The Life and Times of SIT: Jambalaya!

October 28 – November 3, 2013

SIT hits NOLA! For those of you that aren’t into this slang that means New Orleans Louisiana! A little swampy scenery!

Almost there

Our temporary landing is at the marina along Lake Ponchartrain, well one of the canals from the lake anyway. Regardless the view outside our window is wonderful and Izzy is in heaven as she can simply go swimming upon opening the door. I bet she wishes she could open the door by herself!

Our View

I Woke Up to This Out our Window

We left Natchez Mississippi and headed to NOLA to check out the happenings in Louisiana! I have been here a few times but Steve and Izzy are newbies to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street.

The first day we headed to downtown to check out the French Quarter. We wandered around and Steve was amazed to say the least at the buildings. You do have to admit they are unique and offer a story about each one. We were getting hungry so stopped in for some lunch at Huck Finn’s. From there I had a hair appointment which I was thankful for as I was beginning to feel like the Shaggy Dog!

Bourbon Street

French Quarter Living

We headed back to French Quarter after my appointment and enjoyed wandering the other streets there. We stopped in a few art galleries and learned a bit about some of the artists. Of course there were a few musicians playing so it added to the culture.

The second day we took a tour of the Oak Alley Plantation. The oaks were planted by someone in a row and as they grew became an alley. The individual who planted these oaks which are 300 hundred years old now, is an unknown person.

The Path to the House

Oak Alley Plantation House

Awesome

The Back of the House and a Sugar Kettle

The plantation tour is pretty amazing and the original size of the plantation was 1,360 acres and today is 1,200 acres. Jacques Roman had the house built to lure his wife away from the city as he wanted to live on the plantation. The second owners’ wife enjoyed gardens so she had the garden established. Overall the grounds are beautiful and the Oak Alley Plantation Organization does a wonderful job of giving you the feeling of what life was like back in the 1800’s. The plantation has also been host to several movies and TV shows some of which I am sure you have heard of, Days of Our Lives, The Long Hot Summer, and Interview With A Vampire! There are more but these stuck in my memory banks for some reason!

Our Tour Guide in the Parlor

The Children Bedroom

Jacques Roman

The Master

The Office

The Alley View from Above

The Gardens

The Second Floor Porch

A Live History Lesson

The Blacksmith's Shop

Bird of Paradise

Sugar Kettle

Slave's House

Starting Over

Izzy went with us so she got a chance to get out and stretch her legs when we were done touring. Of course we had to go check out the river since the plantation was across the levee. Izzy didn’t waste any time convincing her Dad to throw sticks!

Sugar Cane Backdrop

The Plantation Crop

Yay

We headed back into the city on Thursday. It was time to get our teeth cleaned so we were able to get an appointment with a local dentist. Dr. Honore was wonderful and her Mother who runs the office greeted you and entertained us with stories. It made having to go to the dentist memorable for a good reason! After our appointments we headed back to French Quarter to check out a few more sites and wander along the river.

Cruising

Bernardo de Galvez

River Traffic

The Pirate

We did a bit of fishing near our temporary location Friday afternoon. We were luckily enough to hang onto our gear considering the wind was blowing but also there were a lot of things to snag your line on in the water. I did manage to snag a couple of fish before they decided they wanted to be someplace else rather than on the back. Oh well it was fun and besides I didn’t have to touch slimy fish that way!

Our last thing we wanted to do before we pull out from the area was go on a swamp tour. So we headed out Saturday to take the Honey Island Swamp tour. Steve also wants to wrestle an alligator but they wouldn’t let him. They said something about insurance and liability. If he does manage to do this sometime in the future I will up his life insurance!

Along the river

Clover carpet

We were able to see raccoons, some birds, many turtles and a few alligators. The alligators that were out were working on their tans, or trying to stay warm. The big guys were off somewhere else so most of the ones we saw were about 3 to 6 feet.

Buds

How do I get down?

Just Call Me Smiley

Just Hanging Out

Peekaboo

Sneaking a peak

The guides feed the raccoons and other animals marsh mellows so when they hear the tour company’s boats they come out hoping to get a tasty morsel. Steve was able to get some footage of the masked bandits enjoying a snack. I will have to figure out how to get the video clips added as when I try there is an error. Too bad I didn't go to computer tech school!

The other creatures we saw were a few snakes. They were hanging around on tree branches and seemed to be asleep since they didn’t move at all when we got right up next to them. I think that was probably good as a few people on the boat would have been scared.

We searched for pigs too but they weren’t interested in coming and saying hello. Apparently they are quite prevalent in the swamp and cause a great deal of damage. Our guide told us they are considered a nuisance species in the area and can be hunted year round.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of information about the animals, the swamp, vegetation, and the history of the river and swamp. I am glad Steve was videoing parts of the tour since my little brain doesn’t remember that well anymore!