Wednesday, February 27

After spending the first half of the day in the campground and adjoining park, we headed into the city to see cemeteries and ride the trolly before dinner.  We planned a departure time that had underestimated the time we needed to get to the ferry.  Opps, we got there just as it was pulling out.  We can say with confidence that if there had been no detours we would have arrived on time (hum-sounds like rationalization).  We did get to see a whole family dressed in white headed to the Federal Court house in Algiers for a wedding.  The children were wonderful, beautiful little girls and boys dressed in white suits and dresses, hair all braided and neatly groomed.  The smallest boy and Marty had a conversation.  She told him he was so handsome and asked if he had tied his own necktie.  He said "yes, I did.  I'm a big boy."  As is often the case, wonderful conversations are cut short and they wedding party headed to the court house for the wedding.  The parking lot attendant informed us that people come from all over U.S. to get married there.

Dee, Paul and David on the ferry

Outside the ferry terminal we had a second encounter, this time with a man who was dressed in checkered pants and a white chef's jacket.  He told us his history from college dreams and basketball to becoming a chef.  He made us smile as he talked about where he had cooked and for whom he had cooked over the years.

We get to meet such nice people on our trips.  We are indeed lucky!

The ferry is free, as we said before, and takes a mere 5-6 minutes to cross the river.  It runs on the half hour from one side of the river and quarter hour on the other.

Our NO excursion started with the Audubon Insectarium; a museum devoted only to insects!  Here we experienced a butterfly room that incorporated lovely birds and a small carp pond.  There were many live and mounted examples of various insects.  They had one room with just moths and butterflies from all over the world.  The colors, sizes, and shapes of all these creatures really amazed us.

Little bird in the butterfly room

Beetles on display

We next wanted to see the Garden District and its cemeteries, and wanted to take the trolly to get there.  While waiting for the trolly a fellow tourist informed us that the cemetery in the Garden District closed at 2:30 pm and here we were wanting to head there at 3:30!  We scrapped that idea and decided to try for one near the French Quater.  When we arrived we saw the locked gate and read the sign that hours were 9:00 to 3:00.  Again, foiled.  We might have been spared the walk and slight disappointment if the trolly driver had told us that the cemetery was closed when we asked if her trolly went to them, but she didn't.

Cemetery in the French Quarter

Canal Street Trolly

We walked back into the downtown district in search of a restaurant  that Dee was told would have music and good food.  We walked a goodly distance and then walked some more.  Our reward was Mulate's, a good local eatery with music.  David and Paul dined on catfish, while Marty and Dee shared pasta and Tilapia.

Mulate's features not just good food and live music but also has a dance floor where we got to see some pretty fancy footwork.  We met a local man, must have been in his 80's, who comes several times a week just to dance.  He sported a blue shirt with red lobsters and red suspenders and had an eye for the ladies.  With each new dance he would proceed to ask a willing (or maybe forgiving) young or older lady to dance.  We chuckled as he showed them how to do various moves.