I’m finally getting around to writing about our recent 11-day trip to New Orleans. As always, we had a marvelous time. Exhausting, but marvelous. We decided to drive rather than fly this time and I must say, I think I preferred that. It’s about a 10 hour drive for us, which sounds like a lot until you realize that to fly requires an almost 2 hour drive to the airport in order to be there an hour before the flight. We then have a layover, usually in Houston. When all is said and done, it only takes us a couple of hours longer to drive and without all the hustle and bustle that air travel entails. Now that we have a Prius, the cost of gas is negligible. We filled up once each way. It’s a comfortable vehicle and it was nice to not have to worry about how we packed. Plus, it was a gorgeous drive (I wish I had asked David to stop so I could photograph all the blooming wisteria climbing the trees) and we enjoyed having so much time to just talk with no distractions. I also picked up a couple of audio books for us to listen to which was fun and made the trip go by faster. (For those who need to know these things: “The Secret Life of Bees” and “The Sookie Stackhouse Stories”)
We arrived on a Thursday evening, checked into the St. Christopher Hotel and then crossed the street in order to have dinner at Maggie Rita’s. You can see a picture of my meal here. It had been a long day and we were tired so we just went back to our room instead of going out. Besides, we had to be up early the next morning in order to march in the French Quarter Fest parade! Here are pictures of us before the parade.
I won’t even attempt to recount the entire trip but I’ll just share some pictures here:
A long-time fixture in the French Quarter, he has
achieved fame via Playing For Change.
Bryan Ory. We purchased this for David’s office.
and a Robert Shoen statue called “Old Man River”

on a tour of the French Quarter.
The lovely St. Louis cathedral in the background.

Aren’t these charming?
We bought two place settings of the fleur de lis design.
I plan to add more with each future visit.
in the French Quarter told me that there is a
legend which states that if you walk barefoot in
New Orleans, you will one day live there.
She would be perfect in a pirate movie.

Our friend, Jay.
He and David had way too much fun together,
including an impromptu sword fight with Nerf swords
in the middle of the blocked off street during Shore Leave.
This is his, “Hey! I’ve got an idea” pose.
David says there’s a 40% chance it will be a good idea
but he’s in no matter what.
this is the view that made me fall in love
with New Orleans almost 29 years ago.
the oldest Catholic cathedral in continuous use in the United States.

The Cabildo, once the seat of colonial government
in New Orleans and now a museum.
It sits adjacent to the Cathedral which you see to the right.

Jackson Square, also known as Place d’Armes,
with an equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson in the middle.
Who dat!