Days 20-22, Laurel, MS & New Orleans, LA

On Tuesday, April 6th, we left HD Farm and headed towards New Orleans.  On the way, we decided to make a stop in Laurel, MS, where the HDTV show Hometown is filmed.

It was fun to see the Scotsman workshop, the place where Ben turns his lathe.  He wasn't there that day, but had been there the day before according to one of the employees in the general store.

We walked the town and drove through nearby streets to see if we recognized any of the remodeled homes from the show.  We saw one for sure.

After Laurel, we pulled into New Orleans about 2pm.  Noel and Mike were waiting for us in the driveway to help us park the trailer in a comically narrow space.  With God's grace we made it!  We backed it in most of the way, then unhitched it and pushed it back the rest of the way.

We stayed in a VRBO rental home, arranged by Mike and Noel, walking distance to the French Quarter. It had a very authentic New Orleans feel. We stayed in the first night.  Mike and Noel made a delicious chicken & rice dinner, recipe by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa.  It was great to laugh, drink and get caught up with them.

Wednesday morning we walked to the French Quarter and spent the day there. Our day included:

• Eating an amazing Catfish and egg breakfast, with Bloody Mary's, at "Who Dat"
• Walking the boardwalk along the Mississippi River
• Buying adult beverages "to-go" and perusing the numerous unique shops
• Visiting a beautiful catholic church that Pope Paul had visited during his papacy
• Eating Beignet's at Cafe Du Monde
• Listening to a good Jazz band, we were so starved for live music!
• Drinking Hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's
• Having drinks on the front porch watching the eccentric locals walk by
• Learning how to misuse the word "apoplectic" in a sentence
• Eating dinner at Superior Seafood in the Garden district

We walked 16,000 steps that first day and nearly equaled that on the second day.

That first night we were treated to an amazing thunderstorm that lasted from 1am to 5am.  It was pretty much non-stop.

The second day started with a delicious breakfast bowl that Noel made.  It had tortilla chips in the bottom, topped with fried egg, Louisiana sausage, avocados and salsa.

Then we took a long trolley ride to the Garden district (St. Charles) and back.  We saw some amazing homes and architecture, as well as Tulane and Loyola Universities.

We had a drink in the 11th floor lounge at the Westin which overlooked the Mississippi River and the waterfront district.  The view was spectacular! Then we had dinner at Peter & Paul's, a converted church with lots of Christian stained glass.

We wrapped up the last day with drinks on the front porch with the kitty who adopted us during our stay.  New Orleans, what a unique experience!