Road Trip 2024 Day 5

November 14, 2024

 

Note: I’m writing this on November 15 given that I was having so much fun and didn’t have time to blog at the end of the day. Apologies for the delay.

~~~

It was quite a day! We left Montgomery and its creepy non-existent traffic early as we had a 4 ½ hour drive to New Orleans in front of us. It was also going to be a momentous day as Terry and I were checking off our respective 50^th states and Mum her 49^th. The first few hours were just your basic highway and then all of a sudden the sign for Mississippi went whizzing by. Didn’t even have a chance to grab my phone for a shot of it. Fortunately, there was a welcome center a mile later and we pulled in and they had the best sign for taking pictures. So, we all posed underneath this momentous sign to mark the occasion of my 50^th state that I’ve visited.

 

 

#50 for me, #49 for Terry, #48 for Mum!

 

The woman who took our picture shook my hand when Terry told her it was my 50^th state. It was adorable. 

 

We also stopped for another solitary picnic while at the rest stop and continued our picnic tradition eating in the company of absolutely no one else.  

 

Back on the road for another hour and shazam! We’re in Louisiana. And another welcome center to commemorate another 50^th state.

 

#50 for Terry and #49 for Mum

Now we just need to figure out when to go to Hawaii to check off Mum’s 50^th state! Anyone want to join us?

 

We reached New Orleans around 2:30 and easily found our hotel thanks to Terry’s driving skills. Unfortunately, our room wasn’t ready and we had to leave at 3:30 because I had made a reservation for a guided tour of the French Quarter. We left our worldly possession in safe keeping with Ross the valet (who is the best valet in the history of valets) and Ubered off to Jackson Square where we met Yvonne, a native New Orleanian whose father worked on a steamboat for years. Very knowledgeable and passionate about New Orleans.

 

Yvonne led us on a historical and architectural tour of the French Quarter and did a great job. She was a wonderful storyteller and had done a great deal of research on little known facts that really added to the story. It was a fascinating history of the city and its people.

 

We ended the tour on the back side of the Basilica where a statue of Jesus was lit up by a flood light. Yvonne shared with us that the shadow of Jesus on the Basilica is known locally as Touch Down Jesus so of course this is the picture I had to share. 

 

After the tour, we went to the NOLA Poboy restaurant that Yvonne recommended and got ourselves some authentic poboys. Mum and Terry shared a fried shrimp, and I got a roast beef poboy. They were HUGE! Jeeze Louise! Fortunately, they were also really good, and we checked another New Orleans must have off of our list. Note in the photos that Terry and Mum are delicately biting into their poboy while I am attacking mine. Warning: Don't get between me and my food!

 

We then had plans to go to the Toulouse Theater, home of Preservation Hall music. Our seats were phenomenal – right in the front of the stage. 

 

The musicians were amazing and had a wonderful connection with each other. Being so close to them, it was fascinating to see how the leader sent subtle non-verbal messages to the others on the stage about what they were going to do and when to come back in as a band after the individual solos. 

I’m so glad we had a chance to experience this. We’ve only been in New Orleans for 8 hours and we’ve already fully immersed ourselves some of the most wonderful New Orleans experiences. Life is freaking good.