Charlie and Sug have been wanting a chance to see the 9/11 Memorial in person.

My original plan was to take a long weekend in NYC.  However, since the theatres are closed due to Covid we have not scheduled a trip to NYC.

Instead I looked for a way to make a day trip to the Memorial much like our trip to the Statue of Liberty.

We drove 3 hours to Liberty State Park on the New Jersey side of New York Harbor with the intention of riding the Liberty Landing Ferry across the harbor to Battery Park.  Unfortunately the ferry was taking an unannounced hiatus.

I was very disappointed but Sug and Charlie reminded me that:

1.   I like an adventure.
2.   I had toured us all over Europe making major adjustments as necessary.

So instead of the ferry we drove to Jersey City (10 minutes away) to the Grove Street station of the PATH train that would take us to the World Trade Center.

We parked under the Grove Pointe apartments next to Starbucks.

The underground train let us off in the area of what used to be called Ground Zero and is now more properly known as the 9/11 Memorial. (In order to exit the correct door of the building nearest to the monument we asked security officers for directions.  We did this more than once on our visit.  New Yorkers were happy to give us some advice which we found to be correct in all cases.)

As we emerged from the building we could see the World Trade Center Tower that replaces the 2 which were destroyed.

We walked around the two large pools where the World Trade Center’s twin towers once stood.    The atmosphere of the memorial, Reflecting Absence,  was serene yet moving.

Set within the footprints of the original Twin Towers, each pool is approximately 1-acre in size.

The names of every person who perished in the terror attacks of February 26, 1993 & September 11, 2001 are honored in bronze around the twin Memorial pools.

We headed down Broadway toward the New York Stock Exchange until we met the Raging Bull.  This was my addition to the list of sites to visit.

We retraced our steps and walked past the 9/11 Monument again until we came to Brookfield Place where we ate lunch.  BFPL houses a food court, Hudson Eats!, on the second floor with a variety of vendors.

I had decided to get my lunch at Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque. Charlie and Sug followed suit. Lunch was reasonably priced and the ambiance was calm and comfortable with social distancing  enforced by table placement.

We were seated in the restaurant section overlooking the Hudson River.

After lunch we strolled back to the PATH station and took a return train marked “Newark” to Grove Street Station in Jersey City where we picked up our car and drove home.  Unfortunately the projected 3-hour ride turned into an 8-hour ordeal due to multiple accidents on the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

We had a lovely day trip to NYC enjoying the most beautiful weather imaginable.

Jo

The week before Charlie and I left for our 5-day trip to New Orleans my computer broke down along with my 5-page document of everything I had planned so I made a new plan which I decided to fill in as we went along.

Here’s what we did:

Day 1 

We arrived at Louis Armstrong International Airport on a sunny day so we took the E-1 Bus at Airport via Veterans route connecting Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Kenner to the city of New Orleans.

The bus stop at the airport is located on the top level of the departure terminal in the middle walkway of the outside lane, closest to the exit.

The Veterans-Airport route runs from the airport along Veterans Boulevard and the Pontchartrain Expressway to City Park Avenue in New Orleans. Passengers can connect to New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) routes here. The route continues onto Canal St. and heads into downtown New Orleans, stopping only at major intersections.

We got off at Loyola and Tulane (end of the line) and walked about 6 blocks to Gravier and Camp Streets.

We always like to take a boat cruise in a new city to get our bearings.  The Canal/Algiers Ferry gave us a good view of the city on our first afternoon there.

Some of the best views of the city are from the Canal Street/Algiers Ferry in the middle of the Mississippi River.   Since 1827, the ferry has traveled across the Mississippi River to Algiers Point, a historic neighborhood with 19th century village charm.

We ate fried oysters and fried shrimp at the Dry Dock restaurant.

Day 2 

We ate breakfast at Commerce which was cattycorner across the street from our hotel.

I ordered the CBB (Commerce Breakfast Biscuit), an egg on a biscuit topped with a spicy cheese sauce with jalapeños and sausage.  Yum.

CBB is my go-to order at the unpretentious tiny eatery.

The highlight of or second day was the swamp tour with Ragin Cajun.  I booked the tour through Gators and Ghosts who also arranged for our transportation to the swamp.

(We used the same driver to take us to the airport at the end of our stay.)

Café du Monde is famous for Beignets which we sampled at every opportunity.

We strolled along Decatur Street and stopped at the Plaza d’Armas where there is a park with a statue of Andrew Jackson.

We stopped into the cathedral which has beautiful stained glass windows and an ornate high altar.

