Before I Left

Since I haven't been able to make any posts over the last couple of days, I'm going to try and write a few over the next couple of days to catch up. Before I was forced to evacuate on Sunday, I had a pretty nice weekend. After work on Friday, I started getting myself ready to evacuate by going to Walgreens and filling up on gas. I went out with two of the other volunteers (Pat and John) to a place called The Blue Nile on Frenchman Street, which definitely seemed like a cool street with a bunch of bars and restaurants. The bar was pretty dead because people had already started to evacuate but there were a couple of bands that played that night (I never got any of their names) that were both really enjoyable. There are so many places to listen to live music in New Orleans so it should be a lot of fun to bounce around and broaden my musical horizons in the next year (I'm already starting to listen to a little more jazz, ha). Unfortunately, Friday night ended without a late-night, disgusting meal since nothing was open but I guess that's okay. There aren't nearly as many restaurants to go to or order from so I've pretty much been cooking almost all of meals which will probably be healthy and help me save some money (although I did just find a burrito place and a wing place down the street from me which could be dangerous). On Saturday, I woke up and had absolutely nothing to do which was a totally liberating feeling. It was nice getting up and knowing that I didn't have to work, I don't really know anyone, and could go and do whatever I wanted. So I ready my little touristy book/guide on New Orleans, got my map and was on my way. St. Charles street is one of the more popular streets in New Orleans and runs in a U-shape. There are a lot of beautiful houses and nice parks off of St. Charles. In New Orleans, it seems like each major street has it's own personality. St. Charles street feels like a nice neighborhood that has small restaurants and shops. I took St. Charles all the way down into the French Quarter, where I hadn't looked around yet. I parked my car close to the Quarter and got out to walk around. The area definitely reminded me of France because of the very narrow streets, the small homes, and the balconies hanging above. I actually wasn't that impressed with the French Quarter. I got myself onto Bourbon Street and it just seemed kind of scummy and dirty and smelled bad. Maybe it will look better and be better at night but we'll see. There seemed to be a lot of jazz clubs which was cool but a lot of the bars and clubs there seemed shady. I'll definitely go back and give it a chance but I wasn't that impressed with what I saw. I walked through a couple of parks which was nice and sat down and listened to some music along the Mississippi River and watched boats go by. I stumbled upon Cafe Du Monde, which is a famous coffee shop in New Orleans. They are famous for their Beineigts (that's probably not how it's spelled) and Cafe au Lait which were both delicious. It was definitely a nice afternoon treat and very cheap. For anybody that visits, that is definitely a spot we'll have to check out. I walked around for a little while longer and then went home and took a nap for a bit. I found out that I would have to be ready to help with the evacuation at 5 a.m. the next day and since everything else was closed, I took it easy Saturday night and watched college football (damn the Illini). I will try and make another post tomorrow about helping with the evacuation which was an incredibly interesting experience that I want to share. My hands are just getting a little tired now so I'll either do that this afternoon or tomorrow.