Haunted History Tour

Posted on 4:18 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

While I was in New Orleans I went on Haunted History Tour's ghost tour. 
I've broken these photos into two groups; a color group and a black and white group.
    
A lot of people arrived for the tour and we met up across the street from Pat O'Briens.  We were divided into several smaller groups and off we went.  The tour covered a lot of territory and the tour guide set a brisk pace.
   
The guide began his presentation by explaining that New Orleans was originally used by Indians as a sacred burial place. He also said the French Quarter was the only section of the city that wasn't below sea level.  According to Wikipeda, it has an elevation of 3 feet and "... was affected relatively lightly by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as compared to other areas of the city and the greater region".
   
The next story I remember the tour guide telling was about the fires that destroyed the original city. The Great New Orleans Fire (1788)  destroyed almost every building in town.  This fire was followed six years later by another that destroyed 212 buildings   
       
The tour guide did a great job describing how gruesome the fires were and implied that the souls of those poor people haunted the French Quarter to this day.
  
 
 Madame John's Legacy 
at 632 Dumaine Street in the historic French Quarter is one of the finest 18th century building complexes in Louisiana. Of special interest because it escaped the great fire of 1795, which leveled much of New Orleans, the house is actually a product of the preceding fire of 1788. The structures on the site in the early 1780's were destroyed by the conflagration and Madame John's was erected on the burnt-out lot in 1789. Source:  Louisiana State Museum.
  
At another point during the tour the guide described the horrors of yellow fever and the toll it took on the city.
   
 He explained that the bodies were stacked over waist high in the street (the street that ran by the hotel were I was staying) and went on to describe encounters with the ghosts of some of the 41,000 who perished.
 
Our tour guide was a good story teller, easily keeping everyone's attention.
Once the sun set, I was all about taking pictures of the French Quarter at night.  Being part of a tour group made this a lot safer than walking around alone.
  
 

  

My newest friend

Posted on 4:15 PM by jr cline | 1 comments


Seren 
created by Starr and Matthew
Photograph by Christy
   
 

  


 

NOLA Misc.

Posted on 8:14 AM by jr cline | 0 comments


RestlessButterfly commented, "judging from the pictures the place looks a bit old-fashioned".  And she was right.  I thought I'd post a picture showing a bit of contrast between the French Quarter and  the more modern New Orleans.  This was taken looking down Royal Street. 
 
This lovely courtyard restaurant was across the street and a couple of doors down from the 905 Royal Hotel.  I didn't eat there.
  
This bridge spans the mighty Mississippi river.  I took the picture while standing atop the levy.
   
Like all cities, construction blocks some of the sidewalks.
 
Christy liked these boots.  I did too. They are quite colorful and seem to be made from a waterproof material.  One pair reminded me of the Beatles' movie Yellow Submarine.
   
This is a great little city vehicle.  If I lived in a city and this thing had a roof, I think it would be a good way to get around.   There were a lot of people riding around on bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and I saw one person on a Segway.
   



Buggy Ride

Posted on 4:10 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

Hiring a mule and buggy to ride around the French Quarter was fun.  It was a great way to get an overview of the area and the driver's monologue describing what we were seeing was quite informative. He pointed out a lot of places that I went back to later. I was lucky and got to ride in the front seat with the driver.  It was a good place to take pictures. 
    

 This is Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Bar, established 1772,
This is the oldest bar in the French Quarter and maybe the US.
It was also where we stopped for a break during the haunted tour.
    
 I love the architecture
   
   .  
and bright colors.
     
  Of course, a buggy ride can also be romantic.
   
    



Royal Street

Posted on 6:10 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

 We didn't go straight to bed the first night. Jeremy and I walked around a bit and got some dinner.


 I took several pictures of this church so you'll see a few more like this one.
This is St Louis Cathedral, the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the United States.
   
Ghost tours were quite popular and this tour stopped right across the street from where I was staying.  The next day we went on a haunted tour.  More on that later.
   

Train ride

Posted on 6:03 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

Early Thursday morning  Christy, Jeremy, and I headed off to the Amtrak station in Anniston, Alabama.
    
 
It is a quaint little station built in 1925.
    
 Our toys entertained us.
But waiting can be a boring game
 
  and you know what happens when creative people get bored.
   
 We play!
    
  train's aisle
at the end of a line of children
the adult
  - John Stevenson
 
Eventually we boarded the train..
    
 
 The train stopped at several other stations along the way. 
     And a couple of times they let us get off and stretch our legs.
Getting off and walking around was a fun change of pace.
  
 After about 9 hours on the train and a short taxi ride we arrived at
 the 905 Royal Hotel located in New Orleans' French Quarter.
  
  Pretty much we went to our rooms, unpacked, and went to bed.
I will definitely be taking the train again.  It was much better than driving
and only took about an hour longer.

Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And here is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is a cart runaway in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill, and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone forever! 
~Robert Louis Stevenson