Down the Mississippi

 

Down the Mississippi

December 2022-January 2023

            Sometimes trips evolve in quite unexpected ways. After a lovely trip to Maine in August I sent my usual writeup to family & friends. That led Santa Fe friend Diane to call Marjorie for a long chat that included news she and hubbie Jerry (with friends Bob & Donna) are going on a Viking Mississippi River cruise starting New Year’s Eve. We’ve done a bunch of Viking river cruises in Europe, but the Mississippi is a new itinerary for them. Enticing, but a look at the website showed the cruise sold out except one stateroom category, some price reductions would end the next day, and final payment due in 3 days! Spurred into action: a call to Viking to book with agent Donnie, then reviewing & reserving included & optional excursions, purchasing trip insurance. By moving so quickly we save about $2,000: trip discounts, getting our own insurance, using “E-check” to pay. So Marjorie’s not the only smart shopper! It seems odd to do a Viking trip domestically, but it’s nice to avoid passports, customs. money exchange, and language differences; well, some differences y’all.

          A potential hitch: drought in the Midwest, High Plains and South leads to very low water levels

in the Mississippi in October, including lowest ever in Memphis, where we start. A Baton Rouge resident hunting for artifacts finds submerged wreck of a 19^th C ship. New islands emerge and walkways to others. Our more selfish concern: we don’t want a river cruise to become a bus tour! There are signs that late-November storms in the Midwest & South causing flight delays & cancellations have also eased the Mississippi R drought. Agent Donnie assures us early in December that there is water to cruise. COVID has also been spiking. Viking requires vaccination, but so far not the daily testing on our Portugal cruise in April.

Of course, winter travel has other risks. A major “bomb cyclone” storm comes across the country into Christmas weekend. Buffalo hit with over 4’ of snow. Even the Deep South has subfreezing temps with burst pipes & power outages. Thankfully, we have quiet clear weather to drive to & from Queens for Christmas with the family. And forecasts look favorable for our travel schedule.

 Saturday, December 31: “Known Travelers”

Early & out 4am to the airport for a 6:04 flight. Busy at the airport but everything moves along, helped by our “Known Traveler Numbers” for TSA PreCheck. Massive cancellations over Christmas and the past week, mostly on Southwest, appear to be resolved, tho very full flights may reflect that. Many cowboy hats - competitors in a Professional Bull Riders “Unleash the Beast” event at MVP Arena the past 2 nights; seems like a Yellowstone episode. I chat with a friendly bull-rider from Oklahoma going to an event in Texas. Early into Charlotte for a 2½ hour layover. Near a lighted giant

reindeer and large mobile of “flying machines” from dirigibles to airplanes of various sorts. Sad news on a TV screen: deaths of Barbara Walters, Benedict XVI, and Ian Tyson (of a favorite Canadian folk group Ian & Sylvia). A young guy helps Marjorie with WiFi connection for her Kindle. We meet other Viking passengers, and on the plane a lineup of red Viking luggage tags in the overhead bins; guess we’re on the right flight. A bit rough but on time into Memphis TN at noon (now CST). Mostly cloudy 56º, about the same as Albany.

Viking staff waiting by baggage claim, direct us to buses. We pass Martin Luther King Highway, Danny Thomas Blvd, the huge St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital complex (founded by Danny Thomas), a big silver pyramid we later learn is now the largest Bass Pro Shop (535,000 sq feet!). Along a long levee, 1^st views of the river. We’re checked in, get room card/keys (also used to record going off & coming back to the ship – don’t get left behind!). Handed a glass of champagne, to the buffet lunch – don’t miss a meal!

Joined by Dan & Renee from S. Carolina for options from shrimp soup to prime rib & as always a variety of desserts. Into our room, sun comes out, views from our veranda of river traffic, long lines of barges pushed by tugboats. Up top for a quick view of pretty houses along the levee, nearby Hernando de Soto Bridge & city skyline. A fine start!

 

 

           Time to explore the ship. Our 5-deck Viking Mississippi holds 386 guests in 193 all-outside staterooms; larger than European river ships (our Portugal cruise in April held 106

passengers) but much smaller than ocean ships (930 for my “Midnight Sun” cruise in 2018). It’s touted as “the first truly modern cruise ship in the region;” tho Marjorie’s disappointed it’s not a paddle-wheeler. We’re in Stateroom 444 (should be easy to remember), a “Deluxe Veranda,” more than our usual bottom-deck Viking accommodations: floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door opening to full-size veranda, king-size bed, 42” TV. 

