Finding America

Day 4

After a little exercise and editing we left Kodi and headed into New Orleans for the day. With our compass set we followed our trusty GPS system and landed squarely in the heart of the French Quarter. A short walk brought us to Jackson Square and our stomachs lead us to Café du Monde. Sitting amidst the tourist and locals enjoying beignets and lattes has to be one of the best ways to start any day. The best way to describe a beignet is to imagine the offspring of a kryspy kreme donut and a funnel cake. Covered in powdered sugar and served three to a plate. Whoa Momma!

We walked around the French Quarter and from the look of things you really couldn’t tell that Katrina had come through at all. Mardi Gras ended a week before we arrived and there were still strings of beads hanging from telephone wires overhead. Bourbon street, the infamous party headquarters was quiet at 11 a.m. and the street performers were just setting up shop and tuning up their instruments.

Around lunch time we stopped in for a bite to eat in the Garden district and then drove around looking at the New Orleans homes and architecture. It was really cool to drive by a so many homes with historic registry plaques. You kind of get a sense of place and permanence when the building you are looking at is generations older than you are. The weather was perfect and with windows down we wound our way through the homes of this historic district.

Returning to the trailer we laid down on our amazingly comfortable memory foam mattress and cashed out for a long awaited nap. I worked on some web updates while Kamrin continued to nap. Around 4 p.m. we drove over to the banks of the Mississippi and we took a nice walk along the levy. There is a paved bike path and it was well trafficked as the sunset rapidly approached. It was so pleasant walking along the river watching the barges head up stream and seeing the children of the neighborhood play along the grassy hill of the levy.

We met one of Kamrin’s former volleyball teammates for dinner at Drago’s. This restaurant is well known for it’s Gumbo and Oysters and we took full advantage of their culinary expertise. It was good seeing Meagan again and hearing about what is happening with her and with the inhabitants of New Orleans. She said that most her friends and family had returned to New Orleans and life had returned to some semblance of normalcy.

After saying goodbye it was off to bed…..Ahhhh Bed.