New Orleans

Our Austin area morning started with a greeting from the park ranger who informed us that we were lucky, as the day before was so swelteringly hot, we probably wouldn't have been able to sleep in our tent. She proceeded to tell us that the reason we could stand there talking to each other without dripping sweat was a northerly breeze that came in before we did. Thank goodness for northerlies.
She was incredulous when we told her we were fixing to get to New Orleans that day, but we didn't let that stop us.

A delightful rest stop near the Louisiana border yielded plenty of lizard sightings and touchings,



while the Louisiana border itself yielded a fierce and pelting thunderstorm.

As we approached and eventually entered Louisiana, the scenery became even more lush. Swamps passed us on the right,


and frogs sang a chorus when we stopped to change drivers.

New Orleans

We got to New Orleans around 9:30 to stay with a McNally Family friend, John Flemming. John generously and graciously accepted us into his home (and his kitchen). John is an artist who makes beautiful leather masks,

and in the morning, he took us out to breakfast and directed us to New Orleans's points of interest. We are so grateful for John's help and hospitality.


Our first stop was the lower 9th Ward, which experienced some of the worst damage from Hurricane Katrina. The three of us agreed that seeing what really happened there was essential to our New Orleans experience. Three years after the levies broke, houses are still in disrepair.




The area is eerily quiet, and there are many spots where houses once stood which grasses and plants have reclaimed.

The sobering reality of the 9th Ward was followed by the surreal partiness of the French Quarter, where Bourbon street was loud and populated even at 4pm on a Thursday. Iced cafe au laits were procured at the Cafe du Monde and enjoyed on the banks of the Mississippi. Heather and Keith started out unimpressed, but soon warmed up to the murky water.

A toe in the Mississippi for Grandma Rycyk

Our search for dinner allowed us to walk around the French Quarter and Frenchman Street a little before heading off to Mississippi. Our first stop in Alabama was a gas station, where we discovered a would-be stow-away.


Our next stop was our first hotel - America's Best Value Inn in Evergreen, AL.

Now on to Georgia!