December turned out to be a busy month for me: a trip to Kentucky (see last post), then to Philadelphia for my nephew's bar mitzvah, Chanuka, and then a vacation in New Orleans, Louisiana between Xmas and New Years. Phew! That's a lot of airline mileage....
I've always wanted to visit New Orleans and this trip was a lot of fun. When you think of the Big Easy, you think of partying (Marti Gras), drinking, and eating. But there's actually a lot of other great things to do there if you like history and architecture and the beautiful outdoors. I stayed in a timeshare on the northshore of Lake Pontchartrain (which is directly north of N.O.) in a town called Abita Springs, which used to be a summer resort destination for city folk. It was very pretty and much quieter than staying in town. It was also a great jumping off point for visiting other places outside of the city.
I apologize ahead of time for the large number of photos posted. I really tried to narrow down the amount to a manageable size (you should have seen the first cut!), but I think you'll enjoy the ones I've selected. Grab a cup of coffee and start scrolling :)
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| Waffles on Maple |
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| St Charles streetcar (oldest continuous running streetcar line in the country). |
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| Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (24 miles long!) |
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| At the Mystery House at the UCM Museum, Abita Springs. |
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| The owner of the Mystery House. |
GARDEN DISTRICT
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| Parade down Louisiana Street. |
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| Tour guide at the Lafayette #1 Cemetery |
PLANTATION COUNTRY
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| Houmas House |
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| Custom "Blue Dog" painting by local Cajun artist George Rodrigue. |
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| Destrehan Plantation |
FRENCH QUARTER
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| The famous Cafe du Monde |
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| Mmmmm beignets! |
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| Jackson Square. |
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| Lafitte's blacksmith shop (it's a bar). |
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| French Market. |
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CSA half dollar - the only mint to strike coins with a distinctly Confederate design was in
New Orleans, after it was taken over in 1861. |
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| More Blue Dogs and streetcars. |
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| Lake and cypress trees at dawn. |
BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI
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| Top of the Biloxi lighthouse. |
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| Biloxi Visitor's Center. |
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| Carved cypress sculptures by Marlin Miller. |
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| Gulf Islands National Seashore - Davis Bayou area. |
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| Hmmmm.... |
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If you know your history, he was president of the Confederacy, not the USA.
Only in the South... |
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| ...and yes, that's a Confederate flag flying. |
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| Jeff himself. |
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| Behind Beauvoir is a cemetery for Confederate soldiers. |
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| Driving along the Gulf Coast. |
NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM, NEW ORLEANS
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| This is for Dad (a"h). |