Flanking the Saint Louis Cathedral are two historic buildings–the Cabildo and the Presbytere–now housing the city’s top museums for which we did not make time.

In the afternoon we wandered by Sazerac House, a whiskey and bitters distillery at Magazine and Canal Streets,  and stopped in to take their free tour.  Sazerac is a local variation of a cognac or whiskey cocktail originally from New Orleans.  The tour included some free cocktails served along with information about its history and development.

Day 3

We started our third day at the Ruby Slipper Café for another breakfast of beignets.

We went on a self-led walking tour of the Garden District.

The real highlight was talking with some of the local artisans and riding the Saint Charles streetcar line.

After walking all morning and into the afternoon we took it easy the rest of the day until we went out for blackened alligator and crawfish étouffée in the early evening.

Day 4 

We at breakfast at Streetcar Café which we had noticed the day before on our ride to the Garden District. Then we planned to catch the red line streetcar to the the cemeteries/City Park when we were told by a friendly New Orleanean that the street car now stops above Dauphine Street where the Hard Rock Café hotel collapsed in 2019.

After walking another 6 blocks we caught the Cemeteries streetcar to the end of the line where we had our choice of above-ground graves to view.

The entrance to Greenwood is marked with a number of statues marking important graves.

Additionally a beautiful fountain marks the entrance to the cemetery which was established by the Firemen’s Charitable & Benevolent Association in 1852.

We took the eponymous City Park streetcar to its end where we wandered up a tree-lined drive to the New Orleans Museum of Art where we had lunch in the café.  (Since we were only eating we did not have to pay an entrance fee.)

In the evening Charlie and I dressed up and walked two blocks from our hotel to Restaurant August where we celebrated my birthday in royal style. We had a fabulous meal and a fun time.

Day 5

We ate breakfast again at Commerce because we enjoyed it so much earlier in the week.

We had a snack of beignets at Café Beignet and lunch at the Market Café.

At 2 we  cruised on the riverboat “City of New Orleans,” a characteristic paddleboat that cruises down the Mississippi and back. Its narration explains the importance of the river historically as well as pointing out interesting sights along the way.

(While cruising I checked in for airline seats for our return home the next day.)

We wandered around the French Quarter one more time.

Day 6

Breakfast at Daisy Duke’s Café.

At 12 noon we checked out of our hotel and waited for the ride to the airport we had scheduled earlier in the week with our driver from the Airboat tour.

We had a nice chat on our way to the airport where we caught our plane and flew back home.

• Bucket List Trip: NOLA
• Ferry Across the Mississippi
• Airboats and Alligators
• Streetcars and the Garden District
• Riverboat Ride
• Beignets and More Beignets

Jo

You can’t go to New Orleans without trying beignets — or at least I recommend you give them a try.

Beignets are on the menu at many restaurants in addition to having a few eateries that are dedicated to the warm fried-dough comfort food.

We tried beignets at:

Café du Monde — The classic New Orleans beignet, a serving of 3 large pieces of fried dough loaded with powdered sugar. 

You have to be careful not to make a mess with these.

Ruby Slipper — This restaurant has daily specials of small beignets served with accompaniments. 

We tried King Cake Beignets — cinnamon-orange cheesecake and Crofter’s strawberry preserves topped with whipped cream and Mardi Gras sanding sugar.    

Streetcar Café — I ate these for breakfast. 

They were tasty.

Café Beignet — These might be my favorite.  

Beignets are much like the fried dough my grandmother used to make for me.  Any shape or size, they are a treat.

Jo

Since Charlie and I love a good boat ride we decided to take a cruise down the Mississippi River while we were in New Orleans.

The “City of New Orleans” riverboat docks on the river near the French Market.

We bought our tickets at the Lighthouse Ticket Office near the wharf.  Tickets were $38 each for a 2-hour cruise down then up the river.

Since we arrived early we decided to catch a bite to eat at The Market Café where we were thoroughly entertained by Spring.  At one point I was on stage being serenaded with a very jazzy version of Happy Birthday. I  had a muffuletta.

We boarded at 2 p.m. and departed at 2:30.

Charlie and I immediately headed to the top deck where the band was playing.  It was a beautiful day so choosing the open deck gave us a wonderful view of the river and the shore. On the downriver stretch we received interesting and informative narration.

As in Baltimore, Domino Sugar has a huge presence in New Orleans.   (Sug is responsible at home for transporting much of the sugar from the factory in Baltimore so of course I sent her a photo.)

As we returned to port upriver the band played Dixieland jazz.  The trio was an unusual mix  of trumpet, banjo, and bass saxophone.  The bells of the wind-blown instruments were covered with filters to prevent Covid from being blown all over the boat.

