Beaches and Bayous

 July 30

We arrived at my house at 2 am this morning and managed to get a few hours of sleep before we re-packed our suitcases and headed out on a road trip for continent #4 of summer vacation. A four drive got us to Gulfport, Mississippi. Charisse wanted to spend a little time at the casino, so we went to the Beau Rivage, but my exhaustion wouldn't let me enjoy myself. I found a quiet spot and just sat down until it was time to go. The next day we went to the beach and finally relaxed for a few hours - until thunder ran us off the beach. We left Gulfport and headed to NOLA for two days. We stayed at a very interesting little Airbnb on Saint Claude Avenue. After a quick trip to Walmart for groceries and a stop by an Italian restaurant for take- out for dinner, Charisse and I attempted to enjoy the hot tub at the Airbnb, but the mosquitoes wouldn't allow it.  The next day we took the bus down to the French Quarter and walked around a bit before getting on a streetcar that dropped us off at Caesar's Palace. Charisse went inside the casino, while Ross and I decided to walk back to Bourbon Street.

 

We wandered in and out of various shops, purchasing a few souvenirs, and a store where I bought a book entitled Spirits of New Orleans. Then we went to Pier 424 Seafood Market, a restaurant where Ross ordered a dish called the taste of New Orleans. It had individual dishes of crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, and gumbo. The crawfish etouffee was his favorite. We then walked on to Tropical Isle, where I got a very large drink called a hand grenade. You can't do NOLA without beignets, so I made sure to stop in at Cafe Beignet for some tasty fried dough. 

                                               

   Later that afternoon the three of us linked back up for a haunted history tour that we had booked. This was a really interesting walking tour that took us around various sites in the French Quarter, including the most haunted building in New Orleans, the LaLaurie house, which was the scene of mass tortures and murders.