Tag: Alligator

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Savannah to Bonita Springs

We crossed the border into Georgia across the Savannah River and discovered another lovely, historic town.

We walked along the riverfront, then through some of the beautiful streets and city squares.

This very large sculpture was a fitting reminder of the importance of sea-going vessels for trade, transportation and cargo. The first steamship that crossed the Atlantic Ocean, the SS Savannah, took 27 days to reach Liverpool, England and sailed from this harbour on 22 May, 1819. Today, this is still a bustling port, with paddle boats and container ships regularly sharing the waterway.

As we traversed the coastal boardwalk, we passed several original cobble stone roads, and a fascinating sculpture of a waving girl with her dog.

The blurb on the statue told us that Florence Martus or Savannah’s waving girl, greeted ships entering the Savannah harbour by waving a cloth at every passing ship during the day and a lantern at night. Ships returned her greeting with 3 blasts from their horn. She continued her greeting every day for 44 years and according to the legend, she did not miss waving to one ship, day or night. Florence and her brother lived on Elba Island and operated the lighthouse. Her brother died in 1940 and she followed 3 years later. They are buried together, their epitaph reading, “In memory of the waving girl and her brother. Keepers of the lighthouse on Elba Island. Savannah River for 35 years.”

There are many legends to explain why she waved at every ship, however according to her own testimony, she lived on a remote island, with little to do but look at the ocean, she was lonely and bored, so watching for ships helped to pass the time.

As we walked around the town we also discovered Colonial Park, the burying ground for Savannah from 1750 until 1853 and many of the towns notable residents are interred here, including governors, Revolutionary soldiers, and war heroes. In 1896 it became a city park. It seems a strange place to convert to a park but even though it was quite hot and humid, there were people wandering through the graves and sitting on the seats.

The duelists grave was very interesting and worth reading the information sign. It seems that dueling was common as it’s not the first time that we’ve read about this method of ending an argument, permanently.

Savannah’s CBD is interconnected with 22 squares and parks over one square mile and they are iconic to the city. Each one has varied gardens, water features and statutory and are surrounded by beautiful churches and homes. We managed to walk through more than half.

Our camp for the night was at Fort McAllister State Park, on the Ogeechee River, another beautiful location among the salt marshes, waterways, forests and of course, the archaeological remains of the fort.

The morning was already hot and humid at 6am, but the light was beautiful for early morning photos.

On our return we noticed this interesting sign by the picnic area.

The information about the fort states that it is “the best-preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy”. It was hellishly hot and humid by the time we came back from our morning walk though, so we preferred a cool shower and the air-conditioned comfort of Joey, rather than walking around the fort in the sun. Just as well, because as we sat inside looking out we saw these deer right outside, grazing just next to Joey.

And there’s always a squirrel! Their gymnastics are amazing. Jumping between trees and branches and racing up and down tree trunks.

Continuing our coastal jaunt, we decided to take the bridge across to Jekyll Island. They have a great system for access and parking. Access to the island is regulated with a toll system with a charge of $15 per vehicle. Then, you can drive around and park without meters or restrictions.

We arrived at 7am, found a lovely, shaded spot for Joey and went for a walk around the “Millionaire’s Village,” along the beachfront past the gold course and several large resorts and then back through the middle of the island.

Jekyll Island is a State Park with about 1,000 residents and enforces a strict ‘conservation clause’ limiting future development so that 65 % will always remain a natural habitat.

Millionaire’s Village is an area of 240 acres, with 33 historic houses and buildings that date from the 1880s. It was an exclusive vacation destination for some of America’s rich and famous of the era, many of whom are still very recognisable names today, for example, the Pulitzers, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Goodyears.

Jekyll Island was first settled in 1733 as an outpost to protect the nearby Fort Frederica on St Simons Island by Major William Horton who also ran a prosperous plantation using slave labour.

These are the remains of the home he built in 1736. He resided here until his death in 1749 and is buried adjacent the house with other family members. The remains are a good example of the popular building method used during this era. Called ‘Tabby’, meaning “wall made of earth or masonry.” This method of construction was brought to America by the Spaniards and made from sand, lime and oyster shells collected from Indian burial mounds, burned, then poured into shapes.

