WWII Museum

The National  WWII Museum was built in New Orleans because it was the Home of the Higgins Boats. Higgins Boatworks built landing craft for personnel & vehicles and supplied 80% of the boats to the US during WWII. From the movie “Beyond All Boundaries” narrated by Tom Hanks which gives you an overview through the Pacific Front, this museum covers all aspects of the war in an engaging  and tasteful way. There are interviews with USA, German & Japanese survivors, artifacts and remmants of the War. There is are 2  restaurants; The American Sector which serves soups, salads, sandwiches, etc and The Stage Door Canteen which does a Brunch & Show and a Dinner & Show.

The museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm.  We spent almost 12 hours there & still have not seen everything. And the Museum’s $300 million expansion plan has already begun.

ALLIGATORS

Louisiana Fish & Game noticed in the 1960′s that there was a declining alligator population so after many tests and studies, they allowed farming and ranching of alligators. Ranchers harvest wild eggs & farms keep breeding stock on the farm. 

The Insta-Gator Ranch & Hatchery taught us more about alligators than we thought possible. Did you know that temperature of the nest determines the sex of an alligator? Above 92 degrees – all boys & below 86 – all girls.  Did you know what will happen if you turn an alligator egg upside down? The baby alligator will suffocate. The ranch we visited seeks out & takes eggs from wild alligator nests. They do this very carefully, marking the top side & then keeping a contolled nest temperature of 89 degrees so all the babies will be a mix of male & female. Sex is determined by examining the cloaca. Did you know that all over the world, alligators are born sometime in August?  

Ranchers & farmers must return 12% of their hatch to the wild. The other 88% become belts, wallets, handbags & dinners. The ones returned must be at least 4 feet long, ensuring their survival.

Another interesting fact about alligators is that alligator moms are perfect nest builders. In order to keep their nest perfect, they may often smash the eggs. They don’t become good moms until they hear the first ‘chirp’  from the nest.

Fish & Game doesn’t have to worry about alligator populations anymore. There are 6 milliion people in Louisiana & 3 million alligators.

LA State Capitol Bldg

The new State Capitol Building  was completed in 14 months in 1932; s project of  Governor Huey P. Long. It is the tallest capitol building rising 450 feet with 34 floors. Inside, there is marble from Italy, limestone from Tennessee, Australian laurel wood &  US walnut. Completed in March 1932, it cost $5 million dollars.  48 steps lead up to the entrance with each state & their date of admittance listed in order. Alaska & Hawaii were added to the top step after they were admitted. It is a beautiful building with lovely gardens and lawn in front with many statues depicting scenes from Louisiana’s history.

“MR CHARLIE”

‘Mr Charlie’ is an old oil rig that served in the Gulf of Mexico in the late 1940′s.  Located in Morgan City, Louisiana, it is now serving as a museum and school for offshore oil rig trainees. Our very experienced guide told us about what went on during drilling while showing us the ‘hands on’ equipment and machinery used by the students. To ensure the students can deal with being on an oil rig, once they climb onto the deck of the classroom, they cannot touch grass or use their vehicles until their schooling is complete. That means they sleep, eat & go to school on Mr Charlie – one foot on grass during school is immediate dismissal. There are other rules to follow: no fighting, no smoking, no spitting over the platform into the ocean, no stealing are all considered offenses that will get you fired.  The newer rigs have HI-DEF digital TV screens, game rooms with pool tables & other games. Four meals are prepared everyday: 6am, noon, 6pm & midnight.  In between meals, snacks are available. Fortunately there is also a state of the art exercise/workout room on the premises. Shifts are noon to midnight and midnight to noon which assures everyone gets the same amount of daylight & dark.  Once you are certified, you take a boat or helicopter to the rig of the company that hired you. Schedules are usually 2 weeks on  and 2 off. The Catering Staff takes care of  making your bed, housekeeping chores & doing your laundry as well as feeding you. There is an opportunity for overtime & in case of a potential storm, all lines are closed to the ocean floor to prevent leaks & personnel are taken to shore until the storm has passed.

