Days #81-82 of Our Epic Trip

1-21-2024
H: 45°F L: 29°F
Bayou Segnette State Park, Westwego, Louisiana

We did very little today. It was nice to just have a chill-out day with some Netflix, nice and cozy in our camper since it was cold and rainy today.

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1-22-2024
H: 65°F L: 43°F
Bayou Segnette State Park, Westwego, Louisiana

Today we explored the French Quarter and did some fun window shopping. We took the boys for a walk around the French Quarter and they got a lot of attention – everyone thought they were so cute. We walked to Banksy’s Umbrella Girl which was covered in plexiglass to protect it. Banksy is a famous street artist and activist who has remained anonymous creating art since the 1990s.

We also walked to LaLaurie Mansion which is a beautiful 3 story mansion built in 1832 with a gruesome past. It was suspected that Delphine LaLaurie was horribly abusing her slaves and in 1834 the truth was revealed. An elderly slave had been chained in the kitchen and she deliberately set fire to the kitchen in an attempt at suicide or rescue. When bystanders requested the key to the slave quarters to make sure everyone was safe from the fire, LaLaurie refused. A mob formed and broke down the door and found seven slaves in horrible condition having been mutilated and starved. Delphine and her husband were run out of town and an angry mob destroyed her house.

This happened mere blocks from the location of Theophilus Freeman’s “slave pen” where up to 500 people at a time were kept waiting to be sold and from local hotels where men, women and children were sold. We also learned at the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve French Quarter Visitor Center that the majority of the workers who built the houses and buildings in the French Quarter were free men of color. Where was the line between publicly accepted slavery and what was deemed abuse of slaves? Why were some people of color slaves and others allowed to be paid tradesmen? It’s so hard to understand the rationale behind all of it.

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Stats

Expenses:

• Tow vehicle fuel: $0
• Campsite: $35.22
• Camping memberships: $7.46
• Food: $41.47

Miles driven: 31.2 (9.8 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 0

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