Live from the New Orleans Levee!

More levee shots

1) You can get an idea of the relative distance between Toulouse St. and Perry St. - the AQ is way up in the distance above the bridges.
2) What is this, the bow of the Texas Deck? Nope, some new tables and chairs under the tent on the NATCHEZ wharf.
3) I love watching these tall boxes go around the Point - lean to the left, lean to the right... that is the Carnival Conquest

Zooming from the levee

Here are some zoomed shots of the AQ from the Julia St wharf turnaround. She sure looks good, much better than these pix show.

Sadly, my former apartment

Its been 2 years now since I gave up my Beauregard Keyes apartment, which I had for 23 years. A new board member got the brilliant idea they could make more money off it and they raised the rent from $350 to $550, even though they were told that I wouldn't pay that. So, how much rent are they getting now? 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Its been turned into nothing but a storage room. It makes me sick to go in there to look...
1) looking through the living room to the kitchen
2) looking through the bedroom to the bathroom

The MISSISSIPPI QUEEN lives on

You may recall that N.O. Steamboat bought the two stern capstans from the MISSISSIPPI QUEEN last August. One was installed on the NATCHEZ bow during layup, replacing the original smaller weaker one. The crew loves it. And you can see it has gotten the traditional star paint job, along with the bitts.

Judy I was just on the Natchez myself. I must say to anyone on here who hasn't rode the Natchez, you need to. They are some of the nicest people you will ever meet and so hospitable. They run a fine boat and I couldn't have asked for a better time. I was even fortunate enough to run into Doc Hawley, who I had somehow never managed to cross paths with before. What a gem....the fastest 2 hr trip I ever went on!

Good morning in the French Quarter

Here's a shot of the view from my fourth floor room looking down Chartres... I'm just a few rooms down from where the legendary Cincinnati trio of Larry and Ethel Walker and Dorothea Frye stayed for over 20 years every October. Yes Phillip, the NATCHEZ crew is so friendly and welcoming. I just had some friends take a cruise on the NORWEGIAN SPIRIT. They stayed a couple of nights at LeR and rode the NATCHEZ and loved it, and they aren't steamboaters. I preach it constantly, but take advantage of what we have while we have them - the excursion boats BELLE OF LOUISVILLE and the NATCHEZ on the Ohio and Mississippi, and of course our friends on the lakes up in New York state. Look at the excitement of the return of the AQ - she was lucky to get chosen to run again after an extended layup and former management fiasco. We can't count on that happening whenever a steamboat faces uncertainty. NATCHEZ goes out at 11:30, 2:30, and 7 daily!!!!!!

Monday noon...

Trying to keep from posting so many pix at once. I spent the morning driving around the lower 9th, the lakefront, and past Roddy's home on Dreux, which I almost didn't recognize. Roddy loved plants and gardens and had a beautiful patio out back. It has all been ripped out (or flooded out and never replaced) and now is barren with a few concrete blocks. There are so many homes and businesses that have not yet been rehabbed, and probably never will be now. The paucity of grocery stores always gets me. I can't imagine having to drive the distance the residents do to 'make groceries' on a regular basis. Since I'm riding the 2:30 and meeting Ms. Save the DQ herself, JoAnn Schoen, on the wharf before joining them on the dinner cruise, I decided to skip the 11:30 and took these shots from the Moonwalk. The NATCHEZ is deep in Algiers Bend, down near Mandeville St. Further down the wharves are the two gray MARAD supply ships CAPE KNOX and CAPE KENNEDY. Upbound are two empty bulk carriers, undoubtedly heading to the grain elevators above town. Note the slick water in the Bend, the depth is 180 ft. or more in that spot, the deepest in the river.

Judy,

Thanks for posting these photos. NATCHEZ looks just fine, thank you. I am sure the late Capt Bates is still smiling.

Wesley

Monday evening

JoAnn Schoen and her sister Joy arrived in town to take the AQ's shakedown cruise Tuesday. They rode the dinner cruise in the NATCHEZ pilothouse with Capt. Troy Delaney the pilot and Capt. Don Houghton the master. Although the sun set early in the cruise, it was a delightful evening weatherwise.
1-2) The afternoon sunlight on the AQ as seen from the NATCHEZ roof as we turned at Julia St.
3)Where the AQ will be docking for her NOLA departures. If you look carefully, you can see the stage at the end of the building.

Monday evening on the NATCHEZ

1) JoAnn and her sister Joy on the lazybench
2) We talked about the J.D. AYERS on another thread. Here is its roofbell on the NATCHEZ roof.

As the Natchez crew will attest to. The CAPE KENNEDY has been my part time home for the last few years.

Tuesday/Wednesday in NOLA

Golf out at Audubon Park, Popeyes chicken and red beans poolside at LeR, and the afternoon and dinner cruise on the NATCHEZ... a rough day. I posted AQ pix on another thread. I opted for the tranquility of the NATCHEZ evening cruise rather than the hubbub over on Poydras with the AQ, but it was good to hear "AMERICAN QUEEN" on the radio in the pilothouse. Thanks to Richard Reiff, we have some pix of her departure last night in another thread. Today the Martinezes are riding the NATCHEZ and I'll take them to Deanies Seafood out in Bucktown, then a little city tour before a nap and return to the NATCHEZ for the evening cruise. Suzanne and Richard are here to catch the AQ on her first official trip Friday. When they walked into their hotel room at the Hilton Riverside, what was outside their window but a big red paddlewheel!

Live from my living room

Just returned from NOLA after heading out to the airport at 3:45 am... Wednesday was a full day with the Martinezes on the NATCHEZ and around town. We saw Fats Domino sitting out on his porch - a small tour bus had just stopped in front and he came out to wave. We circled the block and there he was, sitting on the swing. (His house is easy to find in the lower 9th, its the one with the big F D on the front). My stay was a bit different this time, no Ruby Reds visit with Doc, no traveling on the Westbank. But there was a lot of visiting with steamboat visitors - both groups were in town to ride the AQ, but enjoyed their rides on the NATCHEZ. Overnight steamboat fans can also appreciate the excursion steamboat! Do try it next time you're in NOLA. So as the sun set on my April visit...