We now had another day to do New Orleans!! Once off Bourbon Street it gets much cleaner. Seeing that there are no laws against drinking in public, this street has the bars and yuk. A side comment we ran into two gals we talked to yesterday twice today.
This is the hotel with Shirleen sitting on the porch.
We started off at Café Du Monde for our morning coffee and beignet. 
Today during coffee there was a street group doing gospel type music. The banjo player was the straight man and the trumpet player was the comedian. He fleeced the crowd for tips and cd sales, but did it with a twist of humor. He held up a cd and said these are on sale but please don’t stampede, of course no one got up, then he said, OK go ahead and stampede. A roar goes up, much applause, I even tendered up as we left.
In the alley of the café we could watch them make the beignets, the guy I suspect ate many of these. Fun to watch, they have a device that flattens and cuts the dough. 
He then carefully pulls the partially cut triangles with all the flour falling off and stacks them six deep and throws, yes throws them into hot oil, BEHIND him without looking. The oil splashes against the back and off they fry. He turns them once and after that side is brown he pushes the entire batch under the hot oil for the final cook. He takes them out and hands the off to a gal who places three on a plate or in a bag for take out and dumps a full cup of powdered sugar on top. Here is where a small amount becomes crystallized and gives it a great taste. I can still taste them.
We walked to the National Parks exhibit; they have a tour in the afternoon to come back to. We then walked around the streets and back to the hotel, sitting outside taking in the warmth of the sun. We then went to eat and found the Omni hotel’s restaurant Rib Room. They, as Brennan’s, buy the bread from a great baker in town, it is a soft inside with a semi-hard crust and gobs of butter not spread. Shirleen’s half roasted chicken with garlic flavored mashed potatoes and asparagus were great, my lightly fried red fish with ratatouille was superb.
The National Park tour was nice as we visited many of the places down by the Mississippi. The depth of the river at this point is 230 feet and ¾ of a mile wide, much deeper than I ever would have thought. Before the tour we had a special talk Lagniappe (a small gift) about the Barataria battle more at http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab6.htm by Ranger Harold on the 1812 Battle of New Orleans, where the local pirate helped Jackson win the battle.
This is where we headed SOUTH along the east bank of the Mississippi River, most of the time you are beneath the levee and can’t see a thing. But the drive is slow and country-ish, with bayous and small lakes abound. After the 30 miles or so we made the turn back up to the ferry. We went all the way to the end to go through Bohemia, it no longer exists, may be Katrina blew it away. The ferry is subsidized by the local Parish. I got out of the car and befriended the engineer, Harold. We talked about the engines, 2 of them 1,200 HP, hydraulic and air systems. He talked about his dad, 91, had his clothes ripped off him but saved by Harold’s brother. There was not much there but there was not much left.
We walked to the National Parks exhibit; they have a tour in the afternoon to come back to. We then walked around the streets and back to the hotel, sitting outside taking in the warmth of the sun. We then went to eat and found the Omni hotel’s restaurant Rib Room. They, as Brennan’s, buy the bread from a great baker in town, it is a soft inside with a semi-hard crust and gobs of butter not spread. Shirleen’s half roasted chicken with garlic flavored mashed potatoes and asparagus were great, my lightly fried red fish with ratatouille was superb.
The National Park tour was nice as we visited many of the places down by the Mississippi. The depth of the river at this point is 230 feet and ¾ of a mile wide, much deeper than I ever would have thought. Before the tour we had a special talk Lagniappe (a small gift) about the Barataria battle more at http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab6.htm by Ranger Harold on the 1812 Battle of New Orleans, where the local pirate helped Jackson win the battle.
This is where we headed SOUTH along the east bank of the Mississippi River, most of the time you are beneath the levee and can’t see a thing. But the drive is slow and country-ish, with bayous and small lakes abound. After the 30 miles or so we made the turn back up to the ferry. We went all the way to the end to go through Bohemia, it no longer exists, may be Katrina blew it away. The ferry is subsidized by the local Parish. I got out of the car and befriended the engineer, Harold. We talked about the engines, 2 of them 1,200 HP, hydraulic and air systems. He talked about his dad, 91, had his clothes ripped off him but saved by Harold’s brother. There was not much there but there was not much left.
A couple sets of stairs but no house behind them, many FEMA trailers well kept but out in now-where’s-land. Sure these people have been forgotten but are they happy, YES. 
Hunter said that they can live off the land and river, by catching, fish, oysters and crawfish. His pronunciation of oyster was off the chart but Shirleen caught on. The waves were rough and just as we were talking off from the dock, I noticed that a ship was coming up the river and the bow had just passed us. We went downriver a bit and swung behind the steamer.
From here we swung a hard left and continued down the levee toward the end of the road and river outlet. Past much destruction and trailers, again well kept. I really suspect these also will never see another home again. We did pass past the town where the center of Katrina passed, Buras. Now we get to the end of the road in Venice Louisiana and the GPS road quit but I didn’t. We drove toward some of the shipping port and fish boats. As we progressed Shirleen said, that water is to close to the road, a little, enough for the guys to park there trucks and do some fishing. 
The view was at sunset and the big birds and pelicans were roosting out on the dead trees. 
Turned around and went the other way, here we could see the Mississippi, which at this time was fogging with a ship headed out. This is what I wanted to see the end of the river where not many tread. Wish I had took a picture of the GPS at that time but thought of it later. Follow the river on the picture and see where we went to the end.Now head north and find a place to stay, up the 70 miles or so to New Orleans and up to Slidell on the northeast side of Lake Pontchartrain. Luck was with us and we found one, Friday the air show had them taken. jerr
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