By 1792, Christophe Poulain DuBignon purchased the island and harvested Sea Island Cotton successfully for another century.

In 1858 it had the dubious honour of being the location where one of the last groups of illegal slaves from Africa were landed from the Wanderer and sold in America.

A hunting club was built and in 1886, a number of the most prominent residents purchased the island outright and in 1904, and Munsey’s Magazine entitled it “the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible club in the world.”

As travel and tourism opened up new opportunities, gradually the island’s wealthy inhabitants preferred villa’s in Europe to the small island and in 1947, it was sold to Georgia for $675,000 as a State Park.

We were also lucky enough to see some other locals while walking.

After a a wonderful morning on Jekyll Island, we continued on to the larger and more commercialised, St Simons Island and Fort Frederica.

James Oglethorpe, who founded the State of Georgia, built Fort Frederica to protect the region from the Spanish in 1736. Today it is a prominent archaeological site containing numerous foundation remains, a small museum and when we visited, was giving reenactments of musket firings.

The demonstration certainly gave us an insight into the difficulties of using muskets. Each loading for one firing took about a minute and the three times we saw them demonstrate, one or other misfired. We joked that you’d have to ask your enemy to stand still while you readied to shoot him! And of course, they weren’t using live rounds. There was just as much chance that a misfire would do the shooter as much damage and they were also most likely deaf the firings were so loud!

We very much enjoyed our coastal travels through the Carolina’s and Georgia and now we’ve crossed into Florida and the last state we’ll visit this year. I snapped this shot as we sailed on past in Joey but you get the idea!

Our first stop was Jacksonville and another lovely coastal morning boardwalk past some wonderful sculptures, buildings and murals. Including cows that were painted under a bridge. We had no idea, much like the horse statues in Duck, why the cows were so prominent but they were lovely murals.

The pelicans here are very much darker than ours and quite a bit smaller. They renge in colours from browns to dark greys like this one.

Next stop, a short drive to St Augustine, “the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin in the United States.” It was founded in 1565 by the Spanish, 42 years before the English colonised Jamestown and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and traces of this period are evident in the old part of the town. Although today, most of the remaining buildings are renovated shops and eateries aimed specifically to the tourist, there are 36 restored colonial buildings and 40 reconstructions.

This store had about 60 different flavours of saltwater taffy and we bought some to take home. It’s a popular ‘candy’, found in many tourist spots, especially in beach suburbs and dates from about 1880 when John Ross Edmiston who owned a postcard shop in Atlantic City, Edmiston, hired a man named David Bradley to sell taffy (or I imagine, toffee). The story goes that one night, ocean foam soaked the taffy and the following day, when a girl insisted on buying some, even after the soaking, and loved it, the name “salt water taffy” stuck. Even though there is no salt water in the recipe.

Excuse the reflection in the window but I wanted to get this picture of the machine that works the taffy.

The Cathedral of St Augustine is the oldest Catholic parish in America today, dating from 1565, although the church itself was not completed until 1797. The current cathedral was restored in 1888 after a fire and then further restored in 1965.

The morning we visited, there was an orchestra doing a rehearsal for a performance so we sat and listened for a while.

Horse and carriage rides for tourists are iconic in New Orleans but we didn’t realise that they were also prevalent in some of the smaller tourist towns we’ve visited. Here, this fellow was waiting in historic area of St. Augustine, which we walked around early the following morning..

We also visited the iconic St. Augustine fort.

The Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in America, established by the Spanish. Construction began in 1672 and was completed in 1695. Its location placed it in an optimum position to protect the area from pirates and colonial attacks because any ship entering the harbour had to enter forwards, through a narrow channel. This meant they were incredibly vulnerable to attack because there was not enough room to broadside and return firing of their cannons towards the fort.

The fort was constructed from coquina, a locally sourced shell stone which has lasted through hundreds of years of weathering. The fort changed into British control in 1763, after the Treaty of Paris was signed, briefly returned to Spanish control in 1783 and then was transferred to the United States in 1821.

