New Orleans

[Wayne Jeffers]

What are the "gotta-see" wooden boat attractions in New Orleans? Other attractions?

Any interesting events occurring there during the period 3/16 to 3/22?

I can't spend all my days crawling around the French Quarter while Michelle is in her convention. ;) :D

Wayne

[Alan D. Hyde]

You're not far from Roger Stouff. Maybe you should pay his town a visit, and increase his paper's circulation by one... :D

Alan

[Venchka]

Originally posted by Wayne Jeffers:
What are the "gotta-see" wooden boat attractions in New Orleans? Other attractions?

Any interesting events occurring there during the period 3/16 to 3/22?

I can't spend all my days crawling around the French Quarter while Michelle is in her convention. ;) :D

WayneMy birthday, March 21.

Gotta see wooden boat attractions? Would my Caledonia yawl qualify? In the water. Sailing. Your invited. Gotta run. More later.

[Venchka]

Originally posted by Alan D. Hyde:
You're not far from Roger Stouff. Maybe you should pay his town a visit, and increase his paper's circulation by one... :D

AlanAbout 2 hours away if I'm not mistaken. You would also double the population! :D You could see the drug smuggler eye in the sky ballon.

[Wayne Jeffers]

Originally posted by Venchka:
. . . Would my Caledonia yawl qualify? . . .Wayne,

Based on the pictures I've seen of Elizabeth Grace, she would surely qualify! Simply getting an in-person look would qualify, let alone sailing. (It's hard to think of March as sailing weather. It snowed here in SE Ohio most of the day yesterday.)

I've searched on the internet a bit for nautical/maritime attractions around New Orleans and the only thing I've come up with is the museum in Madisonville, which I see is the other side of Lake Pontchartrain (sp?).

Michelle lived in New Orleans for a while about 20 years ago and she recommended the "swamp tour," :eek: among other things, but her recommendations were generally lacking anything with a nautical theme.

Wayne

[High C]

Hey Wayne, trim in that jib. Not you Wayne, the other Wayne!

There's not a lot to see, wooden boat wise, around here. There is a wooden boat museum North of Lake Pontchartrain in Madisonville, but it's pretty new and doesn't have a lot on display yet. Those swamp tours on the Pearl River, North of the lake, are terrific.

Mainly, I recommend the restaurants. :D

[Venchka]

Originally posted by High C:
Hey Wayne, trim in that jib. Not you Wayne, the other Wayne!

...Mainly, I recommend the restaurants. :D

This Wayne ain't got no jib. It's in the 70's to low 80's now. 30's overnight. What kind of convention?

Second the restaurants. Too many to count and list here. Any restaurant owned by the Brennan family will do nicely. There are 6 or 8 in and around the French Quarter in various price ranges. Mulates, near the Convention Center, is a good cajun place. Where are you staying? I can get you homed in on good eating around your hotel. Will you have a car? The handiest swamp tour runs out of Crown Pointe and you could stop in at Jean Lafitte Nat'l. Park going or coming. The Aquarium is first rate. They have an I-MAX theater. Audubon Zoo is first rate too. You can use the St. Charles Ave. streetcar there and back from downtown. Wandering the French Quarter isn't half bad. Daytime of course. The casino is open 24/7.

I have an oral surgery thingy on the 17th. I blocked out the weekend for the boat. Weather and work schedule permitting, we could get Elisabeth Grace wet anytime from Friday afternoon to Sunday. E.G. hasn't gotten wet this year. She needs a bath real bad before I let anyone see her. The weekends have been really bad. Wet. Too much wind. Wet & too much wind. Fingers crossed for good weather for Ya'll. If you have a car you're welcome to come to the office and crawl all over the boat. While I work. Not fair, but I'll survive. Come to think of it, the office is on the way to the Swamp Tour. Kinda almost part of the Swamp Tour. Got a blow up or folding boat? A person could launch from my office and go east or west in the ICW.

Email me for more stuff.

[Wayne Jeffers]

JT,

I guess if both you and Michelle recommend the swamp tour, maybe it's worth checking out. She also recommended a tour of the Garden District and a tour of Oak Alley Plantation.

I remember the restaurants from the last time I was in New Orleans. :D I still don’t know about trying the crayfish, however. Around here, we use those strictly for fish bait.

Wayne -- You have mail!

Wayne

[Wayne Jeffers]

Thanks, JTA. The MS Gulf Coast sounds like a worthwhile side trip. I know we're staying near the Moralis (?) Convention Center downtown, but I'll have to check the exact hotel.

Growing up in southern West Virginia, I learned to call them crawdads, but I knew that wasn't what they call them in New Orleans restaurants. smile.gif Still not sure about eating them.

