Live from the Levee: New Orleans

so nice to hear that things were well on your first day back in the Big Easy. Please continue to post your escapades, Judy!!

Just had a "live from the levee" report from Judy. The NATCHEZ is preparing to depart on her afternoon trip and the cally-ope was being played by Capt. Doc Hawley. Judy will be visiting in Nawlin's for a full week, so I'm sure there will be additional bulletins of up-to-date and noteworthy news!

Day 2, NOLA

As Keith reported, Doc played the calliope prior to the 2:30 trip. I did the narrating and was quite busy with the usual sights plus a lot of ship traffic. Its obvious the port business is and has been back to normal. Prior to the NATCHEZ trip, I played golf at City Park, North Course. This is another sign of the progress, slow as it is, since Katrina. City Park had 4 courses, all of which were severely damaged. The North course just recently reopened, and plans are to have the others open within 2 years. Afterward, a drive along Robert E. Lee Boulevard near the lakefront is a very grim reminder of the work yet to be done postKatrina - it looks like everything is fine, nice brick homes the whole length. But when you look at about half the homes, you can see right through them - they've been gutted, as required for safety regulations, but they have not been restored. Most of these owners, upper middle class, have moved elsewhere: some across the lake to Covington, Mandeville; some to Slidell, some to other suburbs, and very few to other parts of the city of New Orleans. The day wound up with Doc and I trekking across the river to the infamous Ruby Red's burger joint, where you throw peanut shells on the floor as you await the meal. Another rough day on the horizon in a few hours: golf, ride the NATCHEZ, eat at some NOLA establishment...

DAy 3

Just another day in the Big Easy. The temps have gone up and it was very pleasant. After a round of golf at City Park, I hustled down to the NATCHEZ to narrate the 2:30 trip, as Debbie had to go elsewhere. Just as the trip yesterday was constant with passing ships, we had none pass us today. The hopper dredge WHEELER of the Corps is still dredging by the Julia St. terminal. One interesting fact about this dredge is they can dredge the equivalent of 7000 dumptruck loads of silt a day! Our Dumaine Street Beach is getting bigger each day. It is almost completely up for air from Gov. Nicholls wharf to the Toulouse St. wharf. Each time we land, we nudge against it now. A quiet evening at the BK house is in store for tonight...

A Beautiful Friday morning in NOLA

I had to move my car out of the driveway early today, so I put it in the boat parking lot about 7:30. What a gorgeous day: clear, crisp air, bright sunshine! It was invigorating to walk atop the Moonwalk and then back down into the French Quarter back to my courtyard. I was taken aback when I looked at our 'beach' - yesterday afternoon there was but a 10 foot or so section underwater, and I expected it to be totally above the water today. Just the opposite: about half is submerged, ever so little of course. So I checked the river stages, and the river went up almost a foot since yesterday afternoon. It was 2.51 at 5PM and 3.41 at 6AM today. Not exactly a flood, but quite surprising as it has been slowly dropping. The lowest I've ever seen in my times here is .5, and that had brackish water upriver as far as the lower end of the NOLA harbor. No word about that concern yet this time. Now here is something VERY POSITIVE ABOUT NEW ORLEANS: for those of you who have been here and who probably noticed the 'morning after' stench in the French Quarter all day: IT IS GONE! The air was just as fresh on the Quarter streets as it was on the riverfront. A local businessman, Sidney Torres Jr is his name I believe, got fed up with the trash, filth, and old system of garbage pickup and said he could do better. He put together a bid which was miraculously accepted, and you cannot believe the difference. As I was walking back, a water truck was spraying the streets with water AND soap. Garbage is picked up daily, and none is dumped onto the streets as they put it into the trucks, and there are foot patrols throughout the day with brooms and dustpans sweeping the gutters and streets. The FQ sparkles like the gem it should be... the NATCHEZ has all 3 trips today: 11:30, 2:30 and 7.

