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Hi there! I am in New Orleans! I decided to take a rogue field trip out here and so, here I am!

I left last Friday and went directly to my sister's house in Covington, Louisiana. By directly, I mean after a 7 1/2 hour drive. I listened to John Grisham's The Broker while driving and am almost done with it.

On the way home, I will be listening to Change Your Life in 30 Days... Ha Ha Ha.

I spent some time with the sister and her family: going to a Lions Club Dance, where our group was the only one with people under 70. It seems that a relative of my brother in law's clan plays in a (mini) big band there. We also ate boiled crawfish, snowballs, and went into New Orleans for the day.

I decided that one afternoon in New Orleans with kids was not enough. So, here I am at the Cornstalk Fence Hotel on Royal Street in the French Quarter. Yesterday, when I came in, it was monsoon season. Huge thunderstorm, with the streets of the Magazine Street shopping area flooded -but apparently not impassable. I ate fried catfish tenders at Joey K's and it was very good!

Last night, after a nap, I wandered the French Quarter, sipping a hurricane from Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop on Bourbon Street. I have outgrown the Pat O's version (basically red Kool-Aid?) for the au natural version served there. After I returned to my hotel for a change of clothes - jeans were too hot!! - I went to the Acme Oyster House on Iberville for two dozen oysters and to write in my journal. I finished up in the drizzle at the ubiquitous Cafe du Monde with beignets and a Diet Coke.

I spent quite a bit of time last night out in the hall, accessing free wifi from some neighboring building. This morning, I called room service for the free "Continental Breakfast" - which consisted of acidic orange juice and four corn stick muffins. I decided to pass, went to my car and got out two cans of Diet Coke, and planted myself out front in the shade.

Hey I could almost be in pictures! There is some film person getting some footage of a woman named Loretta, walking along the cornstalk fence!!!! I wonder what they are filming!

I am sitting on the patio, because the internet is better here, and so is the shade. The pigeons and chickadees are eying me, probably thinking "Amateur! Don't you know that WE get to eat the cornbread muffins here?"

I am going to drive to Magazine Street and try one more time to find the bead place, then look for crawfish and crabmeat for Mom (already peeled!) and probably head out. At least there is no monsoon going today! I kinda wanna stay! But go, I must...

I can stay for a while, then drive out and spend the night in Greenville or someplace between here and Atlanta. We'll see!!!!