Lee and Elaine's RV Adventures: Mississippi to Louisiana

We crossed the Mississippi state line just about two weeks ago, on March 2, 2014, but it seems so long ago. When one is traveling and only spending two or three nights in any one place, it's amazing how quickly time passes. I must say I was ready to publish this episode of my blog over a week ago but then I accidentally hit a couple of keys and it totally disappeared. And once it disappears, there's nothing that can be done to bring it back except start all over. So here it is in its new form!

White sand beach that runs from Biloxi to Gulfport and beyond, well over 10 miles.

Beauvoir, c.1852, the home Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, lived in the last 12 years of his life. (He died December 9, 1889, in New Orleans) The home has been restored after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. Beauvoir has survived 18 hurricanes. The photo below is one that was on display in the museum and shows the damage. Despite the damage, it was one of the luckier homes to have survived at all. All along the gulf were lots that once had motels, apartments or magnificent homes on them and now are just sitting vacant.

What Beauvoir looked like three days after Hurricane Katrina

Looking at the Gulf of Mexico from the front porch of Beauvoir

Ceiling in the entry, it took a husband-and-wife team of painters 13 months to restore the mural on the ceiling.

Cemetery at Beauvoir

The cemetery was established in 1903 when Varina Davis, widow of Jefferson Davis, sold Beauvoir to the Mississippi Division, United Sons of Confederate Veterans. The terms of sale stipulated that the property be maintained as a memorial to Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy and it be used as a home for Confederate veterans, their wives, widows, servants and orphans. The last two residents were moved to a nursing home in 1957.

Cemetery at Beauvoir

Statue of Jefferson Davis, it survived Hurricane Katrina

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Biloxi

Downtown Biloxi

Biloxi City Hall

The Redding House, built in 1900, Biloxi

Biloxi Lighthouse, built in 1848, stands in the middle of a 4-lane highway!

Ready for Mardi Gras

Visitor's Center & Chamber of Commerce, Biloxi, Mississippi, the building was built after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. It is similar in design to the Robinson-Maloney-Dantzler house that was next door and was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

High hopes!

I made my donation, now. . .

ON TO NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

We arrived in N'awlins on Mardi Gras, known in other places as Fat Tuesday, on March 4, 2014. It was cold, 46ºF, and rainy. Since the parades were in the morning and we didn't get there until the afternoon, we decided to forego a trip to the French Quarter until the next day. We would watch the festivities on television. I suppose one advantage would have been the ability to move around. One newscaster said on a normal Mardi Gras it would take about 20 minutes to walk a block but this year one could walk without stopping! That's okay, we stayed warm and dry!!!

New Orleans skyline from the west bank of the Mississippi River at the Algiers Ferry Boat landing

More New Orleans skyline

Chartres Street

Bienville & Chartres Streets in the French Quarter

410 Chartres Street - Originally this was the Second City Criminal Court & Third Precinct Police Station, built in 1915. It is now the Williams Research Center.

Nicholas Girod, mayor of New Orleans from 1812 to 1815, built a house at 500 Chartres Street about 200 years ago. He offered it to Napoleon in 1821 as a refuge during his exile. Although Napoleon never made it, the name stuck This is a tiled sidewalk at the entrance, now a restaurant. It has been owned and operated by the same family since 1914.

The cafe and bar at Napolean House

The outdoor courtyard at Napolean House

Somewhere in the French Quarter

Cathedral - Basilica of St. Louis King of France

Four evangelists and ten apostles (minus Peter and Judas)

Cathedral - Basilica of St. Louis King of France

The altar in Cathedral - Basilica of St. Louis King of France

Bourbon Street

Elvis lives! He's just hiding behind the curtains! Bourbon Street

Musical Legends Park, Bourbon Street

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 in the Garden District

Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 was laid out in 1833 by the original residents of the Garden District. Within the first 20 years, the cemetery was almost filled with people who had died from yellow fever. Generations of family members have been buried in the above-ground tombs.

Commander's Palace Restaurant

1448 Fourth St, New Orleans, built in 1859 for Colonel Robert Short . Cost was $23,750.

A "cornstalk" fence at 1448 Fourth Street

2523 Prytania St, New Orleans. Our Mother of Perpetual Help was once an active Catholic chapel. Previous owners include Anne Rice, who used it as the setting for her novel, Violin and Nicholas Cage.

1415 Third St, New Orleans. Currently on the market for $7,999,900! Built in 1856 for a Virginia gentleman. It is believed to have had the first indoor plumbing in New Orleans.

1331 Third Street. Built in 1850, deocrated in "iron lace"

1213 Third St, New Orleans - 19th century guests who visited these elegant southern homes often stayed for weeks. Life centered around balls, theater and opera.

2427 Camp St, New Orleans - Warwick Manor, originally a house, it has also served as a private school for children of affluent parents.

1134 First St, New Orleans - This home, built by slaves, was owned by Judge Jacob U. Payne, a friend of Jefferson Davis. Davis died in one of the rooms in 1889.

331 First St, New Orleans - during the last renovation a skull and some crossbones were found. The owners believe they were voodoo relics hidden long ago by servants.

2329 - 2305 Coliseum St, New Orleans - The Seven Sisters row of "Shotgun" style houses gets it nickname from a story (apparently false) that a 19th-century Garden District resident built the homes as wedding gifts for his 7 daughters. Shotgun style houses are common in New Orleans.

2423 Prytania Street

2340 Prytania St, believed to be the oldest home in the Garden District. Owned by a 4th generation family member.

Algiers Courthouse, circa 1896, in Algiers Point, a community within the city of New Orleans, located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It is the 2nd oldest neighborhood in New Orleans.