North America Travel

A Clean Sweep

Victor, Colorado

by Dedra Montoya

“I think we’re kinda stuck in 1900,” says the owner of the Victor Trading Company, Sam Morrison. Walking into the Victorian building in the center of the little gold-mining town of Victor, Colorado, (where time seems to have stood still for over a century), you get the sense you’re wandering back in time.

The wood floor creaks under your step, and the musty scent of 100-plus years of history, spiked with an earthy smell of freshly harvested grasses, billows through your senses. A canopy of curiosities draws your eye to the ceiling where old brooms, wire baskets and a tin man dangle from pipes and wires. A taxidermy wild pig and a headless 1800s doll live on high-up shelves with ancient wooden crates. If you look closely you’ll spot the crate that bears the words re-concentrated embalming fluid. Barely a square inch of wall space is left uninhabited by something whimsical and old.

And then your gaze settles on the vast wall adorned with what Sam and his wife, Karen, claim is the “world’s largest broom collection.” On it perch brooms dating back as long as a couple of hundred years—each a work of art, each with a story to tell if brooms could talk. Below that wall Sam and Karen craft the handmade brooms that have made their livelihood for the past 27 years.

Rainbow colored piles of bound organic natural and dyed grasses are stacked against the wall. That’s the earthy aroma that meets you at the front door. The rhythmic whir of the foot-pedaled 1900 broom winder clicks and hums as Sam’s deft hands stitch together the layers of broom corn—a kind of sorghum—using a huge double-ended needle that he pushes through the broom. Medieval looking sewing cuffs made of well worn leather with metal disc inserts protect the palms of his hands from a wicked needle jab.

With names like Brunhilda, Grandpa’s Workshop, and Grandma’s Kitchen, the many styles of brooms are sturdy and hefty with handles made of hard beech wood. (“The cheap brooms are made of pine,” says Karen.) Each broom style has its own name, its own personality, its own job to do. There are miniature brooms for small jobs, long-handled brooms to catch spider webs, serious brooms for serious work, and the artistically curved little Ebenezer. He’s a turkey wing whisk broom.

You don’t usually think of a broom as a thing of beauty, but these brooms are more than that. They’re artful. Functional and long-lasting, their craftsmanship belies the notion that “they sure don’t make things the way they used to” because Sam and Karen’s brooms are made the old-fashioned way, with artistry, attention to detail, and by hand.

“People have no idea they need a broom until they come in here,” Karen giggles. She says that it’s usually the women who come in to shop, but when their reluctant guys slump in, the women can’t get them out once they get a load of all the antique tools and equipment!

The Morrisons even make a line of historically accurate period brooms that have been used as stage props at the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera and the Cincinnati Playhouse. Some of their brooms have even had roles in movies such as Little Women, The Missing, and Into the West. One is living in the Smithsonian’s new American Heritage exhibit.

The machines the self-taught broom makers use in the manufacturing of their brooms are antique, dating back to the early 1900’s. Sam’s penchant for working relics led him to find obscure, derelict machines and, with his extraordinary know-how, bring them back to life.

“There’s a romance to this that you don’t find in your computers because computers aren’t fun to watch,” Sam opines. Romance, indeed. And you see what he means when you watch the gears and cogs and wheels and treadles of the cast iron antiquities move with rhythmic simplicity and complexity to create things that people use and need.

There is no assembly line here. There are no employees. Just Sam and Karen making each and every broom themselves at a rate of five or six a day, all made to order. “We’ve stitched well over 20,000 brooms,” says Sam. When asked which broom is their favorite, Karen replies, “We can’t pick one because we made them all!” Hmmm…kind of like asking who is your favorite child.

The Morrisons live upstairs with Cinder, their grumpy 15-year-old tortie cat who has free reign of the place. Their home and business have existed for 24 years in the building that used to be the Star of the West Saloon downstairs and a boarding house upstairs.

Back in the gold rush days of the late 19th and early 20th centuries there were 37 saloons in the tiny town. The miners lived in the boarding houses and row houses of Victor, while the wealthy mine owners and investors lived in nearby bustling Cripple Creek.

Sam and Karen say their home is slightly haunted. They are convinced of the presence of George Rodgers who owned the Star of the West and lived upstairs back in 1896. The original wood building burned down in 1899 when a fire, as the story goes, started in the red light district and blew through Victor, destroying the entire Victor business district.