Wayne

[ 03-09-2004, 10:21 PM: Message edited by: Wayne Jeffers ]

[Venchka]

That would be the Morial Conv. Center. There are a bunch of hotels around there. And of course, to a tour agent, EVERY hotel in the city is close to the Conv. Center.

You can't leave south Louisiana without having raw oysters for an appetizer and crawfish for dinner. You can get arrested for violating this rule.

Jack's idea about the Gulf Coast is spot on. One of my favorite photographs was taken at the Pass Christian marina. I always wonder if the shrimp boats in the picture are still there or if Camille got them. The marina is just east of the bridge over Bay St. Louis. You can't miss it. The Seafood Museum in Biloxi (google can find the web page) operate two schooners. Give them a call before you leave home. Find out if they are taking folks out while you're down here. Those boats are awesome!

I'll check my mail in the morning-it's at the office.

[Wayne Jeffers]

When you get tired of wandering the Quarter and giving your money to the guy who bets he can tell you where you "Got Your Shoes" . . .Jack,

They still do that in New Orleans?? LOL Like most folks, I've usually "got" mine on my feet. I seem to remember, too, that it is good to keep moving lest you fall prey to marauding gangs intent on shining your shoes. Maybe it will help if I bring a pair of sneakers. smile.gif

Thanks for the recommendations. I think I ate at Brennan's once the only time I was in New Orleans, about 15 years ago. We stayed at the St. Louis Hotel (nice!) and, if memory serves, Brennan's was the restaurant in that building on the Royal Street side.

I'm gonna print out this thread and some of the links for travel planning purposes. And I think I have an old road map of Louisiana and Mississippi somewhere that I'll have to dig out.

Wayne

[igatenby]

I watched Easy Rider again last night. They went to a really nice looking place, which I think was called the Blue House. They seemed to enjoy it. :D

Ian

[Wayne Jeffers]

Ian,

Thanks for the suggestion!

I'll run that idea by Michelle and see what she thinks. :rolleyes:

:D :D :D

Wayne

[Wayne Jeffers]

Ian -- Michelle says that will give me something more to do during the daytime when she's in her conference. :D

JT -- Thanks for the tip on Pass Christian. It looks like we will rent a car for a while during our stay because Michelle wants to check out her old neighborhood and the school where she taught ~20 years ago. Since we'll have a car, I'll plan on checking out the Mississippi coast. I'll look for your friend's boats. smile.gif

Wayne

[Venchka]

Wayne,

I just spent Thursday-Sunday eating my way through the French Quarter and Bucktown. I may not eat again until after Easter! :D

If you and Michelle want a really nice (yes, a bit pricey) dining experience, go to Commander's Palace. You could avoid the temptation to go by not bringing a jacket and tie. The other upscale restaurant we found to be first rate was Bayona. No jacket or tie required.

One restaurant I can not and will not suggest is Brennan's Restaurant on Royal Street. The difference between the first two above and Brennan's is like night and day.

Talk to you soon!

Wayne

[Alan D. Hyde]

Last time I had their eggs Benedict, I thought that they were vastly over-rated.

My wife, Joy, makes MUCH better.

There's much to be said for a good Hollandaise sauce. It's full of vitamins, for instance. :D

Alan

[Venchka]

Everything about Brennan's Restaurant on Royal Street was sub-standard. It's really strange. The other side of the Brennan family, Commander's Palace, Mr. B's, Redfish Grill, Palace Cafe, Bourbon House, etc. is top notch.

[High C]

Originally posted by Venchka:
Everything about Brennan's Restaurant on Royal Street was sub-standard. It's really strange. The other side of the Brennan family, Commander's Palace, Mr. B's, Redfish Grill, Palace Cafe, Bourbon House, etc. is top notch.There was something of a falling out, and a split of the Brennan family back in the 70s, I think. The Brennans on Royal was the old guard, and the new guard opened Commanders, Mister Bs, etc. The two camps have had very little to do with each other for quite a while.

I adore Mister Bs on Royal, and Commanders is superb too. My parents operate a small Bed and Breakfast accross the street from Commanders, BTW. I love going by there because the smells from Commanders are so good!

[Venchka]

LOL!

I hope you don't mean across Washington Street! :D

Right on about the family feud thing. Thank goodness Ralph, Ella, Dickie, etc. got the smarts in the family. They recently bought the Tavern on the Park (or something like that) on the south side of City Park. Renamed Ralph's. It is next on my list of places to try.

[ 03-15-2004, 06:57 PM: Message edited by: Venchka ]

[High C]

Originally posted by Venchka:
LOL!

