Geography:
Like Milwaukee, this area (Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, and Abita Springs) is built on the marshlands of rivers and streams. I don't know the history of the settling of this area. I need the Louisiana equivalent of John Gurda. If I can't find him, maybe there are multiple sources to make up for the lack of such a community asset.
Located as we are on the Northern shore of Lake Ponchartrain, there are rivers, streams, and wetlands in plentiful supply. While a healthy natural habitat for all kinds of animals, birds, and insects, humans suffer from an overly abundant presence of bugs and critters. Mosquitos are not our friends.
A Slice of Daily Life
We have been to Lowes so much I swear one of the greeters called us by name the other day. Sadly we are not through with this kind of activity. today, we are in search of a lot of stuff but mostly outdoor equipment, garden accessories, and plants
I told the story about Maria scoring a Toro mower, Homelite weed wacker, and an electric blower for $85 bucks at a yard sale. The mower new would have been about $385, the weedwacker $80 - 95, and the blower $50. Then, I found a battery-powered weedwacker in our storage shed. Of course, it had no battery and, sadly, no charger. I ended up choosing to buy both since we really don't need a professional gas-powered weedwacker for the little we have to do. It will be easier to maintain and a lot better for the environment.
News Sources
I'm going to include some links here.
Note: I'm not giving up on my daily trips to UrbanMilwaukee.com and OnMilwaukee.com
These are possibly my local news sources. I say possible since if I find they don't tell me something I don't know and should know, I will quit them.
NOLA Defender
Gambit
Times Picayune
Lay of the Land
I'm planning a photo essay on some things I've noticed about Mandeville that might have interest to my "Urbanist" friends. As I've mentioned to many of you, Mandeville is Mequon South. While it has a richer older history, its recent history is growth because of White Flight from New Orleans after Katrina. (12% in one year.)
This a hugely autocentric area. There is no "mass Transit" unless you count the Taxi company. The four and six-lane highways that flow traffic through the metro or retail mecca are crowded at almost any time of the day.
In the following image, you see the convergence of traffic to the famed Pontchartrain Bridge. (Lower Middle of image) This is the 26-mile motor runway into New Orleans. As you might imagine, at certain times of the day it's difficult to manage with a car. Since we've moved here, it's been closed for short periods of time for weather conditions, mainly visibility problems in wind and rain.
I'm still working out which streets I can safely use my Mo-ped on. A bike isn't any safer on many streets, much less the highways. People have told me I'd be crazy to ride here, but then there is that "What's an old fart like you trying to prove" in some of that commentary. I'm used to that attitude.
The neighborhoods are a series of limited access Cul de sac developments. We live in Tanglewood. Ours is not a gated community, but there are a few of them around. This concept of neighborhood development has some basis in the geography. On the map (Link Below), you will see some prominent green spaces throughout the area. Many of these are wetlands and streambeds. But overall, it's an attempt to stratify the location and create various levels of value. We are not in the "best" neighborhood, but we are on the right side of the tracks if you know what I mean?
Sat Map of My New "Hood"
That little gold star is the location of our house.
A sure sign of a suburban sprawl city is the lack of a Main Street. There s a main street or town center in Madisonville and Abita Springs, but I haven't found one in Mandeville or Covington. The first two are quaint little towns. Think Cedarburg or Thiensville
The usual retail suspects here, and they are scattered all over the place. Like segments tend to group together, such as auto dealers and big-box retail. Lowes and Home Depot are so close together you could walk out of one and be shopping the other and not know it. Okay, that's a little over the top, but...
When you say Northshore here, you're referring to our area. South shore is shorthand for Metairie and New Orleans. We do not have counties. Here they are called Parishes, and I live in St Tammany. I am ashamed to say I do not know who any of my representatives, except Governor Bobby Jindal., who is currently in Iowa campaigning to be the Republican candidate for President of the United States. It's hard to believe, isn't it? I know, and as I've mentioned, the mosquitos followed me here also.
I also know the Mayor of New Orleans is Mitch Landrieu. He seems to be Mayor Barrett with a better stump speech. Progressive City Mayor v. Conservative Republican governor, some things stay the same longer than they should.
Climate:
High of 90-94 degrees.
With the dew point at 74, it feels like 102
The barometer is between 30.11 and 30.15
Chance of rain between 2:00 -6:00 pm 20%
Wind out of the South West 0-10mph
These have been the conditions for the last ten days, and it is predicted to be that way for the next 10 days.
I'm off to do my homework now. There are some lovely things down here, and they just need to be photographed.