George Rodgers rebuilt the blonde brick building that exists now and bears the name “Rodgers BLK” at the top of it. George died in his upstairs abode in 1901 on the day that President William McKinley was assassinated. The Morrisons say George is a bit of a practical joker. Things seem to move from where they were put. There’s a clinking noise like that of a barrel bolt on the bathroom door every night around 9:00 that causes the cat to startle and hiss. And then, there’s the cigar smoke they get a whiff of every now and then. The Morrisons do not smoke cigars. But there is no fear where George is concerned. Sam and Karen think he’s happy they have the building. He’s become a family friend.

Sam Morrison has had a love of history and an appreciation of all things antique and utilitarian since he was a child, and it certainly shows when you look around the emporium the Morrisons call a “working museum”. You get the sense he would have loved living during the time of the Industrial Revolution.

Though brooms take center stage, there is also the 1894 Chandler and Price clamshell printing press that sits unassumingly on the other side of the aisle. Loyal customers, Dave and Leslie who live 47 miles away in Manitou Springs, make the drive to Victor every year to get their Christmas cards that are made on that press.

Customers are drawn to the Victor Trading Company by word of mouth and come again and again. The Morrisons do business on a first-name basis and consider their customers close friends. “If we don’t make it, they don’t want it,” Karen says, referring to the fact that people who frequent the store are not interested in any of the factory-made stuff they may have on a shelf or two.

Among other handmade items to be had are historically accurate tin cans wearing labels from the 1880’s to the 1920’s (some of which can be seen in shop windows as far away as Disneyland Hong Kong), hand-dipped candles, and custom tin cookie cutters, including dog biscuit cookie cutters—all crafted by Karen using antique, authentic equipment and tools.

It’s hard not to get swept up in the historical significance, cluttered whimsy, and…yes…romance of a place like The Victor Trading Company where quality, pride of workmanship, and friendly banter still exist—still have time to exist. A place where something as simple as a broom, a simple machine in itself, represents the very basic need to do work. Especially if that broom is made by hand.

If You Go:

Links to info about Victor Colorado:

City of Victor Colorado website

Legends of America – Victor

Victor on Mapquest

Colorado Springs Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flight

About the author:
Dedra Montoya is a second-grade teacher in Colorado Springs with a passion for writing. She recently took a three-day Ultimate Travel Writers Workshop in San Diego to prepare her for pursuing a “second career” as she closes in on retirement. She has been published in Statement: the Journal of the Colorado Language Arts Society in the Fall 2012 issue; Her blog written when she taught a half-year in England a couple of years ago is called Trading Lives: An American Teacher in England dedra-montoya.blogspot.com. Since taking the travel writers workshop, she “sees” stories everywhere and writes/researches every moment she gets!

All photos are by Dedra Montoya and Kristin Nielson-Drake:
Victor sign before you head into Victor, nicknamed City of Mines
One of the many goldmines in the area…this one’s still active
Victor Trading Company
Sam and Karen Morrison standing in front of their store (“American Gothic” style)
Sam and Karen working working on the broom winder
The sewing cuffs Sam wears to protect his hands from needle jabs

An Historic Stroll Through Steinbeck’s Cannery Row

Monterey, California

by Leslie Jones

My mother tells her intriguing story of spending an entire evening dining with John Steinbeck at the family home up near Monterey in Pacific Grove, CA. A friend of hers invited her up to visit Uncle John for the weekend … little did my mother know who Uncle John was until they arrived. Walking through the garage, there were stacks of his books (in multiple languages) in every direction she turned.

If you head to Monterey’s historic Cannery Row in the middle of the week (preferably during the off-season), you might turn a bit nostalgic especially if you are a Steinbeck fan. Visuals from Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday and frequent mentions of Doc Rickett’s marine laboratory still remain. These are special characters and places I fell in love with a very long time ago.

Yes, it too has changed like any popular coastal community which draws large crowds due to its unique history, natural beauty and tourist-pleasing highlights including the Monterey Bay Aquarium. But if you stare out at sea and at the nearby cannery buildings in the early morning, there are still signs of those historic sardine canning days Steinbeck spoke of so eloquently.

