The Big Easy

A day relaxing and exploring in one of my favorite cities in the world with the added benefit of it feeling like home...

Most people don't think of the fact that my hometown of Mobile, Al is only a little more than two hours from New Orleans. The two cities have way more in common than Mobile has to anyplace two hours north within the state of Alabama. The Gulf Coast and the lasting legacy of rule under 5 nations (Spanish, British, French, Confederate States, and the United States) have left their mark on the all over the architecture, music, food, culture, and people. This region is my home, and my body and soul memory slide easily into the rhythms of the known. It feels good.

Added to all of the above was the great treat of being there with my sister in the place that she and Shannon now call home. I slept on their comfy couch and then headed back across the river to meet up with Jerry for breakfast while Gigi and Shannon slept in. Jerry and I road the streetcar into downtown and explored the French Market for a little while. Then Gigi met up with us around lunch time and we went to a great jazz brunch at The Court of Two Sisters. Fantastic food and great jazz. After that Gigi and I headed off to have some brother-and-sister time till dinner. We had a great time and Shannon was able to join us for a bit and we all watched a some World Cup action.

We all had a great dinner and on the way home swung by Bourbon Street so that Jerry could see it. Gigi and Shannon dropped us off and Jerry and I walk for 4 blocks down Bourbon. It was only 8:30pm but the energy of that place on a Saturday night was already electric even though we were still 4hrs or so away from when the place would be packed. There are so many memories for me on Bourbon. Everything from me trying to perform a little impromptu tap dance when I was around 5 or so, to high school graduation night (lost a lot of those memories in the process), to searching for Amy's cousin Ben in 1996. There is no place like Bourbon in the world. It is a world unto itself...