Public spaces are familiar to previous guests like us, but have been “reimagined” for Mississippi River voyages: 2-story Explorers’ Lounge on the bow with panoramic views, River Café has indoor/outdoor casual buffet dining with floor-to-ceiling windows to

view passing landscapes; Sun Terrace provides “unique glass-backed pool experience with ultimate views;” Aquavit Terrace has more outside seating & lighted pillars. A large Living Room for activities, presentations, & performances. Like the river cruises, the main Restaurant requires reservations for daily changing menus with regional cuisine and always available “classics.” Artwork around the ship, along corridors & stairwells, has many Nordic themes, seems incongruous for Southern sailing.

          

          A “free afternoon” to relax and/or explore. A view from the Terrace, quick hike to the top of the levee, a local couple is curious about the ship: who are we?, where are we going?; this happens several times. This is apparently not a usual docking place, the ship tied to big trees along the shore. Our 1^st “Viking Daily” newsletter with schedules, info about the ship & locations, “Today in History” (e.g., today in 1904 was the 1^st NYC Times Square New Year’s celebration), Nautical Terms (e.g., By and

Large, Windfall, Leeway). 1^st dinner in River Café with Diane & Jerry, Donna & Bob. Highlighted by seafood: shrimp, lobster, crab. A guitarist, a music professor Bob gets to know. Football on

large TVs; some very exciting college games today. New Year’s Eve party in the Living Room: Rockabilly music, hats & balloons. Up on the Terrace hoping to see fireworks; we can hear some in the city but can’t see them. Marjorie’s disappointed, recovers quickly.

 

Sunday, January 1: “Ducks and The King”  

          A pretty 1^st AM, leading to a warm sunny day. It’s New Year’s Day. Buffet breakfast: eggs, pancakes, bacon & sausages, pastries, etc., etc. The 1^st of our excursion routine: 3 chimes, “This is Your Hotel Manager Travis,” he calls bus #s ready to board. A hike up to the buses and we’re off for our 1^st included tour “Panoramic Memphis.” Memphis is the 2^nd-largest city in Tennessee, population over 630,000. One of the largest world markets for cotton & lumber, it had a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement. Largest employer now FedEx. The “Queen City of the South” is known for its music culture, an intersection of rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, rhythm & blues, & soul; Beale Street the “iconic heart.”

We’re docked on Mud Island, between Wolf River and the Mississippi. The opposite shore is Arkansas. Past FedEx offices to the FedEx Forum arena and our 1^st stop: the Rock ’n’ Soul Museum,

Smithsonian's 1^st permanent exhibition outside Washington & New York. A film follows the evolution of Memphis music from rural field hollers & porch music of 1930s sharecroppers to urban influences of Beale Street in the 1940s, radio, Sun Records and Sam Phillips in the 1950s, the heyday of Stax, Hi records and soul music in the 1960s and 1970s, the impact of the civil rights movement, and the music's influence today. The collection includes more than 30 instruments & 40 costumes in 7 galleries. Back on the bus, we pass the Lorraine Motel where MLK was assassinated (more on that later). Driving around on various tours we get tidbits of info about St. Jude’s. Almost 1/3 of the staff are former patients. Other hospitals have space for their patients. Residences for families provided by Domino’s, Target, & McDonald’s.

Next stop: Peabody Hotel for the Duck Walk. A beautiful fancy hotel, the duck walk tradition dates to 1940. The ducks live in the rooftop Royal Duck Palace, come down to visit the lobby fountain daily. They’ve been featured on The Tonight Show, Sesame Street, even the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. The lobby & 2^nd-floor mezzanine are full as the Duck Master introduces the history of this ritual. Children selected to roll out a red carpet from the elevator to the fountain. Excitement builds. The ducks emerge and . . . it’s over in 10 seconds. 

