New Orleans journal: Part 1

Highlights from six days and seven nights in the Large Uncomplicated

Three Weismans are wrapping up a week’s vacation in New Orleans, and I want to share some of the moments that stood out to me. Here we begin …

Riding with René

The event of Day 1 was our Honey Island Swamp tour near Slidell, but the first unexpected pleasure of the trip came on the 45-minute bus ride there. Our driver, Rene, pointed out historical landmarks, but they were landmarks of the post-Katrina, post-Ida world.

Rene supplied a cultural, topographical history of the area between the city and the swamps. That’s not to say he wrapped all his comments in hurricane drama. The perfect example of Rene’s tourguiding came as we passed the parking lot of a defunct Lowe’s Home Improvement store. He scoffed at the notion of Lowe’s trying to make inroads in New Orleans.

“This is Home Depot country,” he said.

Shivering swamp tour

The first day of our vacation was forecast to be the coolest, with highs in the 60s. So we were taking a calculated gamble with our multi-hour Cajun Encounters outdoor boat ride. At the same time, the cool air and cloudy skies made a lovely setting for our water gambol.

We were rewarded by Spanish moss (which Captain Steve reminded us was neither Spanish nor moss) hanging gently from the trees and multiple alligator sidings in the waters right in front of us. It wasn’t my first time seeing either, but it still felt uniquely pleasing.

Me. Before.

I was sitting in the front of the boat, and not dressed for any temperature below 60. And I wasn’t thinking about how, in order for us to get from one swamp to the next, that we would have to cross through open water. And that Captain Steve would floor it.

I was so cold. I wanted to get my camera out to film our view traversing the lake, but I couldn’t move my arms because I was holding them so close to my body.

We toured the next swamp, and it was lovely again, plus I had the opportunity to thaw myself a tiny bit. But I had to brace myself as we went back toward the open water for our return trip.

And then the thunderstorm hit.

I have been in temperatures as cold as -11 degrees. I have skied in serious wind chill. I have showered at summer camp. But it has been a long, long time since I was as frozen as I was for those incomprehensibly long, I don’t know, maybe three minutes? I could not move.

Great tour. And when we got on the bus back to the city, the sun burst out. But I don’t think I got past the chills for hours.