:30, Saturday Ate at Scholz's Garden, Austin $21 Saw the last part of the Austin Bat Flight (free) Dessert at Kenny's in Round Rock $11 Arrived Home 11:30pm 380 miles @ 38 mpg=10 gallons @ .999=$10 Pics to follow!