Today, it’s one of the tourist drawcards for St.Augustine and provides a fascinating glimpse into the regions history.

After a full morning sightseeing around St Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos, we continued our coastal journey south, stopping briefly in “the Birthplace of speed,” Ormond Beach.

Its fame was relatively short lived, with the last speed record run in January 1906. In 1911, Indianapolis became the venue for racing and Daytona Beach eclipsed Ormond Beach, becoming the precursor to NASCAR.

We continued our drive south, taking in more of the scenic intracoastal waterways and an interesting little botanic garden and sugar mill.

Originally farmed by Patrick Dean from 1804, he grew sugar cane, cotton and rice. The property changed hands several times over the ensuing years, the mill was burned down and rebuilt. It was an army camp during the Civil War when the kettle drums were used to produce salt for ammunition. Eventually, the plantation land was sold off into small lots and the mill became a tourist attraction as an amusement park in 1939.

Bequeathed to Volusia County in 1963, it was left neglected until 1985 when it gained its new lease on life as a small botanical garden with the remains of the sugar mill protected.

Leaving this little gem, we headed out along the coast again, our destination, Cape Canaveral to view Elon Musk’s Falcon rocket launch to deposit starlink satellites in orbit.

The viewing spot we chose was Playalinda Beach in Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge. To beat the crowds and considering Joey isn’t a small vehicle, to get a parking spot, we were at the gates for opening at 7am and picked a great park about as close as they allow you to be.

The launch was scheduled for 1.15pm so we saw the sunrise and went for a walk down the beach before it got too hot.

We even saw some fresh turtle tracks from the night before. Between May and August predominately Loggerhead turtles but also Green and Leatherbacks lumber ashore to lay as many as 100 eggs. Teams of volunteers check the beach every sunrise to record the nests.

We walked as far as the no go zone on the beach, then retreated to Joey as the temperature warmed up.

The launch went off on time and without a hitch, taking only a few minutes from blast off to disappearing into the atmosphere. A local who regularly viewed the launches said that this rocket would launch its payload, then land 600 miles off the coast on a platform before being retrieved and reused.

So, within 5 minutes it was all over. We chatted with some other tourists for a while, a couple from Sweden on their honeymoon who were coming back in a coupe of days to view another launch and a couple from Brazil who had also bought an RV to tour America. After exchanging travel tales we headed off again, getting closer to our eventual destination of Bonita Springs.

While sailing along the Queensland coast and the Whitsunday’s we met some wonderful people. One amazing couple, Brad and Gloria, had been sailing full time around the world for 26 years. Reaching the end of their sailing adventures in Bundaberg, Queensland we sailed with them down to Scarborough and became great friends. Their home in Bonita Springs, Florida was to be our final destination for this years American adventure. As we neared the areas they were familiar with, they gave us some fantastic suggestions for destinations to visit. Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium was one that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Having its beginnings in 1955, when “Shark Lady” Dr. Eugenie Clark began a small marine lab in Florida, today it is an an international marine science enterprise that combines research, science-based conservation and facilities open to the public to expand our knowledge of the oceans and their creatures. 

There are two separate areas in Sarasota, the marine laboratory and aquarium housing numerous different habitats including a large shark and fish aquarium and the marine mammal centre which houses otters, alligators, turtles, river habitats and a manatee.

Some of the creatures are hands on, like this stingray which you are encouraged to touch as they glide around and others, well, they’re best left alone.

The following day we checked into our RV park for our last week in the USA and caught up with Brad and Gloria. We had a wonderful afternoon wandering around Naples and celebrated Brad’s birthday. On Thursday morning we had an early morning trip to check on the turtle nestings on the beaches and learned some wonderful information from Gloria and the other volunteers.

On Friday we discovered an interesting walk around some playing fields and ponds in the Bonita Springs area, coming across this sign.

Did I mention this was adjacent sports playing fields and athletics tracks?