Charlie and I wore masks while others on the boat were more cavalier.

Just before we docked Charlie and I walked to the stern of the second deck where we could get a good look at the paddle wheel. Watching the water spray off the blades is mesmerizing.

An afternoon cruise is a relaxing way to spend a day traveling.

Jo

The Saint Charles streetcar line in New Orleans runs from Canal Street (which separates the business district from the French Quarter) out to the Garden District.

The first streetcar line in New Orleans opened in 1835, making it the oldest continuously operated urban rail service in the U.S., and perhaps the world.

By 1922, there were around 225 miles of streetcar track in the city.  Between 1945 and 1950, the city lost nearly half of its streetcar lines. In 1964, the Canal Street line closed, leaving just 15 miles of track in the city.

Eventually the city saved and expanded the streetcar network. In 1988, a short stretch of the Riverfront line opened along the Mississippi, aimed almost entirely at tourists, and in 2004, a 5.5-mile stretch of the Canal Street line re-opened, running from the French Quarter and Central Business District to the cemeteries by City Park. The system’s cars are charming and old-fashioned.  (The oldest cars date back to 1923; new replica cars are reproductions of 1920s models).

We caught the green St. Charles Street car at Canal and Carondele. This is an old style car with wooden seats and windows that open.  We each bought a day pass for $3 allowing us to hop on and off any RTA transit for a 24-hour period. (Regular fare is $1.25 plus extra for transfers. Over age 65 — 40 cents and no transfer fee.)

We rode out to Washington St. via Saint Charles where we disembarked.  Using the map below we walked around the Garden District of old mansions and other vintage structures.

We happened upon Lafayette Cemetery #1.

Many of the cemeteries in New Orleans are closed due to the COVID pandemic but this glimpse gave us the interest to find an open cemetery to tour later in the week.

We also admired some of the great houses

and smaller but equally interesting painted Victorians.

After our walk we got back on the streetcar and rode to Erato. (Some of the streets in this area are named for the muses: Erato, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Thalia, etc.)

We walked the sidewalks one block off the main street to find something to eat.  We found a café named “Seed” where we ate a vegan lunch.

Charlie was surprised to find he had been eating queso made completely from cashews.

Once more we caught the streetcar back to Carondelet and Canal where we departed and went back to the hotel.

The weather was perfect and we saw a charming area where some of the houses were still decorated for Mardi Gras 2021 (renamed Yardi Gras).

Jo

On our second day in New Orleans we decided to take a swamp tour in an air boat.  My gift to Charlie for his birthday.

We booked a 6-passenger air boat — the smallest available which could go where the larger ones could not.

The area around the dock was quite muddy and very shallow.

We had a fast and thrilling ride on water, mud, and marshland in the swamp.  Then we slowed down to view the swamp creatures — raccoons, nutria (swamp rats), herons, egrets, smaller birds, and alligators.

Our guide was a licensed “Nuisance Alligator Hunter” for the state of Louisiana.  He was very familiar with their habits and activities.

He spotted one covered in mud and lying in the sun.  He grabbed it by the snout and washed it with clean.

Then the gator wrangler asked if anyone would like to hold it.

Charlie was brave to hold the 4.5-foot farm-raised alligator that had been released into this swamp.

The gator was happy to be back in his habitat.

We learned some fascinating facts about the swamp and its wildlife.

One of the most surprising elements for me was the beautiful clean smell of the air.  It was refreshing.

We were so inspired by the alligator wrangler that we ordered gator the next day at a restaurant.  It comes deep fried or blackened with a spicy remoulade.  My favorite was the blackened dish — tender with just the right amount of spice.

Jo

Charlie and I arrived in New Orleans at the Louis Armstrong International Airport around noon.

We hopped aboard the E1 bus (for $2 each) on the upper level of the airport and rode it to the end of the line which was Loyola and Tulane.

We walked about 6 blocks to our hotel in the CBD (Central Business District) 2 blocks away from the French Quarter.

Even though we were early for check-in they were happy to see us and gave us our room right away.

We stashed our gear and headed down to the River for a ride on the Algiers Ferry.

For a $2 fare this quick ride across the Mississippi River gave us a sense of the layout of the city.

When we hopped off on the other side we asked a local man where we could get some fried oysters and a shrimp po boy.

He sent us to a nearby restaurant, Dry Dock, where we had a fabulous first meal in New Orleans.

We returned to the left bank via the same route. The ferry was clean and quick and thoroughly enjoyable.

Jo