Video at normal speed on Youtube channel SUENORD1 (https://youtu.be/6sr21fBJSXc)
I parked about an hour out of town, to avoid the traffic chaos I expected in conjunction with Mardi-Gras. The busses are frequent, the drivers helpful and the busses are all equipped with bicycle racks in the front. These were identical to those in San Diego and Monterey. I am beginning to get the hang of them now. Each bus can accommodate two bicycles.
I thought I had all the things I needed for filming, but after boarding the bus, I realized that I had forgotten the most essential item- my camera!
Video at normal speed on Youtube channel SUENORD1 (https://youtu.be/14559QPrCAE)
The driver let me off, along with my ticket, and I caught a bus going back on the opposite side of the road. I retrieved my camera and started back towards the French Quarter again.
I had a tentative plan concerning where I was going to film, but between the ubiquitous one-way streets and the packs of excited tourists, I had to just zig-zag back and forth through the French Quarter wherever I could get through. I eventually arrived at the French Market. We docked my ship right across the street once, but were sent out to anchor off Texas because the shipowners were watching an approaching hurricane, and were afraid we might get stuck up the river if it got any closer ( I think that one hit the coast West of New Orleans.) There was a trolley station right between the ship and the French Market.
The Market is packed with people, so you have to bike on the land side. After a few blocks, where the pier building ends, a bike and pedestrian walkway along the waterfront begins. Again, during the Mardi-Gras, at least, you will have to walk part of the time. Bands were playing all the way to the ferry landing. You have to lock your bike and go inside the ferry building to buy tickets. As a senior, I only paid two dollars for a round-trip. They have discounts for busses also, but the 54 minute -long bus trip with bicycle only costs a dollar and a half anyway. On the ferry, people with carriages, bicycles, wheelchairs etc. are sent to the main deck. The boat seemed almost empty on the way over the river, but most of the passengers were probably up in the passenger lounge.
I biked from the ferry landing along a level, almost unpopulated bicycle path along the river levee. It goes at least a couple of miles further than I filmed, according to a jogger I asked. There was no sunshine, but it was a pretty ride. I suspect the houses on this side of the river reflect the pre-tourist atmosphere of New Orleans more faithfully than the chaos on the North bank. It is a lot quieter, at least.
Video at normal speed on Youtube channel SUENORD1 (https://youtu.be/liDpIqJCgns)
There were apparently tourists on the South side of the River also. The boat was packed on my return trip. I don’t know where they all came from!
Anyway, my next filming project is in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Presumably the long car-run will allow me to charge up my camera batteries properly!