Something we’ve noticed that’s a constant in Florida, is water! Everywhere there are ponds, swamps and waterways, many natural like these around the sports fields but just as many surrounding housing estates and gated communities. it’s hardly a wonder that they have an abundance of critters that call the water home.

That afternoon, which was also my birthday, we had lunch at Bonita Springs Botanic Gardens before having a walk around some of the beautiful plants, until the heat and humidity got the better of us.

There were so many beautiful plants and blooms! Then we discovered this wonderful sculpture. Called “Circle of Friends” it was very apt since we were visiting with wonderful friends!

And to top off a fantastic birthday, Gloria made me THE BEST Hummingbird cake!!

And yes it tasted as good as it looks!

The following day we visited Revs Institute, a private car museum whose blurb states it is an “educational institution dedicated to the study, preservation, conservation, and restoration of historically significant automobiles”. The vehicles they house include some of the rarest professionally restored vehicles to their original constructions from 1896 – 1995.

Aside from the cars being so unique and in such pristine condition, being indoors in air conditioning was wonderful. The heat without the humidity would not have been too bad but with the high humidity, by lunchtime it was uncomfortable being in the sun. Because of this, we were walking very early in the mornings to escape the worst of the humidity.

We found some wonderful places to walk around Bonita Springs and throughout the gated communities in the area.

Bonita Springs township has some amazing murals and sculptures.

But some very strange speed limits around the gated communities.

And everywhere there is water!

Last time we were in America we arrived at LAX on July 4th. Independence Day so we didn’t experience the event. This time, we spent it with Brad and Gloria who took us to a fantastic Asian restaurant for dinner, then we watched fireworks from the beach at Naples.

The sunset was outstanding.

And the locals turned out in there thousands.

And then, just like that, our 2024 USA adventure came to an end. We had some of the most amazing experiences and absolutely loved our journey across the southern states. Bring on 2025 and our next American adventure in the eastern states. Meanwhile, a very long trek awaits us. Thank you so much to Brad and Gloria for their wonderful hospitality, to see you again next year!

And to those following our travels, tune in again next year for part two of our jaunt around the USA.

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Antebellum Louisiana and New Orleans

We arrived at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park late afternoon and were told by the park ranger to choose any spot to park for the night. I know I’m overusing the word, but this was another surprising place. We didn’t expect every RV spot to be on a raised asphalt slab surrounded by 6 inches or more of water. The road was also raised above the water which spread out through the trees like a swamp. We weren’t inclined to venture outside because there were certainly mosquitos and other biting bugs.

The following morning was eerily foggy, warm and building up to be humid but we dressed to repel the bities, coated ourselves with a layer of Rid and headed off to do some of the hikes.

As the name suggests, the park encompasses a lake with numerous waterways. We found out later from the ranger that they’d had quite a bit of rain recently and that the park wasn’t usually surrounded by so much water at this time of year. It was “unseasonal” to repeat that word again! Consequently, most of the hiking trails were wetter than we were prepared to hike on. Not to be deterred, we walked the length of the park on the road, discovered a boardwalk that wasn’t underwater and realised that it was actually quite a large park.

It’s on 6,000 acres of Atchafalaya Basin and advertises that “fishing, boating and canoeing abound.” There were more than 45 RV sites, a number of large grassy areas for tents, and also backcountry tent sites, three glamping tents on the edge of the lake and 20 or more large log cabins set over the lake with ramps from the car parks. Add to that a playground and water play park and we could see the attraction for families. But not when it was this wet, or during summer when it gets to 115 F ( 46 C) and 95 % humidity.

Before long we saw a Danger Alligators sign and if we’d been in Australia and that said saltwater crocodiles, we would have stayed well clear of any water. However, the locals call the alligators “swamp puppies” which we believe is code for “not aggressive.” So we started keeping our eyes open.

If you forgot how humid it already was at 7.30am and how many tiny bugs were flying around us but getting deterred by our generous coating of Rid, it was actually a very beautiful place.

Eventually, we found the Lake and it was certainly much bigger than we imagined. Occasionally, there were birds chirping but mostly it was just eerily quiet. And then we spied our first alligator, just gliding along with a nose out of the water. Before long we’d seen another couple at a distance. I do love seeing critters in their natural habitat, even alligators.

