Ed Brownfield told me not to miss the World War Ii Museum. Then several other people told me the same thing. On a rainy morning, Mark and I decided to go, and we were not disappointed. But be sure to get fueled up before you go.
“We have faith that future generations will know that here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a time when men of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war.” Franklin Roosevelt
Jeep frame
Jeep
All the ships and planes in Normandy landing
Section setup as a ship
The Pinup girls
Makes you feel you are in the middle of the scene
The World War II Museum is a great place where you walk through history, following the arrows through the war, in rooms set up to make you feel like you are in the war, on the beach or on a ship. Like most museums, you can’t take it all in. Like Ed said, you have to come back many times.
Lunch was at Port of Call on the corner of Esplande and Dauphine, known for their hamburgers and steaks. We waited for 45 minutes, but it sure was good.
The walk back was good. Walking in New Orleans is always good. Well, I go to bed early, so I don’t see the city in the middle of the night.
My thanks to Mark for all the planning, scouting, teaching and expertise. Great job Mark!
We are on a Photography/Cultural Tour of New Orleans with https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com. After a great swamp boat tour this morning, we were scheduled for a walking tour of New Orleans. We grabbed a quick lunch before getting to the tour, so I had this delicious smothered chicken and rice dish that I didn’t quite have time to finish.
We got to the tour inside a restaurant with eight other people seated at tables with white linens and settings. Our guide told us he was going to take us to eight places to sample signature dishes of New Orleans! Soon a lovely, dark bean and pork stew was delivered as we sat staring and smiling at each other. We had no idea!
Between restaurants, we would walk a few blocks, so we got to see some places we hadn’t seen before, and one we had just been in the day before – The Pepper Palace!
We had visited yesterday. Every hot thing imaginable!Cool place making brass gas lightsEvery kind of pralinePassing shops with decorative costumesDecorative beads of Mardi Gras Love these open air restaurantsLove the porches and iron worksAll kinds of Po’Boys, a sandwich on crusty French BreadThankfully, small samples of a usually large sandwichSt Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square
It was a fun tour. If we just hadn’t eaten lunch before we started 😊
On a photography workshop with Mark Zablotsky (https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com), our adventure of the morning was an airboat ride through the swamps of Jean Lafitte National Park. There are a lot of swamps, waterways and lakes at the end of the mighty Mississippi. How our guide found his way around must have come from many years experience. Pretty amazing where these boats can go and how fast they can go.
Big barge pushing a load down a canal
I enjoyed the whole trip and liked our guide, Rocky, a fitting name for this guy. He was barefoot, sometimes getting out of the boat to push off or walk on the shore. I told him I would be worried about cottonmouths, but he said you can smell them! He threw marshmallows to the gators, which I’m sure they get on a daily basis. They just swim right up to the boat. I don’t know how he a perfectly camouflaged barred owl sleeping on a limb as we cruised past. Also surprising that the owl didn’t move as he pulled the boat right beside the tree! In my past efforts to photograph owls, they are quick to leave as I approach. Like the alligators, they must be used to boats and people.
At the end of the trip, he said he was going to see a big alligator, and he knew right where to go, even calling the gator. From under a tree, it came toward the boat. Our guide pulled the boat onto the shore and got out a package of chicken. The gator walked right beside the boat and up to the front where our guide sat barefooted with shorts on, coaxing the gator to get right into the boat! Like old friends they met, our guide petting him on the nose, head and scratching his throat! Amazing!
We are on a photography workshop with Mark Zablotsky (https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com) in New Orleans. Driving north, we crossed the Mississippi River, that always impresses me. It is big, appears to be rather fast and is heavily trafficked by barges shipping products.
We visited Oak Alley Plantation. Oak Alley is.a beautiful place with its oak-lined drive, gardens and slave quarters. Turning away from the house, I saw a ship making its way up the Mississippi. The plantation has rooms and cabins for rent as well as an excellent dining room, where we had breakfast.
After some initial shots, we went into the restaurant for a good breakfast.
