So last night I purchased a ticket for the Steamboat Natchez Harbor Jazz Cruise . . . $34.00 without the brunch, $46.00 with. But, being a sometimes creature of habit, especially if I like something, I stopped by Belle's again for breakfast . . . and had a great omelette. That would hold me before tonight's meal. And I took the 2:30 cruise, which returns at 4:30, and from there, I planned a last stop for a few beers and oysters at Acme again before heading for dinner later at The Praline Connection, a restaurant Lee and I had eaten dinner at when here in 2014. It was good then, and I hoped to repeat the experience.
And all of that in time to go to bed early. My train leaves New Orleans at 7:00 AM! That means rising at 5:00! And THAT means early to bed. But let's tour the river first.
Even though I had a late breakfast and lingered a bit, I knew I would be too early for the harbor tour, so along the way, I stopped at the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, drawn in by the music, and enjoyed the show for a while.
After that, I just lingered in the sunshine for a while until the steamboat arrived. A line formed shortly afterward, even though we were 30 or 40 minutes away from boarding . . . and after that, another 30 minutes before departure, so lots of time to kill.
But being early in line meant I boarded early, giving me a chance to wander the ship a bit before it got too crowded. One faux pas on my part — the reservation I had made the night before is not a ticket! You need to go to the window and trade it in for a physical piece of paper! No electronic ticketing here, not yet anyway. So I had to be let out of line by the ticket taker, stand in a second (but much shorter) line to get a "real" ticket, and then was readmitted where I was kicked out. Not a big deal, but irritating.
A panoramic view of the riverside of our docking looking west and south to north (left to right). The imposing structure on the far right is BUS-90, Crescent City Connection. While there are shoulders on the BUS-90 bridge, I'm not sure you're allowed to bike it. But there is also a ferry service at the end of Canal Street close by that will take you across (exact change required!).
In fact, the sun got so bright I had trouble snapping a picture of this pedestrian bridge over the railroad. It connects the Crescent Park Trail with residential neighborhoods east of the French Quarter. Imagine carrying a loaded touring bike over that thing!
Another steamboat — but, we were told, not as authentic as the one we were on — moored in front of the Chalmette Battlefield. To the left is the Chalmette Monument, dedicated to "the men who served on the US side during the decisive Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812."
This was a good time to get a picture of the paddle wheel as I was moving about the ship now. There is not a whole lot to see on the western shoreline, so just relax and enjoy the cruise.
And finally, another view of the Crescent City Connection. I've biked across the Mississippi before, several times, and have tackled bridges as big or maybe bigger. If there were no ferry service, I would cross this (if allowed, and maybe not since I tend to "miss" signs).
