Day 7- Get your New Orleans here!

I sit beside Amy's deathbed to recap our arrival into new orleans. I feel it important to point out I am listening to her vomit and serving her mineral water and pepto because she is hung over while I enjoyed a breakfast and walk about through the quarter; and you guys thought I would drink too much!! haha.



We crossed the Texas boarder and straight into Baton Rouge, swamp lands galore.



I noticed a sign for whiskey bay and automatically remembered why I love new orleans so,



After fighting to stay in the car we arrived in the French Quarter, with pigeons to greet me on the balcony. Too cute.



We checked in and headed to the pool to wash off the layers of insect repellant and sunblock, I wouldn't want to swim with us but figured people were drunk so who would know I was using the pool as my giant bathtub. Get your sponge bath here!



We sat up on the balcony and drank for about two hours, watching the sunset over the mary poppins and peter pan rooftops then headed down to the streets where I got my first mint julip, delicious. Chopped up mint leaves with Tennessee bourbon and orange peels, nice buzz!





We pretty much hit bars and chatted with people, man do people like to drink here. We ended the night at Jean Lafyettes, the oldest bar in New Orleans, from 1734.



How I kept my cool is beyond me, besides scraping off wood from the tables and walls to add to my collection of nostalgia I was pretty good. No tits, no ass, no drugs, and woke up this morning with a pure recollection of the nights activities, odd huh? Amy said she will take care of me tonight and I may take her up on this as I want to go to the absinthe bar later!

On a side note, yet probably most important is the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. The French Quarter is how I remember it, not too much damage. The woman who checked me in to the hotel was named Jerry and she lost everything during the hurricane, an older black woman. She gave me directions to the 9th ward, where much of the damage occurred. I asked her if it would be disrespectful to drive out and take pictures, she told me they offer tours. Sad huh? She also firmly believes the levy was purposely destroyed by the government in order to prevent flooding downstream, the nicer part of the city. She said it happened before in 1927, destroying many native american homes. I felt so bad for her, losing everything then coming to work in a section of the city that was saved because it had 'more value'. There is an awful lot of folks in poverty here, lots of anger, and in todays paper there was an article about none of the 15 parks in the poor neighborhoods used to house trailers during the event have yet to re-opened, they all lay chained up and vacant; none of the kids have a public pool to swim in. There is a disappointment with FEMA and the officials. Anyhow, I do what I can and feel that the more I know so many of the places I once loved bring sadness, like disneyland and winchester house.

It's like they say, ignorance is bliss.

Going out to walk the streets now with my camera. Amy is still in bed! Yes, I am going to drink another mint julip, hopefully we will make the steam boat cruise in two hours.

-Bec