Friday, February 09, 2007

Rollin’ on the River

We took a Jazz / Dinner cruise on the Steamboat, Natchez. It was cold, windy, and spitting rain that evening as we walked the nine blocks to the river. As we approached the boat we could hear music. It took us a while to realize that the music was coming from the steam calliope on top of the boat! And it was a real person up there playing it in the bitter wind; amazing! [In fact, you can see the little fireworks display from the calliope in the photo below of the boat.]

We weren’t alone on this adventure, because after all, this trip was not a vacation; about 30 people involved in the company Rick works for were there as well. We took up most of the main dining room with only a few stray couples that weren’t with our group. The boat was not full by any means. Poor New Orleans ... but, more about that in a different post.

We had a surprisingly good dinner, buffet-style, really one of the best buffets I’ve ever had. I say “surprisingly” because usually when you do something that is a little touch on the touristy side the food tends to be blah. Not so, this meal. A lovely salad, an excellent spinach/artichoke casserole, green beans almandine, pasta alfredo, roasted red potatoes and three entrees: praline chicken, catfish in a creole sauce, or prime rib. Dessert was bread pudding with a toffee sauce over the the top. We had an open bar, so the liquor flowed as fast as the river.

The weather continued to be windy and rainy, but cleared up at the very end of our cruise up and down the mighty Mississippi. She was running at near to flood stage, so the water beneath our paddle wheels was running fast and furious. It was dizzying to be steaming upstream with the river rushing by at literally the same speed in the opposite direction. We got to tour the engine room and see the steam engine in action. It was awesome watching the process of turning steam into motion.

Join me now in a photographic journey set to the music and lyrics of Proud Mary. It just seemed to fit. Please feel free to sing along:

But I never saw the good side of the city
Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey


Till I hitched a ride on a riverboat queen
Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey


Big wheel keep on turning

Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey


Proud Mary keep on burning
And we’re rolling, rolling
Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey


Rolling on the river
Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey


Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey


If you come down to the river
I bet you gonna find some people who live
Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey

You don’t have to worry if you got no money
People on the river are happy to give
Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey

Our walk back to our hotel was pleasant since the cold wind had stopped by then. We passed by Jackson Square and the St. Louis Cathedral. The sky was an eerie color; perfectly captured in this photo:
Lynne Robinson, Hewitt, New Jersey

We even stopped in at the Acme Oyster House [again!] for a late night treat of more oysters!

Thanks to my hubby Rick for the great shots of the paddle wheel, Cajun band and St. Louis Cathedral. You can find out more about the history of the Natchez by following the link above.

(words & music of Proud Mary by John Fogerty)

About

Welcome, I'm Lynne. You know me better as a 'new' Jersey Girl. But now I've moved once again, this time to North Carolina. Here I write about my thoughts, good food, and of course, dogs.

© 2006-2023 Lynne Robinson All photography and text on this blog is copyright. For use or reproduction please ask me first.

If you’re new to this site and wish to read the blog entries in chronological order, click here.

Membership

Login  |  Register
March 2024
S M T W T F S
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31            

Search

Recent Comments

  • C, no I did not know you played the organ, let along playing one in…

    Posted to: ‘I Could Have Been A ...’ by Lynne on 11/17/2023

  • Big sis, but so not fair that I got stuck with the organ! :( Please,…

    Posted to: ‘I Could Have Been A ...’ by Lynne on 11/17/2023

  • Interesting! I never wanted to take ballet lessons even though we had a book about…

    Posted to: ‘I Could Have Been A ...’ by Carolyn Clarke on 11/17/2023

  • Yup! Sadly, no ballet for us. My theory is that Mom probably thought since I…

    Posted to: ‘I Could Have Been A ...’ by Bigsis on 11/17/2023

  • I can absolutely see you wallowing in that chair, the color is so warm and…

    Posted to: ‘The Waller [sic] Around Chair’ by Sandy on 10/03/2023

Comment Leaders

  • Lynne - (1554)
  • Carolyn Clarke - (377)
  • Steve - (351)
  • Susan Weyler - (318)
  • Joyce Roberts - (261)
  • Reya Mellicker - (247)
  • Debra - (230)
  • lettuce - (206)
  • Susan in WA - (205)
  • Jan - (185)

Archives

Statistics

  • Page Views: 8751849
  • Page rendered in 0.2334 seconds
  • Total Entries: 2602
  • Total Comments: 6608
  • Most Recent Entry: 11/17/2023 11:01 am
  • Most Recent Comment on: 11/17/2023 04:04 pm
  • Most Recent Visitor on: 03/29/2024 06:14 am
  • Most visitors ever: 373 on 03/13/2020 06:45 am