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Published: March 20th 2024
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Some people keep saying this is the first day of spring ? Well, it was a lovely day! Cool enough for Jean to wear a jacket to begin with, but then down to just a top.
Of course we got an early start – like 8:15, and drove south of the Mississippi River to “Village de l’est,” area and the Jean Lafitte bayou national preserve. Yes, the pirate. The first boardwalk was quiet but lovely with many bald cypress and irises just starting. Water was every where. We met a nice couple Mallory and James before moving on – gave them some of “His Coins” as a memento.
Then drove maybe 5 mins on to a different path of the same preserve, and that was much more full of birdsounds and sightings. AND alligators!! Bayou coquilles. We chatted with an elderly man (unlike us) who walked the path every day he could – and he pointed out our first alligator – the mama with 3 babies. He also told us it was okay to go past the “do not go past” barrier – and we walked about another mile till we could catch a glimpse of one NOLA tall
building. He explained that the authorities had not kept the bayou dredged – he used to take his kids in canoes along the canoe trails. Now it’s almost full of water hyacinths. We saw THREE more alligators after the mama. And Mallory and James again.
It was fun to point out some of the lovely birds to nonbirders (that is, people who walk without any binoculars!) The prothonotary was singing his little heart out. In mid-May he’ll be at Magee Marsh! And so will the Northern Parula and blue-headed vireo we saw. And us!!
We were really hungry by then, so stopped at the closest restaurant – and it got 4.7 on Yelp so why not? – the Creole Bleu. It was amazing. Jean just had an appetizer of Creole Bleu nachos, and David the pasta version. Some spicy cheesy sauce with crabmeat, crawfish tails, and shrimp. Yummy indeed.
Jean’s feet were tired by then (about 11,000 steps today) so we drove to the Garden District, and the huge Lafayette Cemetery, intending to just drive slowly around this historic area filled with really huge old homes (like 1850s) but we walked about another 45 mins more, and
also we found a nice coffee shop. We saw a bunch of guided walking tours, but this sufficed. Everyone probably knows that the burials are all above ground here. The cemetery was closed but we could peep in from the occasional gates. "BA" might need some explanation - "big Xssed." We can only imagine how much that house was that we saw for sale. Many houses were "shotgun" houses, but surely that can't be more than 8' wide. It's like a very expensive mobile home.
Before coming back to the nest and Theresa Bellante’s curry that we brought frozen from home, we went to the 17
th floor pool/lounge area and had great views of the city. We must be about one mile from the river, and the French district and Garden district are to the west of the big building central district (we are on the eastern edge of the center).
What we learned – there are homeless encampments under many bridges, and there are many bridges; the area where we were is only 2’ above sea level, and the ground itself is sinking as it’s delta dirt that is compacting; many houses are built on stilts and
others are brick; David can recognize some birds by their calls – at least for today; that baby alligators like to sun on top of their mama’s back; and that they open their mouths to cool off – much like dogs. And finally, they like to add chicory to their coffee down here.
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