Up reasonably early and out the door. Breakfast (3 eggs, grits, sausage & a biscuit) at Krystal's on Bourbon Street, a hole-in-the-wall local chain that puts Waffle House to shame. Then, I meandered over to the time share vacation presentation. It's an interesting concept, very flexible, but more than I'm willing to pay. They work very hard to sell you, but I resist well.
From there, I wandered into the Quarter looking for lunch and sites to see. Gumbo Yaya's menu looked reasonable, so I wandered in – oops, the kitchen was not ready since the health inspectors were there. So, on to Jackson Square.
I really wanted to visit the Cabildo museum again. It was not as I remembered it. The displays are much more professional, and to my sorrow, debunk many of the myths told about Jean Laffite and the Battle of New Orleans. He was never imprisoned in the Cabildo, that was his brother. However, he did provide guns & gunners for the battle. The Kentucky rifles were effective, but most of the Brit casualties came from the big guns. Yes, free men of color fought along side the regulars, the local militias, the pirates, the Choctaws, and the 'backwoodsmen.'
A local Black artist's work is featured on the 3rd floor. He specializes in painting scenes & portraits based on the lives and activities of early 19th C Creoles, a term referring to people, white, Black, or mixed, who were part of or descended from the original French & Spanish settlers, excluding Acadians and Americans.
I walked up to this lamp post in Pirates' Alley, where Sandra & I kissed at midnight, December 31, 1971.
Returned to Gumbo Yaya and had an excellent bowl of gumbo, then came back to the Holiday Inn Chateau LeMoyne for recuperation.
An interesting view from my window
I recovered, headed out for supper at highly regarded Oceana, where I had a big plate of red beans and rice (which included sausage!) and wandered around for a while. It turns out I had good timing for supper – when I passed that area again, a long line snaked outside.
Tomorrow I will catch the St. Charles streetcar to the WWII museum and plan to make time to visit the Confederate museum.
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