Once we knew what to look for, we realised there were actually quite a few in the water, so as per usual, I took about 50 photos and a number of videos!

Then, on the return past the cabins we spied this magnificent specimen, drying out on one of the docks by the cabins. In fact, right next to the canoe shed! They might call them swamp puppies but I’m not getting in any kind of boat, much less swimming in any waterway where something this size is lurking.

However, I was emboldened by the swamp puppy tag to climb up into the canoe shed and onto the top beam to get a closer, but safer viewpoint.

Number 26 your canoe is ready.

He certainly wasn’t underfed

I know he looks fake , but I can assure you he was real! And he wasn’t sleeping either, as we found out when Peter started climbing up to my vantage point. He got back in the water at a great rate of knots!

Once he splashed back into the water, we saw another two swimming towards the dock and just hovering in the water by the cabins. We wondered if they got fish from people, even though signs say don’t feed the wildlife. Our suspicions were confirmed by the ranger who said they often have to speak to people who throw fish offcuts into the water by the cabins.

As difficult as it was to drag ourselves away, the humidity was ramping up so a shower and A/C was very appealing.

When we chose this road less travelled, we didn’t imagine it would be a single lane, gravel track between the lake on our right and a levee bank on our left. We’d come out of the park and turned right like the GPS said but after several miles of driving, the road hadn’t changed. Returning the way we’d come meant driving 17 miles back to the previous town which we were disinclined to do. And to be honest, this dirt track was smoother than a lot of the main highways we’ve driven on, so we continued.

As you can see, Lake Fausse Pointe was quite expansive.

We encountered a slight hiccup about 10 miles down the track when we came to an incredibly old and narrow, single lane bridge with road workers doing levee bank work. Initially, we thought Joey was too wide to cross the bridge, notwithstanding the rough track that was dug up from the large machinery. We would have struggled to turn around too, so I got out and walked backwards across the bridge, checking each side as Peter drove ever so slowly across. Luckily it was only a short span and we made it over with a few inches on each side spare, collectively heaving a sigh of relief.

Soon after, we reached the bitumen and arrived in Franklin and a region of Louisiana resplendent with antebellum to circa 1900s houses and fascinating history.

Sugar and steam boating created inordinate wealth for some of the Englishmen who came to this region after the Louisiana purchase of 1803. Many held prominent government and civic appointments and transacted public slave auctions on the lawns of the former court house. In May 1863, this was also the site of one of the bloodiest civil war battles where more than 300 Union soldiers lost their lives and the Confederate gunboat Diana was sunk.

Many of the towns we’ve visited in Louisiana have a rich history of opulence and status juxtaposed with squalor and suffering. A clear divide between the wealthy and the poor is blatantly evident. But every story is important for future generations to understand and acknowledge. Consequently, we’ve spent many hours walking around town streets, reading historical plaques about the towns and their peoples.

Today, Franklin is still a major port for passenger river boats like this one and transporting goods via barges. it also contains a number of heritage registered, antebellum mansions like these, still privately owned and lived in today.

We learned also that white houses were owned by Americans and coloured houses were favoured by Creoles and Cajuns.

Others have been gifted or bequeathed to the State of Louisiana and offer tours of the homes and grounds with guides who impart the history of the land and houses and the people who lived in them and worked around them.

We planned to tour several distinctly different antebellum plantation homes, along the 70 mile long Great Mississippi River Road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. During it’s hey day there were close to 350 antebellum plantation houses from small farms to magnificent mansions and there are 12 plantation mansions that give tours. However, the first one we chose was Southdown Manor in Houma, on the way to New Orleans.

We’ve driven through many small towns so far and notice that almost all of them have pride in their towns. Even though shops are empty and boarded up and some of the houses are run down and clearly needing work, their streets are clean and very many have brightened their outlooks with murals or artwork. Houma was no different.

