Archive for the ‘cemetery’ Tag
Our fourth day in NO took us to one of the most interesting places I’ve ever been. I’ve always been a big fan of graveyards but this one was the ultimate. It’s called St. Louis #1, the oldest cemetery in the city. Some residents have been there since the late 1700’s. The temperature was 95 degrees but once we got inside the cemetery it rose to just over 100 degrees.
Since all bodies are buried above ground in NO the cemetery is just concrete walkways and white tombs. The heat actually accelerates the decomposition which is important I suppose. The cemetery isn’t open to the public any longer but I’m sure the Catholic Church is getting their taste from all of the tour groups visiting every day.
To add to the solemnness of the visit we happened upon what has become a common occurrence these days. A Hollywood celebrity showing up to spend 60,000 dollars to build an eight foot tall white pyramid right in the middle of all this history. Who else would it be but that way-out-there celebrity . . Nicolas Cage. Only one word comes to mind and that is A-Hole.
I think I lost five pounds of water weight in the hour and a half we spent roaming around the place. Our tour guide was an encyclopedia of history of New Orleans and the people resting in that cemetery. It was a highlight of our trip.
The vacation continues with Pat O’Brien’s Bar scheduled for dinner and drinks tonight. We both need a dip in the hotel pool and a few cold ones to rehydrate before visiting there. I’ll cover O’Brien’s in the next post.
MAN WAS IT EVER HOT
I’m not entirely sure how to handle all this beautiful weather. I suppose this is what used to be called an “Indian Summer”. I don’t know why it’s so damn nice but I certainly intend to enjoy it.
The better-half and I decided to make a day of it after her early morning doctors appointment. She received loads of good news about her health which put us both in a great mood. As we were leaving the doctors office I had a brainstorm that was totally not something I would ever do. I spontaneously headed north from Portland to take her shopping in Freeport, Maine, known for it’s endless supply of outlet stores and L.L.Bean.
Freeport is a place I’ve always tried to avoid but I figured what the hell. I gave her control of our day and followed along like the good little boy that I am. We visited a thrift shop and a number of ridiculous tourist traps looking at all things Moose. Not only are the gifts a little lame the prices are ridiculous. I remember a time when visiting outlets meant cheaper than normal prices and it’s too bad that tradition has slowly faded away.
‘One of My Favorites’
We made the obligatory stop at L.L. Bean’s to look around a bit. It’s quite the place to visit but if you intend to shop there bring lots of credit cards. It’ll be a cold day in hell when I spend $90.00 for a pair of jeans or $350.00 for a plain brown leather bomber jacket. Insanity from the front door all the way through the huge building. I decided not to spend any money there and just cruised around the buildings and grounds snapping a few pictures.
As lunch time rolled around I was starving. We stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that specializes in seafood and chowder. The better-half settled for clam chowder while I dug into a plate of fish & chips. It was incredibly good and that lunch stop became the best part of our day. We left feeling good and ready for a quick walk through town and then a long and leisurely ride home.
The remainder of the day was kind of blah. The weather was sunny but the day was what could be called "in between". The trees have started to change color but aren’t quite there yet for those vivid colors everyone loves. While it’s sunny it’s also very chilly verging on uncomfortable. We’ll have to try this trip again in a few weeks when the foliage is worth photographing. Her are a few blah photos from that ride home.
Just another day here in paradise. Hanging around waiting for the leaves to change and the snow to fly.
I thought today I’d show you a few photographs I took during my travels yesterday. Even though it’s winter and freezing cold with snow piled just about everywhere, I needed to get away from the house for a few hours. I reverted to my old habits, took my camera, and began my search for some old cemeteries.
“A cold and wintery resting place.”
One of the things I like best about living in New England is the number of ancient cemeteries that are scattered throughout almost every community. It seems that every large family back in the 1600’s that owned property maintained a private cemetery for their family members. Almost all of them have survived but most are difficult to visit since they’re away from public roads and on private property.
“This shows how old the cemetery really is. These folks were buried here before those trees existed.”
I became quite the cemetery visitor when I lived in southern Massachusetts back in the 1980s. My ex-wife and I owned a small gift shop and as part of that business I painted landscapes of local cemeteries and sold them in the shop. For a time I could be found creeping around the older of the cemeteries with a supply of T-shirts to stretch over tombstones to do gravestone rubbings. A great many people thought the idea of owning a T-shirt with their family name on it was edgy and cool. They sold like hot cakes. On one occasion I was visited by the local police in a cemetery where they questioned me as to my activities. Fortunately I was able to explain things to them and avoided arrest. Within a week I had supplied one of those officers with his own personalized shirt and was never bothered again.
“The day was too bright and made the names difficult to capture.”
I just love cemeteries, the older the better. It’s a quiet and serene place to spend a hour relaxing and reading old epithets. Yesterday I found a few within a short drive from my home that were accessible and not covered in snow.
“I tweaked this photo with software but still couldn’t get the names readable.”
I can’t wait for the return of Spring and Summer weather so I can search out a few more of the isolated graveyards and add their photo’s to my collection.
everyuselessthing.com 