I hope you don't mean across Washington Street! :D
Oops! redface.gif Right accross the street would be in the cemetary, wouldn't it!? :eek:

Their place is in the next block of Washington toward the river, kinda caddy corner from Commander's. They check in, but they don't check out. :D

[Buddy]

My brother(who lives in New Orleans) keeps a family place in Pass Christian. For the last three years our Dad's Morgan 22, not wood but truly classic plastic, has been in the harbor there. Lots of wood boats there and two really big sailing schooners. Great place for my 81 year old dad to sit and watch all the commercial activity from the cockpit at the dock. Don't miss the Harbor View Cafe across the street. I'm sorry we won't be in town. Don't laugh but you can catch some pretty good music events at the casinos driving toward Buloxi.

[Buddy]

On yeah, they are telling you right about Mother's.

[Otter]

Man, what a pleasant suprise! In this ever-changing world where nothing stays the same for 5 minutes it was a balm for my soul this morning when I read that the "Where you got your shoes" guy is still doing his thing in the Quarter. :D

[Venchka]

Yep. I ran into him on Saturday and again on Sunday. :D

[Otter]

Venchka, did you get your money back? ;)

[Wayne Jeffers]

Originally posted by JTA:
Well, How was the trip?
Wonderful! We ate too much good food and drank too much everyday for an entire week. Never did get to Mississippi, though. :(

We tried to catch as many of the recommended restaurants and other places as possible and discovered a few new ones of our own. smile.gif We ate both oysters on the half shell and crawfish, so we didn't have to worry about being arrested as we were leaving. ;)

Yes, Jack, Central Grocery Company was worth it if only for the smell!

I've got to add one place to the list of recommended restaurants. Perhaps the best food we had while we were there, and easily the best service, was at a place on Rue Conti, between Bourbon and Royal, called Oceana Seafood Grill. It's admittedly not much to look at, but just consider that part of the atmosphere. We highly recommend the barbequed shrimp. If you don't get the big plate as an entrée, get the little plate for an appetizer. Sop up the extra sauce with the French bread! And their bread pudding is fantastic!

I recommend Johnny's Po-Boys on Rue St. Louis for lunch. Great po-boy sandwiches and their grilled muffaletta is wonderful.

I discovered that the hotel I stayed at when I was there 15 years ago was not the St. Louis Hotel. It was the Omni on Rue St. Louis. redface.gif Wonderful hotel!

I did the swamp tour along the Pearl River while Michelle was at her conference. Very nice. :cool:

I spent most of a day in the National D-Day Museum. Very well done! I highly recommend.

But the highlight of the trip was the day spent sailing with Venchka (Wayne) on Lake Pontchartrain aboard Elisabeth Grace, his Oughtred Caledonia yawl. This beautiful boat sails as well as she looks! The only problems we had were when the helmsman (moi) tired pointing her too high. She got at or near hull speed in light winds and never hesitated coming about through the wind. Late in the afternoon, the wind diminished to virtually nothing. There was so little wind that with a slack sheet the mizzen never moved off center and the telltale on the main gave little indication of apparent wind. Remarkably, she still responded to the helm and sailed steadily, albeit slowly, on the intended course. Thanks again, Wayne!

:D :D :D

Wayne

[Venchka]

Wayne,

You're welcome! Ya'll come back anytime. Maybe Michele won't be too sick to go sailing. I am sorry she missed all the fun on Saturday.

Holler if you find a big stack of black locust. I will come get some!

Wayne

So, would that be Wayne Squared aboard Elisabeth Grace?

[Wayne Jeffers]

Sounds like double trouble, at the least. ;)

An acquaintance was clearing some land a couple of years ago, selling most of the wood as firewood. I asked him if he had any large locusts and he said he did. I asked him to set the logs aside for me and I would buy them. I haven't talked to him about it since. I'll check and see what he's got.

Locust is so common in this area that I should be able to find some at a county sawmill, or have them cut logs and saw them to order. This is usually much, much cheaper than buying through a lumber dealer.

E-mail me and tell me what you need. I'll make a few calls.

Wayne

[Celeste]

Sorry that I didn't see your request earlier...about 1.5 hrs south/southwest of New Orleans is the town of Thibodaux, home to the Center for Traditional Boatbuilding. The Center's collection of traditional LA coastal craft (all wooden) is housed in part at the Nicholls State University Library--very accessible and open 7 days. It includes 5 different pirogues from varying cultural/ecological zones of LA, a rowing skiff, a couple of dugouts, chalands, bateaux, etc. The other part of the Center's collection is housed at Laurel Valley Plantation, just south of the NSU campus on LA 308--larger boats here including an oyster lugger.

Boatbuilder Kenny Hebert teaches classes for the Center--you can find him on Saturdays from 10 to 4 at the campus or at the Thib. branch of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, on the bayouside above Canal St. in Thibodaux. He also teaches on weekday evenings in Madisonville at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum.

And, his students are having a regatta on April 17th, beginning at noon, at T.River's on the Tchefuncte in Madisonville.