Checking out of the New Orleans RV park we'd stayed in for the last 2 nights, we went straight to Mardi Gras World, a huge 300,000 square foot warehouse where floats are made for the Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans. Tours cost about $30 per adult, and it costs extra for parking onsite (and we're being selective about which museums to go to, otherwise we'd be broke), so we hurriedly took a few photos of some of the Mardi Gras king and queen adorning the entrance and peeked inside the warehouse!
Ice, Ice, Shaved Ice
While it's almost the end of August, it's still hot and humid in the southern region of the US, so one way we tried to cool off today was by having shaved ice at Hansen's Sno-Bliz, which has been around since 1939 and is still run by the same family. Shaved ice is what it sounds like: a block of ice that's been grated down to be a powder-like consistency. It's put into a cup, and then flavored syrups are added. At Hansen's, they not only offered an extensive range of syrups--from vanilla, coconut, pandan, orange, and other flavors--but also offered condensed milk, cherries, diced pineapple, whipped cream, ice cream and a host of other toppings!
There's nothing fancy about the store, but it's evident that it's popular, as there was a line when we arrived that only doubled in size by the time we left. There were two people serving the steadily increasing line of customers, one who was in charge of grabbing the huge blocks of ice in the freezer and pushing it through the machine so it crumbled into powder, while the other put a huge mountain of shaved ice into a cup and expertly added the flavorings and toppings. Michael ordered a small coconut-flavored shaved ice with pineapple and condensed milk, while Lisette ordered a kid's sized pandan-flavored shaved ice with condensed milk. There was so much shaved ice that Michael actually struggled to finish the small! Both flavors were delicious, although Lisette's flavor combo was definitely a winner: Lisette reckons this is the best shaved ice that she's ever had!
Garden District
After finishing our shaved ice outside Hansen's, we drove to the Garden District in New Orleans, a charming and upscale neighborhood with huge oaks lining the streets and enchanting historic homes in all sorts of architectural designs, including single-story cottages to exquisite mansions that have been around for well over a century. Most of the Greek Revival, Italianate and Victorian mansions were built between 1835 and 1900, and many of the houses have plaques in front of them detailing the original owners and history.
It was hard to find parking, but we managed to find a place to stop in front of someone's mansion, which even had a small replica of the Statue of Liberty in front of it. The owner had stepped out of his front door when we arrived, so we let him know that we wouldn't be parked there for long, and he simply shrugged: evidently tourists milling around his home is a common practice! Which makes sense, because right next door to this house there were a group of tourists taking photos of the iconic Buckner Mansion, which was built in 1856 and was the setting for the TV show "American Horror Story: Coven." We wandered around the Garden District, marveling at the extravagant homes, and how picturesque the streets looked with the huge oak trees arching towards the middle of the road, outstretched and providing shade and mystique to the neighborhood.
It was while we were in the Garden District that we noticed that our right rear tire looked suspiciously squished against the curb, like we had a flat tire. While we hadn't heard it rolling around like a flat tire as we'd been driving along, we knew that there was a strong chances that it was flat. While the streets in New Orleans can be hauntingly gorgeous, we should say at this point that they can also be horrendous to drive on! They are filled with dents and deep potholes, which has been a bit stressful in the RV, as our heavy vehicle has frequently bumped and slammed violently along the roads. It's perhaps a mixture of the huge tree roots growing underneath the roads, the patchwork road construction in the city (or perhaps, the lack thereof in some cases). We've experienced rocky roads in cities before, but it doesn't get easier driving along them!
Cycling with Sheila
We headed back to New Orleans City Park, which we'd been to on our first day of arriving in New Orleans, deciding to leave the RV here (there's no parking meters). Just like what we'd done in Detroit, got on the one eBike, Sheila included. As we were about to leave, however, we looked more carefully at our right rear tire. Yep, it was indeed flat, and would need to be replaced. Fortunately we have a spare in the back, and just need to call roadside service for someone to come with a jack (that we don't have) so that the tires can be switched out. We'll attend to this when we're back in the afternoon.
But first, we cycled through the Tremé neighborhood again, and revisited Louis Armstrong Park to check out the events we knew were happening as part of Hurricane Katrina's 20th anniversary.Yes, we did also get free food again, going back to Likkle 14, the Jamaican and Caribbean food truck which today was serving jerk chicken pasta and a vegan curry with rice, chickpeas and potatoes. The food was just as delicious and filling as the day prior! While we were eating, we listened to a presentation by a New Orleans-born record producer, rapper and singer called Deezle, who has worked with musicians including Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Drake and others. It was interesting to hear him not only talk about his music experience, but also listen to songs he's worked on (he also gave us a wonderful live rendition of his song, November in LA). The only downside was that there weren't more people who were at the session, because he is really talented and it would have been awesome for more folks to have seen it live.
We saw more K20 events happening around the city, including live music blasting from inside Gallier Hall, (a grand hall built in the Greek Revival style with imposing white columns that's now an event venue), with a short performance that we could see from the street. We cycled around the city, taking in the architecture of buildings. For example, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art was built back in 1889, and looks like an old European fortress(!), with its brown stone walls, rounded arches and towers, and a formidable circular rotunda. Meanwhile, St. Patrick's Church, which was established in 1833, is a thinner structure that reaches towards the heavens, and still provides 16 mass services to the community each week, including mass in Latin. There is so much fascinating history and architecture in the city!
The Flat Tire Fiasco
When we returned to our RV, it was around 5.30pm, and Michael had already spoken to our insurance company so that someone would come to help switch out our flat tire with our spare. We figured that we'd get this fixed, and then be ready to possibly leave New Orleans and continue to our next destination this evening. Well...the first person didn't even show up, because they quickly realized that they didn't have the right tools to help us.
Then a second person showed up after sunset, and it was abundantly clear that he was the wrong person for the job, arriving in his sedan with a tiny jack in his boot, that in no way would be able to lift our heavy RV up to replace the tires. He left in a huff, leaving us still stranded. By this time, we were tired and frustrated, because clearly our insurance company wasn't able to figure out how to tackle the problem and the local car services were not equipped to handle it despite our specifications (well, the second guy thought he could, but had a rude shock once he arrived).
Finally, about 5 hours since we'd called, a third person showed up, who we'd at least had a conference call with and seemed to be asking the right questions ahead of arriving. He was from a tow truck company, so he at least came with the adequate vehicle. Michael, the trooper that he was, stood outside to oversee this whole affair in the dark, getting attacked by dozens of mosquitos in the process, and providing some of our blocks to boost the tire off the ground. Meanwhile, Lisette was inside with Sheila--staying well away from the mosquitos, and also comforting our little pup who was alert and anxious with the noises and movement as the tire change was happening.
It turns out that our flat tire had fallen prey to an enormous nail, that was likely on a road we'd driven along in bumpy New Orleans, causing it to steadily deflate. But... while our tire was replaced, there was one more hurdle. Our spare was a bit flat, and the tow truck guy didn't have the tool to inflate it! After over 5 hours, we were still somewhat deflated ourselves (pun intended) that the saga continues. We stayed overnight in the park, with plans to get a 4th (and hopefully final!) person to show up and give it some air. Read on for the tiring, tire update!
Route Map
