New Orleans - November 2106 - Day 1

Friday, November 11, 2016

Time for another adventure!  This adventure took us down to New Orleans! We  booked our flight a few months in advance - $206 for Delta tickets! My sister joined us for the trip, but she ended up driving from SE Missouri since the flight options for her were about double what we paid. It worked out well with her driving since she could pick us up from the airport and we had our own transportation to our out of the city outings – plantation and swamp tour.

We were very worried that we were not going to make our flight because it was overbooked and we did not pay the extra money to select a seat when booking. When we arrived at the gate, they were offering $600 to take a different flight. The other flight options would not really work well since we were only going to be visiting New Orleans for a short time and my sister was already more than half way to the airport to pick us up.  The flight time kept getting closer and people still were not interested in bumping their flight. At the very end, they ended up offering $1000, lunch and dinner food vouchers and a hotel stay to get people to take a different flight. Luckily , they had enough volunteers and we were able to get on the flight as planned, but boy oh boy, just think of all the trips we could have made with that big of a travel voucher!

The flight was smooth and arrived about 20 minutes early. Prior to landing, Delta provided all passengers a chocolate truffle in honor of Veterans Day.

Oak Alley Plantation

Once my sister picked us up, we headed to the Oak Alley Plantation. It was about a 45 minute drive from the airport. There was a large parking lot (free parking). Ticket price for adults was $22. There was an AAA discount available. Oak Alley was built in the 1830’s, a time when sugar was king. Oak Alley was restored in 1925 and placed in a trust when that owner passed away. The most impressive part of the site are the double row of giant live oak trees, which form the 800 foot long alley that leads from the road to the front of the house. The trees were planted before the home was constructed. Many things have been filmed at Oak Alley – the movie Interview with a Vampire, the soap opera Days of our Live, Beyonce music video for Déjà Vu, and many commercials. We had lunch while at plantation.

Chalmette Battlefield

After leaving the plantation, we headed to the Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery – part of the Jean Lafitte NPS (read more about below). The site was quite small and did not have a ton to see or do.  There was a medium size display area inside of the visitor center.  We did learn about how the War of 1812 effected the area. It was the last great battle of the War of 1812. The fighting took place in January of 1815, technically the treaty ending the war was signed late in 1814. General Andrew Jackson hastily assembled an army that was able to defeat the British forces which largely outnumbered them. Jackson was hesitant to accept the help of Jean Lafitte (a known pirate who ran a smuggling and privateering enterprise of the nearby Barataria Bay). British Lieutenant General Pakenham had hoped to attack in foggy conditions, but the sun cleared the fog and made the British army easy targets. Jackson’s army lost about 100 men and the British Army about 2000, including 3 generals and 7 colonels.  The fighting lasted only about 30 minutes.

Next we checked in at the rental house. We waited too long to book a hotel, plus hotels were going to charge $35-$45 to park overnight so renting a house that provided free parking was a good option.  The house we stayed at was on Elysian Fields. The location was nice – not far to walk to the French Quarter area. The house was a shotgun style home – long and narrow. It was quite a mix-match of style. The place was not the cleanest – the surfaces were dirty and dusty. The bedding and towels were clean and the trash cans were empty but that was about it. Considering you get charged a cleaning fee, I would expect the place to be much cleaner.

Once we were all unpacked, we headed out in search of food and music.  Frenchmen Street was the closest most popular area we were near. We decided on The Maison. The food was good and reasonably priced. The band (Dinosaurchestra) was also entertaining. After we left the restaurant, we walked around Frenchman Street – the Frenchmen Art Market was open. Lots of really neat art. My sister got a really cute key holder. (please send me a picture to use)