The Deep South: Part 5: New Orleans

NOTE:  This blog is in 5 parts--scroll down to begin at Part 1!

 

It was Monday, and Day 7 of our trip.  It was finally time to spend a day in the big city.  We had planned to visit on a Monday morning, hoping that the French Quarter would be relatively quiet.  Instead, it was a family circus, crawling with tourists.  We managed to find an expensive parking spot, and were able to wander around the Quarter for just over an hour.  There was live music on the streets, which was okay, and many of the narrow streets were blocked to traffic.  Small and crowded stores and rundown bars dominated the area, with untold numbers of restaurants serving Louisiana cuisine.  Why so many people wandering around?  Think Florence or Venice in high season, but without the Renaissance art and architecture.

    The highlights were Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral, but there really wasn't much else to see.  I had no urge to enter one of the seedy looking bars, and the gift shops were either tourist junk shops or super expensive ones.  The lineup for Cafe du Monde went far down the street, so we gave it a miss.  In just over an hour we were back at the car, with two hours still left on our meter.

 

Preservation Hall, New Orleans.  It is now being restored.

 

St. Louis Cathedral sits at the northwest end of Jackson Park, which is the heart of the French Quarter.

 

St. Louis Cathedral.

Bourbon St. balcony. 

 

Original plans had been to stay for lunch in the Quarter.  Instead, we headed further southwest, passed the modern skyscraper part of downtown, to a part of Magazine Street that reminded me of Queen St. in Toronto before it got all expensive.  It is a funky area of small shops and restaurants, and without the hordes of tourists.  We had a memorable lunch at Union Ramen.  Their special vegan ramen was by far the best ramen we have ever eaten!  It helped restore our faith in New Orleans, much as the rest of our time spent in the city did.  Once we had left the Quarter behind us, we began to relax and enjoy the town.

We strolled the area after lunch before heading to City Park, a vast green space in the north end.  It is home to a conservatory, gardens including a sculpture garden, a storybook garden, the art museum, and a branch of Cafe du Monde.  Being a Monday most attractions were closed, but we visited the park and the cafe, which was not only scenic in a run down fin de siecle way, but it wasn't terribly busy.  We were able to sample their famous beignets, essentially square donuts swimming in powdered sugar.  The only coffee they serve (since time immemorial) is a cafe au lait, with real milk.  No milk substitutes were on offer, so we passed on the coffee.

Deb encounters a spirit tree in City Park, New Orleans. 

 

Instead, we went to a small cafe just outside the park.  PJ's Coffee hit the spot, and we sat a long time here, still happily remembering our shitake mushroom ramen meal at Union Ramen.  We finally moved to our final stop of the day.  Second Line Brewing Company is a women-owned business that served us up some truly amazing beer.  They had a garden with picnic tables, but it was so windy that we sat inside, a smaller area with garage doors partly open to the world but sheltered from the wind.  This also turned into a very long and highly pleasant stop, and most memorable.  Since escaping the Quarter, we had found scattered treasures in other less hectic parts of the city.

 

Second Line Brewing, an inclusive space welcoming everyone, owned and operated by women.

Our first flight was so damned delicious that we ended up having a second one.

 

There were 20 taps.  We had no room for more tee-shirts, but I bought a decal!

On the second beer flight I reordered the Maibock, one of the best ever!  We tried 7 of the 20 ales on offer, and each one was especially delicious.

 

The good life, New Orleans.

 

We sat here a long time, until it was safe for me to drive.  It was past rush hour, and the traffic was manageable.  We had been having persistent tire pressure problems with the left rear tire.  We had to fill it up each morning, which was a pain.  You would not believe how many service stations either do not have air, or their machine is not working.  Our hotel tonight was once again in Metaire.  Deb was able to score us a free night with Choice Hotel points she had saved up.   It turned out to be the best hotel of the trip, a Country Inn and Suites by Radisson.  Deb told me that there was a thunderstorm during the night.  If there was, I know nothing of it.  I slept like a bear. 

 

Our final day was devoted to a three hour visit to the New Orleans Museum of Art.  The museum lies at the heart of City Park.  The older front of the building has been enlarged with a large and very modern addition.  There is a pretty decent art collection, well worth a half day.  Several times we were pleasantly surprised at some of the things we saw, including a marvellous Dore landscape, and two by Courbet.  These made the visit worth it in themselves.  There is a cafe, and a gift store where I was able to purchase a pencil for my collection.  There are three floors of art, very well organized.  Their Native American galleries were closed, no doubt for reasons similar to the Moundville Museum being devoid of displays.

 

New Orleans Museum of Art, main entrance.

Inside the main entrance hall.

View out to City Park from inside the museum.

 

They had a Jan Breughel painting.

A bayou painting by a local artist.

Near Ghost Ranch, NM, by O'Keeffe. 

 

One of my favourite paintings in the museum was this one, a large work called "Market Lane 2" by Ablade Glover.  Just look at it for a moment and it will make sense.

