Day 15 & 16: NOLA

“The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back” Wendy Wunder

So after the cockroach situation I was feeling pretty discouraged, I was honestly ready to just get on the freeway yesterday morning and start driving. I sat in my car for a little while and wrote some postcards and decided that I shouldn't let that bad experience ruin my day. I was excited for New Orleans and I should go check it out no matter how I felt at the moment. I'm really glad I did because it ended up being my favorite city I've been to this whole trip.

I started the day out by trying to navigate the tiny streets in the French Quarter, I found 2 hour parking so I decided to just park and walk around a bit. I looked up where to get beignets because I was bound and determined to eat as much New Orleans style food as I could. I found a little shop called cafe beignet, which is not as popular as cafe du monde (another place known for beignets) and got some coffee and 3 beignets. Now I'm not sure I have ever eaten beignets before but these were the best ones I've ever had. If you don't know what they are, they are French style donuts with no holes in the middle, sprinkled in powdered sugar. I spent some time in the cafe people watching and then went to walk around the French Quarter. I had no destination in mind so I just walked up and down the the tourist filled streets, going in and out of shops, some just to escape the heat and humidity. The history in that city is astounding, you can feel the energy all around you. The architecture is beautiful as well, each home and restaurant had a unique color and style, no two places looked alike. I knew my parking was about to be up so I went back to my car and drove around, I saw some parking by the river next to town so I headed over there and luckily there was a spot and no time limit, so I could just leave my car there.

The parking lot was next to a beautiful park that was parallel to a very grand white church. I walked around there for awhile and then went back into the quarter, I was perfectly content just walking around the city, there was so much to look at and so much going on. Jazz musicians were playing on the sidewalk and palm readers were trying to summon tourists to their tables. I happened upon a farmer and goods market, similar to pikes place, nearby to the park. Rows and rows of people selling their art and merchandise, among several restaurants selling traditional Nola food and drinks. Much like Vegas, it's legal to walk around with alcohol, so many vendors were selling frozen margaritas and daiquiris in large souvenir cups. I walked up and down all the aisles and actually bought some stuff for myself. I haven't bought anything besides souvenirs so it was fun to do some shopping, I got some gifts for some people and then went back to my car. I signed up for a ghost and vampire walking tour and my phone was almost dead so I needed to charge it before I left. I spent about an hour in my car reading while my phone charged, and as lame as that sounds, I actually enjoyed the alone time a lot.

I left to go to the walking tour and as I was walking down a side street I saw a very cute and fat Siamese cat sitting on the street. Me, being the crazy cat lady I am, of course took a picture and went to pet it. It let me pet it for a minute or two before heading back to it's house, this interaction made my day. I'd been missing my cat a lot and it was good to see and pet a friendly cat. I got to the tour headquarters and waited for the tour to start. There was a group of about 20 of us that all head out into the streets of the French Quarter, the large and boisterous tour guide told us stories of ghosts and spirits around the city. There are 4 million corpses in New Orleans in ratio to the 400,000 living so it's gained it's reputation as the most haunted city in the USA. We walked by the most haunted house in New Orleans and I could definitely feel the negative energy coming from it, so much so that it gave me a headache. We heard some stories about alleged vampire attacks in the city as well. There was a pretty cute kid that was on the tour with us that kept asking questions, he was very into it. I was planning on leaving after the tour, but couldn't without trying some cajun food. I found a place called Gumbo Shop and the line was out the door, so I figured it had to be good. I waited in line for about 20 minutes and got a table out on the patio. My waiter seemed a little frazzled and confused. He was dripping in sweat and running around like a chicken with his head cut off. It took him at least 5 minutes just to come take my drink order. I ended up getting chicken gumbo, garlic mashed potatoes and for dessert a praline sundae, it all hit the spot very well.

After dinner I headed to my car. I had had a really good day that had made up for some of the previous. I spread some of my mom's ashes by the river front and headed out. I stayed in Baton Rouge last night (I was not staying in that other hotel another night) which is about an hour and half outside New Orleans. The woman working the front desk had a thick southern accent and said I was a soldier for travelling by myself and coming so far. It was a nice thing to hear, and the most conversation I'd had in a few days. Minus the guy in the gay gift shop who was from Clackamas, Or. I drove over 9 hours to get to Oklahoma City tonight. I decided yesterday that I'm going to head home and if I can bust it out, I can be back in Portland by Friday and in Seattle for pride. This trip has been a huge growing experience for me and I'm really excited to go home and start over again.