Once again, if you want to see the photos that were in the original, check out www.lesnpat.smugmug.com and find the chapter 17 album.
Chapter 17 - back on board at sea again, with a difference
After the disappointment of the Mexican Riviera cruise on Crown Princess, the Dickasons told their travel agent they did not want any more offers of deals on cruising, at least not on huge ships. But, when in New Orleans for the ASCD conference we had seen a stern-wheeler steamboat in the dock near the Conference Center, had noted the name of the ship and the company, and filed it for future reference. In the late ‘90s the computer and the internet made doing research easier, and with some surfing, a schedule was consulted and the Dickasons asked their travel agent to book a cruise on the Delta Queen Steamboat on a seven day round trip on the Mississippi leaving New Orleans on December 17th, 1999.
The flight to New Orleans and the transfer to a Latin Quarter hotel for the night before the cruise were uneventful, but surprises were in store when the Dickasons went aboard Delta Queen on the 17th. She was a completely wooden vessel - cruising the Mississippi under an exemption that allowed her to carry passengers despite legislation banning conveyance of people on wooden ships. She was old - built in 1927 - and already on the National Register of Historic Places - a true American treasure. Her capacity was 176 passengers but for our pre-Christmas sailing she carried around 150, and at just 285 feet long compared to the behemoth Crown Princess at over 800 feet she was tiny.
When the crew cast off, and she drifted out into the Mississippi to power upstream, a man, dressed in shorts despite the cool and windy evening, sat at a stool at the calliope on the aft deck and played sail-away music on this steam-powered musical instrument. The ‘professor,’ as he became known, sometimes joined the Riverside Five Jazz band in the evenings, and repeated the calliope playing as we left most ports on the cruise. The calliope was fitted with lights so that, at night, different colours lit the steam which emerged above the whistles. The crew jokingly informed us that various flavours of jello were fed into the boilers to create this effect.
It took little time to explore Delta Queen. There was a dining room on the lowest deck with a small stage for entertainment after dinner, two lounges forward, one of which doubled as a lecture room, midships was the Betty Blake library which was used by card players and jigsaw puzzlers, an open observation deck was forward with tables and chairs, and it was possible to walk around the decks with cabin doors which opened to the outside. The main
deck gave access to the landing stage or gangway which was sometimes lowered into place when we tied up, though there was a more normal gangway forward on a lower deck which was used frequently for passengers to go ashore to see the various sights.
The pilothouse was enclosed by glass, and sat high above the other decks, with bridge wings to allow captain and officers a view for landing or docking maneuvers. The interior of the steamboat featured glass, brass and highly polished mahogany which was all decorated with Christmas ornaments, bells and streamers, and each lounge had a Christmas tree as a highlight.
Our cabin, though small, was perfectly comfortable. It had two single beds with quilts as bedspreads, a very well designed bathroom, one chair, a chest of drawers, no wardrobe but hanging space on a wall beside the door to the open deck. The window had an intriguing set of sliding shutters which allowed for adjustment so that we could see out but passengers passing on the open deck could not see into the cabin.
Seating in the dining room was open each night with two over-lapping sittings, and many of the passengers seemed determined to meet all of the other travellers and dine with different table-mates each night. Menu selections were limited, but regional dishes [with creole and cajun flavours] were featured. We found the regular dishes plain after the fine cuisine of the early cruises on Princess, but by experimenting with offerings such as gumbo, catfish and southern chicken, we were never disappointed, and desserts of bread pudding, Mississippi mud pie and the signature apple pie meant we never left the Orleans Room feeling hungry.
Riverboat cruising on the Mississippi was very different compared to previous DIckason cruising experiences. For much of the time steaming up-river, there was nothing scenic. The view was of the levee on each side of the expanse of river with a low line of trees on the top of the bank, and because Delta Queen was relatively small with so few decks, it was not possible, even from the top deck, to see over the levee and trees to the countryside beyond the levee.
Occasionally, there was other river traffic; mainly long barges being pushed by tugs, and a scattering of pleasure craft.
Consequently, when our steamboat was under way, most passengers stayed inside where it was warm. Time passed playing cards, doing jigsaws, chatting to new friends, or eating cookies with coffee or tea. As we continued up-stream, the Dickasons wondered what we would see once over the levee and into the rural areas beyond.
The first stop on the itinerary was at Oak Alley plantation, and until we had disembarked and crossed the levee, we could not see anything of note. However, once across River Road, we saw the 400 yard alley of oak trees, reputed to be more than 270 years old, and the classic Greek-revival style antebellum home at the far end.
A greeter [see the photo on the next page], in period costume, met our group and we had a fascinating tour of the main house which was decorated for the Christmas season in a very colourful way. We heard the history of the plantation and of the renovation of the house in the 1920s, of the ghosts and their stories and of the movies which had been filmed there.
After walking back past the oaks with the ferns growing on the lower branches, we were soon all back on board, and warming inside the welcoming Delta Queen as we continued to our next stop, St. Francisville.
Ashore there, we were in a small town where along the Great River Road there were many historic structures originally built when St. Francisville was established in 1809. The Dickasons enjoyed a stroll past beautifully maintained ‘cottages’ as well as churches and more antebellum mansions. There had been a Christmas decoration contest the previous week, so there were wreaths, ribbons, and clever use of the Spanish moss which was very prolific on the oak trees in the streets of this charming town.
The Dickasons did not tour any of the homes or public buildings there in St. Francisville, but spent considerable time reading the historic monument descriptions of buildings such as Audubon Hall [1819], Barrow House [1809], and the Methodist and Episcopalean Churches from the mid 1800s with their interesting graveyards and gravestones.
