Last Day in New Orleans

Saturday, April 09, 2016
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Our last day on this trip and in New Orleans. Jack needs to go on a long training run so we get up and drive a few miles through the garden district to Audubon Park.

While Jack is running we head to a local coffee shop for breakfast . Cafe Sumatra was excellent and recommended. Coffee and breakfast were both delicious. It is located in a neighborhood with grand old trees and narrow streets.

Jack ran about 13 miles through Audubon Park and on the railway of the streetcars. People walk, run and bike between the rails, moving out of the way of the streetcars when they approach.

After Jack is finished running we get him some breakfast and then browse the shops on Magazine street. Boutiques, antique shops, cafes, and other shops are spread out in neighborhood clusters along the 4 miles of Magazine street in the garden district. Mostly Lauralee and Grace browse the shops while Jack and I stalk them in the car.

By now it is lunch time so we head to another coffee shop/cafe where Yelp reviews and photos failed us. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. I have to say typically we have found Yelp to be pretty helpful and accurate during our road trip adventures, but not so much here in New Orleans . A couple of times we set out for a restaurant that we scooped out on Yelp only to find something very different when we saw it in person. So trust but verify Yelp while in New Orleans.

After lunch we head back to our hotel so Jack freshen up - that 13 mile run ripens a young man. We take the opportunity to rest our feet for awhile before heading back to the French Quarter to browse a few more antique shops. The French Quarter is crazy busy today. There is a "French Quarter Festival" going on with stages setup on various streets with jazz bands playing. People have brought their folding chairs and are seated in the streets listening to the music. The people seated are mostly older people. Then there are the younger people going from bar to bar, drinking and dancing and swearing. Fowl and crass language is all around, the worst we have experienced in any of our travels. Keep it classy N'awlins.

Having seen and heard enough we say farewell to the French Quarter for the last time this trip . Back to our hotel to pack for our trip home tomorrow. Dinner is at Legacy Kitchen just a few blocks from our hotel. We have skipped many of the historic restaurants like, NOLA, Emeril's, Commanders Palace, Brennan's and others as they primarily serve Cajun and Creole food with lots of crawfish and shrimp which we don't like. Legacy Kitchen turns out to be another good find amongst the sea of gumbo restaurants.

After eating too much we take a walk through the warehouse district before returning to out hotel. Along the way we are moving against the tide of people making their way to the French Quarter. There must be some beg concerts at the festival tonight. The French Quarter is going to be packed tonight. So glad we are heading home tomorrow.

It has been a great trip. Charlotte was a beautiful city where we had fun with our friends and speeding in a NASCAR race car. The Billy Graham library was inspirational and Biltmore Estate was humongous. Spartanburg was sparse, while Greenville was filled with good food, coffee, and an inviting historic downtown. New Orleans is fun and crazy. The jazz music and historic neighborhoods are fun, the French Quarter is just plain crazy. The gulf coast of Mississippi and Louisiana are somewhere between destruction and rebuilding. White soft sand beaches and muddy water.

So there is the trip. 49 states down, only Alaska to go. Thanks for trekking along.
Jon

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2025-02-11

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