The Wandering Disciple

Rising above Jackson Square in the heart of the French Quarter, St Louis Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in the United States.  There have been churches located here since 1718 but the current cathedral was finished in 1794.  Over the years, the St Louis Cathedral has grown to a parish of over 6,000 members.  (Photo: November 21, 2017)

The paddlewheeler Creole Queen sails down the mighty Mississippi River near New Orleans.  The ride down the river gives a glimpse into life along the river.  While the paddlewheel boat has given way to larger vessels, the river is still a main way to brings good and supplies into the region and beyond. But if you want to experience the river like the old days, you can board the paddlewheeler Creole Queen and take a trip into history on a cruise to the Chalmette Battlefield and back to downtown New Orleans. (Photo: November 20, 2017)

Flying high in the sky, its not a bird but a mustang.  The P-51 Mustang dominated the skies over World War II providing bomber escorts and downing Luftwaffe fighters.  Developed by North American Aviation and released in 1940, the P-51 Mustang was operated primarily by the United States Army Air Force and the Royal Air Force.  Today the P-51 continues to fly the air show circuit as well as maintained in museums around the globe like this one at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.  (Photo: November 22, 2017)

When most people think of New Orleans, the first thing they think of is Mardi Gras.  Colorful costumes, parades and beads help define the city with the heritage of the Mardi Gras carnival.  The roots of Mardi Gras are centered around the Catholic day of Shrove Tuesday.  The celebrations begin about two weeks before Shrove Tuesday and continue daily until then.  You can learn more about Mardi Gras in exhibits throughout the city including this one in the Louisiana State Museum at the Presbytere. (Photo: November 21, 2017)

New Orleans, Louisiana: Today is the final day of our New Orleans vacation.  It has been a whirlwind of a trip as we tried to experience as much of the city as we could in the time that we were in town.  But before we boarded our flight back to Florida this evening, we still had a day of exploration left. Despite the fact that we had planned to much stuff with not enough days to get it done, I was still determined to cross a couple more off the list. The day began with us boarding the St Charles Streetcar Line after breakfast for a trip to the Garden District.  One of the things that I have heard through the trip was that we needed to visit a New Orleans cemetery.  So we decided to head over to the Lafayette Cemetery in the Garden District and take a self guided walking tour.  Having seen tradition in-ground burial cemeteries my whole life, it was weird seeing them all buried above ground.  It was also creepy at some points because there were quite a fe...

New Orleans, Louisiana:  Happy Thanksgiving from the Crescent City.  It was kind of weird waking up on Thanksgiving and not be preparing a feast for family.  Instead we were over a thousand miles from home on our week long vacation to New Orleans.  Today was a lighter day of exploration because most of the attractions were closed due to the holiday.  Plus our plans had to be modified a bit since it was 44 degrees when we woke up. We had planned to exploring the French Quarter by foot but that plan was delayed a bit due to the cold weather.   Instead we decided to take a trip on the streetcar and view the city in warmth.  Yesterday we rode the historic St Charles Line so today we rode the Canal Street.  We rode the entire line from beginning to end and when it was over, it had warmed up a bit to begin exploring by foot. Before we began our exploration, we stopped at Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee.  Cafe Du Monde is know world...

New Orleans, Louisiana:  Our third day of the trip was a day that I was really looking forward to, a trip to the National World War II Museum.  This museum was a highlight of the trip for me.  The morning started with breakfast at the hotel followed by a mile and a half walk to the museum.  On the way there, we passed through Lee Circle.  This park made history a few weeks ago as the statue of General Lee was removed from the top of the monument by city officials.  We got to the museum a little too early, so we stopped by a corner cafe for coffee before the museum opened. The museum complex for the National World War II Museum was massive.  It was situated in five buildings spanning several city blocks and is still growing.  There is a theme to the museum which follows through the timeline of the war.  The first building houses the exhibits that showcased what lead up to the war.  It also had exhibits on the Manhattan Project and...