New Orleans 2023

Our first trip of 2023 was to New Orleans. Steffanie had been here a couple of times before, and wanted me to check out the Big Easy. We did a cemetery tour, ghost tour, visited Bourbon Street and even stayed at a haunted plantation.
Memphis
To break up the trip there, we drove the first half and spent the night in Memphis, TN. We hit our usual restaurant, as we do whenever we visit a new city, and stopped into the Hard Rock Cafe. Steffanie gets her souvenir t-shirt, and me, a ball cap.

We enjoyed our hotel so much, we decided to book it again when we return this summer to visit Graceland with additional family.

Pictured below is legendary Beale Street, Home of the Blues. It was rather quiet and sparse the night we were there, but this street is often packed with visitors and festivals.
New Orleans
I never realized that Interstate 55 ended in New Orleans. We've taken the north end of 55 several times as that's our semi-annual route to Chicago for Steffanie's scans at Northwestern. So now we've seen both ends of this road.

When you come into New Orleans, you cross over at least 10 miles of elevated road, straddling the swamp lands that connect Lake Maurepas to Lake Pontchartrain. Stilt houses equipped with fishing boats pepper the marshy landscape.
Guess where we ended up eating at the night we got into New Orleans? Yep, round two of Hard Rock Cafe for another delicious meal and set of souvenirs. This restaurant was conveniently located on Bourbon Street.
We got there on a Thursday, and it just got more packed and wilder each night we went into the French Quarter. Since we're not the wild and rowdy bunch, we didn't partake of the traditional Bourbon Street festivities. We observed from a distance.
The French Market Inn had a small pool that we did take a dip in on the first night there. The weather was a little humid and unseasonable for March. So although it wasn't ideal Spring weather, it wasn't too terribly bad, and offered us the opportunity to soak in the cool pool water.
Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1
The next day, we took a guided tour of Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1. This was probably the most intriguing thing I felt we did on this trip. There was so much to learn about the burial process and protocol that goes on in this region.
One of the first tombs you visit is Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. There are many stories about Marie Laveau; some good, some bad. She was a hair dresser to the rich white women of the area, who trusted her with their gossip and dark secrets. She was also a good Samaritan and devout Catholic who ministered to prisoners. Most people have a misconception of Voodoo, and associate it with the dark arts. But in reality, Voodoo is about protection.

Due to the bad reputation Marie Laveau acquired, there was much animosity towards her, even in death. Her tomb had been vandalized so much over the years that the cemetery had to limit visitations to licensed tours only. Another interesting note is that the tomb above is referred to as the "Faux Laveau." Because of so much defacing, her actual tomb is in an undisclosed location within the cemetery.
New Orleans often deals with flooding, because of its high water table. In its early days when bodies were buried underground, the flooding would bring the coffins to the surface. This, coupled with the Yellow Fever plague, created a host of problems to the city. Having dealt with similar issues with a high water table and a Yellow Fever plague, the Spanish influenced New Orleans with a viable solution; above-ground burial. This eliminated the problem of coffin displacement, and the issue of space limitations.

