The last week and a half or so has been both relaxing and exciting for me. I had the chance to explore an area of the country I haven’t been to since I was just a tadpole, and the opportunity to meet some of our fellow Frog-pond dwellers at the Memphis Meetup.
The place I was staying was not actually in New Orleans, it was about an hour away towards the north, in Abita Springs. This meant that anytime I wanted to go to New Orleans, I had to cross Lake Pontchartrain.
I’ve looked at maps of New Orleans many, many times in the months before and since Katrina rolled through with her own gritty brand of crushing folk rock music, and I knew that Lake Pontchartrain is a huge lake. I was still unprepared; it’s Huge. From one end of the causeway you may as well be looking at a bridge into the middle of the ocean.
Sooner or later, the skyline of New Orleans comes into view (depending on how clear the weather is). The intervening miles hide any movement, creating a disturbing and surreal feeling that I was still looking at the same dead city I’d only ever seen from the eyes of news-network helicopters in the aftermath of the storm.
Perhaps even more bizarre than the feeling that I got looking at that skyline was the feeling I had as I drove towards the downtown area. As the Superdome grew larger and larger in my windshield, I couldn’t help but wonder if the overpasses and interstate bridges I was driving over were the same ones that thousands of people took refuge on, waiting to be saved.
As I neared the Superdome, I could see little specks up on top of it. There were workers all over the roof, getting to work on doing the needed repairs.
I should stop here for a moment and say that I did not visit any of the areas that were severely damaged by Katrina. I had intended to do so before going down there, but after seeing people everywhere hard at work at rebuilding, the idea became somewhat morbid to me.
In addition, I saw several brochures such as this, which further turned me off. I guess this is capitalism at its worst (or best, depending on your point of view). Anyway, it seemed more important to me after further consideration to just go through and see what I would want to see had I visited before Katrina and pump desperately needed dollars into the local economy, instead of actively seeking out areas of destruction.
One of the things that has fascinated me in reading about the New Orleans (and southern Mississippi River) area are the plantation houses. I’m not sure why, I think it has something to do with a general affinity for history mixed with a sense of mysticism that is added by the voodoo religion that many of the slaves practiced. It evokes a sense in me of something both old and powerful, and when I actually had the chance to visit them, it was a similar feeling to that which I had when I visited ancient Mayan ruins in Central America.
The first house that I visited was the Destrehan Plantation. If it looks familiar, it is the same house in which Louis and Lestat lived in the film version of Interview with the Vampire.
Destrehan Plantation
The house is in overall good shape, though there is some noticeable storm damage to the roof. It’s in much better shape than many of the houses I saw though, which still have tarps covering portions of their roofs. The house repair industry is booming in the South right now, I drove by several strip malls supplying various housing needs that looked as if they had probably been built recently.
After Destrehan, it was a relatively short trip across the Mississippi River and westward to get to Oak Alley Plantation. Leading up to the plantation house are two rows of ancient Oak trees, each over 300 years old.
Oak Alley Plantation.
No trip to New Orleans would be complete without a trip to the French Quarter. As it turns out, I made 2. Once on Monday early afternoon, and once on Thursday night. The difference between the two is like night and day <groan!>.
Bourbon Street around noon on Monday
Bourbon Street around midnight on Thursday
On my way back to the frozen tundra of Michigan, I stopped off in Memphis so that I could attend the Memphis Meetup. While there, it was my pleasure to get to meet blueneck, Mr. and Mrs. IndianaDem, and BrendaStewart.
We met at Huey’s on 2nd St. I made sure to wear my official BoomanTribune t-shirt so that I would be instantly recognizable, but as it turns out, I don’t think it was necessary. I think I recognized them immediately, despite never having seen any of them in person or picture before.
If you’ve ever read It by Stephen King, it was kind of like the scene where the childhood friends meet back up as adults, with the difference being that none of us had actually ever met (in person, anyway). But it was definitely a treat to finally get to put a face to some of the posters here that I’ve come to know and love.
Unfortunately, I left my camera in the car, so I don’t have any pictures of the meetup. I know that both blueneck and IndianaDem have some group and individual shots, so hopefully they’ll post some when they get a chance (hint, hint you two!). They also were there for the whole weekend, so hopefully they’ll have some fun stories to tell. I had to leave early Saturday afternoon, so my attendance at the meetup was really not much more than a flyby.
If you can make it to a meetup, I highly recommend going. The atmosphere is relaxed, the people are nice, and the conversation is intelligent, just like it is here on the site.
Update [2006-5-23 17:20:20 by ejmw]:
Here’s a picture from the meetup, courtesy of blueneck:
Mrs. and Mr. IndianaDem, blueneck, ejmw and friend, and Brenda Stewart at Huey’s!