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Rambling North America

A 182-day adventure by Rambling Bears Read more
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    Memphis to New Orleans

    January 2, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C

    Down the Mississippi if you miss a skip you’re out - a skipping chant when I was a kid and being able to spell Mississippi as quickly as possible are two childhood memories of the old man river. Today we travelled Memphis to New Orleans not exactly following the Mississippi but staying close just the same and completing our journey in the delta area of the mighty river.
    Because I had booked our tickets online Amtrak had all of our contact details and when the train was delayed and delayed and delayed some more we received texts notifying us of the predicted new arrival time of our train in Memphis. This was good and gave us time to have breakfast at the hotel before leaving which would not have been possible had the train been on schedule. The train finally arrived two hours late and we were on our way.
    The landscape from Memphis to New Orleans is relatively flat.The crops, of course, have all been harvested and the landscape is dry and brown, during the other three seasons I can imagine that the farmlands are a picture.
    It was still light when we arrived at our destination then grabbed a taxi to our apartment.    Read more

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    St Louis Cathedral
    Beautiful builing. I guess the glad bags are protecting olants from the extreme cold.

    Day 1 New Orleans

    January 3, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 3 °C

    Sleep in, part 2 or the grocery shop then down to the French Quarter to find the Louisiana Visitor Centre in Jackson Square.
    New Orleans in winter is a case of don’t let the sunny blue skies and the palm trees fool ya - it’s not tropical or even sub-tropical - it is still very, very, cold. Not as cold as Memphis but the whole east side of the US is experiencing record lows during this big freeze.
    Love the architecture and atmosphere of the french quarter - it is everything I was hoping it would be. Expectations and preconceptions are a hard thing. New Orleans is so well known through books and movies that it is hard not to build a mental image of how you think it will look and feel - day 1 and the town is living up to expectations.
    We ambled along the narrow streets soaking up the atmosphere, gazing in windows and listening to the various artists busking in the streets.
    Stocked up on information from the visitor centre we wandered back for an early dinner and early bedtime.    Read more

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    French Quarter Walking Tour

    January 4, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C

    Armed with our French Quarter Walking Tour booklet we set off to explore the Quarter more thoroughly, learning more about the history of various landmarks, the architecture and points of interest along the way.
    I spotted Louis Armstrong Park as we were walking so we detoured to walk the park as well. It is not a big park but it is tranquil and pretty with some great statues of musicians dotted throughout.
    Resuming our walk we continued through the streets with Neil getting a little washboard rhythm tuition and on past La Laurie House. The house is rumoured to be haunted by groans, screams and the savage hissing of whips. It is believed that a daughter of the original owner mercilessly mistreated her slaves. There is quite a story to the house!
    From here we walked through the French Markets to B B King’s Blues Club for some lunch and music. Lunch was shrimp Po-boys and fries. While eating lunch Neil broke his left front tooth on a chip that got caught between his front teeth.
    It needed to be fixed as soon as possible or it could completely break off. I googled dentists and found one literally around the corner from where we are staying. The tooth was broken at 1pm and by 5 pm was fixed - expensive but most dental work like that is and the dentist worked on his tooth for 2 hours. It would have cost at least the same at home and the dentist did a great job.
    All’s well that ends well.    Read more

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    New Orleans 300th birthday this year.Shoe Shine

    Cabildo and The House of Blues

    January 5, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    We were interested in seeing a band tonight at one of the rooms at the House of Blues so our first stop today, after the compulsory coffee, was the ticket office. No ticket needed as the band is playing at the private club. We just had to go see them and get our names down on the guest list (the cover charge we would pay on arrival). Sorted
    After soaking up more of the vibes at Jackson Square we continued on to today’s major activity which was to go to the museum at the Cabildo. The museum concentrates on the history of New Orleans and Louisiana with an excellent exhibition on The Battle of New Orleans. It was an interesting museum. Always good to learn more about the local history of the places we are visiting. Knowing the history allows a window into the psyche of a place I think. I left singing the song ‘The Battle of New Orleans’. Hope it doesn’t get stuck in the brain cells.
    After dinner we headed down to Decatur Street and The house of Blues. The Foundation Room where we saw The Right Lane Bandits was such a beautiful Venue. The band is their house band and there was another major event on in one of their other rooms so where we were did not get busy. That was good. We could sit, relax and enjoy.    Read more

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    Waterfront Walking

    January 6, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    A short walk down Canal Street and we reached the Mississippi River, Old Muddy. Old Muddy indeed! Part of the riverfront walk is under renovation and, although you can still walk through that section, we chose not to because of the dust and wind.
    The path we took lead us past the aquarium and along the river to Jackson Square. beyond that point is blocked due to continued upgrading of the riverfront.
    Although the walk was not long it was pleasant.    Read more