Picture on the wall of he restaurant
Back outside, we walked the grounds and gardens.
Heading back, Mark had found an eagle’s nest with a young one taking short flights.
Then on to Middendorf’s Manchac Restaurant at the Manchac Swamp Bridge, known for its thin-sliced catfish. A lot of other things also looked good on the menu.
Back at the hotel, Mark reviewed and helped us with our images, pointing out ways to improve and showing us editing techniques and sequence. In the evening, we took a ghost tour, but it was rather disappointing, so we dropped out.
Next up on our photography workshop (https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com) was a cooking class. I didn’t know what to expect as we waited in the store part of the School of Cooking. I did see some interesting books, spices and goods.
We went into the class, in which were round tables with place settings. Things were looking up when they brought us a beer. Our instructor was Harriete, a little lady loaded with personality and local knowledge. She first made corn and crab bisque and gave served us a bowl which was excellent. Although I had heard the term, roux, I didn’t really know what it was. This one was butter and flour and took maybe 15 minutes to make. She emphasized staying with it, stirring or it would burn and you would have to start over. She used Joe’s Stuff seasoning, claw crab meat, chopped green onion, corn and parsley.
Next up was Chicken Étouffée. I had already seen that Étouffées were a common thing. One might have a fish covered with crawfish Étouffée. I learned that an Étouffée is dish of shellfish simmered in sauce made from a roux, usually served over rice. Rice, Harriette told us, was brought by Africans to the area, and it grew well here. She made here dark roux with butter, flour Joe’s Stuff seasoning with onions, celery, green pepper and garlic. It was another excellent dish.
In another pot she heated chicken stock, added it to the roux gradually, cooked 10 minutes, added chicken for 30 minutes adding green onions and parsley and served over rice.
Then she was on to making pralines, a signature desert in New Orleans. I learned it is pronounced “prahlines”, like you are having your throat examined by a doctor.
Harriette was a treat. You just wanted to give her a big hug!
We went back to the hotel for some quiet time, well actually to upload our images and edit them before venturing out to dinner. We walked most places, which is always interesting. The more I walked the streets, the more interesting it became – the people, the street art, the ever-present music and the shops.
We couldn’t get into Superior Seafood, so we went to Carmo where our Cemetery guide, Taylor, used to work. It was quite good.
We were on a photography workshop with Mark Zablotsky (https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com) After walking the streets for a while, we had breakfast at Cafe Beignet’s, a popular, very efficient little restaurant that moves people quickly, and the food is good.
We then took a cemetery tour with Taylor, a very knowledgeable young man. He had been a chef for 12 years, but finally decided to make a change, to work outside and do tours, so he does the cemetery and a ghost tour at night. There is quite a unique history to the cemeteries of New Orleans since it is below sea level, so at first bodies would float up, especially if it was in a coffin. There is also limited space, so a unique way of doing things was developed. The graves had to be above ground. To keep the bodies in place, the plot was often capped with concrete. The Masons were prevalent and the Catholic Church strong. Rules were made and fees charged for maintenance of each site could be quite expensive. Whole families could be buried in one plot. As many as 35 bodies would be uniquely placed. We visited St. Patrick Cemetery that was started by Irish Catholics in 1841
Mosquitoes being prevalent in the area, Yellow Fever epidemics in 1847 and 1853 were devastating. As many as 1300 people died in a week! There were so many people buried so fast, the sites are haphazard, not in their usual neat rows.
Maintenance fees were high and some families couldn’t keep up. There was an eviction notice on one
The soil being so soft, the tombs would sink, cracking or even bending marble doors.
The wealthy had some very ornate tombs with brick and marble, but most impressive were the crosses and statues on top.