To unwind from the thrill I walk over to Beale Street. Everything closed today, but I can say I was here. A bus back to the ship, more city views along the way. It’s the Bible Belt, more than 1500 churches in

the area. More info on the Memphis Pyramid, 6^th-largest pyramid in the world, built 1991 as a 20,142-seat arena, now a Bass Pro Shops megastore that with shopping, hotel, restaurants, bowling alley, archery range, and outdoor observation deck. Quite a complex, sorry we didn’t get there.

Back at the ship, the NY Giants win to clinch their 1^st playoff spot in 6 years. Out for a lovely afternoon stroll on the levee, people walking dogs, pyramid in the distance. A week ago there were frigid temps & frozen pipes here.

          Early evening we’re off to included “Holiday in Graceland.” Diane looks down her nose at The King and doesn’t go, but we’re ready for some gaudy shlock in a memorabilia-filled home “immersed in his rock ’n’ roll world.” And after all, it’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places and a National Historic Landmark, both firsts for sites related to rock-and-roll. Graceland attracts more than 650,000 visitors annually, rivaling such sites as Hearst Castle & the White House. Viking has rented the complex after-hours exclusively for us. Guide is a just-retired English teacher (seems a common route to guiding) whose Dad is a drummer; she passes around a photo of him with Priscilla Presley when he was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame (sadly, Lisa Marie dies a week after our trip).

First to “Entertainer Career Museum” in what seems an “Elvis Mall.” Wow!: displays of his many gold records and colorful, sequined, over-the-top jumpsuits. Memorabilia includes baby toys, family photos, home movies. Also in the complex: trophy & racquetball buildings, meditation garden, family gravesites.

Across the street to the 23-room (8 bedrooms & bathrooms) mansion, lit & decorated inside & out with holiday lights & Christmas decorations as originally displayed by Elvis, including and family artifacts. We conclude with buffet dinner in the auto museum, surrounded by cars from a pink Cadillac to shiny red sports cars.

Elvis sings “All Shook Up” on the bus as we leave. “Happy New Year 2023” scrolling on the bridge. Back on the ship Marjorie finishes a good movie on our TV, Peace by Chocolate; I’ve enjoyed watching West Side Story. A perfect day, great combo of weather & sights.

 

Monday, January 2: “Powerful memories”

            A cloudy AM, 65 headed to 72. The ship is being refueled right below our stateroom. At breakfast a woman who ran a beauty school loves Marjorie’s hair, and she gets several other compliments during the trip; can’t wait to tell her hairdresser Twiggy.

Our 1^st optional tour this AM, “National Civil Rights Museum and Mason Temple,” with guide Nell. She says it’s nice to see regular barge traffic again after the drought, but the river is still low; she hopes for lots of snow up North to melt. Over Auction Street Bridge & Auction Street Park, where slaves used to be auctioned. 

Colorful St. Jude posters along the road. Past the 1^st fire station, now a museum. 

On to Smithsonian-affiliated National Civil Rights Museum, housed on the site of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated when he was here to support a sanitation workers strike in 1968. The main part of the motel remains, as does the rooming house across the street from which James Earl Ray fired, along with original furnishing of the rooms. Feels a bit creepy. For over 35 years a woman has maintained a site across the street protesting the cost of the Museum as money that could have been spent on helping the homeless; MLK would probably have agreed.

A ”Walk of Faith” leads to the entrance; just inside are powerful images in a large bronze sculpture, “Movement to Overcome.” Then a very comprehensive film on the history of the civil rights movement. 

Many well-constructed exhibit areas. Contributions of Blacks to society. School desegregation. Landmark decisions. Key actors, from MLK to Stokely Carmichael, and organizations from CORE to SNCC. “Bombs, Clubs, Dog”: Freedom Riders, Selma, Birmingham & Bull Conner. Videos & sounds. “I Am a Man”: Black Panthers, Black power, Black pride. Very powerful & affecting, these are all part of our own history. Over to the rooming house and very window from which Ray fired. Exhibits on the investigation & trial.

Some sprinkles after we get on the bus to leave; “just spittin’ enough to be aggravatin’” says one passenger. By the Mason Temple, home of the Church of God in Christ, 2^nd-largest Black denomination in the US, where King made his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. Pretty murals along the road. Past the “I Am a Man” Plaza honoring & naming sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968. Nell notes Piggly Wiggly started here. More views driving back to the ship. Memphis is an interesting city, we could easily spend more time here.