Deb heard a article on NPR about this guy and what an incredible difference he has made. The article stated that the soap solution he sprays on the streets/sidewalks was developed by him. And it does such a wonderful job that other places known for washing streets (Walt Disney World and Quebec City were mentioned) use his formula. He also employs 'garbage spotters' in radio controlled trucks and brags that from the time a peice of trash hits the street until it is in one of his trucks is typically less than an hour. The article also said that his trucks are shinier/cleaner than most cars.

A welcome improvement. Deb and I would not walk down Bourbon or any of the close surrounding streets in the morning...

That nails it. They have shiny golf cart type vehicles patrolling and picking up. Supervisors find a problem area and radio for cleanup crews. I just got back from a walk down Royal Street, and the difference is amazing. Now over to the boat for the 11:30 trip, no rest for the wicked!!!!!

Day 4, Friday

From the crisp clear morning air to a summerlike warmth in the afternoon to a cool evening...The NATCHEZ ran 3 trips today. I changed routine and rode first, then played golf, and then had time to ride the dinner cruise too. I did the short narration once we got underway on the evening trip, and when I got to the part about the NATCHEZ being one of only ____ steamboats still operating on the Mississippi systerm, I said 3. While the AQ is still running, she is not completely steam powered, and one can't say the DQ is still running in the normal sense. Who would have thought this even 2 years ago? Regarding our Dumaine St. beach: it appears we are having a tidal effect here. In checking the NOAA river stages for the past 48 hours, the 8AM reading has been about a foot higher than the 5PM one. The WHEELER dredge is still working up by the cruise ship terminal area, and it must be effective, as the NORWEGIAN SPIRIT was in here briefly this morning - a shore stop shorter than the QUEENS make! After negotiating through the costumed crowds out on the FQ streets, I have retreated to my little quiet apartment for the duration of Halloween, with curiosity about what Pat T. and the other final DQ passengers are doing now...

Saturday

Did everyone set their clocks back? Seems I have to set back a day since I forgot to post anything last night. Actually it was a short river day - I just rode the first trip and then retreated to the apartment to watch Iowa lose to Illinois and listen to the Ducks slosh to a defeat at California. It was a slow day on the river, as it usually is on weekends - it costs more in labor to unload then, so most wharves are empty or silent. Carnival's FANTASY was in at the cruise ship terminal. She is a weekly visitor. PreKatrina we had 2 Carnival ships, including the biggest one CONQUEST, here weekly. But apparently people still think that New Orleans isn't tourist-ready as they don't want to book cruises out of here as much as before. Supposedly another Carnival ship will be assigned here next year too. PreKatrina the cruise business was so vibrant that a 3rd dock was actively in the works, down at Press St. The plans are still there, just on hold. The dredge WHEELER is still working just below the bridges, which limits our trip a bit. We've been turning at Canal Street rather than up by the bridges. Another sign of vitality in the city: the NBA team, the Hornets, opened up their home season last night with a sellout crowd. Last year they only half-filled the building until they neared playoff time.

wow, a sellout crowd! i remember last year when they weren't selling out, and there was speculation that they might lose the franchise. Then, they started winning games, selling out crowds, and as a statement of pride, we flew their banner on the jackstaff for a while. Sadly, I don't have a good picture of it. Do you, Judy?

Yes, somewhere..... By the way, the westbank project's name was Fischer. It is completely torn down now with individual Section 8 homes being built to replace it.

