Oh The Places I’ll Go

It’s been three fun filled days of taking it easy in The Big Easy!  Yes, New Orleans, Louisiana is all that it’s said to be and much much more.  The city is rich in history, music and lots of good times.

My route to get here included riding over the 24 mile long bridge that spans Lake Pontchartrain which is 630 square miles. Wow what an awesome riding experience!  Here’s a clip to give you a sense of what it was like.  Yup…it went on forever.

For my stay in New Orleans I chose a small quaint boutique hotel in the French Quarter so I would be in the heart of the historic part of the city.  As it turned out, the Dauphine Orleans Hotel was built in 1821 and has quite a history.  From 1853 to 1917 it was run by May Baily and was known as one of the better named Bordellos that operated on the fringe of the infamous red-light district known as Storyville.

The hotel was only a block away from Bourbon Street which is known for its many bars and jazz clubs. What is interesting is that it was named by the French rue Bourbon after an aristocrat and was a premier residential area prior to the 1900’s before it became known for its many brothels, gaming and dance halls following an attempt to bring reform to the area.  It’s not for everyone but it needs to be experienced at least once…if for no other reason than to say you were there.  My first night in New Orleans I had dinner on the balcony of a great restaurant called Le Bayou that over looked the street while enjoying a traditional southern meal of jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice.  Yes…I even took my motorcycle boots off and traded them in for dancing shoes 🙂

Here’s a few of my favourite photos from Bourbon Street.

For me, a great way to become familiar with a city in a short period of time is to take a Hop-on Hop-Off tour, so that’s what I did while in New Orleans.  The city is rich with history going back to the early 1700’s when it was founded by the French and then later taken over by Spanish rule.  The architecture reflects the Spanish influence and is incredibly beautiful.  Similar to what is seen in Savannah Georgia, many of the buildings are ordained in beautiful black iron.

Here’s a short video from my Hop-on Hop-off tour along with a few shots from around the city.

Another interesting aspect about New Orleans is its cemeteries.  Given that the city is below sea level it was found that during heavy rains the remains would rise to the surface, resulting in the need to use above ground crypts as a means of eliminating the problem.  Here is a short clip from my tour of the Lafayette Cemetery…after all no tour is complete without a visit to the cemetery.

From here I’m off to Lake Charles, Louisiana.  On the way I’ll be visiting a historical plantation, checking out a few bayous and perhaps an alligator farm.  What an awesome experience this trip is turning out to be!

You may have been wondering what I’ve been up to for the past few days…well let me tell you.  It’s been pretty interesting being in the south and particularly in Savannah, Georgia!  If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I love curvy roads, old cemeteries and interesting architecture and this trip is satisfying all of these interests.

On the ride to Savannah I took Route 321 and came across a couple of treasures.  The first was on old abandoned service station with the most amazing architecture. Here’s a few photos of what I found:

The other treasure was an antique store that had a great collection of old service station signs.  I’m sure that some of you will recognized a few that haven’t been around for awhile.

Entering Savannah, Georgia was pretty spectacular with the expanse of the Talmadge Memorial Bridge.  The river separates South Carolina and Georgia.  My hotel was fairly close to the bridge which is located on the north side of Savannah’s Historic District.  At night you can see the cars crossing over to South Carolina which is located on the other side of the bridge.

http://youtu.be/QmJXR5_VVJQ
Touring the city was even more wonderful than I had imagined.  It is very different from Charleston, South Carolina which I visited two years ago on one of my motorcycle vacations.  Savannah was established in the late 1700’s and built around 24 squares of which 22 continue to exist today.  Unfortunately two of the city squares were lost to development of a highway and a parking garage.

The city’s history is rich and filled with stories of financial ruin due to an economic crisis in 1819, followed by a fire in the warehouse district along the river where cotton, lumber, and turpentine were stored for shipping.  You could have seen that one coming.  This was then followed by an outbreak of yellow fever in 1820, which was believed to have be the result of something airborne.  The lack of hygiene wasn’t considered, despite human waste being dumped into the streets, river, and nearby swamps.

Many of the historical homes are breathtakingly beautiful and have been restored with incredible attention to detail and past historical significance.  Photography is not allowed inside the houses but as you will see from some of the pictures, the exteriors are equally as amazing and very rich in detail and architectural design.

Many of the city streets in the Historic District are paved with brick and river stones making it interesting for scooters and motorcycles.  As a result the trolley bus was my primary mode of transportation while in the city 🙂

The cemetery was also of interest with many of the grave markers going back to the late 1700’s.  Tragically, many of the tombstones were vandalized by the Union soldiers from the north when Sherman brought 60,000 troops into Savannah which had only 20,000 residents at that time.  The headstones that were vandalized are displayed on the back wall of the cemetery.  Interestingly, the tour guide mentioned that over the years the deceased were buried one on top of another until there was as little as two feet of soil between the remains and the surface.  This eventually caused a problem resulting in many of the bodies being  exhumed and moved to new cemeteries.

In addition to the history and amazing architecture, Savannah is filled with a wonderful selection of street cafes, restaurants and pubs to suit all tastes and budgets.  One of the places I dined at was Corleone’s, a wonderful Italian restaurant close to the City Market and my hotel.  Christine, thank you for the wonderful service and it was nice running into you while we were walking around town.

Another interesting experience was to taste boiled peanuts which is a snack enjoyed by many of the locals.  In the early 1800’s when the Union Army was then occupying Savannah food supplies were dwindling and the soldiers resorted to boiling peanuts in salty water as an alternate food source.  I must say they were tasty.

I must say that visiting Savannah was a wonderful experience!  If  Savannah, Georgia is not yet on your bucket list, I’d highly recommend that you add it as it’s well worth the trip.

Next stop…Florida here I come!  And I’m thinking I just might need to trade in my motorcycle boots for sandals 🙂

I have to say that it’s been two days of sweet mountain riding!  The roads have been exceptional.  Yesterday (Monday May 18, 2015) was a rain free day despite having been chased by a number of ominous rain clouds through the mountains heading from Elkins, WV, to Summersville, WV on Route 219.

I have to say, Route 219 is one of the nicest highways out there.  It’s one beautiful curve after another and I’m loving it!  If you are planning a trip down this way you might want to build it into your route.  And remember, when the signs say 20 miles per hour…yup best to get into first gear because there are some very tight curves on this route and they just might sneak up on you.

Here’s a few shots from yesterday:

And here is a short video clip of yesterday’s ride….enjoy!

And here is a little clip from today’s ride (Tuesday, May 19, 2015) from Summersville to Charleston, WV.  The camera is in a new position and offers a very interesting view – hope you like it 🙂