Naw'lens Part 4 - The Last Day

Wednesday, February 16th - New Orleans

The last full day in New Orleans featured a Hurricane Katrina informational tour. We found (after searching best free stuff to do in New Orleans - this trip is already breaking our budget) the Living Museum of the Lower 9th Ward. When we arrived, it was closed so we drove around the 9th ward.

For those not remembering Katrina, this is the spot the levees broke and 20 feet of water rushed into the community. The region we stayed in, St. Bernard, was the worst affected area during Hurricane Katrina. We walked along the levee and drove past the Old Holy Cross school which was a beautiful, large building that was devastated by the Hurricane and then the lengthy process to decide what to do next. Apparently the neighbourhood, in an effort to keep the spirit of the community intact, was required to only renovate existing structures instead of tearing them down to put up new structures. The neighbourhood featured freshly painted, newly renovated colourful houses and derelict structures waiting for renovation.

We wanted to see another park in the city so we went to City Park to take a walk. The walk ended up being really short but quite nice and then, guess what, we went to a local play structure. Gen organized the car (which was then promptly disorganized again) while the kids played.

We wanted to have one nice meal in New Orleans at Mary’s insistence (but a great idea is a great idea). The research from the previous day along with a desire to walk around the French Quarter once more led us back downtown. Gen and Mary grabbed a coffee from Café du Monde and we spent some more time to Jackson square where the kids played on the palm trees and around the fountain. We then went to Bourbon and to Mambo’s for dinner. I got a blackened shrimp po’boy, Gen got fish and shrimp and Mary got the nicest piece of salmon topped with shrimp I’ve seen in a while. We also shared Alligator nachos for an appetizer.

Saying our final goodbyes to New Orleans, we jumped back into the car to go back to our campsite for the final time.

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