3. Getting to Our Hotel

3) Getting to Our Hotel

At one point in our trip we saw 3 riders from our Motorcycle Club having a break in a parking spot, on the side of the road. Naturally we stopped and asked if they needed help but all was ok, they were just stretching their legs. They needed no help, just needed a break. We do this, too… just stop and get off the bike and walk around a little. Carol and I are not racers; we are sedate riders.

Not So Sedate Riding On the Track a Few Years Ago

We are not the only people that do not like large group riding. Those 3 fellows knew each other well, they like to ride together. And if you ask them they would agree, more than 4 riders becomes a crowd. Getting to New Orleans to me is not how fast can I get there, or who is going to be in New Orleans first, but to me it is much more important to get there. To get to New Orleans in one piece, without any incident or trouble is my foremost goal. I learned it does not matter one bit if I get anyplace a bit later. I am retired, I have the time. 

Lots of Traffic in the French Quarter

We rode our daily mileage and used the hotels on the road to ride to NOLA but once we entered good old NOLA (New Orleans, LA) and had to find the Old City, the French Quarter, we were no longer interested in riding a motorcycle. It was time to just park the bikes.

NOLA is a big modern city with lots of highways and different sections within and around it. Here in LA, (Louisiana), they call the counties ‘Parishes’. Remember, NOLA used to be French which is very Catholic. The Ideas of the Roman Catholic Church and some of the words got stuck here. All of this is still a left over from the time when LA was French.

Jackson Square

Even the legal system in Louisiana is still based on the Code Napoléon. 

Compare that to the Commonwealth Law of Massachusetts, MA… very different. 

New Orleans, especially the French Quarter, is a walking city. It is not really suitable for cars, bikes or any motorized traffic. Sure the locals ride through the French Quarter but they KNOW this city. For us, the outsiders, it is best to park our bikes and leave them there.

Ah, here lies the crux, where do you park in the old part of New Orleans?

Changing in the Parking Lot With a Little Help From a Friend

Jack and/or Ken had it arranged so what we could park our bikes within the walls or parking lot of the hotel.  This was a perfect solution; or so it seemed to us when we booked it. 

The hotel, Hotel Provincial, a historic site in New Orleans, had trouble accommodating the entire number of bikes but it was in the end the perfect choice. The Hotel used to be a convent and/or a hospital.

We doubled up, stacked our bikes as best we could to save space. Still it was a tight fit for all those bikes.

Jean and Wayne With Doubled Up Parking

No, Jean and Wayne were not our parking attendees but you can see how crowded the place was. There were actually many more bikes than in this picture, but you get the idea.

The Hotel was just one block over from the famous Decatur Street, where most of the shops were. We were just a few blocks away, more or less, from the mighty Mississippi River.