The GoodeLife

Yesterday was a very interesting day.....we did a little sightseeing and checked out a local rv park. We know we want to spend some time in the French Quarter and we have decided we are just to far away to try and do that if we stay here at the St Bernard park. We have furbabies and we just don’t like leaving them for long periods of time. Then there is the issue of the parking and the narrow French Quarter streets. The RV park is aptly called “The French Quarter” and it is within walking distance of the French Quarter. The visitor’s center is also nearby......so off we went.

On our way to the Rv Park, we found Brad Pitt’s neighborhood. Apparently, Brad Pitt is building homes to help build back the area after Katrina. They were interesting....modular units.....with solar panels.....very modern looking. Signs of Katrina are still everywhere.......there are still hundreds of homes awaiting demolition or re construction. Many of these homes still bare the symbols left behind from search and rescue teams. You will see a large ‘X’ the date will be on top, to either side are numbers and letters identifying the search group, and finally at the bottom.....a number......a number that tells how many dead lay inside.......The people of New Orleans have suffered so much and many are still suffering....there is so much left to do here......

We finally arrived at the RV park. This is a small park and it is not in the best area of town. The park is gated and we were met by a very nice young woman at the gate who escorted us inside. The park is clean and well maintained and expensive.....you are definitely paying for location here. We have Camp Club USA and so we received a 50 percent discount on our first night, the second night was a full price rate of $69.00. That rate does go up.......expect to pay in excess of $100 per night for holidays and special events. She told us they were already booked for Super Bowl Weekend. I imagine folks who can’t go to Miami want to be as close to the ‘party action’ as possible.....and the French Quarter seems to be the place to be for that.

After the Rv Park we headed over to the visitor’s center. Now, we are armed with maps of the area, coupons, and tour information. I asked about parking and she showed us what was available. We decided to check it out. It only took about 5 minutes into our journey to know we made the right decision to stay at the RV Park. We could not believe how narrow the French Quarter streets are and the parking lots are not much better. We headed on out to the Garden District.....my advice.....TAKE THE TROLLEY! I couldn’t really sight see as I had my nose in the map trying to guide us through the maze of one way streets and no left turns and no right turns. The city is full of them. There are unexpected road closures and bridges are out and detours and OH MY! Billy did really well, but by early afternoon we had both had enough and headed back to the fiver.

We will move to the RV park on Wednesday.......I can’t wait to walk the streets of the French Quarter......I’m so drawn to this city, it’s history, architecture, culture, people.....they fascinate me. The adventure awaits and poor Billy is along for the ride....it may be a wild one! Poor Billy, ya know this really isn’t his ‘cup-o-tea’. He prefers a quieter lifestyle, but he loves me and so he diligently tags along.....letting the occasional moan “slip out” or giving me that ‘pained expression’.....sorry honey!