Today we left Gulf Shores. It was very hard to leave Clyde, who very kindly drove us all over two states and kept buying us great meals, and Nancy, who shelled for hours beside me, made delicious dinners and taught me that “penguin” is an acceptable nickname for pelicans. But we have to move on now. The only good part about that is knowing we’ll met up again someday.
Our route took us through 3 states in only 185 miles - out of Alabama, across Mississippi, and into Louisiana. We didn’t need to stop for meals, we just had leftovers from Lambert’s Cafe for breakfast and lunch. We traveled most of the day under an overcast sky and pulled into New Orleans around 1:30. Hooked up the RV and walked downtown.
I forgot that the tourist carriages here are drawn by mules instead of horses. It’s a nice touch that makes this city a little more unique. I always check out how the animals that pull tourist carriages look, and these look like they are in good health. We headed to Cafe Du Monde and although it was busy we got a seat right away, which is a sign that the tourism rush caused by the football game is over. Cafe Du Monde is very famous for serving just two things - Beignets and nonalcoholic drinks. Amazing! But the Beignets are wonderful - freshly fried, thick and chewy, and covered with powered sugar. A ton of powered sugar. It’s surprising how great these simple things are.
We wanted fresh oysters and in New Orleans we know where to get them: Acme Oyster Company. We ordered a dozen and I watched Randy to see how to eat them - on a cracker with lemon juice and red sauce. Their oysters are always fresh and I take Randy’s word on it that they are great; for me they are . . . interesting. But I think I could develop a taste for them.
Later we watched a guy at the Cigar Factory roll cigars. He gathered a few leaves (they were not as brittle as I thought they would be), pressed them together in the palm of his hand, added more, crushed them together, added more, and eventually rolled the mass diagonally across a single leaf to keep it in the right shape. Then it was put into the bottom section of a cigar mold. After the mold is full (about 6 cigars), the top half of the mold is put on and it’s pressed for 4 hours. Then the final outside leaf is put on. The guy said that most of the flavor in a cigar comes from the outside leaf, so they use a special one for that. It was pretty interesting to see it done and even though I don’t smoke, I have to admit they smelled wonderful.
We walked around the French Quarter a good bit, looking into antique stores with amazing furniture and walking past stripper bars. New Orleans is an odd city, with great potential and a fascinating history, but they often seem to pander to the lowest tastes. Unfortunately that is what sells.
After we walked back to the RV park we finished the day by soaking in the hot tub, which is one of my favorite things to do! Tomorrow we'll see more of this city.
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