Day 15-New Orleans

This was our first full day in New Orleans, although not our first visit.  We were here 5 years ago, and prior to that in the 1970's when my sister lived here.

We were both up by 6:00 AM, so that we could watch the Coronation of King Charles.  Nobody does pageantry better than the British!

Although the weather forecast was terrible, we lucked out when we first got up.  We both showered and as I opened the driver side door I was greeted by this tiny tree frog who somehow managed his way onto the door jamb.  He was a cute little guy, but I didn't want take him into New Orleans, so I coaxed him to the ground.

Our plan for the morning was to meet my niece Molly and her husband Jeff for breakfast at Café Beignet on Royal St. in the old French quarter of New Orleans.  Molly and Jeff live in Chicago and were here for the Jazz Fest, a week long Woodstock like outdoor festival.

The drive from our campsite to the to the causeway was short, only about five miles.  Along the way we stopped at a nearby coffee shop, and as we pulled out of the parking lot, the rain started.  Less than 5 minutes later as we stopped to pay the causeway toll, all hell broke loose:  wind, rain, and lightning.  Our EZ pass wasn't accepted at the toll both, so just as I reached out to pay the toll, the collector said the bridge was just closed.  I was momentarily annoyed, but as we waited out the storm I realized that the slight delay kept us from crossing the causeway, which was a blessing because our van is very susceptible to wind gusts!

This video was shot from our van as we waited out the storm in the parking lot next to the toll booths at the beginning of the causeway.  At one point we wondered if we would ever get across but after 25 minutes the winds and rain diminished and the causeway was re-opened.

Very foggy, light rain, and still some lightning, but the wind had died.

As we waited out the storm we texted Molly to let her know we were being delayed, not knowing when we would get across the lake, we postponed our breakfast with her and Jeff until Sunday morning.

Once we got into New Orleans, the rain was continued, but we were hungry so we headed to the Ruby Slipper Cafe for breakfast.  The line was really long, and we didn't want to wait outside in the rain so we drove to our next choice, Joni always has multiple options for meals,  the Two Chicks Café.  The restaurant was very typical of many New Orleans eateries; funky and informal, but with great food.

An example of funky art.

Traditional eggs benedict with hickory smoked ham, and Cajun hollandaise on a croissant 

Cajun shrimp and grits!

Our next stop was going to be the New Orleans Jazz Museum, which is operated by the National Park Service.  Unfortunately it was being renovated, and only a much smaller exhibit exhibit exists at a different location. After several attempts to find it, however, we gave up.

Moving on, we headed to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, a non-profit museum whose mission is to "explore the culinary history of the Southern states...and explain the roots of Southern food and drinks."  The exhibits were arranged by state and included recipes, biographies of famous cooks/restauranteurs, photographs, and various kitchen gadgets and appliances.  We found it fascinating.

Vests made of beans in the Red Beans and Rice exhibit of Louisiana

The mural in this exhibit illustrates the devastation cause by Hurricane Katrina and recognizes how the role Dooky Chase played in staying opening in order to feed his community.

Anthony Bourdain's show on New Orleans highlighted the importance of Dooky Chase's restaurant to the community.  It was a favorite of MLK, Barack Obama, and other many others involved in our nation's civil rights struggle.

While stopped at a traffic light we noticed the  Zulu Social and Pleasure Club.  I have no idea what goes on here!

As the rain continued we decided to taking a self guided driving tour of some of our favorite places from out last visit, so we stopped at the Superior Seafood restaurant for some raw oysters and mint juleps.  We sat at the raw bar and were entertained by the shucker who said their restaurant sells between 5,000 and 8,000 oysters per day. Their oyster were much larger than those in New England, but very tender and flavorful.

A baker's 1/2 dozen

From Superior Seafood we returned to our campground where the sun was now poking through the clouds just in time to watch the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby.  Not knowing anything about this years horses, and only knowing the names of a few of the jockeys, we thoroughly enjoyed the race.  The winning horse and jockey were both from Venezuela, and paid 15-1.