Florida Day 23

March 21

Hiked not so much; travelled by bus, paddlewheeler and streetcar

Blew and blew all night, but very warm. We awoke to dull skies, wind and the threat of torrential rain, but we took the 10:00 shuttle into town.

We decided to take a river cruise in the Natchez, a steam-powered paddlewheeler. While waiting, we were serenaded by a trumpeter then the calliope on top of the boat.

We were all asked to stop for a photo “for security reasons”. But of course, we had to pose in front of a replica of the ship's wheel and were asked to smile. Hmmm...(later found it was $30 for that security photo).

The cruise was great. We saw the importance of New Orleans as a shipping port with a sugar refinery, second only in size to one in Brazil. There were barges and freighters:

And there were levees, like those that failed during Katrina:

And some historic buildings:

It started to storm for a while, so we settled for a Bloody Mary and Hurricane (yum) and waited it out.

Back on shore, we were greeted by a mime (the guy in white held that pose for more than 10 minutes). Funnily, we saw these two much later drinking beer in a bar!

We decided to buy an all-day pass ($3) for the streetcars and did a tour of The Garden District, along with a lovely couple from New York. It was fun. The houses were gorgeous and the streets tree-lined. And, the trees and hydro wires were festooned with Mardi Gras beads. Loved it.

A quick stroll down Bourbon Street back to the shuttle and we got home. 

We got a pizza (another perk of the park) and rested after two great days in NOLA.

Here's a picture of our little piece of Pontchartrain Landing:

Florida Day 22

March 20

Hiked MANY miles; didn't have the GPS but walked the entire French Quarter!

Time to leave the Gulf Coast and head to New Orleans. We passed the Stennis Space Center of NASA (never heard of it before). The fisherman we met yesterday speculated that Stennis would take over the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast if ever there were another big hurricane.

Hit Louisiana at 9:42 and were welcomed with an entire ditch full of egrets. We crossed over Lake Pontchartrain on Highway 10 and started to notice the remains of Katrina. Random houses were refurbished and others still in decay. Businesses were left vacant. There was an entire mall that WAS (just parking lot now, for sale, and someone was cutting grass!).

We found our way to Pontchartrain Landing (a PA park for $33 a night). It IS an RV parking lot on a canal that leads to Lake P. There's a yacht-making business across the canal and a big boat storage area.

Since the weather was meant to be bad for the next couple of days (unlike the WARMER and SUNNIER forecast back home), we took the 4:00 shuttle into the French Quarter.

We walked a lot, took in the sites, and enjoyed.

Here are some pics of the balconies and beautiful architecture:

The stroll through Bourbon Street led to ONE solicitation to David (and they invited "the wife" too since they loved women!). Thank God we were worth the invite!

We had a not great dinner (Red Beans and Rice and hot sausage/fried chicken) then a yummy dessert of beignets and cafe au lait. There were two Supermen at the Cafe du Monde:

We got a good sense of the French Quarter and New Orleans. We're hoping for okay weather tomorrow, but don't expect much!

Here's the view from my chair (dull skies and wind and many Rvs, but our view nevertheless):

Florida Day 21

March 19

Hike and Biked 13.4 miles

Woke to seven Egrets fishing in our little bayou. Great sight.

We decided to take a bike ride and headed west. The road was quiet and flat so the riding was great.

We went out to the Silver Slipper Hotel and Casino and tried to imagine life here before and during Katrina. Apparently, all that was left of the casino is the water tower you see here:

There were even more remains of houses and debris everywhere.

We found our way to a marina and spent time talking to a fisherman who helped us “see” the impact of “the storm” (that's the term they all use). He said that essentially everything we saw along this coast is only a couple of years old. That the water went north several miles. That destroyed boats are all over the marsh, forever buried in the reeds. That fewer than half of the people have returned to rebuild. That insurance paid for very little (and his own has grown fro $1,200 a year before the storm to more than $4,000 now). And, from another younger fisherman, that the oil spill wasn't a big deal. So much to think about.

This marina was wiped out, but now some houses (VERY high up) have been rebuilt. Apparently the shrimp business has survived everything.

We had a sobering ride back (along with a stop on Ontario!):

Back from the long ride, we relaxed then headed back to the beach, likely our last visit as we start “north” tomorrow. On our way, we saw two weird “squirrels”: big, reddish, with a white face. Checked my Mammals book and didn't see a match. Work to do there.

