Day Forty-six - Jul 24, 2000
New Orleans, LA
Daily Didactic
Today began with a "nearly-flat" and a trip up the road to a tire repair shop. An hour and a half later, with the tire (mostly) repaired, we headed into New Orleans to do the tourist thing through the French Quarter. In what is becoming sort of a trademark for us, we took a wrong turn and immediately drove back into Mississippi. This, however, turned into a very interesting drive into New Orleans the "other way", which was very poor and rural and educational for us. We came back across I-90 into Louisiana and saw what looked a lot like a little abject poverty. We eventually reached New Orleans and worked our way up Canal Street to some parking just outside of the French Quarter. The French Quarter is the home of the large New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration, and is also plenty touristy. This is the first place we have been, outside of New York City, that holds the trifecta of the Hard Rock Cafe, House of Blues, and Tower Records all within a few blocks. You could almost hear the money being sucked out of pockets. We began passing out our share at the hip New Orleans House of Blues for a little lunch. After nourishment, we walked around the historic French Quarter. We spent much of the stroll marveling at architecture, and more specifically confused by the complete lack of structural support for the majority of decks that people crowd onto during Mardi Gras to throw beads and bare body parts. We eventually made it to Bourbon street, where it does appear that you can buy just about anything you are after. While we were both entertained by the French Quarter, neither of us being big partiers or connoisseurs of fine food, we were a little underwhelmed and headed back for our little kabin oasis. We got a bite of authentic chain restaurant cajun cooking and called it an early evening, in preparation for a early morning assault on Texas.
Today's Photos