We walked around the town before Southdown Manor opened and learned more about the Great Arcadian Upheaval. In 1755 10,000 people were transported to the American colonies, England and France from their homes in the French L’Arcadie, later renamed Nova Scotia by the English who also seized their land, homes and possessions. Many settled in this region of Louisiana and their culture and history remains strong.

As we walked back to Southdown Manor, (named after a breed of sheep that were also farmed here) the colour really struck us. It’s so pink! It was the first question I had for our guide. We were the only ones on the tour, so there was ample opportunity to ask questions and our guide took her time showing us around.

Here are some of the interesting facts we learned:

Southdown Sugar Plantation was founded by William John Minor in 1828, whose father was the last Governor of Louisiana Territory under Spanish rule. The Manor was built in 1858. During this period he also built a sugar mill, had a brick making furnace and barrel making factory to store and ship the sugar.

86 sugar mills operated in the Houma region at the height of the sugar growing era. Imagine how many slaves must have worked in the plantation fields to grow and cut enough sugar cane!

Southdown’s walls are 12 inches thick and the ceilings 12 – 14 feet high. The house was single story until 1893 when the second story was built by William’s son Henry after his death.

The stained glass windows were designed by the Minors and made and installed by Tiffany Glass.

By 1853, 233 slaves lived in small, 2 roomed cottages and worked the sugar cane. Our guide said they preferred to call them “workers” and also allowed them to have small plots of land to grow vegetables to supplement their food and “sell” in the Minor farm shop.

4 generations of Minors managed Southdown and its plantations, revolutionising the sugar cane industry and successfully rejuvenating it after a disease decimated the sugar cane during the 1920s.

Several of the rooms were dedicated to the history of the Houmas area rather than the history of the plantation house. We were fascinated in their strong ties with Mardi Gras and the importance to Houmas of the holiday and parades.

So, why was it painted pink? Because the bricks were made and fired on the property by slaves. When fired, the clay became red so after it was built he painted it white in the American tradition. It wasn’t long before the red began to seep through and no matter how many coats it had, the red continued to seep until eventually he painted it pink.

Our next stop was New Orleans.

Call me macabre, but I like to visit old cemeteries. During our last visit in 2008 we missed going through one of their very famous, above ground cemeteries so it was top of the list this visit. In 2015 they closed their major cemeteries to tourists “due to vandalism” and now allow only guided tour visits. However, at $25 a person (there were over 20 people on our tour) and with tours from 9am – 4pm every 15 minutes, they’re also making quite a few pennies from the tours! We toured St. Louis Cemetery No 1.

Our guide was very interesting. He spoke at a million miles an hour and gave us some fascinating history about the cemetery and its inhabitants. This is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans you can visit of the 44 they have and they’re are all above ground. Apparently the water table caused any buried underground to be washed into the Mississippi River, which wasn’t ideal. He also advised us against visiting in summer, when the temperature regularly reaches 110 outside the tombs and to quote “as hot as a pizza oven inside!”

This cemetery opened in 1789, replacing the existing underground cemetery, now under the cobbled streets of the French Quarter.

There are still burials here also, as many of the crypts can be reopened to inter new people. Some of the fascinating information we were told was that Nicholas Cage built a 9 foot high white pyramid crypt and according to the guide, has no intention of being interred there, but built it as a tax write off. It has a steel frame inside and has been twice struck by lightning.

One of the most popular tombs is that of Marie Laveau who was a free woman of colour and called “the Voodoo Queen.” When she died in 1881, people were convinced she had mystical powers and believed she was immortal. Many believed they had seen her walking the streets, after her death, however it was actually her daughter, who greatly resembled her and even pretended to be her mother. Her tomb was one cited by our guide being responsible for closing the cemetery. Apparently, even in this day and age, people left offerings of flowers and beads at the tomb and also scratched X’s into the stone.

Another resident is Bernard de Marigny. He was responsible for keeping the French language alive after the Louisiana purchase by America in 1803 and helped to draft the first state constitution, after 1812. A suburb of brightly coloured houses near the French Quarter are also a legacy attributed to only selling the subdivisions of his plantation land to the French Creoles, not the Americans.

We also learned that many people can be buried in one tomb.

