Friday, May 18, 2007 New Orleans, LA

The weather continues to be very good to us in New Orleans…high 70’s and low humidity. How fortunate for us on a busy sightseeing day! We had scheduled a city/cemetery tour with the Cajun Pride Co. Being picked up at the hotel was an added plus. Our driver, J. R., was a bit of a “good ole boy,” but his vocabulary, speaking ability, and knowledge of New Orleans improved and emerged once he started the narration spiel. It was a 3 hour van ride to all areas of the city, including the Katrina devastation and a stop at one of the few city cemeteries that is open to the public. If anyone would like an explanation of how 40 or more family members can be buried in one crypt, Rog said to check with him. The amazing architecture represents the various cultures (French, English, Spanish, Creole, and American) that have lived in New Orleans. Rog could become a real estate agent if one could qualify by the number of house photographs taken. The driver dropped us at our hotel, and we had 45 minutes to drive out of the city to Westwego, buy our swamp tour tickets, and meet Captain Tom, our guide. He’s a Cajun gent who lives in the bayou area and has a phenomenal knowledge of the animal life native to the bayous. Before the tour, we were treated to a wildlife presentation…turtles, snakes, and alligators. Then we went out on the bayous to see egrets, blue herons, turtles, and many alligators of all sizes. Captain Tom threw marshmallows to the alligators making them very willing to come up close for photo ops. (Not necessarily a method approved by the rangers!) Before returning to the hotel to collapse, we stopped at Café Beignets for…you guessed it, beignets! They are called New Orleans doughnuts by the local crowd and definitely endanger dark clothing because of the abundance of powdered sugar. After recharging our batteries, we went to Mulate for an evening of Cajun music and dinner.