Back to bicycle disaster. We both had soft tires. We found the leak in David's (from a burr of some sort like those we had in Texas). And my actual tire is abraded in one spot so riding may be out for the rest of the trip. Hope not.

Great sunburning day (except for that last part!).

Here's a view of our campsite:

Florida Day 20

March 18

Hiked and biked 2.2 miles.

Moving down the Gulf Coast today. We crossed the huge bridge over Biloxi Bay and drove by the casinos, beaches, low and highrise hotels (and the detritus of yesterday's St. Paddy's Day parade).

Saw our first cemetery with above-ground crypts. Then some Antebellum homes and some reproductions. You can sense Katrina here as you see many empty lots.

By the way, there are a LOT of Waffle Houses here.

We saw a hearse and limo gassing up. Then, when they passed us later, we saw there WAS a casket in that hearse. Eeks.

In Gulfport, we saw fleets of Seadoos bobbing in the waves, umbrellas and loungers for rent, but little public beach access on our east to west journey and very few people.

We started to see property for sale from one at $180,000 to another at $1 million for an acre. Starting to imagine who might be able to afford to rebuild here.

Driveways to no houses; foundations holding up nothing; stilts (not sure what the real word is) with nothing on top; stairways to nowhere. These things beside homes that have been rebuilt. Very eery.

In the medians, we started to see chainsaw sculptures carved from the stumps of dead trees: dolphins and eagles. How beautiful.

Then we got to Buccaneer State Park. When we registered, the park manager talked about how the park was under 20 FEET of water "after the storm". His own home was under 10 feet, and he and his family lived in the park in a FEMA trailer for five years. The park is on its way back and it's amazing (this pic for Heather's Yamin!):

There are more than 200 sites (we're in 121 in Treasure Cove), and the swimming pool and Water Park are being rebuilt. People still are just finding out they've reopened. It's quiet now which is great for us!

We had lunch and rode to the beach across the rode. The water was so warm and very shallow, so we actually waded in and met Peter and his wonderful Border Collie, Jake, who coerced many of us into playing fetch with his toy. And we met two nice women from Nova Scotia.

Met an Ontario couple from PETERBOROUGH (she once worked in Futures at Fleming)!

It was a day of people and talking and enjoying.

Here's the view from my chair:

Florida Day 19

March 17

Biked and hiked 6.5 miles

Road trip! We decided we haven't done this much. We usually stop at places on our WAY to the next campground.

Up to a beautiful morning and a short drive to the National Crane National Wildlife Reserve. It's beautiful complex charged with preserving the particular Sandhill Crane that is found nowhere else but here. After the movie, we learned that there are only 100 alive now, mostly from the human raising of the “second egg” from the nests.

Alas, the birds are nesting and mating, so none to be seen in the savannah, that has been restored for these cranes. So it became a “flora” trip on the trail. Beautiful:

David is enamoured of the moss hanging from the Swamp Cypress trees: 

And yes, that's me balancing a Long-leaf Pine cone on my head!

Talked with an Arkansas couple who are professors at the University there. I mentioned my teaching and she said she commiserated with me and all my English teaching friends. Her best story for a paper she deducted marks from for grammar (she's a Biochemistry Professor) which contributed to lack of understanding was the student thumping her desk and saying “But, you are SUPPOSED to know what I meant!”. Love it.

We may not have seen Sandhill Cranes, but we saw a sign for “Glenn's Crane and Rigging”.

We drove to the Mississippi Gulf Islands National Seashore. Not like in Florida at Fort Pickens where the beaches were beautiful and accessible. This is a little more swampy, guess it's because it's on the Davis Bayou and not the Gulf proper.

We took part of the Live Oaks Bike Trail along the beach. Interesting, the piers are private (owned by the big houses across from the beach) but the beaches are public. You can really sense how Katrina (and likely regular hurricanes) affected this area. You see places that sustained the storm and barren spots where you use your imagination to see what WAS there.

We did see another alligator (three states' worth of alligators) but the picture didn't work out (VERY hidden). But here are some turtles we also saw.

Back home to the peace and quiet of this lovely campground.

Here's the view of my chair (and husband and campsite):