Urban Hike: Algiers Point, Louisiana

If you visit New Orleans, you must take the free ferry to Algiers Point, across the Mississippi. The ferry leaves Canal street at 1/4 'til and 1/4 after the hour and from Algiers on the hour and 1/2 hour. It runs 'til midnight. If you go below where the vehicles are parked (see video at the end of post), you will feel a cool breeze off the water while taking in the shore lines on either side of the river. (This is also the ferry that John Goodman's character on the HBO series Treme jumps off to commit suicide, in part inspired by Kate Chopin's The Awakening, the novel he is teaching at the time.)

We admit to learning about the ferry from the series, our guidebook, and a tour guide in a booth on the Riverwalk. After strolling down the Riverwalk with our cocktails, we decided taking the ferry would provide a cool breeze. Instead of just turning around and going back to New Orleans, we decided to explore-- and ended up having a drink at The Crown and Anchor Pub, a couple blocks up from the ferry. Even at night, the architecture looked interesting--so much different than St. Louis, even though both cities share French influence. We knew we had to come back during the day.

Established in 1719, one year after the French Quarter, Algiers Point is a town of doll houses, quaint Creole cottages, and coffee shops. There's even a British Pub with a petite, blonde, dreadlocked bartender and Morrissey on Satellite radio. As we approached the ferry to go back to New Orleans, churchbells pealed Gershwin's "Summertime" while thunder softly rumbled in the distance.

This is the house of a man who lives across the street from where the film shoot (described below) was taking place. He came outside to give us a map of Algiers Point--and of course, to tell us a story about his life. Once from Indiana, he decided to permanently relocate to New Orleans. With a wink, he told us not to strain ourselves because we were on the second highest mountain in New Orleans, about fourteen feet above sea level .

When we were walking around during the day time on July 27, we came across a film shoot with Blair Underwood and Pam Grier. The set location director took time to explain the plot of On the 7th Day. Underwood's child is kidnapped by one of his university students and the investigation mistakenly leads to the home of a pedophile (the house on Algiers Point). We watched Underwood slugging it out on the porch with the seer sucker suit -clad actor who plays the pedophile.

Blair Underwood is on the porch in this photo. Imbd data base describes him as "unusually handsome" or something to that effect. Paul and I both agreed that even from six blocks away, the man is strikingly good looking.

Not sure why this car has a quote from Julius Caesar on the back window, but being an English teacher, I snapped a photo the first night we took the ferry.