Natchez, Mississippi – Day 9

Note: Mary flew from Baton Rouge Airport, Louisiana on March 12 to her home in California. I’m hoping to get her back with me by mid-April. My current plans are to drift SLOWLY north along the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tennessee where I’ll then turn northeast heading for New England for the Summer. Can’t go north too fast because it’s still cold up there! The Mississippi River is rich in history…I expect it to be an interesting passage.

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The motorhome is still parked at the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge #1662 in Natchez, Mississippi.

Natchez remained mostly undamaged from the Civil War. Hence this old city with its narrow and many one-way streets remains a beautiful city. To read about Natchez, click this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez,_Mississippi

Yesterday I drove the Bronco the about two miles to Main Street hoping to catch the essence of the downtown Natchez area in photographs. It was a sunny, windy and cold day. I parked the Bronco on the corner of Main and Union Streets and started walking the about six blocks west towards the Mississippi River.

First stop was at St. Mary’s Basilica which you can read about by clicking this link…
http://www.visitnatchez.org/listings/?action=display&listingID=255&menuID=136&hit=1

Here are some of the photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Yes…there are tourist carriages in Natchez…

A little further down Main Street is the Eola Hotel. I’ll go inside on my return trip on the other side of the street in a few minutes. You can read about the Eola Hotel by clicking this link…
http://www.natchezeola.com/home/

A touch of New Orleans is not surprising to find here…

A little further along, the Grand Hotel is on the other side of the street. I’ll go inside on my return trip. The other side of the hotel faces the Mississippi River. You can read about the Grand Hotel by clicking this link…
http://www.natchezgrandhotel.com/

I reach Bluff Park which overlooks the Mississippi River. From my view-point I can see another steamboat has arrived. The second riverboat in the background is the Isle of Capri Floating Casino which stays permanently moored in that spot. I’ll go see the new arrival after I finish this walk…

I cross Main Street. Let’s go into the Grand Hotel…

How about a couple of reflection photos first…

Okay…let’s now go inside. First thing I notice is this beautiful painting of the Mississippi River…

Back outside and heading back to the Bronco. If you took the time to read the first link about Natchez at the start of this Blog…you would have read this information…

In the early 1960s, after the admission of James Meredith as the first black to the University of Mississippi, Natchez was the center of Ku Klux Klan activity opposing integration and the civil rights movement. E. L. McDaniel, the Grand Dragon of the United Klans of America, the largest Klan organization in 1965,^[21] had his office in Natchez at 114 Main Street. In August 1964, McDaniel established a klavern of the UKA in Natchez, operating under the cover name of the Adams County Civic and Betterment Association.

Here’s a photo of the building now at 114 Main Street. Looks old enough to have been there in 1964…

Continuing on…let’s go inside the Eola Hotel…

Back on the street I pass a Mississippi Blues Trail marker sign…

Getting back near my starting point…

Now you know all about downtown Main Street in Natchez, Mississippi. Let’s go see the steamboat. Upon arrival I find out it’s the Queen of the Mississippi…which you van read about by clicking this link…
http://www.americancruiselines.com/small-riverboat-cruise-ships/Queen-of-the-Mississippi

The End! 🙂

I’ll explore more of Natchez today.

Enjoying historic places is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Mississippi. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

A MOST UNUSUAL LAUNDROMAT

Jim and I visited one of the most unusual laundromats in the world. It was unusual in several ways. First, it had post office boxes in it. Old ones to be sure. The building once housed a post office. I guess the owners decided to keep that layer of history. Nice of them.

People can’t resist putting fake mail in them in the boxes.

This is the only laundromat I’ve ever seen with stained glass windows.

Fancy chairs, tables, plants and cozy little seating areas, certainly another unusual characteristic. None of the green plastic chairs. Patrons relaxed, read the news, brought their lunch.

And, how many laundromats have old time 78 records framed on their walls?

While cruising through old pictures, I decided to revisit this unusual laundromat on Rampart St. in New Orleans which was once a recording studio. Another layer of history preserved here along with pictures of some of the great rock and roll stars that recorded here. Little Richard above.

Lloyd Price—-

—and Jerry Lee Lewis. The framed pictures hang high and out of reach. The building is full of windows and light. Hard to get decent photos, but the thrill for rock and rollers is encased in this laundromat. Fats Domino, Shirley and Lee, Roy Brown, Joe Turner, Ray Charles, Smiley Louis, Annie Laurie, and others.

U. S. Highway 90 and Hurricane Katrina

Jim says: I left the State Park Campground and headed east on U. S. Highway 90 Business, crossing the Mississippi River at New Orleans. About 5 miles later I picked up Interstate 10 heading east (not wanting to drive on U.S. Highway 90 in heavy New Orleans traffic) and about 6 miles later got on U.S. Highway 90 heading east.

Interstate Highway 10 and U.S. Highway 90 now parallel each other heading east only a few miles apart. Interstate Highway 10 gets all the heavy traffic and U.S. Highway 90 becomes practically free of traffic…that’s why I chose it. For the next 50 miles it resembles a ghost highway running right along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. Highway 90 was built in the 1920’s and has been called the Southern Route 66. For a few miles leaving New Orleans I saw a number of old motels with names like The Palm, Avalon, Serenity, etc…Then even the motels disappeared. U.S. Highway 90 runs from Van Horn, Texas to Jacksonville, Florida.