It all begins outside of the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium and lingers for under a mile along what is known as the Steinbeck Country Walking Tour. Bronze statues, historic buildings depicted in his captivating novels, colorful murals and memorials are all within view.

One of the most popular stops along the way is Ed Rickett’s Lab (Doc’s Western Biological Laboratories) in Steinbeck’s Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday. He moved his marine biology business here from Pacific Grove in 1928. It was in this location where Steinbeck spent many an hour philosophizing with Ricketts. It also became a favorite meeting place for artists, intellectuals and other writers including Big Sur’s colorful Henry Miller over the years.

Two larger-than-life size murals based on photographs of the original “Mack and the boys” in his novel Cannery Row (who lived on the fringes of the canning district), are also nearby. Accompanied by quotations from the novel, they were created by local muralist John Cerney and lend a colorful charm to the entire area.

One of the most distinctive architectural artifacts still remaining from Cannery Row’s industrial era are a series of enclosed bridges called crossovers. Sixteen of these structures once carried cans packed with sardines across the street from the canning operation to warehouses near the Southern Pacific railroad tracks.

Clearly visible is the Monterey Canning Co. crossover which would have been a familiar sight to Ricketts and Steinbeck. Today, it functions as a pedestrian bridge linking shopping malls located in these former cannery and warehouse buildings.

While Steinbeck Plaza has been around for awhile, a new Cannery Row Monument pays tribute to notorious, famous and colorful characters where were vital to the area’s evolution. Author Steinbeck sits atop the rock and Ed Ricketts, at the bottom, are surrounded by others who are reminiscent of what Cannery Row was like as a bustling sardine canning district. Four other men huddled together represent entrepreneurs who revived Cannery Row after it had fallen into decline. This is a poignant reminder of the vast history this area represents.

California history is so intriguing and this authentic Steinbeck setting is one of the best reminders of this historic era that you’ll find anywhere. Take your time, look beyond the shopping crowds and walk down quiet streets. You’ll feel revitalized by what you’ll discover and upon heading home, you’ll want to read Cannery Row all over again.

Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur Private Day Trip from San Francisco

1-Hour Monterey and Cannery Row Sea Car Tour

If You Go:

National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, CA and Pacific Grove Steinbeck Tour, Pacific Grove, CA.

About the author:
Born and raised along California’s picturesque Central Coast, Leslie has lived much of her life here and is endlessly intrigued with California history. As a published writer for over 25 years, she has written much about California’s historic past. John Steinbeck, Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac are among those who have heavily influenced her ongoing writing career.

All photos are by Leslie Jones or John Hofschroer.

How London Bridge Came to Lake Havasu, Arizona

by Lesley Hebert

In 1967 the City of London tried to sell London Bridge. Erected in 1831, the bridge was designed to carry horse-drawn traffic and was now inadequate for the demands of motor traffic, and slowly sinking into the soft muddy bed of the River Thames. Consequently, it was to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

In 1967 I was working in London. To me, London Bridge was an unremarkable piece of masonry blackened by 136 years of coal smoke belching from London chimneys and I found the idea of selling the bridge quite bizarre. Who on earth, I wondered, would buy this dirty pile of old stones?

As it turns out, an American businessman bought the bridge and transported it across the Atlantic, thus leading to the growth of an urban myth that:
♦ He was a stupid American with more money than sense
♦ He thought he was buying Tower Bridge
♦ He was putting the bridge in the middle of the desert and then building a river under it.

The buyer was American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch, who had amassed a sizable fortune from boat engines, chainsaws, energy exploration, and property development. In 1963 he had paid $75 an acre for 26 square miles of seemingly worthless Arizona scrub land, and now he was buying a second-hand bridge. No wonder he was developing a reputation for eccentricity.

But closer examination of the burgeoning urban legend reveals that McCulloch was actually a shrewd businessman with a vision and a plan. The Arizona desert land he bought was a bargain. While not situated near any major highways, it was a popular fishing destination on the banks of Lake Havasu, a 45 mile long reservoir formed when the Parker Dam was built on the Colorado River in the 1930s.

While the bridge cost McCulloch $2,460,000 plus relocation expenses, he recouped much of his investment by selling the granite core in the UK and shipping only the outer facade, which he then reconstructed over a new concrete support. The notion that such an astute businessman thought he was buying Tower Bridge is obviously false. In fact, a 2013 travel article in The Guardian speculated that McCullough started the rumour himself.

