There are mainstay attractions everyone must see when going to various cities. If you go to San Antonio you must see the Alamo, San Fran – ride the cable car and take in the view of the Golden Gate Bridge. St. Louis has its Arch, Chicago its Sears Tower, and well there are probably to many to mention for cities like New York or Washington D.C. But for New Orleans, one such mainstay is a ride on the Steamboat Natchez.
I’ve taken the two hour trip on several occasions with Geneva. You can have dinner on board if you like or you can just enjoy the slow journey down the river. It’s not as thrilling as a roller coaster at Six Flags but then a short ride on “El Toro” won’t give you the time to contemplate life like the Natchez can.
On our first trip I went to the bar to get us a drink and as I returned I saw Geneva leaning against the rail staring down at the muddy waters of the Mississippi glide past. I noted just how incredibly beautiful she was and imagined her in a hoop dress and umbrella, ala 1800’s. This was not an uncommon form of travel in that era. We sat with our drinks holding hands and spoke very little. Each of us, I suspect, lost in imagination or deep thought.
On another trip we decided to try the dinner option. I found the food good but it paled in comparison to the offerings of the land based restaurants here in the city. And yet, there was something very romantic about dinning in the large room in the center of a steam boat heading down river. If you take the evening cruise in the fall or early spring bring a jacket. It can get chilly on the river between November and March. But nothing can warm you up faster than dancing the cruise away on the upper deck with the ship’s Jazz band.
I have some of my fondest memories on that boat. If you’ve never taken the trip, you should at least once. And I do realize one person’s unforgettable is another’s unbearable, but the Natchez is certainly more of the former than the latter.
Feel New Orleans 