A body is placed into a vault (or oven vault) for a year and a day. The extra day allows for loved ones to visit the vault on the anniversary. During this time, the body decomposes and essentially bakes until there's nothing left but ash and some bones. The bones are then crushed, everything is collected into a bag, and the bag is slid (with a 10' pole) to the back of the tomb where it drops into a pit.
The tombs are owned by families, who are responsible for the upkeep, and can hold up to 200 family members before full. When a tomb is full, it will be marked as CLOSED FOREVER. In lieu of family upkeep of the tombs, a family can make a $2,500 donation for the Catholic Church to oversee maintenance. When this is done, the tomb is marked with PERPETUAL CARE.
Iron fences line many of the tombs as a decorative display of wealth, as the fences themselves serve no protective purpose to the tomb.
Nicolas Cage has a pyramid-shaped tomb prepared for him at this cemetery. It is inscribed with the words OMNIA AB UNO, which in Latin means "Everything from One." While visiting this tomb, I was graced with the presence of the resident cemetery cat, Esmeralda.
If you're a fan of the classic 1969 movie Easy Rider, you might recognize this statue, which also resides here in Saint Louis Cemetery No 1.
The French Quarter
The French quarter was a short walk from our hotel. The one-way streets are narrow and bustling with delivery trucks, horse-drawn carriages, bikes-for-hire, tourists, and many musicians. I was amazed at the number of quality musicians on the street corners, in the bars and parks, and just about anywhere and everywhere you could fit them. I'm not even sure how you could compete in this city, as it would be so hard for your talents to stand out, being a small fish in a big pond.
The Vampire Cafe, located on Royal Street, was a nice lunch stop for us. Steffanie got the baked salmon and I got an alligator po'boy -- YUM!
Jackson Square
Jackson Square became a nice respite for me, as the busy-ness and chaos; the general energy of the city was a bit overwhelming. So one afternoon I spent a little time in the park, where a wedding party was taking pictures. It was fun just to sit back and people-watch.
We had visited the square just a day prior, and enjoyed a thunderous jazz ensemble -- there I am recording it on camera. Steffanie also took the opportunity to get a psychic reading.
Ghost Walk
We met at Louis Armstrong Park for a ghost walk. Although very historic and interesting, it wasn't scary. Steffanie said that the one she and her mom went on before was much better. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable, and took us around Jackson Square and the French Market -- we walked for miles!

My biggest complaint was that we didn't circle back to our starting point, where our car was parked. Instead, he gave us general directions on where the "safe streets" were, and some basic survival tips. Thanks Charlie.
The last place we visited on the walk was the mansion of the infamous serial killer, Madame Delphine LaLaurie. She had chained, tortured, and mutilated slaves here.
Good eats, shopping, and friends
You can't visit New Orleans without stopping at Cafe Du Monde for a Beignet (pronounced benyay). We also walked down the street to a confectioner for some delicious pralines (pronounced locally as prawlines).
Then it was off to the French Market. Steffanie got some really nice anniversary jewelry, and I got a couple of souvenir leather bracelets. We also caught some entertainment with the dollar dog. His owner sings songs and entertains the crowd with his lyrical ad-libs. Then he tells the dog to "Go get it!" The dog collects multiple tips in a single trip, and returns the money to the owner for a treat. It was quite cute!
The last night in New Orleans, we met Audrey and William for dinner in the city. Audrey is Steffanie's friend from high school. We ate at Mothers, a well-known traditional NOLA fixins restaurant, frequented by celebrities. I had the crawfish etouffee and a po'boy (love those). Of course, I also picked at Steffanie's ham and cheesy grits. So good!
The Myrtles Plantation
We left New Orleans and headed to St. Francisville, LA, to spend the night at the haunted Myrtles Plantation. The plantation was built by General David Bradford in 1796. The plantation grew cotton and indigo (used as a clothing dye.)
Did we witness any paranormal activity? No. But we did sleep with a light on. My advice is, if you have a 12-hour drive home the next day, don't spend the night in a haunted mansion! I woke up countless times, just anticipating seeing something -- anything to make it worth the while.
The room we spent the night in was once used as a nursery. We were told that the small locked door off of the alcove was the entrance to the "disappointments room" and was used to hide deformed or disabled children -- how sad.
The tour of the mansion was interesting. She gave us a history of the family ownership, and we even got some great stories of the paranormal activities that guests and staff have experienced.
For anyone who knows anything about this mansion, this mirror is especially interesting. They call it the "Haunted Mirror," as people claim to see a silhouette of a woman, or a handprint, in the mirror.

Our guide mentioned that they've even had the back of the mirror re-finished to try to remove the blemish, but the marks mysteriously re-appeared.
I found the grounds to be very charming. There are cabins you can rent that border a central pond. There's even a small bridge that takes you to a gazebo on the pond. The property has a souvenir shop, small cafe, and a restaurant.