Back to the ship for Southern fried chicken. Thunder & lightning, heavy rain. Later beautiful lighting along the river: breaks of sun on the water, low mist. A talk in the Living Room on Mississippeans: Natchez Indians, Irish & other European settlers. In the “real world”: McCarthy still trying to nail down GOP votes for House Speaker. More lies by elected Congressman Santos uncovered. Dinner in the Restaurant with Carla & Richard from Pasadena. Yummy lamb shank. Memphis Blues in the Living Room by Keia Johnson & the Viking Trio. The ship sets sail, a skyline view as we pass under the bridge.

 Tuesday, January 3: “Educational cruising”

            A big storm & fog during the night, the ship docks 2 hours to wait it out. Still lightning and a tornado warning as we wake up. I’m up & about before everyone, lots of “Good Mornings” from staff. A chat with Heather from “corporate.” Like everyone, Viking has staffing issues, little time to train people who are hired; she notes Trump’s efforts to reduce immigration has reduced the pool for labor. I learn about Southern “King cakes” for Epiphany: colorful sugary pastries with a Baby Jesus inside. “Viking Daily” shows a Christmas Tree Decorating Party today and has a page on the history of Christmas ornaments. Really? It’ll be in the 70s, I’ve been singing Christmas music since early September with Mendelssohn Club, enough is enough! Alaska admitted as the 49^th state this date in 1959. This cruise has also been educational in other ways: I’ve figured out how to connect to WiFi with my phone for e-mail & Facebook.

           

Today we cruise the “serpentine” Lower Mississippi, the portion downstream from the confluence of the Ohio & Upper Mississippi Rivers at Cairo IL almost 1000 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. The most heavily-travelled part of the Mississippi, no locks or dams but the river is constrained by levees & dikes. To breakfast as we pass some marshland, a big barge passes by, pretty low mist. 

Sandbars show the water is still low. Breaks of sun, then mostly sunny by mid-AM and absolutely gorgeous by noon. Jolly Team Trivia in the Living Room hosted by Program Director Gavin; we don’t win. Lunch with our “group of 6”: shrimp & grits, po boy sandwiches, moon pie. Marjorie learns some mahjong with Diane & Donna. More real world news: A Buffalo Bills player is in critical condition after cardiac arrest and CPR in last night’s game; the game suspended (and later canceled). Chaos continues in the House selection of a Speaker. Tornados hit Alabama & Arkansas, severe winter storms in Minnesota & S Dakota.

            The afternoon is so nice a few men are using the narrow “Infinity Plunge Pool.” Pretty views along the shore. Piano music in the Living Room, followed by Q&A with the Captain & Chief Engineer. A video on the ship’s construction. The Mississippi is described as 2 rivers: the Upper has 26 locks from St. Louis to St. Paul. The level of the Lower varies as much as 40’ in a season. The ship is constructed to have a lot of control. But asked about flood control: “when she’s ready to roll you better be someplace else!” Marjorie asks a good question about tornado warnings; the response: passengers would be directed away from windows. Another lovely sunset and up to dinner: duck, crab cakes, Bourbon glazed chicken, jambalaya with guitar accompaniment in the Café.

Wednesday, January 4: “An artistic battlefield”

            Docked in Vicksburg MS (have to keep track of the states) during the night on the Yazoo, a tributary of the Mississippi. I’m awake very early to see a beautiful almost full moon from our veranda reflecting across the river. Still pretty warm (for January) back home: the Times Union says warmth around Albany is “melting hopes” for Ice Castles in Lake George. Thought for the day in comic “Pickles”: “I forgot my stupid pills. Oh, you don’t need pills for that!”

Vicksburg, population about 25,000, is on the highest bluff of the river (300’) across from Louisiana. Founded by Methodist minister Vick. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln called it “the key to the South,” and it was the site of the pivotal Battle of Vicksburg. After a 46-day siege of the city, the Confederates surrendered July 4, 1863, a day after the Union triumph in Gettysburg, giving the Union control of the Mississippi,

Off to included “Vicksburg National Military Park” tour. Our retired Air Force guide is very informative, lots of interesting details & stories. Another beautiful place for a war, considered the most “artistic” National Park. Beautiful sculptures thruout, state monuments, others for individual regiments, statues of key figures. 