However, he actually did erect the bridge on land before putting water underneath. As a way of simplifying construction, he put it up at the base of a peninsula jutting out into Lake Havasu, and created an island by digging a mile long canal across the peninsula and under the bridge.

Mr. McCulloch then began to develop Lake Havasu City as a tourist destination and planned retirement community. He launched an extensive marketing campaign and bought a fleet of planes to fly prospective buyers to the city site where he put them up in a purpose-built luxury hotel.

Visiting Lake Havasu

Two years after Mr. McCulloch’s purchase of London Bridge, I emigrated to Vancouver, Canada and forgot about London Bridge. Then in 1992 My husband and I decided to take a road trip, and were returning home from Disneyland via Las Vegas. I saw Lake Havasu City on the map and decided I simply had to see the bridge in its new home.

My memories of London Bridge generally involved rainy days, muddy River Thames water and grey London skies. However, this time I encountered the bridge in Lake Havasu on a hot summer afternoon after having spent two days in the make believe world of Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Flanked by palm trees, baking beneath clear desert skies, the bridge waved and shimmered in the hot desert air. In front of it were metal griffins displaying the city of London coat of arms and a miniature replica of Trafalgar Square. The whole experience seemed quite surreal. It became even more surreal when I walked down to the lake past shops and a public house located in a faux English Tudor village and saw two Venetian gondolas moored beneath beneath the bridge. I felt as if I was in a bizarre extension of Disneyland where the park designer had created a whimsical facade confusing Venice and London.

The London Bridge Interpretive Center, however, was more down to earth. It provided fascinating information about the three-year project to relocate the bridge. When the bridge was dismantled, each piece of granite was carefully numbered to indicate its position in the structure. The pieces were then shipped from London to California via the Panama Canal, from where they were trucked to Lake Havasu.

As I walked across the bridge the reality of the situation began to sink in. The bridge sported flagpoles, some flying the Stars and Stripes and others flying the Union Jack. All along the bridge were beautiful old lampposts which I learned at the Interpretive Center had been made from melted down cannons captured in the battle of Waterloo. Looking at the parapet, I was sobered to see that chunks of stone had broken off and realized this was bomb damage from World War Two. Standing there in the clear air of the Arizona desert, I found it hard to imagine the constant wartime bombardment that Londoners had suffered during the Blitz, but the evidence was clearly there, and yes, this was the same bridge I had walked across a five thousand miles away and a quarter of a century ago.

The Disneyland connection

My sense that Lake Havasu was an extension of Disneyland was actually not far from the truth. To develop Lake Havasu McCulloch partnered with C.V. Wood, the president of the McCulloch Oil Corporation. Wood had previously assisted Walt Disney to develop Disneyland, and was subsequently involved in creating the first Six Flags Adventure Park. It was Mr. Wood who supervised the entire bridge moving project, and who undoubtedly gave the new planned community of Lake Havasu City its theme park flavour.

Lake Havasu today

I returned to Lake Havasu in 2014. The population of Lake Havasu has grown dramatically since 1992. There are housing developments all along the lake, and the island is covered with condominiums and resorts.

The desert air seemed to have been kind to the old bridge. The formerly soot-blackened granite now glowed gold in the desert sun. It had either been cleaned or naturally sand-blasted by desert winds, but either way it looked almost as new and clean as it must have appeared in the early nineteenth century. The griffins still stand guard over a miniature Trafalgar Square, and the Union Jacks still fly alongside the Stars and Stripes, but the English village seems to have seen better days. The pub and souvenir shops have closed and the Tudor facade is now painted an ugly purple with garish red timbers. However, there is now a new element of Disneyesque whimsy: 18 one-third scale lighthouse replicas located along the lakeshore. These are working lighthouses which have been put there for the safety of nighttime boaters.

If You Go:

Where to stay

There are a number of hotels and timeshares in Lake Havasu City in addition to the original London Bridge Resort. Prices and availability can be found at tripadvisor.com We stayed at the London Bridge Resort, which presents guests with over-the-top British kitsch out-Disneying Walt Disney himself. The first thing you see as you enter the lobby is a life-sized papier mache replica of the British coronation coach, complete down to the finest detail. Behind the front desk is an enormous carved wooden panel depicting various naked mythological figures including a naked St. George fighting a gigantic carved dragon.

