Day 5 - Saturday, May 28

Posted by Mr. Bray

Finally a day to sleep in!  The cumulative effect of getting started so early, working a full day in the heat, and doing evening activities exhausted everyone.  Many of the kids didn't get up until after 10 today, and we didn't leave the guest house until around 11:30.  Today was a "see New Orleans" day.

We started out with a quick "stalker" moment, as we went up to Dart Street to see the site of Zeitoun's house.  The address is from the listing from his painting company, so we're not really sure which one is the house talked about in the book (and we didn't want to seem too strange by looking around), but we saw his neighborhood.  It's hard to imagine this city under 10-15 feet of water.  The pictures we see around the city, and the stories that people tell us (when we get a chance to slow down) paint a surreal picture.

One of the next two pictures is our guest house.  Can you guess which one it is?

 Which one is the guest house and which is the building that needs to be torn down?

After our journey to peek at Zeitoun's houses, we ventured across the Mississippi in search of Mardi Gras World, the location of Kern Studios, the company that makes and stores 80% of the floats and props used in the parades.  By utilizing our deft navigation skills and keen senses of direction, we only got lost 3 or 4 times on the way, but we made it!  The constant lack of street signs, coupled with a mystifying labyrinth of on & off ramps and one-way streets, makes driving around quite an adventure.  Fortunately, the students are willing to tolerate the van as long as they are well fed and the stereo constantly plays bad 80's music.  Keeping them exhausted also helps.

Once we got to Mardi Gras World, we discovered that they had moved the part that they show to the public back to the other side of the river!  We wandered around the warehouses and looked at a bunch of old float pieces for a little while, and stood on one of the levees looking back at New Orleans.

This had a bit of a Planet of the Apes feel to it (when Charlton Heston saw the head of the Statue of Liberty at the end of the movie)

The rodents are really impressive in New Orleans...

Kevin and Basil hanging out with a "retired" float piece

This sign, once grand and now lying forlorn and ignored against the side of a warehouse, made me think of Percy Shelley's Ozymandias

I met a traveler from an antique land
who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
half sunk,a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
tell that its sculptor well those passions read
which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
the hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
and on the pedestal these words appear --
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
look at my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing besides remains. Round the decay
of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
the lone and level sands stretch far away.

After our brief visit to the Land of Dead Mardi Gras Floats, we traveled back to the north side of the river and went to the new Mardi Gras World.  We had a lovely lunch next to the river, which flowed by with astonishing speed.  There isn't much room for any more water, but things have pleasantly settled in at "full, but not overflowing."  We've all decided we can live with that as a river height.

The view of the river and the bridges we crossed.  We're on the New Orleans side here, just next to the New Mardi Gras World.

This tug is moving upriver, and was pushing against a very fast current.

 This lovely covered swing area made for a wonderful lunch site.  We had our usual sandwiches, but also had leftover grilled chicken and corn from last night.  

Mardi Gras World was definitely worth the journey required to find it.  We saw a short film about the history of the Mardi Gras parades and floats, and then went on a tour of the work areas and active warehouse.  The pieces were stunning, with terrific colors and details.  The size and artistry of the floats and props is truly impressive.  We got lots of good ideas for making decorations for school dances!  Here are a few pictures, and I'll post more later.  It takes a very long time for the pictures to upload for the blog, and the connection wasn't particularly cooperative tonight.  But we have lots of neat float & prop pictures coming.

Me:  "So, you guys promise that this will never show up on the internet, right?"  

Them:  "Of course, Mr. Bray!  It's just for fun."

"I'm melting...."

That is Styrofoam covered in paper maiche. The props are either made of that or fiberglass.

They can also mix and match body parts.  Here, they have taken a wolfman head, modified it a bit, added a torso from an earlier float, and, voila, they have the Beast from Beauty and the Beast.

The front of one of their "signature floats" - the ones that get used, unchanged, each year.

We spent a little time in Jackson Square, but I'll save that for tomorrow, since we're going back.  We're going to visit the St. Louis Cathedral for mass (for those who wish to attend), and then go to the museum there, which has an exhibit on hurricanes and the Katrina aftermath. 

After stopping back at the guest house for a nap, we headed out to Magazine Street for a little evening stroll and to have dinner.  The day was nicely wrapped up with some ice cream (we learned in China that every day needs a little ice cream).  I'll get some pictures from that up tomorrow, as well.  I intend to say a few choice words to the computer to encourage it to cooperate better.

This boat rests outside the museum we're visiting tomorrow.  It was found after the Katrina flooding and used by a couple of men to rescue over 400 trapped people.  It will be interesting to see how the whole rescue effort is shown having just read about Zeitoun and the consequences for his rescue efforts.

Lastly, I just want to let you know what an incredible job the students are doing on this trip.  They have done a tremendous amount of work in trying conditions.  They constantly show good cheer and positive attitudes, and handle themselves with class and confidence.  I am proud to be their teacher and guide on this adventure and you can be proud to have them as your kids, students, and classmates.  The work they are doing really makes a difference.

We might not post tomorrow night, as we'll be running around a lot over the next two days. We'll probably combine both days into one blog on Monday.  Or, we might just be too tired, come home, and post tomorrow.  We'll see tomorrow night.  The next posts will come from students again.

Good night from New Orleans.