I was able to sleep in this morning...a real luxury of late. I like my room here at the Holiday Inn. My room is large, and I'm only two minutes from Bourbon Street...two and a half from Acme Oyster House.
Before I can even think about lunch, I've got a little maintenance to do. With all that heavy rain the last two days (and night), I'm figuring that I've water in the storage containers on my cargo carrier...that's got to go...you can not have a wet tent. So...I have them bring the Escape over and start unpacking. I was right, I've got at least two inches of water. My trusty "sham wow" makes short work of that, and I pull out the tent to take to my room and dry.
It's laundry time, and I've got a decision to make...I can take it to the local laundromat and do it myself or have them do it. On the walk up Bourbon Street to the "Washing Well Laundyteria", I make my decision...who wants to sit around doing laundry in New Orleans? It'll be ready for me in about three hours.
Now I set off for lunch...today, I'm going to see Drago...no, not that Dago...not Rocky Balboa's nemesis from "Rocky IV". No, this is Drago's Seafood restaurant...home of New Orleans' original char-grilled oysters. It's a nice fifteen minute walk there down Bourbon Street, then down Canal past the casinos to the Hilton. Along the way, I stop for a quick Bloody Mary at the Old Absinthe House. And then, I'm sitting at the bar at Drago's sipping on a glass of New Zealand sauvignon blanc. I order a dozen oysters on the half-shell followed by a dozen of the char-grilled...and they're rally good. I miss the little piece of shrimp that they put on at Gilhooley's, but the rest...the butter, the herbs, the cheese are all just right. For dessert, I head back up Canal Street to the Palace Cafe and finish off an order of Bananas Foster...then a stop at a place called Gordon Biersch which brews a mean Czech-style Pilsener. After a few of those, it's time to pick up my laundry...with a brief stop at the Absinthe Museum where I pick up an antique Absinthe spoon and a two-spout water dispenser for Absinthe.
By now, it's after 3:00PM and time for my daily nap...another of life's great luxuries.
I sleep until just after 7:00PM...now I'm up, shower, and dress for dinner. I'm going to a place called Cochon where I dined a few years ago with my friend Kammi from Shreveport. I'm hungry, but I can't handle a large meal, so I just order a few appetizers...a crab and artichoke dish and a mushroom salad with fried lemon. They're both good, but I'm disappointed because the "Crispy Pig Ear Salad" is no longer on the menu...bummer. For dessert, I have a great root beer float made with draft Abita root beer and the house vanilla ice cream. I also get two generous shots of some "boutique moonshine"...CatDaddy from North Carolina. Cochon flavors it with a nutmeg infusion, and it's good...good and really strong.
After dinner, I head back to the French Quarter to visit my new favorite local bar. I call it the "Rainbow Sports Bar"...because it's decorated with lots of multi-colored rainbow flags and, although they don't seem to have any sports on TV, it's all guys. People are friendly...they even offer a fashion tip. It seems that I've been wearing my diamond ("aka "the Rock") in the wrong ear. See, you're never to old to learn something new. They're serving $1.50 Miller High Life drafts which is really cheap for the French Quarter. So I down a few of those before heading back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.
QUOTE OF THE DAY...
"It's a disenchanted...restless...insecure generation. Constantly searching for...new kicks"
-DJ Johann
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