Once I got past the coronation coach and navigated the check in procedure, I discovered this is actually a nice resort with a friendly, helpful staff. Our suite was recently remodeled, we spent time in one of the three pools almost every day, and went to happy hour at the bar every afternoon. The resort offered various daily activities. Most were disappointing, but they did provide an informative free bus tour.

Havasu is a boater’s paradise. We took a boat tour of the lake and enjoyed watching wealthy boat owners trying to outdo each other with the size of their engines. And yes, apparently in the summer you can still see gondolas on the lake.

♦ For more information on the history of London Bridge, visit the website of the London Bridge Museum and Educational Trust.
♦ To learn more about Lake Havasu City read about the history of Lake Havasu City.

Getting there

♦ By car: Lake Havasu is a two and a half-hour drive south from Las Vegas on US 95.
♦ By plane: The nearest major airport is McCarren International Airport, Las Vegas. For those who do not wish to rent a car there are several shuttle services between McCarren and Lake Havasu City, including the daily Havasu/Vegas Express.

Desert Off Road Adventures in Las Vegas

About the author:
Lesley Hebert is a graduate of Simon Fraser University. Now retired from teaching English as a second language in the classroom, she still teaches ESL to international students via Skype. She also writes on-line articles which reflect a lively, inquiring mind and love of travel, language, history and culture.

Photo credits:
London Bridge, City of London, 1900 by John L.Stoddard (died 1931), Scan by Robert Schediwy / Public domain
View of Lake Havasu by Mike Hebert
London Bridge at Lake Havasu by Mike Hebert
One of the many replica lighthouses dotted around Lake Havasu by Mike Hebert
Papier mache replica of the British coronation coach on display in the lobby of the London Bridge Resort by Lesley Hebert.
Close up of London Bridge, showing the flags and antique lamp standards by Mike Hebert.

Retracing the Footsteps of Ernest Hemingway

Key West Florida

by Edward Quan

With a reputation as a womanizer, a heavy drinker, all while pursuing high adventure such as big game hunting in Africa, Ernest Hemingway was one of America’s greatest novelists during the 20th century. He was also a highly disciplined writer who even after a long night of drinking, would rise at seven every morning to his private studio above his garage. This is where he composed some of his greatest literary novels, resulting in winning the Pulitzer Prize for Literature.

My journey to experience more of Hemingway’s legendary life began with a flight to sun filled Miami, home to some of the most beautiful white sand beaches in America. It’s a four-hour drive across the majestic Florida Keys islands to The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, located in Old Town district of Key West Florida, the farthest southern point in the continental United States. It’s a small island community surrounded by the turquoise waters of the Caribbean where you can actually view Cuba, which is only 90 miles away.

In 1928, Ernest Hemingway arrived at this tranquil island haven from Paris with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, an accomplished journalist and contributor to Vogue Paris fashion magazine. The residence was a wedding gift from Pauline’s wealthy uncle Gus Pfeiffer, given to them in 1931.

Built in a Spanish Colonial style, this two-story residence stands in grandeur painted in white with mustard color shutters, framing its large bay windows. Above, roof covered balconies surround the upstairs bedrooms offering a quiet sanctuary from hot summer days. Lush green gardens filled with colorful flowers surround the property, like a rich tropical oasis. It was and still is the largest residential property on the island of Key West. Located across the street from the front gate is the Key West lighthouse, which opened in 1848. This six and one-half story tall white tower was an important landmark for Hemingway personally, as it helped him find his way home after each night of drinking.

As I toured the house, you are immersed with Hemingway’s remarkable literary achievements. Each bedroom commemorates one of his great novels. The rooms are filled with personal mementos such as European hand carved antique furniture, life size trophy heads and animal skins from his African’s safaris and hunting trips from across the American west. He drew his inspiration for his boundless writings from many of these treasures.

Across from the main house and high above the garage Hemingway’s private studio features an old manual typewriter on a rich mahogany table, paired with a sturdy leather-covered chair. The walls are covered with more of his personal hunting trophies. Shelves filled with his hardcover books sit between the floor to ceiling bay windows. You can sense Hemingway’s true discipline as a writer when entering his studio; everything seems to have its place.

