Day21 New Orleans, LA

When we first got off I-10, we realized we had gotten off too soon and were driving around, lost in a neighborhood with small damaged houses. Windows were broken or boarded up and it was very dark. It took a moment to realize that this wasn’t the all too common, impoverished urban landscape we encounter in some city neighborhoods. This dark place was abandoned.

We eventually found our way to our hotel in downtown New Orleans where we stayed in a really nice room at greatly reduced rates. Other guests that evening included the Louisiana National Guard and State Police.

The next morning, we walked over to the French Quarter and ate beignets and had some coffee at the Café du Monde near Jackson Square. It was very luxurious to be a tourist for a moment and we just sat and looked around. Someone was singing “My Girl” to a table full of tourists. Another group of young people were flirting with each other, playing with their powdered sugar. Once we finished, we went around the square checking out possible sites to park the bell later in the day.

Then we checked out and headed over a bridge into 9th Ward.