Syzygy and Jazz

Photo courtesy of NASA (https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/)

From Maricopa, Arizona, we needed to reach Boerne, Texas (a little northwest of San Antonio, Texas) before the date of the full solar eclipse, April 8, 2024. We were meeting Alison's best friend from college, Sarah (who has visited us in the rig several times), and her parents at their house, along with Sarah's sister-in-law.

We made it, but alas, clear skies did not. We had an enjoyable visit, and saw a little bit (but barely needed our eclipse glasses). Anyone up for Iceland 2026?

A glimpse of the solar eclipse corona during totality at 1:35pm CDT, Boerne, TX. Fantastic that the size and distance of the moon work together to perfectly block the sun. (This and all following photos by author unless otherwise credited)

It was eerie how you could see nothing but the sun itself through the solar eclipse glasses. Most of the time, it was so cloudy that we couldn't even use the glasses. (Photo courtesy of Sarah)

The solar eclipse "twilight" triggered the lawn lights right before totality. We had thought the effect would be more gradual, but it was dramatically sudden. There was also a noticeable drop in temperature.

While in Boerne, Texas, we also attended an old-fashioned tractor pull, where antique tractors pulled a weighted sledge.

Lining up to compete in the tractor pull, Boerne, TX.

Antique tractor competing in the tractor pull, Boerne, TX.

From Boerne, we made a quick detour south to Corpus Christi, Texas, to see the gorgeous remodel of Alison's mother's house, completed by Tina and Patrick Green of Green Acres Real Estate. It was a stunning update! (But no house is beautiful enough to pull us off the road!)

We continued on to Houston, Texas, where the two of us had first met while in college at Rice University. We attended a free performance of "Hello, Hamlet!", a musical parody of the Shakespeare play, originally written by then-student George Greanias in 1967 and updated and produced almost every four years since. The performance had special meaning for us because we had met while working on lights for the 1983 production. While songs, context, and staging has changed over the years, the show-stopping number "Hello, Hamlet!" (to the tune of "Hello, Dolly!" (Jerry Herman, 1964)) will never disappear!

Cast of "Hello, Hamlet!", Rice University, Houston, TX, 4/13/2024.

Then it was on to "The Big Easy", New Orleans, Louisiana. We splurged and stayed at an RV resort only a few blocks from the French Quarter, and we walked into the Quarter almost every day or evening. Alison checked most of the food specialties off her list: gumbo, jambalaya, fried catfish, po boy (the Fried Peace Maker at Acme Oyster House, combining fried oysters and shrimp), beignets (Cafe Du Mond and elsewhere), and pralines. (Etouffee and bread pudding will have to wait until next time.)

The entrance to Louis Armstrong Park in the Tremé neighborhood, across from the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA. The Park includes Congo Square, a historical gathering place for enslaved Africans on Sundays under French/Spanish colonial rule. It served as a market and a place for music, dancing, and spiritual practices. Gatherings in the Square diminished under the harsher conditions of enslavement under American rule, but creole brass bands and jazz music gathered crowds after the Civil War.

A nighttime tour group in the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA.

This photo of a French Quarter house displays both the "front" gate, which leads to the family courtyard, and the "back" steps, leading to the elevated interior, raised above flood level.

And we loved the live music everywhere, from cafes to parades!

The Market Cafe, our first night in New Orleans, LA.

Cafe Beignet on another night in the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA.

There was a neighborhood parade somewhere in the city every day.

New Orleans was settled by French colonists in 1718, then transferred to Spain in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. Napoleon Bonaparte regained it in 1800, then sold it to the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The unique culture of New Orleans, built by the mix of its originating French, Spanish, and African people, was seen as superior by its citizens when "uncultured" Protestant Anglo-Americans moved to New Orleans in the 1800s. The arriving Americans settled mostly outside the French Quarter, and the dividing Canal Street became known as "neutral ground".

Looking out at the Mississippi River from the French Quarter, New Orleans, LA. Antebellum New Orleans was a busy port city handling primarily sugar cane, cotton, and the African slave trade.

Looking back at Jackson Square, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA. The square commemorates General Andrew Jackson, who led the Americans to victory over the British in 1815, with the help of the citizens of New Orleans and Jean Lafitte and his privateers (pirates).

You hear Bourbon Street beginning a couple of blocks away, then you see it. (French Quarter, New Orleans, LA)

Bourbon Street bars offer live music, entertainment, and drinks with names such as Hand Grenade and Hurricane! (French Quarter, New Orleans, LA)

The division among Old World Catholic and New World Protestant extended to the cemeteries. With marble chambers built above ground because of the height of the water table, some 30 historic cemeteries display the character and fortunes of the city. The oldest cemetery still existing, the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, primarily holds Catholic crypts, but also small areas of Protestants and enslaved "Negroes" (as opposed to free people of color). The degree of elaborateness speaks to the wealth of the family; the upkeep indicates that either a still-present family or the diocese undertakes responsibility for whitewashing and repairing; the lack of a name and a small span of years indicates an infant who died from yellow fever or one of the many other epidemics that periodically raged through New Orleans.

View into St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA, from the tour bus.

Unaffiliated persons were buried in a wall crypt.

This tomb was for those who had fought against the British in the January 1815 Battle of New Orleans.

This elaborate circular tomb towering over the maze of crypts was built by the Italian Mutual Benevolent Society for its members. Whether in a family, society, or unaffiliated crypt, the body was left to decompose for a year and a day, then the bones pushed back with a 10-foot pole to slide into the bottom of the crypt.

The family crypt of the father of Marie Laveau's children, supposedly her last resting place. Marie Laveau was a widow, mother, hairdresser, community leader, and Voudou priestess. (The X's scratched on the tomb are from later practitioners of Voudou.)

Doug's mother grew up in New Orleans, LA. The St. Charles Street trolley that went by her family's apartment is still running.

Doug's mother remembers seeing papers thrown out of the window into a bonfire in the driveway of this house down the street from her family's apartment. It was the Japanese Consulate, and the date was December 7, 1941 - Pearl Harbor Day.

Mardi Gras beads are left hanging in the trees throughout New Orleans from past Mardi Gras parades. (St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA) Our bus tour guide told us about the many family-oriented parades held throughout the city for Mardi Gras (although many tourists focus on the rowdy Bourbon Street celebrations).

A beignet at Cafe Beignet, New Orleans, LA.

The famous Cafe Du Monde at the Levee, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA. Alison ate here in her youth while on a family vacation! A tip from our bus tour guide: If you arrive later in the evening, the lines will have disappeared.

We spent only a week in New Orleans, and could easily have spent longer, and could happily return! We found that starting with two-day tickets for a bus tour (City Sightseeing New Orleans Hop-On Hop-Off) gave us a good grounding in the area's history and geography and then helped us get around. We also took the walking tour of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (the only way to enter the cemetery) and visited the National World War II Museum. This museum is jam-packed with interesting, engaging, and inspiring exhibits - we recommend it highly! It was particularly interesting as a window into Alison's dad's participation in the Battle of the Bulge with the 82nd Airborne.

From New Orleans, we passed through Alabama on our way to Florida, where we would - finally! - be able to establish our new domicile. And, of course, visit The Mouse!

The very clear water and muddy bottom of the Styx River, Robertsdale, AL.