New Orleans: Swamps, Beach and Cafe Du Monde

Oooffff. I am lollygagging on the sofa in the apartment we have for the week. As you might have already guessed, it is in the French Quarter right along the busiest music district in the city or so it would seem. Jazz is flavoring the air once more and the scents of the restaurants are floating in the window. However, that is now.

Early this morning things aligned so that we were able to go out to the Cajun Encounters swamp tour. We had the knowledgeable tug boat captain Billy to spin tales of the swamp and explain the wildlife to us. It was great to drift down the river and nestle among the cyprus trees and spanish moss. There were alligators and egrets, blue heron and turtles, raccoons and flying fish. I really enjoyed it and then he offered to let me drive the boat...so I did. Up to full speed too! We also saw first hand the homes of the swamp dwellers and did see the impact that Hurricane Katrina had on the population. Turns out that he himself lost everything in the backwash.

After a thoroughly enjoyable tour, the guide mentioned that if we drove...and turned left out of the drive instead of right, that we would wind up on a beach on the Gulf Of Mexico. The three of us looked at each other and that was all it took. Off to the beach. It was a gloriously hot and sunny day, why not? So, we drove and suddenly realized from the signage that we were not in Louisiana anymore. Welcome to Mississippi! Nothing loth, we went to the beach anyway and had it almost to ourselves. Yellow fine sand, warm waters and dolphins playing in the shallows. In the distance was the Casino.

So, we took pictures and walked the beach and then realized that if we went to the Casino, we would have played in two states in less than 24 hours. That was too funny not to do. After that, we drifted back into town and found the WWII Museum. That was a technological overview of the war from the American perspective. It was interesting and diverse. They also had some graphic images. My favorite of course was the nose art from the WWII bombers. I still love that stuff.

Then, it was dinner time. I asked a local walking his dog and he recommended Cochon. It was absolutely finger licking (But don't do that it is rather posh) delicious. We sampled alligator, grits, twice stuffed potatoes, mac and cheese and gumbo. So tasty that for the first time this trip I totally overate. And I wasn't finished. After dinner and shopping for treats along the French Quarter, we stopped for dessert at Cafe du Monde. It was powdery and quite fabulous. So, now we wait for the concerts to stop and sleep to arrive. Night again. One more day tomorrow.

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