This was the first spot we camped at. We had a few raccoons come visit us. They are not that scared of people because they get a lot of food from them. I could get about 5 feet away from them before they would run.
The levee encircling our campsite looked fairly new (post Katrina). It is impressive how long they are. There were also large concrete gates about 10 ft long (not in picture) that could be closed which were also very impressive.
Here is the famous Mercedes-Benz Superdome. We biked up to it after parking in the French Quarter. It's fairly close, about 1 mile. We couldn't go inside since they stopped doing tours of the place awhile ago but its outside size is very impressive and can be seen from the highway.
We also stopped in the french quarter's farmer's market and tried one of the shops Taste of New Orleans platter. Even at $23 I'd say its worth it! Going clockwise from the left most bowl the food is: shrimp creole, creole jambalaya, seafood file creole gumbo, red beans rice, creole okra gumbo.
I also got to try the Hottest Sauce in the Universe–2nd Dimension. It is rated at about 3.5 million Scoville units (700 times hotter than an average jalapeño). Dad dared me to try it but it actually had a decent aftertaste so I ended up buying a bottle. I hope my friends like surprise spiciness in their foods...
We also stopped at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 where we were enthusiastically greeted by the man in the white visor in the center of the picture. He asked if we wanted a tour and told us he'd cut us a deal for $5 per person. However, we soon realized that he was not really an official tour guide but rather an entrepreneur of sorts. Nonetheless, he gave us a good tour and even sang a little bit so we gave him the fee he asked for. 10 minutes later we saw him walking back down to the cemetery from the store with a beer in hand, ready to give more curious folks tours. I have to admit, this is much better than homeless people who just beg for money. He even had a faded name tag he probably got from the garbage can.
Along the tour we did get to see Nicolas Cage's grave site. No, he's not dead yet, he just wanted to get ready for it when the time comes. Weird guy. Apparently our tour guide "knows" him and is paid to keep his grave clean.
Here is the famous Bourbon St. Surprisingly with no one on it. The streets do get crowded starting around 5 pm though, even on week days!
I thought this was a funny shot of a silver man who was sleeping under and umbrella. Normally you see them standing perfectly still like a statue (only to move to scare people when they walk by) or preforming. I have no idea why silver paint is a tradition but my guess is that it has something to do with the minting tradition of the city. I also know stuff like this happens in Europe.
I was also fortunate enough to be able to take a cruise on the Natchez IX Steam Sternwheeler. It is the 9th steam boat to bear the name and was launched in 1975 by the New Orleans Steamboat Company. The first ship was named after the Indians of the area. Here is a panorama of the dock as we dis-embark on the 2 hour cruise down and back up the Mississippi from the French Quarter.
The Natchez 9 is the last "authentic" steam boat on the Mississippi. I put authentic in quotes because while the paddle wheel is indeed turned by steam pressure (see picture below for the pistons), the steam is now heated by diesel instead of coal like the real steam boats. However, I'm not complaining much-they did a pretty good job in replicating the old world sternwheelers. Each piece of the ship was taken from another steamboat. In fact the steam engines were taken from the sternwheeler clarion built in 1925!
This is what it looks like from the outside.
This is a video of the result of the two steam engine's work.
Here is the interior of the dining hall on the 2nd deck. They have jazz music playing for most of the cruise and also a buffet.
Over 400 ships frequent the port of New Orleans per month. Cape Kennedy (below) is just one of those ships. It is an example of a roll on roll off ship (RO-RO) ship. For some cargo, it is easier to drive it on and off instead of using a crane.
Several miles down river, we passed by the Domino Sugar refinery. It opened in 1909 and last year the broke the world record by processing 1 million tones of their product last year. If you are using sugar, there is a good chance it passed through here.
Further still down the river is the Exxon refinery. It was striking how large and dirty it looked. Another reason to switch to another source of energy fast.
It was amazing to see ships from all over the world. The ship here, Coment is from Monrovia. They will often anchor out in the river to avoid high docking costs until they are ready to unload. "Parking" in the river is free.
The beautiful city scape of downtown New Orleans. To the left of the picture is the beginning of the french quarter, where the steam boat docks.
Here is a video of one of the ships so you can get a better idea at how massive they are. This particular ship is unloaded since you can see the darker paint which is normally underwater. It is unsafe to load the ships so that they drop below the change in paint color and is there to keep the captain honest. You can also hear the tour guide talk about the bulbous bow which makes the ship more fuel efficient.
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