 

Deb was quite taken by a series of glass works on display. 

One of my guilty pleasures.  The Four Continents, with America showing, and in the background, Asia. 

 

After the museum visit it was time to head for the airport.  It is a fairly lengthy process to return a rental vehicle here and get to the main terminal.  The flight home was fine, though the approach to Detroit during a rainstorm was bumpy.  We had a long wait to deplane from our full flight, and then another long wait for Airlines Parking vans.  Overall the trip was a huge success, and we are glad we went, despite all the hassles associated with air travel.  Changing planes is the worst, especially in Europe.  But flying direct, like we did this time, is definitely the way to go.

 

TRIP SUMMARY 

 

        Thinking about and planning a trip is very different from actually undertaking one.  That gap widens with age.  We hadn't flown since 2018, so there was some anxiety about that part of the journey.  Luckily it went smoothly, both ways.  Flights were quiet and on time.  We only had carry on luggage, which also helped a lot.  Light tee shirts and a light jacket are the way to go, if heading south.  Both airports are ultra modern and easy to navigate, though New Orleans is considerably smaller than Detroit's.

 

        The weather was mostly good, with 60s and 70s most days, with little rain.  Roads were excellent, and it was easy to find good vegan food and breweries.  We had a number of major goals to achieve, and managed to complete them all.  The only real downside was that my Dad went into the hospital during our 2nd day, and ended up passing away near the end of our trip.  That will always colour the trip a certain way, especially since we were due to visit home soon after.   

 

         We have travelled only a little since 2018.  We are resuming, however, at least as far as exploring the USA goes.  At the moment neither of us is much interested in a trans-Atlantic flight, though that may change.  I would love to revisit Vienna, and see something of Berlin, not to mention wonderful cities such as Prague and Rome.  For now, though, there is still much to see in North America.

 

        This was a fun trip, somewhat akin to last year's voyage towards Little Rock.  March and April climates can be pretty decent in the south.  Two prehistoric mound sites visited were truly spectacular places, both unforgettable.  New cities visited included Tuscaloosa and Montgomery Alabama, and Monroe and New Orleans Louisiana.  The four newest state highpoints visited were, like each of the others visited to date, were unique and fun experiences.  We now have 11 highpoints checked off.

 

          A return to New Mexico may be attempted again in October.  Hopefully it, too, will be a fun and spiritually rewarding and rejuvenating adventure.  As to the deep south, I really wouldn't mind revisiting Alabama someday.  It seems we were hurrying through it much of the time, though when we did sit in one place quietly for a time, it was quite enjoyable.  And it has mountains and hiking.

 

Mapman Mike 

     

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 

The Deep South: Part 4--Cheaha Mountain and Montgomery

The rain we had encountered the previous day continued into the next morning, and we were surrounded by low clouds.  This was to be the day in which we achieved the highest point of the trip, atop the highest point in Alabama.  The state goes from sea level down at the Gulf coast (Mobile, for example) to over 2400' in the Appalachians east of Birmingham.  Like the Arkansas highpoint, this one gives you a real feel of mountains, thickly forested and with some outstanding rock outcrops.  We only drove 160 miles today, but much of it was on winding two lane roads.  Our little highway 281 eventually gave us views across a deep valley across to Cheaha Mountain.  Alas, the summit was not visible as it was lost in clouds.  However, a clearing trend was predicted, so we kept our hopes up.

 

View of the Appalachians from Highway 281.

View from the same spot towards Cheaha Mountain, lost in clouds.  We would be up there in just a few minutes. 

 

It was damp, cold, and windy when we arrived at the state park, home to Cheaha Mountain, Alabama's highest point.  It was also completely foggy, as we were in the clouds.  We delayed our drive to the very summit, instead choosing to take a scenic boardwalk out to Bald Rock.  The hike was only 0.6 miles return, but it was very scenic and we walked slowly as a result.  The CCC had developed a trail out to a scenic overlook in the 1930s, but due to slippery rocks today the boardwalk was much safer.  The fog was pretty dense when we set out from the parking lot, but gradually lifted from then on.  At the overlook no distant views presented themselves.  Instead, the highlight of this walk was the surrounding forest, lichen covered rocks, and the Bald Rock itself, at the very end.  

We only had tee shirts and light jackets, so we didn't stay at the coldest and windiest point for very long.  By the end of our return walk we began to finally meet people coming to the overlook.  We had been all alone till then.  

It was a very atmospheric walk today.

 

The rock formations were completely amazing!

 

Distant views were murky on our visit, but it was clearing.

 

Bald Rock itself.  On a clear day views stretch for miles, east towards Atlanta. 

