New Orleans pictures

View from the hotel on Canal Street.

Mississippi river boat.

Building atop a building across from the hotel where I stayed.

Under the bridge downtown …

Old beat up building that was likely damaged during the hurricane.

Cemetery just outside of downtown. I would not consider this a safe place to visit.

More damaged buildings just outside of the main French Quarters area. The hotel where I stayed is in the background. I played, “Where’s Marriott?” with some of my photos.

Still doing some construction out there which was good to see.

I liked the contrast.

More boarded up buildings outside of the main tourist area.

Empty airport departure location. I thought that the airport was closed but they were still opened for business. Perhaps it was already too late for departures on Saturday night at around 8PM.

Cafe du Monde which is definitely a tourist spot. They have the best cafe au lait that I’ve ever had.

Bored waiting in line for Cafe du Monde. I liked the architecture in the French Quarter.

These mechanical people always show up in tourist spots.

Jackson Square basically next door to the Cafe du Monde.

Tennessee Williams place.

I couldn’t figure out why there was a mouse trap on the door frame.

???

Old, rich living. Beautiful wood work.

I thought it interesting to put advertising right on the sculpture.

Where’s Marriott?

Wyland painting.

Downtown area on a slow day.

???

On Bourbon Street. It would be fun to sit on the porch and watch people but it’d get old pretty fast.

French Market just next to Cafe du Monde.

Rainy day view from the hotel. The rain wasn’t a problem at all, really. It would rain for a little bit every once in a while but that was it.

She was just hanging out in the rain. Didn’t seem to bother her.

Took a ferry trip over to the other side of the Mississippi River. It was a free ride.

They don’t worry about earthquakes over there. Houses just sit on brick like this.

Where many of the floats that are used during Mardi Gras are made.

Wildlife that I have not seen before.

Where’s Marriott?

Sidney must have a Hummer H1.

Streetcar ride.

They had the most beautiful oak trees out there.

Interesting fountain with brick used on the floor.

Blah.

Intense colors.

Nice looking churches out there too.

Again, interesting colors.

Another cemetery but this one in the Garden District. It’s much safer here.

Old school iron works.

Another view from the hotel. Clouds were amazing.

Last breakfast. I had a chocolate something or other.

A park in Mid City.

A cemetery in Mid City.

Waiting for bus to the airport

Waiting to go to the airport again but this time via bus. It was a 3 mile walk to this stop but I could have taken the trolley. Walking is good in a new town.

The bus stop is not clearly marked which worries me. If I miss the bus, I’ll call a cab. The bus is supposed to get here at around 6:40.

Hurricane on the Bayou

I’m taking a break to watch an imax movie. 50 foot screen? Nice. Only 40 minutes which is good for me.

Film was good. Looking at the scenes where the city was under water gave me a different perspective as I now walk down the street. The street that my hotel is on, Canal street, was flooded in 8 feet of water. That means the hotel lobby must have been submerged but there is no sign of that now.

Sky

I really like sky around here because it’s much more dramatic than the skies in the bay area. It seems that we have much more uniformity in the skies like it’s all cloudy or all clear. There is more variation around here at least at this time of year. I have no idea what it’s like during the rest of the 363 days.

Cemetaries

They have got some interesting cemetaries here. Basically, the water table is really high and people don’t like to bury their dead in water so they bury them above ground. I got some photos but again, I’ll have to post them after I get back.

Starbucks

Right now I am at starbucks having a regular coffee and a muffin. It’s basically lunch time but since I was out walking about in shady areas, I decided not to stop. I’m at the starbucks in my hotel in the lobby area. It’s hard to believe that within a stone’s throw there are some seriously hurting people.

Walk

I took a walk around the city for about 2.5 hours non-stop. I couldn’t believe the poverty that I saw just outside of the city. It was really rather amazing to see and I got some photos that I will have to upload later after I get back or find a wireless hotspot. There wee a couple if times that I was walking down a road and felt slightly uncomfortable in terms of safety. It’s much poorer than anything I have seen in the bay area.

Coffee mishap

I can’t handle the chicory coffee served around here. It’s got a strange taste that um not used to and it’s almost a sickening taste … To me anyway. I can see how people can like the flavor though.

Cafe du Monde

I just got back from Cafe du Monde where I had a coffee and read a flow measurement instrument manual. It was just about the worst tasting coffee that I have ever had. I don’t know if I wound up with the chicory coffee but maybe that was it which is why it tasted so different from normal coffee. It’s an acquired taste like coffee I imagine. I’m not going to spend this trip trying to acquire it.

They have vulture like hosts waiting on you which is required because they have a large seating area where you can sit anywhere you please. I sat in a random spot and was helped within a minute. You have to pay when you get your food which makes sense with this setup.

New Orleans

I am now in New Orleans for the vacation portion of this business trip. Unfortunately, I don’t have a computer to use right now because I am too cheap to pay $15 a day to use the Internet at the hotel. The iPhone app doesn’t allow me to reply to comments either and it’s much slower to use than typing or using voice recognition. That being said, my posts will be shorter for sure but I will be able to make more of them because that’s what the iPhone is good for.

We drove down from Hattiesburg this morning at around 7 this morning so that Randy could catch the 10:40 flight back home. He was really itching to get home because he has been away from his wife and daughter die the whole week. I can understand that.

After dripping him off at the airport, I fedexed all our stuff and them returned the rental car. I took a shuttle back to the city which took me to the hotel for $15. Not bad because the airport us about 15 miles from the city. I’m basically at the border between the French quarters and downtown new Orleans. It’s conveniently located.

I dropped off my stuff and got lunch: peanut butter hamburger and baked potato. I have never seen anything like this so I had to give it a try. I like peanut butter and u like hamburgers. The two together as pretty rich. The layering goes like this from tip to bottom.

Bun
Peanut butter mixture of peanut butter and bacon bits. This was about a centimeter thick.
Hamburger meat medium done.
Tomato and lettuce
Mayonnaise
Bottom bun

I was able to eat the thing but I’m not too sure that I liked it. That’s about all I have done today other than get some rest. I need a break.