I woke up early in Minneapolis this morning because I thought I had a 10 AM flight! That’s at least what was in my calendar. But, that was for a previous flight back to Los Angeles. I had changed that flight a few days ago when I decided to divert my trip back home through New Orleans!
When you are raising two young humans as a single dad, who coaches baseball, is on the school board, runs the livestream programming at St. Mark Parish, and who owns and operates a production company, in addition to all of the other pet projects I’m involved in, there is very little time left for myself. So, once I knew for certain that both kids would be busy out of town, one at camp and the other with family, I decided to take a little “me“ time. Or as I described it to my dad the other day, it’s my midlife crisis summer vacation of 2022! Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do! And giving back by volunteering is something that is important to me, but this trip is really starting to kick ass! LOL!
Because my flight was actually at 2:30 PM, I went right back to sleep! Sleeping in is also something I
don’t often do, so I will be taking advantage of that on this trip as well!
As much as I would have loved to drive the bitchin’ muscle car along the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to New Orleans, I turned her over to the Turo owner at the airport and headed to my gate about an hour before boarding. Coffee in hand, and laptop in lap, I took some time to catch up on my blog. Now, I do not think I spilled any coffee on my laptop, but this would be the last time my laptop would be operational on this trip. More on this in an upcoming post.
If you have read my blog before, you know that I have been traveling since before I was even one, when we drove from Los Angeles to Colorado in a 1970s Datsun Station Wagon. Since then, I have met many people on various trips around this country, and around the globe. In fact, I have friends that I still stay in touch with year after year from trips of old. I can’t explain how we came together, or why the laws of attraction work, but I certainly have found these laws to be true over the years. Like attracts like. Quantum Physics…? With some of my travel acquaintances back in the day, we started out writing handwritten letters to each other when we got back home. We stayed in touch! We then moved to email, before eventually switching to social media. These friends whom I have kept in touch with over the years are as special to me today as they were on the first day we met!
The funny thing is that I always know when I’m meeting someone like this. And that certainly was the case on my flight from Minneapolis to New Orleans. Sitting next to me as we took off, was an army veteran. And by the way, the takeoff out of Minneapolis was probably one of the roughest and craziest I have ever experienced in all my travels. Not that I was scared. I wasn't. But this was even worse than the turbulence I experienced flying over the Andes Mountains in South America. My seat mate didn’t seem phased at all, and after later finding out she was a paratrooper as well, it makes perfect sense!
After backpacking through New Zealand when I was in my 20s, I once wrote in my journal that when you connect with someone in your travels whom you are intended to meet, you learn everything about them in a short amount time. The toughest thing about backpacking is always saying goodbye. It’s a heart thing. I’m paraphrasing, but that is the gist of it.
These days I no longer carry a rucksack. I have traded that in for luggage with wheels. Now, the luggage may have changed, as well as the quality of accomodations, but the wanderer at heart still exists within, so by the time we landed at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Miss Rae and I had shared so much about our lives that It was as if we had known each other for years. Now, there is an exception to my earlier quote. You never say goodbye to the travelers you are meant to meet again. This has been true for me in every instance.
One of my favorite quotes:
“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest
friend.” - Robert Louis Stevenson
And speaking of friends, both new, old and somewhere in between, I just found out yesterday that two other St. Mark School families would be in town at the same time as me! The Custers and Wincklers. Laws of attraction…?
There’s no need for a car in New Orleans, so I hopped in an Uber at the airport and was on my way to
the French Quarter!
I absolutely love New Orleans. The energy is infectious and music is playing everywhere. My grandfather, Denny Donaldson, was a jazz musician and composer. He could play any instrument, although the trumpet was his passport. He played with all the jazz greats who came through Los Angeles at the most popular dance halls of the 1930s and 40s. His band was the house band at the Coconut Grove, which was at the Ambassador Hotel. Sidenote: This was the hotel where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968. My grandfather traveled to New York and Chicago often, and recorded with Louis Prima in New Orleans in the late 1930s. Even though my dad did not follow in his father’s musical footsteps, New Orleans jazz was the soundtrack of my childhood. Yes, they threw in some classical music as well, but it’s the New Orleans and Dixieland jazz that is embedded in my soul.
Surprisingly hotel rooms in the French Quarter are very reasonable this time of year. I’m guessing that’s because it’s hurricane season…? well, and it’s also extremely hot and humid! My hotel, Hotel Providential, is on Chartres, just down the street from Jackson Square. Sidenote: The hotel has the same address as my office in Venice, 1024. I know, I told the Uber driver the same thing, and he didn’t care either! The hotel is perfectly located in the French Quarter, and my room has a balcony overlooking the street. All my favorite places are within walking distance. My room does have a somewhat creepy painting over the fireplace mantle, but that’s to be expected in New Orleans! What I didn’t expect is that the painting would seemingly go crooked every time my Virgo self would adjust it. OK, not every time, but at least two mornings I woke up to find the painting was crooked again. I’m not suggesting that my room was haunted, but it certainly was strange…
Continuing my “healthy“ dining experiences that started in the Midwest, I now got to dive into some of my favorite New Orleans cuisine: Catfish po' boys, jambalaya, gumbo and of course beignets! I found a great little restaurant just down the street from my hotel that opened in 1914, Napoleon House, and tonight it will be all about a catfish po' boy and jambalaya. I should mention that Louisiana hot sauce, in particular, Crystal, is right up there with Cholula for me, and I love Cholula!
After dinner, I walked up to “Preservation Hall on Bourbon Street…” More on this later. Every time I come to New Orleans, I stop in this joint to get my traditional Dixieland jazz fix. The drinks aren’t bad either!After seeing some music I got a text message from my dear friend, Andrew Custer. He was out in the French Quarter for the evening, so we rendezvoused on Decatur Street near Jackson Square. We found a little bar on the south side of St. Louis Cathedral called the Pirate's Alley Cafe. We had a great time catching up about what we have been up to since our kids graduated 8th grade in June.
This summer has been busy for both of us, so it was both ironic, and awesome, that we were hanging out nearly two thousand miles from home! It sure is great to unexpectedly find your friends in far off places!
I’m not sure how late it was when we left the bar, but I’m guessing it was past both of our bedtimes! NOLA never disappoints. ‘Twas a great night.
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