Steamboat Natchez

On our last day in NOLA we channeled our inner Mark Twain and took a trip on the Steamboat Natchez.  The Natchez is one of only a handful of steam-powered paddle-wheeled boats left in the U.S. today.  This was a two-hour cruise on the Mississippi River.  Two hours sounds like a long time, but it was really quite enjoyable.  We were able to see a lot of neat sites along the river- including large ships and barges, interesting buildings, an oil refinery, and the Dixie sugar plant.  There was a guide narrating our journey over the loudspeaker so that we knew what we were looking at.  I actually learned a little about shipping on the Mississippi. While the narration was happening on the outside, there was a band playing on the inside of the ship.  We went inside to hear them, but didn't stay long.  We much preferred being outdoors.

The guide also pointed out the areas near the river that were the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina- including the lower ninth ward.  There is still some visible damage today.











Here's Tom and Huck, they liked sitting in the very back so that they could watch the paddle wheel

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We also got to visit the engine room where we saw the engine and learned how it works.














The weather was still unseasonably cold, so Olivia and I purchased new sweatshirts before boarding

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