The time has come to say goodbye to Texas. What a fantastic "sampler platter" we experienced over the past 2 weeks! So many great cities and great people! I wish we had more time to spend there!
But our trip is far from over! We still have 1 week remaining and 3 awesome cites to visit!
Next stop.....New Orleans! The Big Easy! The Crescent City! NOLA! Neither Tom nor I had ever been to New Orleans and I was pretty damn excited!
We left Baytown fairly early. Again, another beautiful sunny day! Damn, we're lucky! The forecast called for a 50% chance of rain near New Orleans...the highest chance of rain I've seen so far this trip. We'll see!
Side note.....this trip was amazing as far as bike-packing went! From day one! Usually on road trips I'm lightening my load before we even leave the house, deciding what I really need and what I can do without. I didn't remove anything this time!
Then once on the road we get into a rhythm....Pack/load/unload/unpack...repeat again and again. It's a tight system we have! And everything has its spot in the bags. But inevitably, one day the packing and loading just doesn't go as smoothly as the past 5 times! It's as if the luggage expands or something! Not this trip! It was a smooth process each time!
So back on the road we go! Not far from Baytown we picked up another Harley behind us. He stayed with us for a while...until my bandana started wanting to take flight off my head, so I got next to Tom and got his attention to pull off at the next exit. As we were exiting our new friend continued on and gave us a smile and a wave. HE HAD A DOG ON HIS TANK!!! A small fluffy dog!!! Oh we HAVE to catch back up to him! PICTURES! I need pictures of that! So I did a quick bandana fix and we were on our way! Except we got behind a SLOW semi on the entrance to the Interstate! 45 mph trying to merge with 75 mph traffic! Ugh! It didn't appear that we would catch up with our new friend and his little friend! Perhaps when we cross the state line and have to put our helmets on? There's a welcome center in that area. Hopefully we'll find him there!
So onward we rode! Traffic was fairly heavy and the skies were overcast. No rain, though! And temps were pleasant! Not much to say about the scenery. Urban, industrial bah.
Soon we were at the Louisiana state line! Hooray! Time to don the helmets! Boooooo!
We pulled into the Louisiana rest area/welcome center and I had my eyes peeled for the man and his dog...and there they were! In a parking lot immediately to the right just after pulling in! I made the quick right to meet our new friend while Tom continued straight...he'd eventually find me! Lol!
I parked in a spot next to the man and his dog, shut off the motor, and introduced myself! Turns out the man's name is Tony and his buddy's name is Tex. Tex is an old Pomeranian that Tony rescued from a shelter a few years ago. Tex loves to ride as much as Tony does! They go everywhere together! Tex has even ridden with Tony all the way out to California! Tony's from Indiana and was visiting friends in Texas. When we found him he was on his way to visit more friends in North Carolina. We chatted for a while about bikes, dogs, and travels.
I wish we could've chatted more but I wanted to get into New Orleans at a decent hour since we only had 2 nights there. So we bid farewell to our new friends...Tony said he'd ride with us for a while but would have to peel off for gas. So down the road again we went! We ended up riding with Tony and Tex for about 100 miles before he exited with a wave. Super nice guy and very cool pooch. I thought about them often during the rest of our trip, hoping they were both well and having fun!
So as we were riding along, I started thinking about the AWESOME weather we were enjoying this trip! As I admired the blue sky I recalled the forecast of a 50% chance of rain. Yeah...right! JUST THEN one of the few clouds opened up above me and gave me a quick dousing! Are you kidding me!?!?! Hahhahahaaaa! I swear I wish my psychic powers would help me win the Lottery!
I took this shot right after the quick cloudburst....look at my windshield, and look at the sky!
The rest of the ride into New Orleans was uneventful, weather-wise. (Good thing I didn't think about snow showers!) Coming into downtown New Orleans, it was eerie to be on the same interstate that was under water after Katrina.
I recalled the images of I had seen of the destruction and I'm amazed at how the City bounced back.
Once in the heart of downtown, we maneuvered over trolly tracks and snaked our way down one-way streets, finding our hotel easily! We unloaded, parked the bikes, and headed up to our room to get cleaned up for a night out! Unfortunately, it was later than I hoped, and I was STARVING. There were so many great restaurant suggestions that I wanted to try, but most were a cab ride away...then a wait to be seated during the dinner rush...I think I would've chewed my arm off before getting fed. We asked the valet for a suggestion for a close, quick dinner and he pointed us toward Daisy Duke's, a 24-hour diner/bar type joint with decent food. Not exactly the exciting dining experience I had in mind but I was beginning to get "hangry", and Daisy Duke's was a short walk from our hotel, so Daisy Duke's would have to do! The food there was pretty good! Tom & I split an order of fried green tomatoes and a Cajun cheesesteak. The portions were big and the service was quick, so we were soon out the door with full bellies!
The street on which our hotel was located turned into Bourbon Street about a block away! All the action was within walking distance! Hooray! My first impression while walking along the street was "gross"!!! There were a lot of bums and it smelled like pee. Not unlike Memphis! But once we got into the heart of partyville I was happy! There was a decent crowd for a Monday night! The street was happening! Partiers were yelling from the balconies! Beads were flying! I can't even imagine how crazy that place must be for Mardi Gras and there's no way in Hell I'd ever want to find out! (I detest large crowds!) The size of the crowd that night was perfect! Big enough to make things interesting but small enough so I didn't want to start ripping people's heads off! Hahahaaaa!!!