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    Square Entertainment and The Presbytere

    January 6, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Saturday - tonight there will be celebrations to mark Three Kings Day, the first day of the Mardi Gras Carnival. Tomorrow the New Orleans Saints have a big game on. The crowds in the street are markedly up on the last few days. The Square was jumping with crowds and buskers.
    The Presbytere is another museum on the square and concentrating on the culture of New Orleans. The two major exhibitions were Hurricane Katrina and The Mardi Gras.    Read more

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    Jeanne D'Arc Parade and Bourbon Street

    January 6, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    After the museum we went back to our apartment and cooked up a local dish - vegetarian dirty rice with spicy red beans. Yummmm! This is a dish we will cook again at home - very similar to risotto in texture and with the cajun spices it is very tasty. Bellies full we headed out to Decatur Street to join in the night’s celebrations.
    Thought we were going to miss the Jeanne d’Arc Parade because as we were walking along Decatur crowds were leaving the area. We continued along towards Jackson Square and as luck would have it we were in the right spot at the right time as the parade was just coming back into the area to complete their circuit. Unfortunately the street lighting was poor and my photos do not do it justice . However, it was great to see. A lot of effort and time had gone into the majority of the costumes.
    From here we slowly ambled with the crowds to Bourbon Street. What a night was had by all. The atmosphere was vibrant, the crowds were hectic, and the music highly enjoyable. Even had a little dance with the singer of the first Jazz Band as he came around with the tip jar! And in amongst the hedonistic partying - a fanatic ranting about the evils of all the happenings in Bourbon Street.
    Note to self - if tonight is anything to go on, have to come back for the Mardi Gras Parade itself one year.    Read more

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    The National World WarI II Museum

    January 7, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    It was overcast today but the weather was pleasant - the temperature is rising. Walked roughly 2kms to the museum - a nice walk along streets we had yet to walk.
    The museum is massive. We were there for roughly 5 hours and have yet to see all of the museum. It was extremely well presented and detailed.
    Had a delicious shrimp and corn soup while we were there.    Read more

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    A Down Day

    January 8, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Following relatively heavy rain last night showers continued into the morning so we took advantage of the less than promising conditions outside to have a bit of a sleep in, a slow breakfast and a restful morning. We ventured out as the morning showers lifted towards mid-day, had a light lunch and continued our meanderings of the French Quarter along some of the side streets we had yet to explore. It still fairly wet underfoot.
    We returned home to catch up on some domestic duties, ie. washing, before we head off again in two days time.    Read more

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    Last Day in Jazz City

    January 9, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 11 °C

    Cemeteries are often sites of interest particularly in a historic town or where the cemetery is unusual. New Orleans is an old town so there is historical significance to their cemeteries but also the city itself is very low lying and susceptible to flooding so no ground burials are possible. La Fayette is an historical cemetery seen often in movies where all coffins are interned in burial crypts. The cemetery has rows and rows of them. Some are old, crumbling and neglected, others equally as old have been well maintained over the years and hold many generations of the families.
    Although a bit of a hike to The Garden District and the cemetery, we decided to walk. That way we could enjoy the different architecture in this district. This was the British side of the city. The houses are built on larger parcels of land and many of them quite substantial and beautiful. The area has been home to Anne Rice and Nicholas Cage, to name just two notables.
    Cemeteries are for burying the dead and La Fayette is still in use so I guess it should not have come as a surprise that when we got there it was closed for a funeral. We had passed a coffee shop back on the corner. Time for lunch. We had also passed a hairdresser so once lunch was taken care of Neil inquired as to whether or not he could have a haircut. Yes come back in an hour.
    We thought we could go back to the cemetery, have a walk around and return for the appointment. Cemetery still closed for another two funerals. We passed the time chatting to a lovely young Canadian couple until haircut time.
    Haircut done we returned for a last attempt. Others were leaving, cemetery closed for the day. I thought that at least I would get some photos through the gates. As we arrived a caretaker was in the process of locking the gates but was allowing people in if they would exit on the far side and no later than 3.30pm or be locked in for the night. We were the last two in. Yes we would be out by 3.30. No way would I be spending a night in a cemetery, particularly this one. A hound was balefully crying in the distance and I kept expecting the Voo-Doo man to spring out from behind a crypt “Live and Let Die’ style. Perhaps I have seen too many movies.
    On the way back we caught one of the cities beautiful old trolleys. They are originals, at least a hundred years old and kept in mint condition.    Read more