The most lavish feature of his residence is the 60 foot long, 24 foot wide, 10 foot deep in-ground aqua blue colored swimming pool, carved from the same solid coral bedrock which Key West Island sits upon. In the 1930’s, no one had a swimming pool, as there was no fresh running water on the island. Therefore, the 80,000-gallon lighted swimming pool had to be filled by drilling down to the salt-water table and pumping the water into the pool. Filling the pool took nearly three days and during the summer months, salt water would only stay fresh for a few days. As a result, each week the pool had to be drained, the pool surfaces cleaned of algae, and then refilled again.

The cost of building the swimming pool was US$20,000, which was outlandish considering that Gus Pfeiffer only paid US$8,000 for the entire property. Hemingway is the one who proposed building the pool, yet he complained bitterly to Pauline about its high expense during construction. Our tour guide shared with us a story of Hemingway throwing down a penny at Pauline’s feet on the pool patio shouting, “Pauline, you’ve spend all but my last penny, so you might as well have that!” As Hemingway’s novels were rewritten as screenplays for motion pictures, Hollywood producers and movie stars were calling and Pauline was determined to host the most extravagant poolside parties on the island. Today, you can view a penny embedded in the concrete pool patio, which memorializes Hemingway’s lost battle with his wife.

As I explored the residence grounds I came across several cats, all named after Hollywood stars from the 1930’s such as Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Hemingway’s household included a six-toed white cat named Snow White, which was given to him by a ship captain. Sailors considered these unique cats to be good luck, as they were very effective at catching vermin on board ships. Today, the only residences of The Hemingway Home and Museum are 47 polydactyl (six-toed) cats and it is believed that Snow White descendants live on the grounds today. Your average household cat has five front toes and four back toes. With the polydactyl gene in their DNA, that allows them to produce six-toed off spring.

Unsurprisingly, Ernest and Pauline Hemingway divorced in 1940 resulting in Ernest moving to his summer house in Cuba with fellow correspondent Martha Gellhorn, soon to be wife number three, for the next chapter of his dramatic life.

The Hemingway House and Museum gives you a unique window into the influence and legacy of one of the greatest writers of our time. It is well worth a visit during your next trip to Florida.

Key West Ultimate Island Experience

If You Go:

♦ The Hemingway Home & Museum 907 Whitehead St. Key West, Florida. Guided tours available. Hours: 9 am – 5 pm, open every day including holidays.

♦ Key West has an airport, cruise ship terminal and is the start of US Highway 1. Rent a vehicle in Miami and experience one of my top ten US scenic drives; Highway 1, a 113-mile drive over 42 magnificent bridges across Florida’s Keys coral islands. Majority of the highway is only two lanes; allow up to four hours driving time from Miami.

♦ Caribbean hurricane season is from summer to fall, recommend the winter months to avoid rainy days.

♦ Truman Hotel, a trendy boutique hotel in the heart of Key West. Easy walking distance to Hemingway’s House & Museum and Duval Street with restaurants, bars and shopping.

♦ Two local flavors that you must experience when visiting Key West. Crispy conch fritters, a large shelled sea creature and key lime pie made from locally grown limes. No visit would be complete without a visit to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant on Duval St. for drinks and souvenirs.

Key West Pub Crawl

About the author:
Edward Quan is a fashion and travel writer with a background as a European luxury fashion buyer. He lives and breathes the world of high fashion. From the style capitals across the globe, he shares their influences on designer fashion from art and culture, music and cinema, to history and architecture. Writing exceptional stories on personal style while traveling well, featuring the latest news on the fashion scene, luxury hotels and resorts, fine food and wine and of course, shopping. Learn more about Edward Quan by visiting his fashion column Style Drama that appears in The Bahamas Weekly In addition, he is a guest journalist with Retail-Insider, and member of the BC Association of Travel Writers.

All photos are by LM Quan:
The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Old Town district of Key West, Florida.
One of the many photos on display that chronicles Ernest Hemingway’s life and times during his nine years in the Florida Keys.
Pauline, Ernest Hemmingway’s second wife, pursued a luxurious Hollywood lifestyle with extravagant poolside parties.
Ernest Hemingway studio resides above his garage with his desk and manual typewriter surrounded by his personal mementos.
One of 47 polydactyl (six-toed) cats that reside at the Ernest Hemingway House and Museum.