How do they all fit you ask?

They have a cavern underneath the tomb accessible by a hollow at the rear. Apparently, there’s a custom that one year and one day must pass between burials. If another burial is required before this time, they are interred in the wall nearby for safekeeping until the time has elapsed, then reinterred in their family tomb. Because of the heat and humidity in New Orleans, after this time everything has disintegrated into dust so when the next family member is ready, so to speak, the crypt is unsealed, a long rod is used to push the remains to the back and they fall down to the cellar. Plenty of space for the next inhabitant.

Apparently, a tomb big enough for two people will set you back about $US50,000. Some of the more elaborate and larger tombs could cost upwards of $US500,000! This is why many of the tombs are sponsored by groups, eg: The New Orleans Musicians Tomb.

Our guide regaled us with so many fascinating facts and spoke so quickly it was hard to keep up but one anecdote that stuck with me was where the saying ‘saved by the bell’ originated. Allegedly, during Yellow Fever epidemics (in 1853, more than 9,000 New Orleans inhabitants perished and in 1878 a further 4,500), if someone caught the disease they were immediately removed and buried because they believed that it was highly contagious. There was no doctor visit or autopsy, a mirror was held to their mouth and if it didn’t fog up, they were deemed deceased and immediately interred. In some cases, when the crypt was opened later, there was evidence that the person was in fact, not dead! To remedy this, a bell was placed outside the crypt and a string tied to their fingers and toes. A person walked around the tombs daily and if they heard a bell, they unsealed the crypt; they were very literally, ‘saved by the bell.’

by the time our 45 minute tour was concluding, it was warming up and becoming quite humid so we were glad we’d done the first tour of the day. Our walk into the French Quarter took us past some of the more iconic, tourist places in New Orleans, like Bourbon Street.

We didn’t venture down the street because the street cleaners were still hosing it down. Literally hosing the sidewalk! Apparently this is done every morning to clean up from the night before.

It’s very much a city that embraces its jazz roots. There are musicians or jazz bands with singers in many of the outdoor cafes and musical themes are everywhere.

We also stopped to listen to this university band that arrived by coach and spent 1/2 hour setting up in the heat, wearing black. They were very good!

The iconic horse and carriages were lined up ready for passengers but there weren’t many takers.

We wandered through the market and were reminded how popular the strings of coloured beads are. There were numerous strands on the streets, draped over things and hundreds for sale in ever gift shop.

Alligator heads in various sizes and mardi gras masks were also available everywhere.

We went into two hand made chocolate shops that made pralines, a traditional French candy, while you watched. We couldn’t resist trying a couple of chocolates.

Peter spied a rather large chocolate concoction on a stick called a Petey Popper, so of course he had to try one! It was marshmallow, covered in caramel, covered in rice crisps, covered in chocolate. Needless to say it didn’t last long!

We had fun taking pictures with some of the statues.

I donned a silly hat that made me look like a Gum Nut from May Gibbs books. For those that aren’t familiar, she wrote and illustrated iconic children’s books in Australia pre the 1920s.

We took in many of the iconic sights

Statue to Joan of Arc.

The owner of the RV camp we stayed in drew up an historical tour of one of the more traditional Creole streets in New Orleans so we spent our afternoon walking along the beautiful tree lined Esplanade Avenue, an important travelling route in the 19th century and according to the tour information, was a “millionaires row” for the Louisiana Creole community.

Some of the homes, which are mostly privately owned, were as majestic as the plantation mansions. Like these, built circa 1861

Some are smaller and quaint but display the vibrant Creole colours.

We also took a short walk around St. Louis Cemetery No. 3.

Many of the tombs had a plaque in front like the one above, which said perpetual care. This means that the owners of the tomb have paid quite a princely sum to have the tomb cared for eternally. The cemetery is then responsible for keeping it maintained.

By now we’d spent a very full day experiencing the Jazz centre of Louisiana and were ready to catch the bus back to Joey. New Orleans certainly is a fascinating city with a very unique history, but we were ready to move on and visit some of the plantation homes on our route north.