May 27 – “Day 24: French Town”

Well, the beach vacation ended.  It was time to move on to something else.  New experiences?  Why not?  How about New … Orleans?  Josh had been there, but no one else had.  Well, Chris and I drove through many years ago, but we didn’t stop.  So … new again.

 

We actually left first, but it didn’t take Josh long to catch up with us.  And New Orleans was only a few hours away, so we made plans to meet in Slidell for lunch at Chick-fil-A.  No problem there.  Well, except the parking lot was packed when we arrived.  Chris and I had to make a second circle around the block to find a spot.  But we made it.  We all ate.  And we were back on the road. 

 

Why such a desire to get back on the road?  We had tickets to go see the National World War II Museum at 2 p.m.  I think we finally pulled up a little after two, but it was not a problem.  I think they were having a really slow day.  That museum is pretty powerful, though.  It consists of two or three … buildings.  I thought we were at the Smithsonian or something.  There were airplanes of all sizes, artifacts from the war, and even some interactive exhibits with personal testimonies of people who were involved in the war effort.  We did find a little bear who somehow made his way into our possession.  Cute little guy.  Red t-shirt. 

 

After the museum we checked into our hotel that Christi picked.  The Drury Plaza.  Pretty snazzy downtown structure.  Our room could only be accessed by the gold elevators on the first floor.  We were on the very top floor (nine).  Very nice room.  Kind of small, but it had a huge TV.  Just happened to be a night the Astros were being televised on ESPN, too. 

 

But before settling in to a night of baseball, we had one more important stop to make.  This was Christi’s one request for the trip, so Josh was determine to make it happen.  We found a place to park across from Jackson Square and walked down the riverfront to a place called Café DuMonde.  They are famous for their coffee and beignets.  I didn’t even know what a beignet was.  I do now.  It’s a heavy version of Pancho’s sopapillas eaten with lots and lots of powdered sugar.  Really good dessert.  Christi?  Check.

 

After we ate we walked around the square once, then Josh took us on a driving tour of “French Town,” as Caleb dubbed the French Quarter.  We got to drive across the famous Bourbon Street.  Now I never have to worry about doing that again.  Check.  Phew.  All this “new” stuff is making me tired.

 

Matthew 6:14 says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

 

Father, thank you yet again for new experiences.  Keep ‘em coming.  Amen.