Day Seven: Pensacola to New Orleans

Voodoo dolls. Wrought-iron balconies. Impromptu parades. Live music spilling from open windows. Beignets. Pralines. Po boys. Ghosts. Neon-colored plastic tumblers filled with cheap rum and pineapple juice. And, of course, beads. Lots of beads.

New Orleans is unique and strange and precious for all of these reasons. But I would argue that this 300-year-old city’s real crowning jewel is its people. With smiles and y’alls spilling forth, they exude a happy, laid-back vibe that is both curious and intoxicating. Especially the Uber drivers — four of whom we met in New Orleans because, according to our proprietor, the French Quarter RV Park (sandwiched as it is between Louis Armstrong Park, Cemetaries #1 and #2, the I-10, and the projects) is not a great place to walk after dark.

Still, walk we did. But first we drove. Scratch that. First, we found the best damn Tire Discount Center in Pensacola, Florida, got four new trailer tires, and high-tailed it through Alabama and Mississippi to the Big Easy. First stop: Killer Po Boys in the French Quarter for grilled shrimp and pork belly sandwiches. Well nourished, we walked to Jackson Square with a stop for pralines on our way through the French Market and on to Frenchman Street for live music and a real-life record store, where we met another Newport Folk Festival junkie.

Speaking of which, my itinerary next called for a show at Preservation Hall, but just as we rounded the corner to see a staggeringly long line, a parade materialized out of nowhere. This felt like a sign from God. So we stepped off the curb and joined the parade as it wound its way through the French Quarter at dusk. Then we had just enough time for cheap drinks before hopping on a carriage ride — and all within four hours of arrival!

As it turns out, the best was yet to come: Dinner with our California cousins! Casey, Michel, Claire and Devin flew in from SFO just in time for shenanigans over gumbo, a brush with the Georgia football team in town for the Sugar Bowl, and yet more pralines. We did not see all of New Orleans, but we crammed in a lot and at the end of the day Mack declared, “New Orleans is the most awesome city so far.”