Trip to Houma and Visits

Just thought I’d post a quick update to get us all caught up, kinda. We talked about Mardi Gras in Houma in the last post but wanted to share a few pics of the trip getting there.

We left Pontchartrain Landing in NOLA to time us getting to the bridges on the ICW after curfew. They don’t open the bridges during the morning rush hour and we would need 2 to open to get into the Mississippi River. We would also pass through a lock that lifted us about 5 feet to the level of the river. After that it was a short run up river to the Harvey Lock which would lower us back to the ICW on the west side. It was a real thrill going past New Orleans both in the views and the amount of river traffic. Shortly after we exited the lock we were passed by an up bound freighter…those things really move!!

As we continued up river there was traffic moving in every direction and I just tried to stay out of the way.

The next pic is New Orleans with the business district to the left and the French Quarter on the right behind the riverboat Natchez.

Once past the Quarter there was a dredge operating in the area where the cruise ships dock. If you look past the dredge you can see a down bound freighter that would pass us before we headed over to the west bank.

We got through the Harvey lock with no delays and were greeted with a very industrial area of ship repair yards. Luckily most traffic was not moving here.

In a very short time we were in bayou country and the most we had to deal with was an air boat tour and the occasional barge.

On our return to NOLA we had a bit of down time to start boat projects before the St. Patrick’s celebrations began. They party here for a full week around St. Patrick’s day and St. Joseph day parades. The first stop was uptown on Magazine St. for the block party and parade.

If you’re “lucky” enough to have a house on the parade route you throw your own party complete with music.

The people mingle up and down Magazine St. waiting for the parade to start. It was so delayed this year that Jill & I decided to skip it and make our way back to town.

We were lucky enough to pass by St. Patrick’s cathedral just as the Archbishop of New Orleans was heading in for mass….no, we didn’t stay.

During this time we also got to visit with Jill’s cousins who were in town on vacation as well as our friends and old E dock boaters from Cincinnati. Vickie and Bryan were in town to meet up with Bryan's daughter and her boyfriend who live in Texas.

We’ve really enjoyed spending an extended stay in one of our favorite cities and tomorrow begins the spring music festival season. This weekend is French Quarter Fest which claims to be the largest free festival in the US and I’d have to believe it. A few weeks later is the Jazz and Heritage Festival which spans 7 days over two weekends. After that we’ll be on the move again, probably May 10^th depending on the weather. I’ll get another blog out to cover the events and reveal our next plans…you’ll be surprised I’m sure!!