Like Milwaukee, this area (Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, and Abita Springs) is built on the marshlands of rivers and streams. I don't know the history of the settling of this area. I need the Louisiana equivalent of John Gurda. If I can't find him, maybe there are multiple sources to make up for the lack of such a community asset.
Located as we are on the Northern shore of Lake Ponchartrain, there are rivers, streams, and wetlands in plentiful supply. While a healthy natural habitat for all kinds of animals, birds, and insects, humans suffer from an overly abundant presence of bugs and critters. Mosquitos are not our friends.
A Slice of Daily Life
We have been to Lowes so much I swear one of the greeters called us by name the other day. Sadly we are not through with this kind of activity. today, we are in search of a lot of stuff but mostly outdoor equipment, garden accessories, and plants
I told the story about Maria scoring a Toro mower, Homelite weed wacker, and an electric blower for $85 bucks at a yard sale. The mower new would have been about $385, the weedwacker $80 - 95, and the blower $50. Then, I found a battery-powered weedwacker in our storage shed. Of course, it had no battery and, sadly, no charger. I ended up choosing to buy both since we really don't need a professional gas-powered weedwacker for the little we have to do. It will be easier to maintain and a lot better for the environment.
News Sources
I'm going to include some links here.
Note: I'm not giving up on my daily trips to UrbanMilwaukee.com and OnMilwaukee.com
These are possibly my local news sources. I say possible since if I find they don't tell me something I don't know and should know, I will quit them.
NOLA Defender
Gambit
Times Picayune
Lay of the Land
I'm planning a photo essay on some things I've noticed about Mandeville that might have interest to my "Urbanist" friends. As I've mentioned to many of you, Mandeville is Mequon South. While it has a richer older history, its recent history is growth because of White Flight from New Orleans after Katrina. (12% in one year.)
This a hugely autocentric area. There is no "mass Transit" unless you count the Taxi company. The four and six-lane highways that flow traffic through the metro or retail mecca are crowded at almost any time of the day.
In the following image, you see the convergence of traffic to the famed Pontchartrain Bridge. (Lower Middle of image) This is the 26-mile motor runway into New Orleans. As you might imagine, at certain times of the day it's difficult to manage with a car. Since we've moved here, it's been closed for short periods of time for weather conditions, mainly visibility problems in wind and rain.
I'm still working out which streets I can safely use my Mo-ped on. A bike isn't any safer on many streets, much less the highways. People have told me I'd be crazy to ride here, but then there is that "What's an old fart like you trying to prove" in some of that commentary. I'm used to that attitude.
The neighborhoods are a series of limited access Cul de sac developments. We live in Tanglewood. Ours is not a gated community, but there are a few of them around. This concept of neighborhood development has some basis in the geography. On the map (Link Below), you will see some prominent green spaces throughout the area. Many of these are wetlands and streambeds. But overall, it's an attempt to stratify the location and create various levels of value. We are not in the "best" neighborhood, but we are on the right side of the tracks if you know what I mean?
Sat Map of My New "Hood"
That little gold star is the location of our house.
A sure sign of a suburban sprawl city is the lack of a Main Street. There s a main street or town center in Madisonville and Abita Springs, but I haven't found one in Mandeville or Covington. The first two are quaint little towns. Think Cedarburg or Thiensville
The usual retail suspects here, and they are scattered all over the place. Like segments tend to group together, such as auto dealers and big-box retail. Lowes and Home Depot are so close together you could walk out of one and be shopping the other and not know it. Okay, that's a little over the top, but...
When you say Northshore here, you're referring to our area. South shore is shorthand for Metairie and New Orleans. We do not have counties. Here they are called Parishes, and I live in St Tammany. I am ashamed to say I do not know who any of my representatives, except Governor Bobby Jindal., who is currently in Iowa campaigning to be the Republican candidate for President of the United States. It's hard to believe, isn't it? I know, and as I've mentioned, the mosquitos followed me here also.
I also know the Mayor of New Orleans is Mitch Landrieu. He seems to be Mayor Barrett with a better stump speech. Progressive City Mayor v. Conservative Republican governor, some things stay the same longer than they should.
Climate:
High of 90-94 degrees.
With the dew point at 74, it feels like 102
The barometer is between 30.11 and 30.15
Chance of rain between 2:00 -6:00 pm 20%
Wind out of the South West 0-10mph
These have been the conditions for the last ten days, and it is predicted to be that way for the next 10 days.
I'm off to do my homework now. There are some lovely things down here, and they just need to be photographed.
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