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    New Orleans to San Francisco

    January 10, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Our last leg on the mainland of America commenced today. It was an afternoon flight so we had a leisurely morning, caught a bus out to the airport, checked in for our flight and waited. And waited and ate. And waited and ate a bit more as it looked more than likely that we would miss dinner tonight.
    After two hours of delays we were on our way. Apparently there were weather problems, low clouds is how the story goes, in San Francisco and a backlog of flights attempting to land. Who knows. But we were delayed.
    We arrived safe and sound in San Francisco, grabbed our bags (after Karen’s experience with United we breathed a heavy sigh of relief when we saw the bags spit out of the chute and onto the carrousel) and headed out into the night air for a shuttle to our AirBnB.
    The shuttle van was an older vehicle and the driver drove like a bat out of hell swerving in and out of traffic and across multiple lanes. But I am here to write the story so we did arrive and in one piece.    Read more

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    Sleep-in, Breakfast Burritos & Groceries

    January 11, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    It was 1am when we hit the pillows last night (3amNew Orleans). It can be safely said that we were dog tired.

    However, after a sleep-in and it being many hours since we had last eaten, we needed to find somewhere to eat breakfast before doing the groceries. Same story for each new city when we are renting an apartment. And we always operate with the theory that you never buy groceries on an empty stomach if we can avoid it. After a short walk downhill to Mission Street we found a Mexican restaurant serving breakfast burritos. They were happy to do a vegetarian option and the result was delicious.
    Hunger tamed we continued on to the supermarket. Two excursions later (we had eight days of groceries and an uphill walk so two excursions) we were finished.
    Too late to venture downtown so we made ourselves comfortable in our apartment on the ground level of a family home. Thuy and Jeff are our hosts.    Read more

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    The Ebarcadero to Aquatic Park and Back

    January 12, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    A short walk down onto Mission and we were at the bus stop. The bus drove along Mission Street 10kms to the final stop just across the road from The Embarcadero and Ferry Market. One street all the way downtown. Amazing! A 55 minute journey in the morning traffic on the rapid bus.
    The Ferry Market is cool - a beautiful old building with amazing market stalls, restaurants and quick food options. A couple of coffees and we were ready to explore along the piers of San Francisco Bay.
    We walked the length of The Embarcadero past the piers to Fisherman’s Wharf and Aquatic Park and back again.
    Once the fog lifted it was a beautiful day and a great introduction to San Francisco. Loved it!    Read more

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    A Loong Walk - Golden Gate and Beyond

    January 12, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    The title says it all. Today we walked and walked and walked. And once we had done that we walked some more.
    But first things first - two bus rides got us to the Visitors’ Centre at The Golden Gate Bridge, a coffee got the heart beats revving and were ready to go. The walk over and back on the bridge was windy and a bit on the chilly side but spectacular. The bridge is most certainly a masterpiece of engineering and the views stunning.
    While we were on the bridge we saw two kayakers in difficulty. They were in an extremely strong current running out of the bay towards the ocean and one had tipped off. When we last saw them, as they were whipped under the bridge out of our sight he had been unable to get back on. Each time he’d lift himself the wind would take hold of the kayak and flip it. There were sailing boats in the area and a fishing boat motored under the bridge not long after so hopefully they were rescued. We were unable to see any further.
    From the bridge we walked the length of Chrissy Field, through Marina and past Fort Mason to the Aquatic Park. Quite a walk! A looong one, a beautiful one and interesting. A good day!
    Once we were near Fishermans Wharf we caught a street car down to Ferry Market for a cortado then a bus home.    Read more

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    Union Square and the Holiday Rink.
    Dragon Gate.Looking down California Street towards Bay The Embarcadero and Bay Bridge.