Sunday in NOLA

Before going to the boat, I drove around a bit - went over to Robin Street. As I mentioned previously, they are tearing down the buildings, or at least removing the walls. Blaine Kern has Mardi Gras floats stored in the upper end, where the parking had been. The huge 'Welcome Steamboaters' sign still hangs over the check in area. I got a shot of the MQ from here, which is directly across the river from Perry St. She doesn't look too bad from the side and from the distance. The real view is from downstream, when you see the list and other problems. A the lower end of Robin St. is still the 'Home Port Office' sign. That's it from steamboating. The Immigration authority parks their vehicles in there now. The office part of the terminal is being dismantled now, with parts of the roof gone and sunlight streaming into the empty building. I narrated both trips on the NATCHEZ in beautiful weather, hard to face the fact I head back north Tuesday. The hopper dredge WHEELER is gone and one of the usual contracted dredges is working along the dock by the Port Authority building above the bridges. There was little traffic all day and even less activity at the wharves, typical of a weekend. The Dumaine St. beach is slowly getting covered by water again, but its still very prominent. When I came down from the roof after the second trip, a gentleman was waiting to talk to me - my less than charitable comments about the MQ's status apparently caught his attention and he wanted to know more. Turns out he worked as a porter on the MQ in the very beginning, through all 3 maiden voyages, and then summers in college. When I tossed out the name 'Ted Guillaum', he immediately recognized it and the next 15 minutes were spent coming up with crew names - he said he hadn't even thought about the MQ for years until seeing it yesterday, and he was amazed to meet someone who knew people from way back when. It is a small world. I skipped the evening trip to help my neighbor Ott get things ready for our Planters Punch party, which we were able to hold out in the courtyard after the trip. The usual suspects attended and we had a couple of deckhands come for the first time. Of course all the newcomers got a tour of the big house. Much of the conversation was a telling of tales from the harrowing delivery trip to New York City of the JOHN JAMES AUDUBON last winter. Capt. Don Houghton and 'little' Steve Nicoulin were in that crew, and their stories would be enough to fill a whole issue of the REFLECTOR! The NATCHEZ has just the 2:30 trip today, Monday, so there's time for one more round of golf this morning...

Judy its great to see you still so active after all these years. I still have one of your old cards from the 80's. But I have been totally out of the loop for quite a few years now so whats the story on the MQ? What happened?

MQ Mel

Check your email, Mel, for my take on the MQ...

Monday in the Crescent City

As usual, the French Quarter streets have cleared out after a weekend of crowds, although there is still quite a bit of activity. The weather has been glorious this week so most everyone is doing outdoor activities. A final round of golf Monday morning - and considering the forecast for home, it may be my final round this year - and then to the NATCHEZ for the only trip of the day at 2:30. Nothing new on this trip, just more ship activity at the start of the work week, and a contracted dredge working next to the wharves where the WHEELER had been last week. As we made our turn at the bridges and I looked at the MQ, I wondered if that might be my last look at her - if she is indeed consigned to the scrap heap, no reason to keep piling on the daily docking fees much longer - I hear the calliope is for sale for $75,000, send your donations to Travis asap, I'm sure he'd find room for it! Once I'm home I'll post some pictures illustrating what I've been describing with words. And when I say 'home', I mean Rock Island, but this is 'home' too. It wouldn't be right to not acknowledge the fine pilothouse crew of the NATCHEZ who take her safely through the busy harbor day in and day out: Capt. Steve Nicoulin Master, Capt. Don Houghton Alternate Master/Pilot, and Capt. Troy C. Delaney Pilot. Capt. Steve has been with the NATCHEZ from the beginning, and both Capts. Don and Troy came on board around 1982. They know the boat and the territory and no matter how busy or foggy it may be, you know you're in good steady hands. This website is called Steamboats.org, and the view from the pilothouse of the Steamer NATCHEZ is as real as it gets for steamboaters. I am very privileged to be associated with the beautiful Alan Bates-designed Racehorse of the Western Rivers, and am proud to be its voice on the occasions I do the narration. I would hope many of you readers would be able to visit New Orleans at some point and come ride the Steamer NATCHEZ. Now to pack and close up the apartment...

Judy.....thanks again for the wealth of information you supplied after meeting you on the Natchez on Sunday afternoon. I had no idea, as I stood on the stern with my friend that day, that I would catch a glimpse of the MQ in the distance, docked at a wharf on the west bank of the river. The red paddlewheel and windows of the Paddlewheel Bar stirred up memories of an exciting time of my life full of adventure and new friends for a kid right out of high school. After 20 YEARS, I spoke with Ted yesterday for over an hour. We shared so many names and laughs over the events that transpired over the first couple of years way back then. Meeting you has given me a re-newed interest on what the future holds for these last three overnight paddlewheelers.

Info

If you mean Travis's email yes Judy, ty. It was distressing information but it was what I wanted to know even though it was not what I wanted to hear.

But I did not get one from you yet.

Question

Does anyone know what ever happened to Capt. David L. Rainbolt?