Here’s a few photos I managed to take while driving…

At this point the road remains four lanes, but no traffic.

I crossed over a number of original narrow bridges.

Approaching the shoreline of the Gulf Of Mexico.

What few houses there were are built high off of the ground.

This new bridge replaced one destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Here’s a stretch of original highway. The speed limit was 55, but the roadway way so bumpy my maximum speed was 35.

Here’s the original bridge that spans the water separating Louisiana and Mississippi.

The road way improved somewhat in Mississippi.

This desolate stretch of Highway was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. I drove about 75 miles yesterday and spent the night in Waveland, Mississippi. I’m parked in a deserted shopping center leftover from Hurricane Katrina more than 4.5 years ago that looks like it was part of a war.

This Blog post was originally intended to be about U.S. Highway 90, but I found a couple of websites about Hurricane Katrina and Waveland that you might find interesting. Here’s the links…
http://4christe.tripod.com/WavelandDamage
http://news.webshots.com/album/462388315ViPOen?start=0Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about Waveland and Katrina. This article mentions the parking lot of Fred’s Department Store…it’s the parking lot where I spent last night.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waveland,_Mississippi

I’m in no particular hurry right now. My next planned stop is at the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida…whenever I arrive there!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

Mary Has Left Me…

Jim says:

once again. I dropped her off at the airport yesterday. She’ll be in California attending to family business for about five weeks. She’s scheduled to fly and meet me May 4th in Asheville, North Carolina. In the meantime I’ll wander along eastwards by myself.

My jet-set gal.

I spent the rest of the day continuing my re-read of John Grisham’s the Pelican Brief which is partially set in New Orleans and in particular the French Quarter. We were just there two days ago so it adds to the enjoyment of the read. John Grisham is my favorite author and I read all of his books two-three years ago. I saved them all and will re-read all of them. The Pelican Brief was his third book. He’s done so well writing that he gave up his law practice. If you enjoy realistic legal-type drama books, give his a try…you’ll enjoy them.

It’s awfully quiet in the motorhome with her gone. Hmmmm…

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

We Spent Our Last Full Day In Louisiana In N’awlins!

Jim says: In our two months in Louisiana, if we’ve learned one thing…only rookies call this place New Or-leens! The locals pronounce it N’awlins, Y’all!

Mary and I spent the our last full day in the city’s French Quarter on Decatur Street. The first stop was at the Jean LaFitte National Historical Park and Preserve French Quarter location. This visit completes our visit to all six Southern Louisiana locations in the system. This location was noticeably smaller square foot wise than the other five locations. Here’s three photos I took at this location…

This is a photo of a photo.

This is a photo of a photo.

This is a photo of a photo.

Here’s the official government link to the Jean LaFitte French Quarter site…
http://www.nps.gov/jela/french-quarter-site.htm

Here’s the official government link to the entire Jean LaFitte National Historical Park and Preserve System…
http://www.nps.gov/jela/index.htm

Then it was time for lunch and Mary wanted some oysters so we headed to the Crescent City Brewery were she had oysters while we were here during Mardi Gras. Alas…the oyster shuckers don’t start shucking until 4:00 PM…so no oysters for Mary We enjoyed a beer and I got this great shot of the Hostess…

I took the photo of this beautiful 25 year old Hostess at the Crescent City Brewery.

We ended up eating Jambalaya at Cafe Masperro just up the street. Mary wanted to visit a few souvenir shops which we did then headed back to the motorhome to avoid the heavy afternoon rush-hour traffic. We were both disappointed to have to depart this beautiful unique city. This tee-Shirt says it all…

I took this photo of a Tee-Shirt in a souvenir shop.

Another bright and sunny day may for difficult taking of outdoor photos. Right in the same vicinity a Hollywood Film Crew were shooting a movie entitled “Reds” starring Morgan freeman and Bruce Willis. We were told they had finished their scenes yesterday.

To see the other 45 photos I took, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/NewOrleansLA032910#”>http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/NewOrleansLA032910#

We’re still having trouble realizing our time in Louisiana is over! The old adage of “Time goes by fast when you’re having fun” seem to apply to us as the past two months certainly passed quickly!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

The End Is Near!

Jim says: Our eight-week stay in Louisiana, that is…both of us are really lamenting about having to leave Southern Louisiana. We’ve had a great time here!

We decided to stay one more day at the American Legion in Plaquemine. Mary began her packing for her flight back to her home in California.

Today we’ll take the motorhome and move on. One stop today at the Laura Plantation.

Tomorrow is move into the campground and do laundry day.

We’ll have a final day wandering New Orleans on Monday.

Tuesday Mary flies from New Orleans.

Wednesday will be a day of routine maintenance and odd jobs on the motorhome for me.

On Thursday I’ll depart the campground and start drifting further East.

Mary will meet up with me again in Asheville, North Carolina on May 4th.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com