The night temps did not really cool off all that much. At 2 am it was still 88 degrees and seven in the morning a cool 81 degrees.
We left the CG around 9:45 am and as soon as you walked out the door the heat hit you in the face. The projected temp for the day is 96 degrees.
Our first stop for the day was at Mardi Gras World where they make all the floats for the Mardi Gras. When we arrived it was a guess as to where to park. There was a huge parking area for the convention center but super expensive. We did find a spot in the cruise terminal area for free – so we parked.
A Carnival Cruise ship was in dock and disembarking passengers so the traffic was brutal.
The entrance to Mardi Gras World was around the corner and we were pleasantly surprised as we entered the front door. We were greeted by two Jesters and a large head of another Jester.
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We were not sure what to expect once inside but again were taken aback by the size of the place and the volume of heads and other props that greeted us.
All of the props had at one time or another had been part of a float
We got tickets for the tour - or should I say beads for the tour and watched a video explaining the operation of Mardi Gras World and what Mardi Gras means to the people of New Orleans.
Our tour guide made a point to let the general public know that the Mardi Gras parade does NOT travel down Bourbon Street and the happenings on Bourbon Street do not reflect what Mardi Gras is all about. In fact, she made a point to tell us that Bourbon Street is not a place for small children because of the risqué behavior that occurs there. That Mardi Gras is a family event and should not be confused with the media coverage of Bourbon Street.
As we moved through the work spaces and warehouse we were able to experience the work involved in making the materials for the beautiful floats presented at Mardi Gras. Our guide told us that every year is a new theme and no two years are ever alike. There are organizations and groups that request certain themes and they pay to have this company prepare the props and put the float together. The organizations Krews pay for all of the materials but do not own the floats. In addition, the beads and trinkets thrown from the floats into the crowds are bought at the expense of the people within the private organizations representing the floats. In Orleans County a private business cannot be represented in the parade.
Once the tour was over we were able to walk around the building at our leisure and take as many photos as we wanted. Below is a small representation of those photos.
One of the themes for a float for 2013 will be Easter Island and Stonehenge. How weird is that –we will be in Easter Island in August.
This company makes the cows for the billboards for Chix Filet. They are really funny and the cows are obviously three-dimensional hanging off the billboards.
Is This Jewel???
Follow the Yellow Brick Road – RON!
There were so many floats and props our minds were in overload. Ron now feels that we should attend Mardi Gras and partake in the festivities! Did he really say that?????
After leaving Mardi Gras World it was off to catch a tour that will show us around New Orleans and discuss Hurricane Katrina, the damage and recovery to the area.
It was almost impossible to get a parking place and after going into one parking area and exiting within 5 minutes (no spaces) we did find an open lot. It was 12:30 PM and the sun was high in the sky and the temp was up there too. I cannot tolerate the heat and humidity so proceeded to sweat like crazy – but only my head. Cannot figure out why that happens but its like I took a shower and the sweat drips from my head. Not a pretty sight at all. Not to mention embarrassing.
Once on the bus in the AC I cooled down nicely and was able to get my soaked hair dry and looking half-way decent. Ron – was not sweating at all – UGH!!!!
The three hour tour was very informative and cleared up some questions we had and I’m sure a lot of people had at the time. The biggest issue related to Katrina was that it was not suppose to hit New Orleans so no immediate evacuation was issued.
The school buses and other buses were not used to evacuate the people when the order to leave was finally issued because that order was never issued either. By the time the the severity of the hurricane was realized it was too late to get out. Once the hurricane passed everything appeared normal and everyone was happy that despite it being a category 4 storm New Orleans didn’t suffer as much damage as they had predicted.
Then the unthinkable happened an the levee broke sending a 30 foot wave of water from the gulf into New Orleans causing massive destruction and over 1500 deaths.
One of the many homes being raised off the ground in an effort to avoid water damage in case of another flood.
Below is Fats Dominoes' home that has been repaired. The floodwater was up to his roof and he was rescued for the rooftop. He has not returned to his home and is now living in a Rest Home.
The writing on the plywood indicates that the exterior house was searched on 9/22 by the Missouri National Guard (MO) and no one was found either dead or alive. Many of the vacant homes had markings on them. It was difficult to get pictures from the moving bus so Ron and I plan to take a ride on Monday and look around ourselves.
Since the nightmare of Katrina New Orleans has a disaster and evacuation plan in place and the citizens have all been informed of the plan. The levees have been reinforced and new pumping stations at the levees have been installed. They are in the process of building a barrier to prevent the waters from the Gulf of Mexico from breaching the Mississippi again.
The unfortunate part of the entire story is that money was earmarked to fix the levees long before hurricane Katrina, but a huge portion was funneled away and poured into the Big Dig in Boston. OMG!!! What were they thinking???????? All those lives and properties lost that was so preventable.
New Orleans is still in the recovery process but the 9th Ward was badly hit and many homes have been left abandoned. Many of those people had been left homes by parents or grandparents and never possessed a clear title. Because the houses were small and in a poor neighborhood those that were insured did not have enough coverage to rebuild. Other homes were rentals and the landlords chose not to rebuild.
The National Guard Building was under 20 feet of water and is still in the process of being repaired.
The tour was excellent but because the bus kept on moving made it difficult to get good pictures.
Once back in the city we decided to head to Bourbon Street. So far the locals have mentioned that Bourbon Street is the pits. The bus driver described it as stinky , dirty, hot and a noisy tourist trap. Well, we are in New Orleans and I plan to see Bourbon Street stinky or not.
The French Quarter was fairly nice overall and the streets narrow and interesting. Lots of cool architecture and music spilling into the street from the local bars.
Below are some of the pretty buildings and venues in the French Quarter.
So far so good, the French Quarter was turning out to be quite nice. Then we turned down Bourbon Street. WOW, the local residents and Ron were right. It is dirty, noisy and really really stinks. Not sure what made it smell so bad – like a combination of mold, sweat and body fluids combined into one gross odor. There were lots of bars and little pubs to eat in but none looked very clean or appetizing.
The corner of Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street looks and smells much better in pictures. LOL
This guy was painted with gold paint and stood in that position in the middle of the street for over an hour without moving a muscle. Did I mention it was 103 degrees in the sun and the humidity was enough to drown you!!!!!!
Even though it was still early the crazies were out. People walking and drinking – a little out of control. And like the bus driver stated anything goes up to and including a stripper showing her wares in the doorway of one of the clubs and she was NOT wearing a thong!!!!
That didn’t top the two young ladies that were wearing nothing from the waist up but body paint – and to think the evening was still young. Definitely not a place to bring young children.
It was really hot and contrary to what one would think there were not any really good restaurants on Bourbon Street just barrooms and strip joints. We didn’t plan on hanging around to see what the rest of the evening would bring so we headed back to the car. It was a relief to have the AC cooling us off. We had left some water in the car but it was too hot to drink!!!!! At 7 pm it was still in the 90’s.
We had a light dinner back at the MH and I had to admit to Ron that although I had been really excited about going to Bourbon Street it was a disappointment.
We plan to visit the National World War II Museum on Memorial Day and take a ride back to the 9th Ward to try to locate the homes that Brad Pitt built for those who lost their houses when the levee collapsed.
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