We started early at breakfast with a Michigan group. The things you learn. Did you know that your hand is in the shape of Michigan and if you want to show that you went around the state, you just show your outstretched palm and outline the thumb and all around the four fingers? Nothing to do with the river, but it was something new!
We went into Pointe Coupee Parish today and toured the LeJune House, a gorgeous old home, built in the late 1800s and the first house in New Roads, Louisiana. It was part of a tobacco plantation and had a giant live oak in back that is 300 years old and thirty feet in circumference. We toured the house by walking along the two-story porch and peering into windows manned by docents. What a great way to show off one’s private home without worrying that the public will walk off with the good silver. The two guys who own it have lived here for 15 years but only started showing the house last fall. It’s taken them that long to restore it so completely. The gardens were mostly vegetables… the artichokes are getting big!
From there, we watched a local woodcarver at the historical center, toured the Catholic Church, and resisted the urge to buy pecans. It was a charming day in the Deep South.
Back on the boat, we had lunch with a couple of traveling buddies, Nancy and Jim. It took us about five minutes to discover that Nancy had something in common with us. She’d been to Antarctica and after all these years still considers it to be the best destination of all her world travels. She’s been there four times! Not only that, but she really wanted to see our Antarctica pictures. Darn, I don’t have the ingredients for Chilly Penguin or Rookery Pie with me, but we made do. Since this was a day “at sea” we arranged to meet later. I sorted the pictures I have on my iPad and we put together a short show with lots of themes. It gave Nancy a chance to add in her memories with ours. Turns out she’d sailed on the same icebreaker my dad did. Lots of good times— but we lost track of the river.
Meanwhile, mystery picture below. Any guesses?
To get back to the South, we went to the first show and heard the rhythm and blues of the South. The musicians all played backup to the vocalist who sang like Whitney Houston…gorgeous.
After dinner, we visited the engine room again and had a long talk with the first engineer who has been on the job since 2000. He told us about all the things that can go wrong— paddles break, gaskets blow, and the pressure gets too high. Apparently two nights ago, perhaps what woke me up, a big of tree floating down the river was kicked into the paddles and made a horrible racket. It might have damaged one of the paddles or even bent a bracket. He said the noise was tremendous and yet we sail on. These guys can fix anything. A comforting thought as we go to sleep. Good night.