Tripometer – 14,763 mi
Gas Gauge – 1152.255 gal
Location – French Quarter RV Park, New Orleans, LA
Lodging – $105
Cans of OFF – 4
This trip has gotten to the point that 55 degrees is warm weather to us. The pack up and trip into New Orleans was uneventful. We both enjoyed the trip up the Bayou Lafourche from its mouth near Grand Isle to about 20mi south of New Orleans. The sheer quantity of marine infrastructure in Louisiana boggles the mind.
The French Quarter RV Park turned out to be as swanky as we were hoping it might be, and at over a hundred dollars per night it better be. Driving into the city you can tell that this is a rough town. The RV park is located in the shadow of the I-10 elevated roadway about 8 blocks from the heart of the French Quarter. As we approached the RV park, we noticed the underside of the elevated I-10 hosts a fair portion of the city’s homeless population, not exactly the neighbors we were looking forward to. The RV park is surrounded by a 8’ concrete wall with barbed wire along the top and has an electronic iron gate at the entrance to the park. The security staff (multiple) are on duty 24/7. All of this helped us sleep in a soft sided trailer about 100 feet from homeless city. Aside from these facts, we are by far the smallest rig in the park. Most of the RVs here are 30-45 foot long Class A bus-like rigs that probably cost more than our home. We are not a target on a robber’s list.
Not wanting to walk through the back streets into the French Quarter at night, we dropped the trailer as quickly as possible and drove into the French Quarter in search of dinner and drinks. As we crossed Bourbon Street, as if by magic, we spotted a street side parking spot and swooped into what would be the best parking spot during our entire stay in NOLA. We spent the evening walking shops in the Quarter and taking in the sights of the city. Being a Friday night, the crowds were fairly rambunctious and spirits were high. At some point in the early evening while Kelly shopped one of the little stores off of Royal Street, Paul and Ranger waited outside. Paul, patiently leaning against a light post and Ranger, lying at Paul’s feet. An older lady (70’s?) looking especially entitled walked by and in a tone that indicated she thought Paul was one of the homeless population in the city said ‘Oh, he looks so well taken care of!’. Paul has officially achieved full vagrant status.
At one point in the evening Paul stepped off the curb to grab a picture of a passing horse drawn carriage. The horse pulling the carriage was dressed in an LED adorned tack and harness to look as though it were in a Mardi Gras parade. The driver of the carriage pulled lightly on the reigns and yelled “Sic ‘em” at the top of her voice whereupon the horse stuck his nose about 6” from Paul’s face. Paul naturally scratched her chin and made cute noises to the delight of the horse, but Ranger was confused. Ranger proceeded to stare between the two of us and the horse with a curious look for the better part of three minutes as we had a lively discussion with the driver of the carriage. This dog has seen a tremendous variety of wildlife on this trip, but rarely this close and rarely on the same plane (He’s most often in a car when we see new wildlife). He was very calm, cautious, and curious about the whole thing. We’re not sure he knows what to make of horses.
Our first impressions of New Orleans are off the charts. We expected the beautiful old architecture, but we didn’t expect most of the city to look like it was transported here from the mid 1800s. The beauty and splendor of the French Quarter blew us away. So many of the historic cities we’ve been to have a historic section that is fairly small compared to the city as a whole. New Orleans seems to have retained huge numbers of the original buildings at least in the French Quarter district. Block after block of beautiful old hotels, shops, and restaurants line the streets, each beautifully cared for with intricate metal railings, decorations, and operational gas lights on many. The traditional 15 foot ceiling height is widespread throughout the buildings in the French Quarter and gives each building a feeling of old world grandeur. Despite the crowds milling around looking at their cell phones, you can still picture this town in its heyday with horse drawn carriages and finely dressed townsfolk.
We had dinner at a restaurant that welcomed Ranger in on the enclosed front area of the restaurant. Apparently the pet laws are a bit loose in New Orleans. Paul had a sampler aimed at tourists with crawfish etouffee, shrimp & anduoite sausage gumbo, and seafood jambalaya. Kelly had a muffuletta. The food was incredible and left us feeling as though we were about to gain some serious weight this week. When we were done eating and asked for a check, the waitress asked if we would like a to-go cup for our beers. Perfect.
We went to sleep tonight with the full sounds of a bustling city taking place around us. The traffic on the I-10 was not so much of an issue, but the rowdy traffic on the side streets speeding in between traffic lights with their revving engines and honking horns were what woke us up most frequently. Being a Friday night the loud drunkards stumbling home on the side streets were a nuisance from at least midnight to 2am. It’s all somewhat reminiscent of sleeping in the heart of Las Vegas.