Retirement Travels: New Orleans II

Mon, Jan 26

We decided to give New Orleans a second chance and we're glad we did. I guess our expectations were lower today than last week and therefore we enjoyed it more.

We went to the aquarium downtown. The only problem with the aquarium - it's downtown. And traveling in downtown New Orleans is always a challenge.

Anyway, we really enjoyed the aquarium. However, we weren't captivated by the fish. We were enchanted by the birds, or rather the parakeets. There is a large aviary filled with nothing but parakeets. We must have stayed in there for over an hour. The birds were very tame.

The parakeets loved to try and get into our pockets

We did go to our first 3D IMAX movie. Unfortunately, it was our least favorite of all IMAX movies we've seen. The 3D was interesting, but the movie was about sharks. After seeing about 100 of them burst onto the screen from every angle, it got rather boring.

After spending a few hours in the aquarium, we had an awesome lunch at Bubba Gumps and decided to walk the few blocks to Bourbon Street. Our opinion didn't change - it's a real weird place.

Bourbon Street

We almost bought this hat for Evan. They really had some wild ones

Mon, Jan 27

We have seen advertisements for Louisiana Plantations, so this morning Clara selected Houmas House about 1 1/2 hours from here toward Baton Rouge.

This is not what I'd consider a restored plantation. Rather it is rehabilitated plantation home and grounds. The owner has taken a house that was started in the early 1800's and as it passed through several owners, each added on to the original structure resulting the beautiful home that now exists.

This oak tree is over 450 years old

The grounds have hundreds of statues

The current owner, Kevin Kelly, purchased the property in 2003. It is told that the home had few furnishings when he purchased it, however, over the years he has added millions of dollars of antiques, paintings, and furnishings to create a beautiful home - in which he lives full time. He has also added many features, including beautiful gardens and landscaping, restaurants (there are three on the property) and small cottages for overnight visits.

Judy welcomes us to the plantation home

Judy not only told us the history of the 1857 Steinway Piano, she played it and sang for us

By the end of the tour, we felt like Judy was a old friend.

After a nice lunch in one of the restaurants we took one of the guided tours. It is a rather cool day and we ended up as the only ones on this particular tour - and boy, were we lucky. Our tour guide was a black lady, Judy, who was full of personality, jokes, and history. She treated us as if we were the most important people who had ever visited the place and took time to tell stories and history that kept us fascinated for over an hour.

After we finished the "grand tour", we were in the gift shop and we saw a "worker" that appeared to be what Judy had described as the owner of the property. Turns out he is the owner, and he spends his days working around the property, appearing to be an employee (of which there are 119). We started a conversation with him, and for the next thirty minutes were thoroughly entertained with his explanations and stories.

Kevin Kelly, owner, Houmas House

One of his best stories is about a day when he was in one of the many ponds working around lunch time. Rather than stopping what he was doing, cleaning up and going to lunch at the restaurant (where he eats all his meals), he asked one of the staff to bring him something from the restaurant and he would eat it at the pond. It turns out that the there were many guests that day and the staff decided to "give them a show". When they brought his lunch out, they brought it out with a flourish and on a large silver platter. Some of the nearby guest questioned why the "guy working in the pond" was getting such treatment. They told these guest that it was difficult to get experienced people with this guys abilities to maintain the elegant ponds, and they were trying to make sure that they kept him happy. Apparently this created quite a stir and they later recreated the event so it could be recorded.

Another promotional event, which apparently got a lot of press was the formal wedding, with all the dressing and ceremony for his two dogs, including a prenuptial agreement.

Kevin is quite the promoter and Judy a great tour guide

Tues, Jan 28

This morning as I was getting dressed in my "travel clothes", Clara called back from the front and said, "Honey, I have 3 good reasons to stay another day". My reply, "Yes Dear!" I don't remember what the 3 reasons are, but we're staying another day. On our schedule, it really doesn't make a difference.

We decided we needed a few items from the BX/Commissary. As we approached the parking lot, there were no cars - a bit unusual at 10:30 am. We checked, and sure enough, they are closed. As we rode by the gym, I noticed there were no cars in the parking lot, which is usually full.

We decided to go downtown, wanting to see the Katrina Museum. As we passed the gate on the way out, I asked one of the guards why the BX was closed. "It's the weather, sir". "What weather?" "Oh it's supposed to be bad today!" "Okay, thanks."

The weather wasn't bad. It was raining and 35 degrees. So we headed downtown. On the way, I noticed that there really wasn't a lot of traffic. As we got into downtown, the streets seemed relatively deserted. As we rode down Bourbon St., there was hardly anyone out, and most of the stores were closed. And the museum was closed.

Now I remember 2 of the 3 things for which we are spending another day. A Mardi Gras hat for Evan and Mardi Gras mask for Anna. We did find a few stores open and successfully purchased said things.