Our first stop? Well, the Erin Rose, of course! Our pals Bill & Sue told us great things about the Erin Rose so we had to check it out for ourselves! We walked in and found 2 empty seats at the bar. Soon after it became standing room only. The place has a FANTASTIC jukebox! I heard everything from The Kinks, to Rush, to Hank 3 that night! After a while the place thinned out but quickly filled back up. Like a tide of drunks! Tom and I remained in our spots, chatting with the bartenders and some of the guests. That happens to us a lot. When we get comfortable somewhere we don't leave! (Just ask our pals at Robert's Western World in Nashville! I'm surprised we don't have our own personal barstools there by now!). Soon a group of guys came in and sat by us. They appeared to be co-workers and were talking music. One of the guys turns to me out of the blue and asks "Bonham or Peart?" Without missing a beat I reply "Peart!" He cheers, gives me a high-five, and tells his friend..."See? Another one for Peart!" It turns out his friend/co-worker is a drummer and a huge Bonham fan. We spent some time chatting about music....drummers in particular. (And comparing Bonham to Peart is like apples to oranges!) They were a fun group of guys there on business. We ended up spending the remainder of our evening there, chatting with our new friend Mark and his crew!
Mark is originally from the area but now lives in Mississippi. He gave us a few suggestions about where to go and what to eat. He told us about the World War II Museum, which really piqued our interest! Unfortunately, the next day was our only full day there and we weren't hopeful about squeezing in the museum visit. Looks like we'll just have to come back soon to see it! The night got late quickly, so we bid farewell to our new friends and headed back to home base!
The next morning we were up and at 'em fairly early. We headed to Daisy Duke's for some breakfast and a Bloody Mary. Their Bloody Mary's are consistently voted the best in the area and it was delish!
The plan for the day was to visit the nearby cemetery where the "acid trip" scene from Easyrider was filmed, and then do some sightseeing on Bourbon Street since the only place we'd seen thus far was the Erin Rose!
Well, the Erin Rose was on our path to the cemetery, and I heard they serve delightful frozen Irish Coffees, so we stopped back there to try one! I was expecting an iced coffee with whiskey, but this was more like a Wendy's Frosty. Like a milkshake. I'm lactose intolerant. Milkshakes are my WORST culprit! Crap. (No pun intended!). After a couple sips I asked the bartender what the ingredients were and he told me....one if them being their "own special dairy mixture"! Oh boy!
I didn't want to chance it so I only drank about half, letting Tom finish the rest.
Tom's good for finishing leftovers!
On to the cemetery!
St Louis Cemetery is actiually three Roman Catholic Cemeteries in New Orleans. All of the graves are above-ground vaults and most were constructed in the 18th century and 19th century.
We visited St Louis Cemetery No. 1...the oldest and most famous of the three. It was opened in 1789, replacing the city's older St. Peter Cemetery (no longer in existence) as the main burial ground when the city was redesigned after a fire in 1788.
I was really excited about seeing these old resting places! Lots of great photos to be taken!
As we entered the gates, we were greeted by a man selling bottled water & pop. He was also offering umbrellas for rent. "Nah.....we're good. Thanks anyway!"
So in we walked, through the maze of vaults and mausoleums. Some fresh, some dilapidated, some with stories to tell, some shrouded in mystery....
Our main goal was to find the one that Peter Fonda was sitting on in the movie Easyrider....as seen here...
After some wandering, we found it!!!
We also found 2 vaults graffitied with "xxx" all over them, decorated with beads, knick-knacks, and assorted offerings. We found out that ONE of these is the reported resting place of the famous voodoo queen, Marie Laveau. Nobody is positive which vault is hers, though. (If either!).
Hmmmmmnn....
Boy did it get hot out! Hot and sunny! Suddenly I began to feel woozy. My stomach was starting to feel funky. Was the Irish coffee coming back to haunt me? Ugh. I told Tom that we best head back to the room. We bought a couple bottles of water from the guy at the gate as we were leaving. I was regretting not renting an umbrella for the cemetery tour. Ugh. Was I going to make it back? I felt sure I was going to pass out! We hugged the buildings for shade during our trek back. My head was spinning, my gut was in a knot. "This SUCKS", I thought to myself. Soooooo hot! Just then a guy walking toward us taps me on the arm and says "hi"! What the...?!?! Oh!!! It was our friend Mark that we met the night before! He was on his way to a conference, looking fresh, cool and comfortable! How is that possible? I was dying of heatstroke and I was sure I looked like it, too! We briefly exchanged pleasantries and made plans to meet again at the Erin Rose later that evening. I hated to seem rude but I HAD to cut the conversation short and get back to the room!
Once back at home base I didn't get much better. In fact I got worse. I got the chills, then the sweats. My head was still spinning and my stomach still in knots. Did I get food poisoning? Heat exhaustion? A flu bug? DAMMIT!!!! We only have one day in New Orleans and I can't function!!!! I felt so bad for Tom. I encouraged him to go out and do something while I napped. No sense in BOTH of us being stuck in the hotel room. So he walked over to Harrah's and did a little gambling while I tried to get well.
Later that day I showered again before we headed out for dinner at Drago's, a highly-recommended restaurant in the nearby Hilton. Ugh. Nothing on the menu appealed to me. All this good food and I couldn't stomach any of it! So dinner was a bust. For me. We cabbed back to the room where I found the bed. Tom wandered out to Bourbon Street to buy some Harley shirts and to look for our friends from the night before. Unfortunately, it was still early and they were nowhere to be found. So he came back to the room in time for us to watch that week's episode of "Sons of Anarchy"!
After we turned the TV off I had a fitful night's sleep...tossing and turning....sweating and freezing....and all the while praying I'd feel better in the morning. We had a 400-mile ride to Memphis ahead of us no matter what!
So that's my New Orleans story. I can't tell you how frustrated and disappointed I was! (And still am!)
Tom thinks Marie Laveau put a curse on me!
Needless to say, as of this writing, we're already booked to return in April of 2015!
Tune in for the next stop....Memphis!