Winding roads, hilly terrain, ravines. Driver Robert manages it skillfully. Our guide took his grandson’s 5^th-grade class on a tour. To show how hard the terrain is he had them run up from the bottom of one ravine: one student had an allergy reaction, another came up legs covered with fire ants! 

A stop at the USS Cairo, ironclad gunboat in the Union’s “brown-water navy.” More to it than expected. A Union cemetery, the largest Civil War cemetery: 17,000 dead, 13,000 unknown, 2 Confederates buried by mistake. 

Driving to the ship by the Courthouse and oldest house in the city. An info tidbit: Army Corps of Engineers is a main employer here, their engineers giving Vicksburg the highest per capita of PhDs. 

Parking area above the ship has a park with steamboat motif, old train station, and long lineup of murals, including Theodore Roosevelt bear hunting (hence the “teddy bear”) and gunboats during the siege of Vicksburg.

After lunch the optional “Vicksburg’s Historic Neighborhoods” tour. First stop: the Martha Vick House (1830). Daughter of the city’s founder, she raised 8 siblings after her parents died of yellow fever. We’re guided thru by the current owner, whose father restored the house extensively. Thru the neighborhood where much housing had to be replaced after a tornado in the 1950s. Many law offices around here near the courthouse. 

To Baer House (1870), now a B&B. Details on architectural styles, including some Jewish imagery from the original owner. Interesting stories on the house’s history, including different uses of the large ballroom. Marjorie gets a tour of the kitchen. Husband/wife have given more than 170 tours in a year; owners of these houses do a good job and clearly enjoy showing their homes. 

We continue on to Christ Episcopal Church, founded 1828 with nave & tower built 1839-43. Beautiful Tiffany windows. Daily services here even during the Civil War siege; damages from the siege still evident in some buildings in the city, even a cannonball lodged in one.

Past more lovely houses & courthouse back to the ship. Another pretty evening & sunset. Our group of 6 join for dinner in the Café: lobster tails, shrimp, veal osso buco, etc., & guitar. An enjoyable duo performs Civil War songs with bass, guitar/banjo, & even saw in the Living Room, from “Glory, glory hallelujah, teacher hit me with a ruler” to “Amazing Grace.”

 

Thursday, January 5: “Moon over Mississippi”

            Docked at Natchez MS, named for a tribe of sun-worshiping mound-builders whose culture lasted from 700 AD thru the 1730s. Wow!: full moon setting across the river. A cool 40º start. Natchez is a “perfect location in which to enjoy small-town America,” with more than 1,000 structures on the National Register of Historic Places. Real world news: Bills player making “remarkable recovery,” but not Kevin McCarthy as “Chaos in Congress” still stalls his quest for Speaker. A bomb cyclone on the West coast.

Off on included “The Best of Natchez” tour with guide Crissy & driver Alexis. Crissy begins by noting there are different points of view regarding “enslaved people” (which seems to be the preferred label). Natchez is the longest continuous settlement on the Mississippi from the Natchez to French (who largely “exterminated” the Natchez), British for a while, and Spanish who laid out the town grid in 1790. The town had the 2^nd-largest population of “free people of color” in the South, but also the 2^nd-largest slave market. 

A stop by the Auditorium and ”Proud to Take a Stand” monument to Civil Rights protestors wrongly jailed in 1965. Beautiful trees: “live” oaks (they stay green all year) with branches covered by “resurrection ferns” (brown until rain turns them green). A number of film studios here make Natchez the “Hollywood of the South.” 

Past the tongue-in-cheek “most photographed house” covered in “every Walmart decoration.” 

A parkway along Magnolia Bluff by the river with gazebo, old train station, panorama of the river & our ship below. Nearby “Bridge of Sighs,” so-called because it leads to casinos.

To St. Mary’s Basilica, built 1842-43 as Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows. Striking exterior, beautiful interior altar & stained-glass windows. 

Melted down bullets & cannonballs for a fountain in a pretty park in memory of Confederate dead. Then Magnolia Hall, mansion built 1858 and restored by the Natchez Garden Club; Marjorie’s garden club only does gardening! Beautiful rooms & furnishings. Interesting history of the house & restoration.

Past tombstone for the “beloved feral mascot” of Natchez: 3-legged “Tripod” aka “The City’s Kitty,” who took up residence in City Hall. 

