“The Big Easy”

Our visit to New Orleans was a memorable one.  We spent the day taking in the sights and experiencing the fantastic food.  Our one-day street car pass was a great $3 investment (really, only three bucks!). 

New Orleans Streetcar

French Quarter street performers

Typical French Quarter Street

Strolling through the French Quarter was interesting.  The streets were narrow and the architecture seemed like something you would see in Europe.  Since our visit was on a Monday, the streets were not too crowded. 

Bourbon Street was a hoot!  I can’t imagine what it would be like at night, let along during Mardi Gras.   I suppose WILD wouldn’t come close to describing it. 

Inside a bar on Bourbon Street

Since Mardi Gras was coming up, many storefronts and homes were already decorated for the much anticipated event.

Ready for Mardi Gras

 We experienced beignets for the first time. OK, clean up your mind…. Beignets are Louisiana pastry that resembles a donut of sorts and oh are they wonderful! We enjoyed them while sipping an adult coffee and listening to some good jazz at an outdoor cafe.

Yummm, wanna bite?

Jazz band at Cafe Beignet

We toured the beautiful Garden District on the streetcar.  The homes were amazing; very stately and historic.  The area was beautiful and appropriately named. 

Beautiful Garden District homes

We completed our day with a fantastic dinner at Joey K’s in the heart of the Garden District.  This restaurant was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-in’s and Dives” show. 

We both enjoyed their renowned Shrimp Magazine, a pasta dish with shrimp and garlic.  It was amazing; in fact, just writing about it is making my mouth water. 

Since I don’t think I’ll be returning to Joey K’s in the near future, I’ll have to try to recreate it when I get home.

On the last day of our stay in Gulfport, we enjoyed lunch at “Steve’s Marina” in Long Beach, Mississippi with a couple we met at the campground, Joe and Bunny.  Joe was an interesting man; a Vietnam vet and biker.  He and his wife were full-time RVers.   Our only regret was that we weren’t introduced to this restaurant earlier.  The food was great; I experienced seafood gumbo for the first time.

Elevated highway in Louisiana

The next morning we headed to Texas.  We laid over in Duson, LA for one night on the journey due to bad thunderstorms in the area.