Local sites in the Crescent City

I went to the front desk early this morning to extend my stay in New Orleans by one day. After mulling it over in my sleep I decided that adding a day here would solve a couple of issues for me.

I could feel safe about leaving my gear in a motel room while I explored N.O.

It moves me back a day for my eventual arrival in Florida where I'm attempting to slip in behind Tropical Storm Colin, that should move across the state and back out to sea by Tuesday. I don't have any experience with Tropical Storms but I figure that if it's big enough to have a name it's big enough to deserve my attention.

It will give me a chance to rest after battling the rain yesterday (2.5") and the heat today (89 degrees). The next several days are supposed to be a lesser chance of rain (40-50%) with lower humidity (60-65%). I've jokingly told people for months that I wanted to beat the high heat across the south, then let the Hurricanes blow me up the Atlantic Coast. I may end up chasing one of those storms!

So after breakfast this morning I went to mass at St. James Major Church. The mass was interesting in that their pastor is from Scotland so he speaks very quickly with a New Orleans accent with a brogue. Picture Michael Caine on Speed with a mouth full of jambalaya. It was very difficult to follow what he was saying. The church was large and quite pretty but nearly empty, despite there being only one mass on Sunday. 

The "organist" supplied a pipe organ sound periodically, but most of the songs were accompanied by a piano with a bit of a honky tonk vibe to it. It definitely sounded appropriate in the Big Easy. Then, before the final hymn, a soloist came to the front and performed a beautiful traditional spiritual number, collecting a big round of applause from the attendees. I don't know if this was something that is done every week or if they are trying to compete with the Baptist Church next door.

After church I found my way to the Baton Rouge bridge, or the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway, the longest two bridges in the world over water. The original bridge, which I'm guessing was the southbound bridge measured just a shade over 23.8 miles long when it opened in 1956. They quickly realized that the two lane bridge left no room for broken down vehicles so they finally got financing approved to build the north bound bridge, making it .01 miles longer so it became the longest bridge, beating out it's neighbor by less than 60 feet.

I said above that I was guessing the south bound lanes were the older lanes (since confirmed by Google). The reason I said that was the moment I started the return trip across the bridge I noticed that each of the joints in the sections of the bridge had settled, forming a dip. Each of the segments of concrete is approximately 60 feet long so the entire 23.8 miles was a series of (if my math is somewhat accurate) over 2000 bumps where the suspension jars your teeth. It was like riding Arenacross!

From the south end of the bridge I headed directly downtown where I found out :

A) I was very hot and

B) I was very lost

Hot because I had elected, in an attempt to ward off the heat, to wear my rain coat instead of my leather jacket. While the material was definitely lighter weight I was quickly reminded why I use the coat with my backpacking gear. It is light weight but, because it does not breathe, it is very warm. In backpacking this has been an asset. Today it was a detriment.

Lost because I had not entered a specific location in my GPS, thinking instead I could drive to the approximate location of the French Quarter and find public parking. I followed signs toward the French Quarter but the only parking I found was specific to local businesses, mostly hotels. 

I finally pulled into a manned parking lot and told the guy I was lost. He was very helpful, finding a little nook (or was it a cranny?) between two cars. By the time I got the raincoat off I was soaked with perspiration. My day went downhill from that point. I ate at Mothers (serving the Worlds Best Ham for over 70 years - that must have been a hell of a big pig!) and they got my order wrong. 

All the history you can eat

Then I walked toward the French Quarter and had no idea why I was there. I imagine it is totally different after dark but I found no dark cafes with sounds of honky tonk music, or blues, or jazz. There were people everywhere and I had no idea what I wanted to do.

Lots of places and nowhere to go!

I had plotted the location of many points of interest I thought I might enjoy. They were all on my IPad back at the motel. Names like Bourbon Street and St. Charles came to mind but had no emotional or mental connection with a place or activity. I was still hot and quickly became miserable. I almost said screw it and headed back to my bike, but instead decided to take the St. Charles street car, which runs in a large loop to the west end of the city. 

A cool breeze blew through the open windows of the (very) noisy car which still runs a loop that it has serviced since before the civil war. I saw a number of antebellum houses and the front entrances of the Audobon Zoo, Tulane and Loyola University. 

Loyola and Tulane sit right next to each other

When I returned to the parking lot I found this mode of transportation. I (wisely?) decided not to exchange a ride with the young lady who had been eyeing my bike for the last couple hours.

They call it a hover board, I call it a trouble board

Speaking of parking lots, I saw this

Each slot accepts a car. When more room is needed a plate raises the car in the air and creates another parking spot! Also slows down the car thieves I imagine.

 

Then on the way out of downtown I went past the Super Dome. Even with it being Sunday I did not see any Saints marching in.

 

It wasn't a banner day but I have been to New Orleans now and I'm ready to move east. I guess that's all I can ask.