We head down from Natchez “proper” to “improper”: “Under the Hill” where “the only thing cheaper than a woman’s body was a man’s life.” This area (where we’re docked) was very rowdy, whorehouse & saloons, including the oldest saloon on the river where Mark Twain rented an upstairs room and Jerry Lee Lewis got his start at 14. Back on the ship, lunch includes lamb and lobster mac & cheese.

No rest for us: another (optional) tour. Over the river to Vidalia LA, very different flat farming countryside. First stop Frogmore (named for an English estate), a 4400-acre cotton plantation continuously operated since early 1800s. Greeted by friendly owner Lynette in hoop skirt. To a small Baptist church. Lynette relates history of the area, info on cotton farming. Discussion of the slave trade and human trafficking today. Local ethnic history. She says we’ll go from historical to modern. Entertainment by 2 costumed singers encouraging us to sing along: “Amazing Grace,” Negro spirituals, “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” 

We go out to try our hand at picking cotton. What could gardener son Matt do with cotton seeds? Past some very simple cabins; there were 159 “enslaved people” here. 

Lynette explains how a cotton gin works, starting with rare original 1840 steam gin and how it was updated in various ways. Then over to the modern side and how it dramatically improves efficiency. Info tidbit: the name Crisco is derived from “crystallized cottonseed oil.”  Driving back, listening to “Great Balls of Fire,” through what seems a pretty sketchy area: lots of trailer parks, Granny’s Snack Shack, Moo’s Bar & Grill. Another tidbit: this region once had the 2^nd-most millionaires, derived from cotton farming.

Next stop: Longwood, aka “Nutt's Folly,” another of the unfinished millionaire’s mansions we’ve seen in our travels. The largest octagonal house in the US, a National Historic Landmark. Built by cotton planter Haller Nutt, but work halted 1861 by the Civil War, he died of pneumonia in 1864, leaving it unfinished. It was planned for 32 rooms on 6 floors. People lived in the “basement” (1^st floor), but upstairs left unfinished as it was in the 1860s, windows left open all year. Our 1^st views of Spanish moss on the grounds. Back on the bus, guide says the small metro area is “big enough for 2 Walmarts, but sadly no Costco.”

Back on board, full moon rising. A gathering for disembarkation instructions. Dinner reservations in the Restaurant with D&J and B&D.

 

Friday, January 6: “Capitols and swamp”

            Early AM docking at Baton Rouge LA next to Hollywood Casino paddle-wheeler. A lineup of cormorants on wooden piles nearby. Another beautiful clear morning, moon glistening on the river. Temp 45º headed to 70, another gorgeous day! A busy river, barge traffic gliding by, a lighted skyscraper on the shore. And hooray!, Viking staff can print boarding passes for us. 

          A lengthy walk to pass thru the casino and an area under construction. 

Greeted again by driver Alexis. We board for included “Panoramic Baton Rouge” tour. Baton Rouge (“red stick,” named by a French explorer after a bloodied red pole on the shore marking boundaries between 2 Native American tribes), occupies a strategic site on the 1^st natural bluff upriver from the Mississippi River Delta, allowing development safe from seasonal flooding. A levee system stretches south to protect the riverfront and low-lying farmland. It’s Louisiana's 2^nd-largest metro area, population about 900,000, and the 10^th-largest US port, able to handle ocean-going ships. Guide says Baton Rouge is a “savory gumbo of many cultures. Interestingly, the principal crop around here is sugar cane.

Past the Old State Capitol with neo-Gothic facade that looks like a medieval castle, called a “monstrosity” by Mark Twain. By the Post Office, Courthouse, and “new” Governor’s Mansion remodeled by Huey Long in 1962 to look like the White House; and it has a chicken coop with 16 chickens. 

The New State Capitol (built 1932) is the tallest state capitol, 450’ & 34 floors. There are 3 Native American mounds within the city.

A stop at Capitol Park, into Louisiana State Museum. An entrance. A wonderful colorful collection of exhibit areas! One area highlights Mardi Gras: elaborate costumes, info on courts, parades, balls, “krewe” organizations. Fulton’s steamboat “New Orleans;” its monopoly stifled commerce until more efficient & spacious vessels came in. Twain dubbed the luxurious steamboats “palaces.” Other exhibits on river travel, slavery & civil rights, regions, agriculture, nature, and individuals like Huey Long & Louis Armstrong. A 1927 flood covered nearly 1/3 of the state in up to 30’ of water, driving 673,000 people from their homes, staying in flood stage for 153 days! It spawned various measures to “accommodate” the river. 

