Sunday, June 10th

Okay, I'm back now with more info from Sunday.

I guess it goes without saying that it was a good day. Most days down here are. For breakfast we walked to the Oak Street Cafe. It was fabulous, I must say. The place was small and packed so our group had to split up. Dottie, Rose, Sam and I ate at the bar. They had great choices - I had the Mexican scramble which was muy bien. We were waited on by loved Fredericka. After I was finished I joined the others at the table and did my duty of helping them finish off their meals. I was blown away by Kim's pancakes. They tasted like caramel rolls! Ooh la la! I hope to go back maybe Saturday morning.


After breakfast we split up a bit. Rose, Janet, Dottie and I went to the church service at First Street Methodist while the others went to Whole Foods for groceries. The church service was fantastic! I just love it there. When I go to that service am I deeply reminded of why I love coming down here so much. The people at that church are so loving and so welcoming. At one point in the service we were invited to shake hands and greet those around us. Now us Minnesotans are used to doing this in our churches but it's usually somewhat of a formality and we only shake hands with the few people right around us. At First Street this part of the service takes 5-10 minutes as people meander down the aisles greeting as many people as they can. The congregation is filled with 99% African Americans. I just love and appreciate the warmth that these folks have always shown us at the church. I feel like I belong, and I feel like the work I do when I come to New Orleans is so worth it.

We chatted just a bit with Rev. Lance, Miss Joanna, and Diana Knoble. I'm so, so glad that we went. It was just what I needed after the long car drive and after feeling a bit tired from the whole travel experience. The service just invigorated me and most of all reminded me why I love coming to this city so much.

Following the church service, I got caught up in something called a "second line." It's a sort of parade where neighborhood folks strut through the streets, dress in gaudy suits, and follow the lead of a brass band. I couldn't help joining in along with the locals. Janet, Dottie and Rose were trying to find me as I just left them hanging back at the van. It was such a cool thing, I just couldn't resist marching along. Once it ended I had to look up at the street signs to figure out just exactly where I was.



In the afternoon I stayed back to get settled in a bit and organize all my things. The rest of the crew went to the French Quarter and had quite the good time. They took in a tomato festival and a Zydecko music festival, both in the same area. They listened to lots of music and did some shopping as well. I should probably have one of them write some more about this day considering I wasn't there. I just know that they had an awesome time taking in the city during the day. Sam was in his glory with all the music.

Around 6:00 Jen and I drove to the airport to pick up Angie and Kirsten. It was nice to see them and they had a good flight. We felt as though the whole group was finally together. It felt good.

By around 8:00 we were all back in the French Quarter for dinner. Sam, Janet and Kim had stayed in the area all day and had picked out a dinner spot. We ate at 13 Monahans on Frenchman street. It was good, fresh tasting food, and was complemented by cold, frosty beverages. This was a super fun time as it was our first chance as a group of 10 to all hang out together.

Following dinner some went back to the house while Sam, Janet, Angie, Kirsten and I went to DBA on Frenchman Street to listen to a three-man rock/blues band. They were fantastic! The lead guitar player was something else. Fun, fun, fun!!!

Our evening ended with a stop at Cafe DuMonde for binets to go. Yummy, yummy! I certainly hope more of them are in my future!

Saturday Night

Whew!

We're here, and I, for one, am tired. I'm sitting in the house on Jeanette Street listening to some jazz on the stereo. The group is in the French Quarter taking in some of the sites and the music. I stayed back just because of the tiredness factor and also because I wanted to calmy get organized. My memories of previous trips largely involve the feeling of "go, go, go." I thought I might take this lone opportunity of the trip to "relax, relax, relax."

Last night was a fun one. Sam and Rose, after a few detours, made it to the house around 6:00. We were happy to see them.

A lot of organizing, decompressing and shower-taking were in order last night. I would like to say that I took a shower but mine ended up a bath as I could not for the life of me figure out how to turn the shower on. I later discovered that I wasn't alone in not figuring out the complexities of the shower, it was just that I was the only one who was too stubborn to ask for help.

The house is good. It's a double shotgun house. It used to be a duplex but they bought both sides and turned it into a single dwelling. We will not have trouble locating one another in the house. We are very packed in, two or three to a room. We'll definitely learn much, whether we like it or not, about each other.

We've met the neighbors, Evelyn, Andy, and son Luca. They are very nice. They are from Switzerland. Andy helped recommend a breakfast place to us this morning. Very good!

So, after the necessary work of last night, we went downtown and took in Mulate's. It's a cajun dancehall/restaraunt. It was a fun way to celebrate our first evening in the city, listening to a band and eating the local fare. None, however, walked a way too impressed with the place. Let's just say we won't be rushing to get back. Sam is our resident music expert and he wasn't particularly taken by "waltz-like" cajun tunes. Kim was reminded of a dancehall her grandparents used to take her too. First night in New Orleans - fun but we set the bar low. Things will surely only get better from here.

The Trip Back Down to Nola

We’re rollin’ down the highway, zippin’ through the south. We left Minneapolis at 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 8, 2007. We met at Carla’s, took some pictures, and said farewell to Joe, Sam and Jeanine.

I would say that the evening went well, all things considered for a drive-all-night van ride. We found creative ways to sleep including folding one of the back seats down and taking turns sleeping on the floor. Kim was most fond of this arrangement. I took a shift on the floor and did okay until I realized how really trapped I was down there and began to feel claustrophobic. Not to mention my hip bone grinding into the van floor.

Janet and Kim were the winners for most hours awake last night. I did my share from four a.m. to nine.

Waterloo, IA marked our first official stop. We did beautiful, downtown Waterloo and enjoyed dinner at Doughy Joey’s Peetza (that’s really how it’s spelled).

Only a few wrong turns and many hundreds of miles later we did breakfast in southern Arkansas at Shoney’s. Kim enjoyed the huge breakfast “boofay.” The rest of us weren’t so daring and ordered off the menu.

So, things are good as we approach Louisiana. Hopefully Sam and Rose will have a good flight and we’ll rendezvous around 5:00 at Pax’s house!