    Cable Cars - Up Hill and Down Dale

    January 14, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    We have bought 7 day transport passes which entitles us to use all buses, street cars, light rail and cable cars. It doesn’t cover BART but all the other options more than adequately cover us for the areas we hope to cover during our stay. Most transport in the city is relatively cheap particularly once you reach the golden years but the cable cars are $7 a pop. Soooo ...... if you wish to ride the cable cars in different directions up and down the hills it pays to have the pass. It is also a benefit for us as we have to get at least two buses a day to explore anywhere other than our local neighbourhood.
    With that said, today we decided to give the feet a rest, to a degree, and ride the cables.
    Our first stop today was Union Square, a pretty square whose beauty was marred by the road works blocking two sides. The Holidays Rink was still in the square and the novelty of this Christmas attraction has yet to wear off as it was very busy. We browsed some of the shops around and found a Scotch and Soda, one of Neil’s favourite labels and low and behold - they had a sale on. Always a dangerous time. Neil left with a new jumper and i got a new summer top (We have managed to curb all excess spending during our trip so this little diversion can be allowed I am sure. They were also 50%off. Definitely justification!)
    From Scotch and Soda we commenced the uphill climb through The Dragon Gate into Chinatown. Once we reached California St we boarded our first cable car up California then remained on to return back down to near Embarcadero. Remaining on we travelled back up to Powell to get the next Cable. This one travelled down Powell to the area near the Navy Pier. I had wanted to get off to have a look at Lombard Street but we were past it before I had realised where we were.
    Once at the bottom to return on the same cable meant waiting in quite a lengthy line. We decided to walk in a slightly different direction to avoid the extremely steep hill we had just come down on and climb a lesser hill to the bottom of the zig-zag section of Lombard St. Lombard is fabled to to have the most zig-zags of any street in the world over a particular distance. That apparently is a furphy but the street is impressive anyway with lovely gardens lining the zigs and the zags. Would hate to live there though as every tourist within kooey is there to walk it, drive down it or stand in the middle of the road to take a photo of it. You would never have a crowd free day I think. But in so saying we were there too doing exactly that. I was the tourist in the middle of the road taking a photo.
    From there we walked to another stop to do the back loop of Powell back to the turntable of the cable in the opposite direction taking us back near Union Square. Once all passengers have disembarked to turn the car around the driver and conductor have to manually pull and push it around on the turntable to return in the opposite direction.
    We had finished our cable ride for the day and slowly headed to our bus stop.    Read more

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    Golden Gate Park & Haight Ashbury

    January 15, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Although we are not staying right in the hub of San Francisco, the transport in this city is good and there many options for getting around. Between the buses, light rail, street cars, cable cars and BART they have transport within the city covered. From where we are staying we have been able to easily access all the areas that we have wished to visit and I feel that we have so far explored and will continue to explore a Wie range of areas in the city. Of course we are only going to scratch the surface as there are so many places to see but we should have the city area mostly covered.
    Today, two bus rides got us to Ocean Beach, the kick-off point for today’s walk. We started with a brief walk along the beach promenade. Today they had an organised beach clean -up and there were people everywhere cleaning up the beach - good to see. The clean up should also be extended to the streets of San Francisco - they have some of the grottiest streets we have seen on our travels.
    After lunch at the Beach Chalet we started our walk through Golden Gate Park end to exiting near The Panhandle and Haight-Ashbury. From there we walked into The Haight, the neighbourhood where the 1960’s flower power blossomed. There are some beautiful houses in the area but the street itself was nothing special I thought. Just over the hill where we caught a street car back into the city, on the corner of Carl and Cole, there was a lovely restaurant and cafe precinct.    Read more

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    Haight-Ashbury and a Birthday Tribute

    January 15, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    On our return to the city we were finished for the day and making our way to the bus stop when we heard a band playing and went off to investigate. It was a Monday today and there had been massive crowds around and we finally found out why. Today was a public holiday to mark Martin Luther King’s Birthday. The band was playing in a park outside the San Francisco Memorial to The man himself and we arrived in time to hear a great rendition of ‘Happy Birthday To You’. Great way to finish the day.Read more

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    Alkatraz- The Infamous Rock

    January 16, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The Alcatraz Cruise can be booked a long time in Advance. Knowing that we booked last Thursday. It was fully booked til Monday and as it was predicted to rain yesterday (Monday) we booked for today. Yesterday was a sunny day and today - foggy. Once we were over there we realised that we probably had the ideal day to see the island.
    It is not a warm, fuzzy place - it is a dismal, harsh environment, a gaol for the worst of the worst. Seen on a foggy day in winter, when it wasn’t really all that cold but was dank and damp, was an ideal type of day to there.
    Before we headed out to the island we partook in the mandatory cortado at Ferry Market to get us going then walked to Pier 33. We arrived early and as the excursion before us was not booked out we were able to go over earlier. For the cell block itself you receive audio 🎧s. Once completed you are free to wander the grounds outside, the parade ground, the guard and their families accommodation, the morgue and the agave walk.
    It was drizzling as we waited for the return to the mainland. I think it was an audible en masse sigh of relief as we all boarded the vessel. We had that option, a choice to leave. Unlike the inmates who suffered for their crimes a harsh, boring existence where even time in the exercise yard was a privilege that had to be earned.
    Back on mainland we returned to Ferry Market and had curry clam and corn chowder. Delicious!    Read more

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