Busy Day

Art and Rita keep us on the go.  They have arranged for us to visit many of their special friends and in each case we have had opportunities to see NO as few others have.  This was a day filled with such experiences.

Our first stop was at Sun Oak, home of Dr. Gene Cizak.  Among his responsibilities is head of the Tulane Preservation Project.  He and his late partner Lloyd Sensat, an art teacher, were personally and professionally committed the culture of NO.  Their caring hearts and talented hands touched several of the historical places we visited.

Before we went into Sun Oak, Mr. Okra drove by clanging his bell.  His beautiful vegetables were very tempting.

Gene’s home is in the Creole, “of the place,” area.  It was originally three shotgun homes (long homes one room wide) but he has combined two of them into one home.  It was built in 1807 by a free woman of color.  Cypress, red pine and brick are the main materials.  It was remodeled in 1936 and 1977.  Gene and Lloyd expanded the house to include a sunlight-filled kitchen and eating area.

The flooding of Katrina stopped three blocks from the home so it was spared damage but needed to be protected from the looting that sadly occurred throughout the city.   It is filled with an eclectic assortment of furniture, antiques and art, much made locally and from the nineteenth and twentieth century.

The Father Seelos Memorial Garden honors the Priest who is in line for canonization.  Many of the trees in the garden were blown down by the hurricane.

This is a mahonia or Oregon grape.

These were surprise plantings from a friend who had pineapple guava bushes to spare.


Our lunch involved another Rita friend.  Gloria, a school counselor, and her husband own the Praline Connection, a small café that you have to know about to find.  We had truly “finger-licken” fried chicken, corn bread, and dirty rice.

From the looks on these faces, all knew that the meal was great.

We drove off the tourist route to these unique Steamboat Houses.

With all this fun, we have not ignored the consequences of Katrina.  The neighborhood known as the Musician’s Center was heavily damaged.  Fats Domino’s home is in this area.

Further on we drove through the Brad Pitt “Make It Right” project.  Pitt has collected millions of dollars to build one hundred homes with an equal amount in the works.  These homes, whose occupants are primarily of very low income, were designed by architecture students.  They are energy efficient and unique in design.

Isleanos Museum and Rita’s friend Bill Hiland were next on our tour.  This is a museum complex on the history of early settlers from the Spanish Canary Islands.  Their American history and contributions are little known beyond their own community.  Their major contribution, in addition to developing the area, was the introduction of the sugar industry which became the primary product of Louisiana.  They also settled in San Antonio, Cuba and Venezuela.

We began our tour in the main house which is a replica of the one destroyed by Katrina. Photos show the house before and after the hurricane. Items on display include a Canary Island flag and traditional costumes.

The Ducros Museum has a temporary exhibit on duck decoys.

Bill showed us a decorated cane on display.  Henry Rodriguez, Jr., parish president, used this cane to express his opinions of President George W. Bush and the government’s help after Katrina.  Needless to say, the words used will not be printed in a G-rated blog.

The Buckets of Blood Bar dates back to the 1920s.  Fats Domino and Louis Armstrong were among the musicians who performed here.

At the Estopinal House we saw bousillage, the mixture of mud, moss and animal hair used for building.

The Cresap-Caservta House, built in 1910 from lumber salvaged from a slave house and damaged in Katrina, will be left as it is to show what the hurricane did to homes.  Bill indicates the water level of the flood.

After the museum, we drove to the canal where the oyster boats unload their catch.  This one has been part of a family business since the Civil War.  Samples were available.

Near the oyster canal and at various other places in the city, New Orleans has a series of walls intended to keep out the flood waters.

The effect of Katrina are not hard to see as you drive through the area, it is obvious.  These trees were subject to the salt water that came ashore with a vengeance.

We then took a brief ferry ride on our way back to the campground where oysters were part of our light hors d’oeuvres.