From Biloxi to The Big Easy

The destruction from Hurricane Katrina was still evident as we drove through Biloxi and Gulfport on our way to New Orleans. There are countless beachfront properties for sale; on most of these all that remain are foundations of the houses that once stood. The casinos look great, however, and we won $13.00 which just about paid for our lunch at Pirates Cove PoBoys in Pass Christian, MS. A quick shout-out to our friend at the Tom Thumb Mart for the recommendation, although I’m curious as to how he gets through one of those delicious, French bread sandwiches with so few teeth!

We stopped at the Louisiana Welcome Center for advice on camping around New Orleans. The gentleman there put us onto the Bayou Segnette State Park….great camping just SW of downtown. We set up camp and headed to Acme’s Seafood for dinner; if you find yourself there, the Oyster Rockefeller Soup and Chargrilled Oysters are musts! We found good parking in the French Quarter and walked down Bourbon Street, which was surprisingly crowded for a Monday night. Our favorite part was drinking Hurricanes and listening to jazz standards. Here are some pictures that should do better than my words could:

The following day was spent touring the French Quarter and Garden District. Beautiful city, great architecture, kitschy shops, and a freaky-ass grave digger named Shawn who we encountered in one of New Orleans famous, above-ground cemeteries. Likes: sifting through remains, boiled cabbage, early-morning funerals, chasing people from the grounds after close. Dislikes: commercial tour guides, brushing and flossing.

Clouds were on the horizon, so we broke down the tent and set up the car for sleeping…which was much easier after Jared organized our belongings. We had planned on grilling, but given the weather we had dinner at Boucherie in Uptown. Another great meal followed by their signature dessert: Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding. Uh, yeah, you read that right, and it was out of this world!

On our way to Memphis via the Blues Highway. Until then…