Louisiana: New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina

by Larry Zaletel

New Orleans is known as the ‘Crescent City’ to the residents and the ‘Big Easy’ to tourists. ‘Crescent City’ relates to the course of the Lower Mississippi River as it bends around and travels through the city.

The origins of the term ‘Big Easy; is not clear, some say that the term was created by the media. In the 1970s a local columnist Betty Gillaud used the term to contrast life in the city to that of New York City. It was also a reference by musicians in the early 20th century because of the relative ease of finding work there and the easy-going, laid back attitude to life that jazz musicians and local residents indulged in.

The name Big Easy also may have originated in the Prohibition era, when the city was considered one big speak-easy due to the inability of the federal government to control alcohol sales in open violation of the 18th Amendment. Or it could refer to New Orleans’ status as a major city, at one time “one of the cheapest places in America to live” where everything was slower, simpler and easy-going. Who knows?

New Orleans is known for many other things: seafood, e.g. crawfish, shrimp, crab and also for its music and musicians. The New Orleans area has the most home grown musicians in the country. They run the gamut from rock and roll, blues, jazz and even classical, from Fats Domino and Professor Longhair to Louie Prima and Louie Armstrong. However if New Orleans is known for anything it is a slogan and an attitude of, “Laissez les bons temps rouler, let the good times roll.” And that’s the truth! Ask any native New Orleanian.

This was not my first visit to New Orleans. Returning back after being away for a few years I was able to see the changes brought about by Hurricane Katrina. Something surprising I learned is that now everything is classified either pre- or post Hurricane Katrina. For example when people are having a discussion and talk about everyday life, or something that was rebuilt, or something that doesn’t exist anymore or has been replaced, they put it into the context of whether it was before or after the effects of the storm. Hurricane Katrina changed that for all time.

My wife and I visited the city of Slidell and our old neighborhood, New Orleans East and Downtown New Orleans. We had resided in Slidell, Louisiana located about 20 miles northeast of New Orleans from 1978-1984. We lived through two floods and two hurricanes, luckily none of which caused us any major problems, because we had boarded up the windows and battened down everything. The second hurricane was more severe than the first one and we did not get to sleep as the sound of the winds emanating from the storm kept us awake. They were howling at over 110 mph and sounded like a locomotive as the hurricane passed over us.

Katrina was its most devastating along Lake Pontchartrain and the North Shore. This area was the hardest hit and as we drove along Highway 11 we saw the remains of the homes and businesses that were ravaged by the severity of the storm. The many homes that once stood along the lake are gone and there is vacant land everywhere. Some of our favorite restaurants and seafood shacks are gone. We passed driveways and concrete aprons that are still visible, also the docks and the pilings extending into Lake Pontchartrain that are standing like wooden sentinels of a bygone era. However the docks emanate from nothing as the homes that they were once attached to are gone, wiped out by the storm surge. I am struck however by one lot where a new concrete driveway and concrete pilings are visible. Apparently someone is planning to build. For sale signs however far outnumber any new construction in the area.

The Slidell Memorial Hospital on Gause Blvd expanded in January 2011 with the opening of the Regional Cancer Center on Robert Blvd. Slidell has prospered since our last visit. There are many new commercial and business establishments. Some old ones are gone and new ones have taken their place.

We visited old town the historic downtown area where we learned how much Katrina affected Slidell. The old part of the city was under water. However Slidell is now bustling and revitalized just as it was when we lived there. Interstate 10 has two new interchanges and new subdivisions were built more expensive than before especially south of Interstate 10 near Lake Pontchartrain. In the 1970s it was the fastest growing city in the United States until the recession hit during the early 1980s when tourism faded and the city’s growth declined.

We drove through our old neighborhood which seems the less for wear. Talking with old friends and some of our old neighbors we learn that our old subdivision along Interstate 12 was spared the wrath of Katrina. There are new stores, gas stations and Brownswitch road one of the main routes now has a turnabout at Robert Road reflecting the growth in traffic patterns. Ah, progress.