 

The museum grounds contain more beautiful live oaks with resurrection ferns. The Capitol is fronted by a statue of Huey Long. He has a rather mixed legacy: fought for some programs for the poor, but also a “rascal” & demagogue. 

Driving around the city, past pretty lakes and Spanish Town residential area, pink flamingos out as symbols of Mardi Gras. Veterans Memorial Park, several large cemeteries, a number of churches. Can’t keep track of everything!

Back to the ship, then out for optional “Atchafalaya Basin Swamp by Boat.” It’s warm today, so hopefully gators will be out & about. Over the bridge, a view of our ship and skyline beyond. An hour drive on I-10 (which runs from California to Florida), over the 3^rd-longest bridge in the US (18.3 miles, only 2 exits). A long backup of traffic coming the other way. Pretty fields of sugar cane, but the season is over, and scrubby woodlands. A lot still exposed by low water levels. Past fish markets & dicey-looking casinos.

We arrive at Basin Landing Swamp Tours. Happy not to take an airboat tour – very noisy. Our boat is quieter & relaxing. 

Out onto a big lake, not the “swamp” we expected. The largest wetland & swamp in the US, an important habitat for migratory waterfowl. Past a couple of houseboats; few live on these now. 

Pretty cypress & other trees sticking up out of the water, birds overhead. Searching for gators, we find one reclined on a log with mouth open (for cooling we’re told). But that’s it, not the multiple sightings we had in Florida in January. Disappointing we didn’t see much of the birds & other wildlife that populate the area - our itinerary says “keep your eyes open for alligators, beavers, otters, owls, bald eagles, egrets, ospreys and turtles who frequent the area” - but a relaxing ride. Back to I-10, views of big ships as we cross over the bridge near our ship.

            A beautiful evening. After the Captain’s Farewell Cocktail Party we say our goodbyes to old friends Diane & Jerry and new friends Donna & Bob, since we’ll be leaving very early in the morning. 

I go down to the Living Room for a musical performance. The original singer took ill, replaced by Heather, singing from soul to opera. Wow! What a powerful voice she has! Then we pack up for tomorrow, leaving bags outside the door.

 

Saturday, January 7:

Docked in New Orleans. Clear, another bright moon; haven’t seen a cloud in 3 days! News update: McCarthy finally got enough votes for Speaker, but now beholden to far-right GOP nut cases just after the 2-year anniversary of the Capitol insurrection. Staff already prepping for our replacements. Been to New Orleans, so didn’t sign up for a post-cruise extension. After a continental breakfast we disembark for a 5:30 bus to the airport for our 8:05 flight. Easy drive, check-in, thru security. Everything on time, lots of empty seats, I can recline without guilt. 

Early into Washington-Dulles, still pretty holiday decorations. A long schlep – walk, train, walk – to our gate. We squeeze into a smaller regional jet. More river views on takeoff of the Potomac (?) and of the Hudson & Mohawk, Cohoes Falls coming into Albany on time. Home at 2:30, 42º. 

Next AM I’m one of the 3 Kings for Epiphany at St. Pius X, seems only appropriate after visiting The King in Memphis.

 

So, how was it? Interesting sights & tours; museums especially well done. Lots of photo ops: 856 photos taken, 575 make it home after deletions. Excellent weather; we dodged the droughts of October and freezing of Christmas. Time with old & new friends. Plentiful food & wine as always on Viking. Attentive & friendly staff & crew.

We missed the ambience of European river cruises. Not docked as accessible for on-your-own exploring on shore. Mississippi’s an impressive big river, but not the mountains, castles, windmills of Europe. Meals felt less intimate. Perhaps more like ocean cruises for our taste. A few too many people.

            Still, we went interesting & beautiful places we’d never go otherwise. My 1^st time in Mississippi; Oklahoma & Arkansas now the only states I’ve never at least passed thru. But Arkansas was along the other shore at the beginning, and I chatted with an Oklahoma bull-rider, so can I count those states?

            Some niggling aside, it was a fine trip!