In August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, causing 1800 fatalities and $125 billion in damages, the costliest tropical cyclone in US history. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina). A memorial and the dead are in Charity Hospital Cemetery. The horror would strike again with Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Adjacent to the memorial is a huge field where where the poor or unknown were buried
On our first day of our Photography/Cultural Workshop with Zablotsky Photography (https://www.markzphotoworkshops.com), we explored the French Quarter. We would soon realize that we were going to sample New Orleans’ unique cuisine. The day started with a walk to maybe the best breakfast place anywhere, Mother’s Restaurant. It’s a busy place, where people stand in line to place their order. They give you a number on a metal stand to put on your table. A waitress quickly came by, taking our receipts that she gave to the kitchen while she got our drinks.
With a full stomach, we walked the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, Jackson Square and the Market. The iron works, porches, flower baskets, open air restaurants and the ever-present music make up the atmosphere. the street people sleeping in doorways and park benches are blended with tourists from all over the world.
St. Louis Cathedral and Andrew Jackson statue
The French Market
The area was inhabited by Native Americans for 10,000 years. By the time Jean-Baptiste, who was born in Montreal, founded New Orleans in 1718, there were about 15,000 Indians inhabiting the area. The Natchez Indians were predominant in the area. If you follow the Natchez Trace north, there is an impressive Native American history. Today there are four recognized tribes: the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, and the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana. The United Houma Nation is recognized as a tribe by the state of Louisiana. Standing before the Andrew Jackson statue, I was reminded of his role as president and the “Trail of Tears” so vividly told in the Museum of Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina. For a long time the French Quarter was the city of New Orleans, named after Regent Duc d’Orleans.
After a little quiet time, we went to dinner at the excellent Deanie’s Seafood Restaurant on Iberville Street where I had a fabulous grilled Redfish, and their crawfish were outstanding.
Catfish for ChuckWe shared a bread pudding
On the walk back to the Wyndham Hotel, the streets were taking on a more lively atmosphere.
Driving from my Tentrr campsite in Buccaneer State Park headed for New Orleans, the skies opened up and it poured sheets of rain. I pulled over at a Louisiana Welcome Center to wait it out. I was to meet Mark at the Airport where he was meeting Terry, who was coming in on the red-eye from California. Now was going to be late, but safety comes first.
Gulf shore at Buccaneer State ParkA quiet section of Buccaneer State Park
I was coming for Mark’s one-week photography workshop in and around New Orleans. I have been on two other workshops with Mark, and I always learn a lot. He knows New Orleans because he spent two years here for a Periodontics residency at LSU. It is also Jazz Week, so I’m sure there will be big crowds. Big cities are not my thing, but I’m sure Mark will find some great shoots, and it will be interesting to see how he works. This is also going to be culinary tour because the foods of New Orleans are unique.
Fortunately, things worked out as Terry’s flight was delayed due to the thunderstorms. We met at Camellia Grill for lunch, a popular place for hamburgers, omelets and other goodies along with excellent service. The food was good and the service great. Sitting outside on a perfect day, we had a good view of streetcars going by while people continued to line up to get into this New Orleans classic. Terry made it about 45 minutes later.
We loaded all our luggage and photography equipment into Mark’s Honda Pilot, then drove to the airport where I left my truck in long-term parking for $14/day. It costs $40/day in the French Quarter and it is not secure. Well, the Wyndham has a garage, and it is all valet parking.
We checked into the Wyndham French Quarter Hotel and chilled for a few hours, then drove to Harbor Seafood and Bar out near the airport. I was now becoming familiar with I10 and 610, although I was glad I wasn’t driving. There are some very confusing exits and on-ramps to I10 going underneath the highway, turn left, turn right. In heavy traffic, it is wild!
At Harbor Seafood and Oyster Bar, there was a line out the door. A simple restaurant, it can seat a lot of people. Mark used to come here with his fellow residents one or two times a week. It is an interesting menu. I was all set to order the “Swamp Platter” with gator tail, turtle soup, crawfish tails, fried frog legs, crawfish etoufee and cajun alligator sausage. Now you won’t get that everywhere!
We decided to order for the table, so we got crawfish, steamed shrimp, oysters on the half shell, hush puppies and a soft shell crab Po Boy. The three of us couldn’t eat it all. It was quite a table of food!
