After we left San Antonio, we had a very long drive ahead of us. We wanted to drive all the way to New Orleans but we still did not have a couch lined up for our stay. Asa's aunt and uncle passed on the phone number for a couple they know in New Orleans. We called Don and Mary hoping to be able to sleep on their couch. Don phoned us back and asked how he could help us. I told him it would help if he could find a couch for us to sleep on. He said he would get on it and then call us back. So we drove...Don called us back after 6 o'clock and offered us a patch of floor in his medical clinic. He said it wouldn't be fancy, but we were welcome to it. We called him back to accept the offer but he had already made a reservation for us at the Parisian Courtyard Inn. I was a bit flabbergasted by this generosity, we were totally ready to sleep on the floor. But Don assured Asa that he wanted us to be safe during the night and that it was not a problem for us to stay at the Inn. We arrived at 10 p.m. and settled right in to bed.
After our breakfast of apple fritter bread and chickory coffee we headed to the French Quarter. We walked around and enjoyed some beignets from Cafe Du Monde. We even found a National Historic Site and Museum!We visited Don at his medical clinic to thank him for our lodgings and chat with him about his work here in New Orleans and our trip. Don gave us a lunch recommendation and we were on our way.
We have been on this trip for 49 days now and it wasn't until we arrived in New Orleans that people started to caution us about our safety. Everyone we spoke with mentioned some danger or another in this city. It made me feel a bit nervous, but we've found New Orleans to be beautiful and its people to be nice enough. They aren't near as friendly as Texans, but they certainly are not dangerous seeming. I worried about the car a fair amount and we stayed together, "just in case"!
We decided to stay another night and got a hotel. It is the second time we have payed for a hotel during our trip. We were able to relax in the hotel room, listen to the concert in the park next door and then go get a delicious dinner at Jazmine Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant by the college campus.
Today we hit the road for the mountains of Tennessee. It's raining out there, but I'm hoping to out drive the rain so we can camp in dry weather.
Hi Guys. New Orleans is such a very differnt place. Even before katrina people would warn you to "stay safe", "stay together", "stay on the main well lit streets"...etc
ReplyDeleteI however never felt nervous there. I loved new Orleans, the food, the people, even the homeless were friendly and entertaining, at least in the Quarter. I've been back only once since Katrina and it was still a mysterious city with great food...but it definitely held a more dangerous vibe than before, at lest t felt that way to me. Im glad you made it out safe. Have a wonderful trip. Much love, Karisa