 

By the end of the walk the fog had lifted.  We drove up to Cheaha Mountain, a short distance away.  The CCC had built a cabin and lookout tower in the 1930s, all made from local stone.  The cabin is now a CCC museum, which we visited.  The tower is still open for visitors, and we trudged up the curving stone staircase, adding another 40' or so of elevation to the mountains' 2407'.  Though the fog was lifting rapidly, it was still hazy with low clouds on our visit to the top.  Distant views were limited. Had it been a clear and sunny day we would have remained at the State Park longer, and walked a few more trails.  But we were very cold.  We had reached the highest point of our journey, and had received fitting mountain weather.  It was to be all downhill from here, soon to be back at sea level.

 

The incredibly beautiful cabin built by the CCC atop Cheaha Mountain.

 

Take a moment to really examine closely the incredible stone work on the CCC tower.

 

View down to the parking area from the tower.

Though it was clearing, views were still poor on our visit. 

 

By lunchtime we were well down the mountain, and it was sunny.  We had a picnic lunch on the courthouse steps in Ashland, seat of Clay County.  The beautiful old courthouse was closed, being a Saturday.  Likewise the State capitol building in Montgomery, our next destination.

Ashland courthouse.  We ate lunch beneath the large tree.  The building was closed today, unfortunately.

 

View looking up from our lunch bench at the old courthouse. 

 

We arrived at our final new city of the road trip, and it was getting close to coffee time.  The downtown area of Montgomery fulfilled all of our needs today.  There was a tourist information centre with local maps and good restrooms.  There was a really good bookstore, a wonderful cafe, a legendary brewery and a vegan restaurant.  Heaven!  It was also a pleasant town in which to stroll.  In short, we really enjoyed our afternoon visit.  We began with a long stop at Prevail Union Cafe, sitting outdoors in a shaded alleyway, protected from the strong wind.  Rosa Parks once worked in the building.  It is being restored and repurposed.  The cafe sold coffee beans, and we bought a bag to bring home.

 

Afterwards, we took a long walk through the downtown to the riverfront.  There was a large public park along the Alabama River.  We ended up finally at Common Bond Brewery, which shares a restored old building with a pizza restaurant.  We claimed two comfortable arm chairs.  The beer selection was the very best, as were the actual ales.  We enjoyed a very high ceiling room with large windows just beneath the ceiling on two walls.  Another old abandoned factory put to very good use!  After our beer flight ran low I ordered a pint of amber ale.  Deb phoned in an order of food from nearby Vegan Bae, and I soon went to pick it up.  It was still very sunny and windy.  The food was delicious and we ended up spending a long time at the pub.  But we finally did pack up and head back to the centre of town, where we had parked the car (free) all day.  We arrived at our hotel tired buy happy after a long but very fun day.

 

Statue of Rosa Parks, where she caught her bus every day.  One of her rides home was to forever change America.  The State Capitol Building is behind her in the distance.

 

State Capitol Building from the centre of downtown Montgomery.

Restored historic building downtown, for sale.

The old millinery building where Rosa Parks worked is now a very fine cafe.  We sat in the open alleyway behind the white facade.

 

Prevail Union Cafe, downtown Montgomery.

View from our cafe table. 

 

Public park on the Alabama River, downtown Montgomery.

 

Looking upstream this time.

 

Our vehicle, as we look from the river towards the old market building.  An underpass led from the river back into the downtown area.  Long passing trains can thus be avoided.

 

State Capitol of Alabama, up close.

More restored historic downtown buildings.

 

There's no place like home.

Best of the best.

 

On offer at Common Bond.

Inside the pub.
 

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Our final day of road tripping dawned sunny and mild.  It was a Sunday.  We would drive south from Montgomery to the Florida Panhandle, then turn west along I 10 and follow the Gulf Coast until we reached the outskirts of New Orleans.  Today we would drive 355 miles, with only a brief stop in northwest Florida to visit that state's highpoint.  All week we had been getting messages from my brother Stephen regarding my Dad's condition in the hospital.  Today, at 11:30 a.m., we received news of his passing.  We were 30 minutes from Florida, and were soon stopping at the highpoint.  Thoughts of my Dad were swirling in my head during our stop.  It was a truly beautiful little park, and we were alone.  Somewhere in the distance a peacock was crowing.  Dad would have liked a visit to this place, and likely would have got a chuckle at the height of the highpoint.  The trees were blowing in a soft breeze, the blue sky was immaculate, the temperature warm but not hot.  Dad had never been to New Orleans, and had been looking forward to our upcoming visit and hearing about our trip.

Britton Hill is the lowest state highpoint among the 50 (Alaska has the highest).  At 345', it seems to get few visitors.  Lakewood Park had benches and restrooms.  We spent about 20 minutes before turning west and heading back to our starting point from five days ago.  Once on the interstate highway we soon left Florida behind.  We passed again through the south part of Alabama.  Then came a swathe of Mississippi, and finally Louisiana again.  We spent the night in Sidell, just north of New Orleans.  The rest of our journey (1 1/2 days) would be spent in New Orleans.

No need to worry about elevation sickness in Florida.  

 

The park was surrounded by woods.  There was a walking trail.

 

Our vehicle for the week. 

 

Mapman Mike