MRC01A The Original Plan - D

 

In the early summer of 2019 Ken + Virginia got the idea to try cruising in a smaller ship.  This was because they liked the idea of “checking-in” once and having the hotel move, but were somewhat unhappy with the fact that on their ocean cruise a bit too much time was wasted shuttling thousands of people on and off the ship.  GOOD PLAN – and lots of others apparently saw the attraction.  They found all the cruises were already full.  Eventually they ended up going on their fantastic Yellowstone, etc., trip in late September/early October 2019.  Then, sometime around Christmas or so of 2019 they booked the Mississippi river cruise for September of 2020.

MRC01B Distraction #1 - D

And then Covid hit!  No one went anywhere really.  The cruise was canceled and all the money Ken + Virginia had already paid was put into an account at the cruise line (along with a 25% bonus credit, presumably for not demanding a refund).  As the vaccines rolled out and things seemed to be getting better, Ken + Virginia re-booked the cruise for roughly the same time in 2021, with an 8 day (7 nights on the boat) New Orleans to Memphis itinerary.

And then weeellll, let’s just say the vaccine roll-out did not go as expected!!  Lots of people, especially in the southern states Ken + Virginia were to visit, declined to get vaccinated.  But since Ken + Virginia were fully vaccinated they decided to push ahead, while acknowledging the need to wear masks when not on the boat.  (The cruise line required proof of vaccination AND a negative PCR test prior to boarding, so masks were not required while on the boat.)
 

MRC01D Distraction #2 - D

 

And THEN, two weeks before the cruise Hurricane Ida DEVASTATED southern Louisiana and New Orleans.  A few days before they were to start the drive from Derby, KS to New Orleans Ken called the cruise line and they swore they were going to run the trip, with little to no impact from the hurricane.

MRC01E First Day Route - D

FINALLY, on Thursday, September 9, 2021 Ken + Virginia picked up their one-way rental car at a local Hertz location.  On Friday they began the drive to New Orleans.  They decided to avoid the crowded Dallas metroplex by mostly staying off the interstates.  They picked their way diagonally across Oklahoma from the north central region to southeastern area.  It was a nice but somewhat hazy day, and during their lunch stop in Atoka, OK, ash from the wildfires out west was falling all over the black rental car.  The overnight stop was at a Hilton Garden Inn in Shreveport, LA.

 

MRC01F Second Day Route - D

On Saturday Ken + Virginia proceeded on to New Orleans, via the interstates since there was REALLY nothing out there to slow them down!! (Well until getting near Baton Rouge.)  As they got closer to the city of New Orleans the scale of the devastation became increasingly evident.  But when they got into the city itself they relatively easily found a place to get gas for the rental car, checked into the hotel, and dumped the rental car at a location within easy walking distance of the hotel.

All of these shots were taken by Ken with his Cannon D-SLR unless otherwise noted.  A – V notation means Virginia took it with her brand new Panasonic Lumix Point-and-Shoot.   A – P notation means Ken took it with Virginia’s Panasonic Point-and-Shoot.  The – I notation means Ken took it with his iPhone.  The ones with the – S notation mean this is a scanned image of something that exists on paper.  The ones with the – D notations mean these are just illustrations Ken pulled from the internet to accompany what would otherwise be the long but important stories that add context to the bigger story.

By now hopefully you’ve got the background story and are ready to get on to Nawlins!!

MRC02A A Room with a View

 

The hotel booked by the cruise line was the Hilton Riverfront at the very end of Poydras St. at the river.  Its power had only been restored the very day Ken + Virginia checked in.  The only people in the hotel were the people going on the cruise, and power company personnel working to restore power to the surrounding area.  Perhaps because of the extremely low occupancy, Ken + Virginia’s room was quite nice and had quite a view of the big bend in the river at New Orleans.

MRC02B Algiers Riverfront

 

Basically the same shot as above but zoomed in to show the riverfront across the way in more detail.  Soon after checking-in Ken + Virginia went to the ballroom area to check-in with the cruise line, show their Covid vaccination cards, and take their PCR tests.