West from Tallahassee to New Orleans!

Interstate-10 passes through pleasant, semi-rolling countryside.  We lost our beloved wild Palm Trees soon after leaving Pensacola, FL, after which they were evident only at the highway interchanges and shopping centers, planted in neat rows. Pine/evergreen forests were so dense we wondered that any human has ever set foot in them.

There are no 'Deer' warning signs on the Florida highways like we see all over Kentucky and in the mountains.  We mused that once upon a time, the alligators ate all the deer!  (Note: The front end of my car was wiped out by a deer at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 6, 2013 in the city of Lexington, KY  on my way to work.  Cost of repairs: $6,400.  Should we import alligators to Kentucky?)

We have great praise for the Florida highways: all we drove on are in excellent state of repair with few short delays for minor construction.  Tall concrete walls between the highways and housing areas have decorative touches such as imprinted flying ducks, palm trees and coral.  Many of the bridge supports in Pensacola have five jets in the airshow pattern of the flying Blue Angels. There is a large military and NASA presence in this part of our U.S.A.

Wherever I travel, I always enjoy the unusual American city/town names: from Florida were Casa Cola, Palm Bay, Hammock, Long, Fellowship, Chipley, Niceville and Gulf Breeze. Spanish names are frequent but as you approach Louisiana, French names take over.

It is 347 miles from Tallahassee to the Louisiana Welcome Center.  Florida through Alabama through Mississippi to Louisiana - such a quick trip, it seems.  In Louisiana, I-10 proceeds over swamps polka-dotted with white water-lilies.  Finally, we drive on a bridge over the tremendously large Lake Pontchartrain and into New Orleans.

Peggy

Jan

The rain paused just long enough for these photos.

Our first sight of the fabulous New Orleans Skyline.

Since Peggy had never been to New Orleans and I'd never seen the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, we decided to travel south on 'Business I-10' to the old part of the city.  We had visions of taking a Trolley Tour, strolling through the French Quarter and walking to the Cathedral, shopping, eating local cuisine, etc.  We enjoyed the trip to our hotel on Baronne Street. The hotel itself is clean, efficient, convenient and friendly.  Most appreciated were valet parking and room service for dinner.  From our sixth-floor room, we can see the SuperDome.

SuperDome is visible between the skyscrapers.

 There, our love affair with New Orleans ends.  I personally hate to be negative, but I must.  The only other time I visited the city was at a Psychiatric Nursing Convention in 1995.  Even in a large group of middle-aged nurses, we were threatened by insults and taunts from scruffy people sitting in groups on the streets in front of the fancy hotels, Bourbon Street, and in the above-ground cemetery - in the daytime hours! We were solicited many times.  One nurse and her husband were walking in a city park; the husband got mugged - in broad daylight.  I promised myself never to return.  Never have I felt unsafe in other large cities' historic districts - Rome, London, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Vilnius, Dublin, etc.  Driving through the city to the hotel I see that nothing has changed: groups of unkempt people congregate everywhere in the historic district.  I mistakenly thought that since Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the city, other areas might be cleaned up.

Our plan for tomorrow now will be to check out, retrive the car and just drive around the French Quarter, the Garden District and hope the Cathedral has parking that looks safe.  Then we'll head west to Texas!

Peggy and I are so disappointed in this change-of-plans.  However, we are practical: two old ladies by themselves would be fair game for the hordes of apparently idle locals.  What is the difference between New Orleans and other giant cities, safe cities: Police Presence!  In Rome and London, there are several officers on every corner. Here, I didn't see a single officer or patrol car.  I should think that the money spent on this by the City of New Orleans would more than be paid back by the large influx of tourists, both American and foreign.

(P.S.: please discount my joke about the alligators and the deer.  I know our deer are here to stay in Kentucky and in the mountains.  They seem to be very abundant this year!)