Adieu to New Orleans

What do you do on the last night you might ever have in NOLA?

We'd heard that the Camellia Grill was a great place to eat, so that was the first thing we did after getting into town. We must have arrived at a good time, because there was so waiting. It's a diner similar to the Apple Pan in Los Angeles with a few more seats. It's fast paced and fun and how can you not love a place where your first conversation is, "Hey, welcome to the Camellia Grill. How y'all doin;?" "Great! How are you?" "Better now that you're here." And I didn't know then, but I know now that they always bring you water, take your order for a drink and give you a fist bump. Bottom line--really good food and a very reasonable price. I'd go there again.

One more drive down St. Charles Avenue to enjoy the incredibly huge, beautiful, old,  oak trees still wearing many Mardi Gras beads from this year, and most likely,  a few years gone by. Except for a few modern conveniences, you'd think you'd just stepped  into a frame from "The Princess and the Frog." Some of those old trolleys haven't changed much in the past century. 

A walk across the trolley tracks at the Dumaine Station gave us this view of the Mississippi River. The gentle evening breeze, billowy clouds and water lapping on the shore made for a very picturesque setting. Somewhere along these banks, in 1849, my great great grandfather disembarked  with his wife and son after crossing the Atlantic Ocean. They'd com from England to join with the Mormon Pioneers After arriving in New Orleans, he and his family sailed up the Mississippi River to Pottawatomie, Iowa then on to Salt Lake City and beyond. But that's another story.

We enjoyed one more walk around Jackson Square. 

As much as we've relished beignets piled high with powdered sugar, I've just about had my fill of  them. Is that Un-American of me? We've brought all of our family here to Cafe du Monde, and they unanimously loved it.

A row of horses and buggies were waiting to take tourists on sightseeing tours, but they weren't very busy. We were quite surprised that the French District was so quiet. Just a side comment. Even the road apples were tolerable compared to the foul odor of last week's gator carcass!

We drove through a few of the streets of New Orleans, and I can actually pronounce them all! Carondolet, Poydras, Decatur, Toulouse, Dauphine, and my favorite, Tchoupitoulas:) Well, I thought I knew them all, then we passed Euterpe, Derbigny, Melpomene and Terpisichore. Another lesson in humility.