New Orleans Saints

Louisisanan’s love their Saints! Most outside musicians in the French Quarter start off playing ‘When the Saint’s Come Marching In’ followed by a chorus of “Who Dat? Who Dat? Who Dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints” followed by a verse that goes ‘When the Saints win Super Bowl.’  And after seeing the crowds around the SuperDome in New Orleans and watching the game on TV Monday night, we understand why.

Abbeville’s Giant Omelette Celebration

Always held the 1st weekend in November, the omelet is fixed on Sunday in Magdalen Square. The fire is prepared & started at 8:30 in the morning and attended until it is time to start the cooking.  The procession of chefs is held at 1pm, they are introduced along with the country they represent. On hand were chefs from Belgium, Quebec & Abbeville. In their toques & ribbons with copper skillets around their necks, they parade around the square. The very large skillet is placed over the fire, the chefs in training are allowed to break the eggs (5026 of them), stir in the milk. Meanwhile, 1 & a half gallons of cooking oil are used to grease the skillet & then 52 lbs of butter are added. 75 bell peppers are added as well as 50 lbs of onion followed by crawfish tails. The Tabasco Girls dance around the skillet adding yes Tabasco sauce. The paddlers & rakers then begin to stir the cooking eggs. When all is cooked, every chef fills a tray with bowls of egg , bread & fork to pass around to the waiting people. The eggs were delicious! The 1st year, the omelet was 5000 eggs & they have added an egg each year.

Suiere’s Grocery

It is amazing that some of the best eating places are in grocery stores & gas stations.  There are usually signs outside advertising boiled crawfish, crabs or shrimp. We had been told that Suiere’s (rhymes with beers) Grocery was an excellent place to stop for a meal. We stopped. Gaylon had Tutle Sauce Picante & Sharon had the Shrimp Stew with Eggs. Both were serve over white rice. The roux was  like a dark brown gravy on both and spiced so thoroughly that both of us agreed that we had no idea what we ate tasted like. Sharon at least knew what shrimp tasted like but it was mostly hot chewy bits in brown gravy while Gaylon said he still doesn’t know what turtle tastes like – it could have been any meat.

Jeanerette & ‘Le Beau Petit Musee’

The docent, Sylvia P, was a charming octogenarian delighted to show off their museum of the Bayou Teche. She kept assuring us that she could speed up if we  had to be someplace else.  She went through the rooms showing off the parish treasures. When we got to the swamp room, we saw a stuffed nutria which resembles a beaver except for a rat like tail, several deer heads, stufed bobcat, fox etc. When Gaylon asked her about whether they had many black bears around, she promptly replied that her figs were doing fine but the blackberries were usually gone by this time of year.  We saw examples of cypress planks which she told us were not bothered by termites because the termites teeth weren’t sharp enough to damage the cypress. We also saw a movie about Sugar Cane and of course could not miss the 2 seater outhouse.

St. Martinville and Evangeline

Drove to St Martinville, a sleepy little town on the Bayou Teche.  Longfellow wrote a poem about Evangeline. The Evangeline Oak is there & is the most photographed Tree in the Whole World. (Believe it or not!) There is also a statue of a seated Evangeline which was donated by & looks like Dolores Del Rio.  The story of Evangeline centers on the deportation of Acadians from Acadie (now known as Nova Scotia by the British in 1755. Evangeline & her fiance are separated and search for each other for many years until at last Evangeline becomes a nun in Philadelphia. Traveling to New
Orleans to help with Yellow Fever  Epidemic she is reunited with her fiance who dies in her arms.  The true story is of Emmaline La Biche & Jean Arconeaux, also affianced and separated during the 1755. She is heartbroken & dies after finally being reunited with Jean  to find he has married another.  The true  Emmaline is buried near the church of St Martin de Tours in St Martinville.

VICKSBURG MILITARY NATIONAL PARK

We took 2 days to go thru the Vicksburg Military National Park & Museum. There are great stone memorials dedicated to the different State’s Troop who fought there. There are blue markers telling about Grant & his various generals leading the Union Army & red markers explaining about Pemberton & his generals directing the Confederate Troops. The audio tour explains the battles & seige very well. There is a museum for the USS Cairo, a Civil War ironclad that was the only ship sunk by the Confederate gun batteries on the Vicksburg bluffs.