New Orleans, LA

Is New Orleans part of the West? It was when Thomas Jefferson took a flyer and purchased it in 1803, doubling the size of the United States! The entire statehood was a disputed subject at the time (https://www.myneworleans.com/how-louisiana-beca…)

We stayed with Alexis' good friend Patty Bel, who was the first person she met at Georgia Tech.

We've also been able to hang out with our mutual friends, Kathy and Michael Liebaert, whom we met in Staniel Cay while cruising the Bahamas. Among many other things, Michael is the dockmaster at a marina just off Lake Pontchartrain and I helped him dock a 40 meter super yacht arriving from Gulfport. We drove through City Park, where they are setting up a holiday lights tour that looks fantastic. We got to see the Two Sisters Conservatory where Michael and Kathy were married (and which Michael managed the construction of, earlier). After touring the Metairie Cemetery and some of the different neighborhoods, they introduced us to Cafe Degas, a wonderfully funky French restaurant on Esplanade.

We got over to see the Destrehan Plantation, which Michael spent a number of years working upon as a board member and 'guy with good answers' (some from wife Kathy). It's an amazingly well documented plantation (indigo, sugar). The entire enslaved population has been researched and is shown. The plantation house was designed and built in 3 years, starting from standing cypress trees, by a talented slave (Charles Paquet) and 6 others. There is a room containing the original document signed by President Thomas Jefferson appointing Jean Noel Destrehan as a member of the legislative council of the new state of Louisiana, which was responsible for the organization of the state, and the laws.

The Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs MS is a really rare find! He was a innovative, unique artist that painted, decorated pottery, carved, and produced block prints. His styles included symbolic, realistic, and mystical representation, all with considerable skill.

Thanksgiving was great - we had two different turkey dinners, one complete with Doberge cake for desert (for Chesapeake sailors, think Smith Island cake), but came with some issues. Just before leaving for our first dinner, the cook of the turducken for yet a third dinner reported the sink clogged and the disposal jammed. After an hour of work, our host Walter and I got a six inch long steel pin removed and we replaced the disposal. Walter then returned to his house where they had set the oven on fire and had to call the fire department!Read more