Irish Bayou can be reached by crossing the old twin span bridge over Lake Pontchartrain that was rebuilt and now has three lanes each way. During Hurricane Katrina the old twin spans suffered extensive damage due to the rising storm surge that pulled or shifted bridge segments off their piers. The new approach to the westbound lanes entrance from Slidell was shifted south to accommodate the new bridge. We veered off Interstate 10 to visit Irish Bayou on our way to Metairie. The old dirt and grass levee on Highway 11 has been changed now to one made of concrete. Irish Bayou seems less inhabited than I remember and there appears to be fewer homes although most home in the bayou were built using pilings or raised platforms. There is also a landmark of an old fisherman’s castle which was built in 1981 by Simon Villemarette. He originally planned for it to be a secondary tourist attraction for the 1984 World fair in New Orleans.

New Orleans East & Metairie was hard hit by water. We drove down Read Blvd through the area where once stood the Lake Forest Mall in New Orleans East. The huge complex is gone, and a building on the Interstate 10 frontage road where I where I was employed for a time is now four walls and gutted. You can see through it, some of the windows are broken. I also remember a restaurant down the street, a Denny’s I believe. It is now gone. Katrina did it all.

After the severity of Hurricane Katrina conditions have changed, new levees have been added and others strengthened. However more work still needs to be completed and that it will take many years. One thing I noticed were advertisements on trucks and billboards for various companies whose business is that of raising and placing homes on stilts/pilings.

Downtown, New Orleans is famous for the French Quarter, Canal Street, St Louis Cathedral, and Café Du Monde with their famous beignets and Café Au Lait. The coffee and beignets are still as good as I remember.

Play tourist and enjoy the ambiance of what New Orleans has to offer. There is a different feeling about visiting downtown New Orleans as a tourist compared to living there and visiting. Stop at historic Jackson Square and enjoy. It was originally known in the 18th century as “Place d’Armes,” and later renamed in honor of the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson. It is a timeless attraction in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. There is a different view, tourists are everywhere, we walk through the cobbled streets and stop and listen to a jam session featuring a group of Jazz musicians performing, “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Canal Street is still vibrant and St Louis Cathedral is peaceful. We visit Harrah’s Casino to try our luck. We pass by a familiar face, the Superdome still intact, looking like a gigantic flying saucer. It is good to see some of our old memories.

The night before we leave we visit the Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St Louis. A new casino was built after we moved. Now you can gamble in a variety of ways to your hearts content and enjoy all you can eat crab legs on Friday night, the best I have ever eaten anywhere. The best part was that we came out ahead on the slots.

Taste of New Orleans Private Walking and Food Tour

If You Go:

We stayed at the Homewood Suites, 175 Holiday Blvd, Slidell, LA 70460, 985-726-7291 which is new and has friendly and helpful personnel.

One of our favorite restaurants that we used to patronize when we lived in Slidell and is still serving good food after all these years is Young’s Steakhouse, 850 Robert Rd, Slidell, LA 70458, (985) 643-9331. Young’s has been welcoming guest since 1969 to a warm friendly atmosphere. They are known for their thick, juicy steaks and a variety of seafood dishes, mouth watering appetizers and desserts.

♦ Café du Monde in the French Quarter 800 Decatur Street, New Orleans 70116, (504) 525-4544
♦ Speckled T’s, 158 S Military Rd, Slidell, LA 70461, (985) 646-1728, very good seafood.
♦ The Big Easy Diner, 1777 Gause Blvd E, Slidell, LA 70461, (985) 639-8006, a good place for breakfast
♦ Steve’s Marina Restaurant, 213 E Beach Blvd, Long Beach, MS 39560, (228) 265-7730, rebuilt after Katrina, very good seafood
♦ Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St Louis, Mississippi 5000 South Beach Blvd

There are many additional fine restaurants in the New Orleans area and information is available on the Internet.

Private Voodoo Temples and Cemetery Experience of New Orleans

About the author:
Larry Zaletel is a freelance travel writer, an avid and dedicated traveler, and a recurring visitor to Europe, the Caribbean, and the Far East. He writes about the various people that he has met and places that he has visited during his travels.

All photos by Larry Zaletel:
St. Louis Cathedral
Café Du Monde
Twin span bridge of Lake Pontchartrain
Levee in Irish Bayou
Destruction on the North Shore of Slidell
Superdome
Famous Canal Street