Vol 36, No. 1 - NAWC

French Quarter, and features 75 shops
and restaurants. The Riverwalk includes
140 places to spend your money, with a
nice balance of retailers, traditional and
unique.
New Orleans is also home to one of the
finest aquariums in the country. The
Aquarium of the Americas, located where
Canal Street hits the Mississippi River, reo
creates the aquatic environs found in the
Western Hemisphere-Caribbean Reef
Environment, Amazon Rainforest Habitat,
Mississippi River and Delta Habitat.
The Aquarium is home to more than
7,500 specimens of marine life, representing
420 species.
If you've got an appreciation for live oak
trees, you won't want to miss City Park.
Ancient live oaks provide a lush canopy
for this urban park, the fifth largest in the
country, where, in earlier times, duels were
fought. The park is home to the New Orleans
Botanical Gardens, with its Art
Deco fountains and native Louisiana
flora. If you're traveling with children,
they'll enjoy the Carousel Gardens, an
amusement park known for its antique
wooden carousel and miniature train.
The Farmer's Market, once used by
Choctaw Indians as a trading post, is open
24 hours a day, and is the country's oldest
public produce market. It features the
best of local and imported fruits, vegetables,
seafood and spices. If you're there
early, don't be surprised to run into the
chef that prepared your dinner the night
before. The Farmer's Market is located by
the French Quarter Market Place, which
itself is also home to a vast flea market,
open seven days a week.
Outside of the city, history and architecture
buffs will appreciate a visit to historic
homes and plantations. Popular sites
include Houmas House Plantation, built
in 1840. Nestled in a bend of the river,
the plantation is still a frequent stop for
steamboats cruising their way up-river as
in by-gone days when Houmas House was
the prime producer of sugar cane in
America. Up-river from Houmas House,
Nottoway Plantation, built in 1865 by a
sugar cane planter, covers 53,000 square
feet making it the largest antebellum home
in the South. Saved from destruction during
the War Between the States by a
Northern soldier, and restored in 1980,
it is one of the finest restorations in the
area. Its massive ballroom, one of 64
rooms in the house, runs the length of
Nottoway and is known as the white ballroom.
The structure is adorned with crystal
chandeliers, two white marble handcarved
mantels, Corinthian columns and
intricate and lacy plaster freize-work.
Another "must-see" in the famous Garden
District of New Orleans. Amidst lush
foliage, mansions, with leaded glass doors,
balconies and stately columns, are often
surrounded by picturesque iron fences.
Surrounding these prestigious residences,
are gardens with magnolias, oak trees, azaleas
and camellias, fragrant sweet olive and
jasmine. A stroll through this residential
area will give you glimpses of the homes
of prominent New Orleanians, many of
whom have reigned as kings and queens
of Mardi Gras. Within the Garden District,
visitors will see Lafayette Cemetery,
Cafe au lait and beignets.
© Ron Calamia
with the unique above-ground burial
vaults. Many of the early settlers, victims
of the dreaded yellow fever epidemic, are
buried there.
Rest assured that a city that is so intent
on enjoying the finer things in life has its
share of golf courses and tennis courts.
The NAWC Golf Tournament will be held
on Sunday morning at the Bayou Barriere,
owned by current PGA Senior Touring Pro
Jim Colbert. An NAWC tennis tournament
will also be held.
Registratian lI\aterials
The activities provided by our host city
are supplemental to a full-slate of professional
sessions and seminars, linked to
NAWC's Centennial theme, "100 Years of
Excellence." So be sure to block October
29 through November 2 on your calendar,
• NAWCWATER