Back on board, we were entertained after dinner by a shipboard version of a Mardi Gras parade. Staff and crew, dressed in a wide range of outlandish costumes [which included umbrellas], toured the dining room and threw beads while the Riverside Five played jazz for the “second line” as it passed by during dessert and coffee.
Natchez was our next stop, and again the Christmas decorations dominated the gardens and houses on our self-guided walking tour past mansions such as Rosalie [1820], and up Ellicot’s Hill where an American flag was raised in 1797.
Some of the wreaths on display in Natchez showcased cotton - the staple crop of the plantations in this area for so many years.
Once Delta Queen left the dock at Natchez, she was heading downstream and the vibration was much less obvious, as our steamboat was literally drifting with the river.
A final stop, a full day, was with our Queen docked in Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana.
As we neared our berth there were sights to see - the bridges, the industrial area, the large port, and skyscrapers including the Capitol Building. The Dickasons purchased tickets for a guided walking tour of the historic parts of this city, and discovered that our guide was a storyteller and Cajun singer/fiddler, who spent much of the tour regaling us with her songs. In particular we were entertained and educated by her version of the scandals which swirled around Huey Long who managed to become a lawyer without ever earning a diploma, later became Governor, a Senator, a candidate for President, and was assassinated in the Capitol Building.
We took the elevator to the top of this building in the afternoon, and the views from there were quite a contrast to the usual lack of them from on board our Queen on the river. However, there were no hills in sight, the horizon was flat, and we realized how easily Louisiana could flood without the network of levees and dikes.
Our last night on Delta Queen was a memorable one. A special guest had come on board in Baton Rouge. He was a Cajun speaker who told many tales of the early settlers of the area, and after dinner gave a rendition of “The Night Before Christmas” with his own Cajun spin on the famous story. Later, he invited us on the decks to witness the lighting of the levee bonfires, a Christmas tradition on the nights before the 25th. As we stood, and shivered despite our coats, we could see a growing number of bonfires lit as we passed. Some fires had a chorus of carolers close by and they sang to us, and we sang to them as midnight approached - and packing for disembarkation in New Orleans was postponed for a short while.
The Dickasons had reserved a room in the same Le Richelieu Hotel on Chartres Street where the night was spent before the cruise. We returned there after leaving our steamboat to spend a few days over Christmas in New Orleans. A cold snap arrived as we began our sightseeing, and each morning as we walked from our neighbourhood, saw sheets covering roses and rhododendrons in the small front gardens of the houses. The TV weather people were warning residents to take special care of their pets, make sure their water bowls were not frozen, and to bring pots of poinsettias indoors. For the temperature to drop below 32F was quite a challenge to these ‘southerners.’
But, with warm jacket and gloves, we enjoyed the sunny days as we checked off
items on our list of sights to see. Naturally we went to Cafe Du Monde for cafe au lait and beignets [which are very messy to eat with their powdered sugar floating on to all exposed flesh and clothing too], and for people watching. There was a saxophonist busker outside and a crowd of tourists soon gathered to have their photograph taken at this famous landmark.
A walk down Bourbon and Royal Streets followed, and we were amused at the small waist-high shelves which were attached to many of the posts which held up the overhanging balconies over the boardwalk below. These shelves were for temporarily parking the cocktails and beer from Happy Hour, which seemed to start early and lasted much longer than an hour. All buildings were decorated for the holiday season, and the residents of some streets seemed to have collaborated to produce a single colour scheme for a block or two. Even the Police Station had entered the spirit of the season.
Finding a place for dinner on Christmas Day was a challenge, but eventually, the Dickasons reserved a table for two at a larger hotel where the dining room was open and they were four consecutive sittings for a festive three course meal. After the usual toast to ‘absent friends and relatives’ we did a recap of the river cruise and decided that we would do some serious research into ‘small ship’ cruising when we were back in Nanaimo. This proved to be a very important discussion, and later chapters will reveal the result of it.
All big-name jazz clubs were closed on the 25th, but we discovered a special church service in the New Orleans Cathedral later that day and sat at the back of the impressive interior and were moved by the gospel choir singing spirituals and carols. It was a very colourful and lively musical finish to a very different Christmas Day.
On our final full day, the Dickasons went to Canal Street, and
spent a few minutes in Harrah’s Casino. While inside, a Mardi Gras parade passed through with scantily clad ladies tossing beads and party hats and favours to those who stopped gambling long enough at the slot machines to catch the tossed items. From there, we boarded the cable car and enjoyed the long ride along Canal Street, through different neighbourhoods until we reached a very large park which included a Botanical Garden, and a Museum of Art - the latter closed for the holidays unfortunately.
One jazz club was listed in the local paper as being open on the 26th, and we strolled east from our hotel into a seedier area of the city to find it [The Blue Nile?]. There was only a short line of people waiting to be admitted, so the Dickasons were soon inside, seated in a balcony, with a perfect view of the tiny stage. The crudely printed sheet on the table informed us that we would hear Ellis Marsalis and ‘friends’ that night, but gave no other details. By eavesdropping on conversations at tables nearby we discovered that Ellis was none other than the father of the famous trumpeter, Wynton [as well as the other three musician sons].
When Ellis came on stage, he made no introduction but sat at the piano and played his first choice, exquisitely. When he finished this first number, he spoke to the audience of his work on the music faculty at the University of New Orleans, and added that he had asked some of his students to come that night and play with him. For the next 90 minutes, we were in heaven as duets, trios and a final combo blew us away with musicianship, enthusiasm, and the students’ obvious high regard for Ellis, who played a supporting role and pushed them forward at every opportunity that night.
The Dickasons were still smiling when the plane touched down the next day in Vancouver, though the clouds and fog covering the Edgewood hill back in Nanaimo brought us back to reality after a fascinating southern vacation in December.
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