Re: The Travelling Gremlen Bell!
Ok guys, here's my Ride Report with the Gremlin Bell...
Here it is attached to Molly (I used a ziptie instead of the string because I was afaid of losing it on the crappy roads around here)
My time with the Bell was marred by bad weather and prior family commitments, so my mileage was kinda low... only 79 miles. But I did get it around to some local Historical locations... and a
Hooters! ;D
The first day I was able to ride, we went to City Park. The land, as a public park, dates back to the mid 1800's. But City Park as we know it today was built under the Roosevelt administration during the Great Depression. (a brief synopsis of City Park's history can be found
HERE) Originally the land was the site of the Allard Plantation...
Close up of the Historical Marker
From there we went to vist the Peristyle in City Park.
"The Peristyle is a magnificent Neo-Classical structure with majestic Ionic columns and is one of City Park's oldest structures. Built in 1907, the Peristyle was originally designed as a dancing pavilion. Four concrete lions, some of the most recognizable denizens of City Park, guard the Peristyle where stairs lead down to the edge of Bayou Metairie."
Don't tell anyone I got the bike inside... it's a No-no.
One of the previously mentioned Lions.
Also in City Park, this is all that remains of Mona Lisa Ln. A very well known area locally due to the Haunting stories the revolve around it. (the story can be found
HERE)
From there we went to the very outskirts of City Park, to where Bayou St. John connects with Lake Pontchartrain. This is the location of the remains of Fort St. John.
Close up of the Historical Marker.
From here my first day ended as I had to get back and pick my kids up from school.
My second outing with the Bell took us down River Road to see a couple of Plantations.
First up is Destrahan Plantation c.1790
Close up of the Marker.
Next is Ormond Plantation c.1789
Oddly, there's no Historical Marker for Ormond. But it's history can be found
HERE
Shot of the grounds between the House and the River.
From there we rode to Lasalle's Landing.
"In 1682, the French Explorer, Robert Cavalier De La Salle, landed in an Indian Village later to be known as the City of Kenner, proclaiming ownership in the name of Louis XIV, King of France. He erected a cypress cross to commemorate the historic event."
Coincidentally, Lasalle's Landing is also the location of the first Heavyweight Prize Fight in the U.S.
"In the predawn hours of May 10, 1870, a crowd of about 1,000 people left the New Orleans Jackson Street Railroad Station for Kennerville. There, in a makeshift ring in the back of William Butler Kenner's old sugar house, about 100 yards from the Mississippi River, Jed Mace of Beestown, Norwich, England beat Tom Allen of Birmingham, England in 10 rounds. The prize for the bare knuckle event was $2,500, winner take all"
From there we headed back towards home and passed through Laffreniere Park. Formerly the site of Laffreniere Plantation.
Close up of the Marker.
That concluded my second outing with the Bell.
On (technically) the last day of my session with the Bell, we had our monthly Vintage Bike Night. Unfortunately the weather scared off everyone... but
ME!!
However, I was able to get one last pic with the Bell... with some Hooter Girls ;D