New Orleansnny

It was great having Maeve (Tulane 3L) serve as our tour guide;really sped up the learning curve on where to go,where to park,what to see. Found a reasonable hotel downtown,the Drury Great room,Easy in and out parking for $17,pool/hot tub/fitness on the roof, (not utilized,what a surprise) GOOD free breakfast, and 3 free drinks a person from 5-7. (Also not utilized, REALLY a surprise!) Left the trailer at the state park for Sat. and Sun---at $16 a night, it was a cheap parking spot. We did spy an "RV Camping" area in the shadow of the superdome from the elevated highway above, but clearly you would have needed your own bathroom...and your own gun.
      Sat. was the french quarter. Caught some break dancer/comedy guys at Jackson square,and then checked out the line for beignets at the Cafe du Monde. It was onerous, so we ducked into the first bar for a Bloody Mary to go. The french quarter is about 100 square blocks,mobbed with people, and EVERYBODY is carrying a drink. A lot seemed to opt for these neon green containers called hand grenades,but fearful of the sugar content/hangover potential, we stuck with the bloodies. They are made with these pickled green beans for garnish. If I had found a jar of these for sale,I'd have been all over it. Delicious. Speaking of (unspeakably) sweet, I did buy a praline...
      Since Gordon was with us,we headed to a little hole in the wall called Johnny Whites.Seriously dog friendly...check out their website. The bartender there,in appreciation of our buying a couple of their rescue dog calendars made a call and got us a place where we could have dinner indoors with Gordon,rather than outside in the 30 degrees below normal temps.
      Sun. was warmer and the 3 of us returned to the quarter just to stroll...(no drinks this time!) Watched the Superbowl uptown by Maeve's apt. outside in a courtyard with a big fire and a lot of those propane heater things,drinking the local Abita Amber. The Saint's fans seemed to be watching with the same desultory (What happened???) interest as ourselves.
    Between trips up to Maeve's through the garden district,our wanderings in the quarter, and our trips in from the campground through the devastated 9th ward, we really got to see a lot of the city, but felt that there was tons more we couldn't get to...the zoo, museums, some of the ubiquitous seriously high quality music, the 26 mile bridge across Lake Pontrachain, and of course, a Swamp Tour.