FOR RAIL

By the time we hit Greenwood, Mississippi, anticipation was at a fever pitch. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

N’awlins delivers

In 1996, I visited New Orleans while attending my first McDonald’s worldwide convention. I remember enjoying a beer while sitting on one of the omnipresent second story balconies. I was supposed to be at the convention center helping with set-up but couldn’t resist taking an afternoon “break” to soak in the French Quarter. New Orleans felt like a cool place that I would surely visit again. Not in my wildest dreams did I think it would take 27 years to return to the Big Easy.

Quoting Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, from when he was a WWE superstar and would return to wrestle in a city he’d not been to in some time, “Finally, Douglas has come back to New Orleans!” Last weekend’s trip was splendid in every way, starting when we climbed aboard Amtrak’s City of New Orleans train Thursday night to depart Chicago. In New Orleans, daytime highs reached 75-80 degrees with clear blue skies.

Although we stayed at a different hotel than where I stayed decades ago, we did make a pilgrimage to my 1996 digs, The Royal Sonesta Hotel, to check out the Jazz Playhouse that’s located on the ground floor of the hotel.

Food & Music

It’s an understatement to say we ate well - Superior Seafood, Muriel’s, Dooky Chase’s, Commander’s Palace, Cafe Du Monde. And in New Orleans, where there’s food there is oft times music. The Crescent City did not disappoint and joins Washington, D.C. and Palm Springs as one of my “go to” places to visit. Trust me, it won’t take 27 years, either.

Check out these pics that sum up what was a perfect trip, notwithstanding watching the Chicago Bears lose to the New Orleans Saints at a raucous outdoor sports bar in Mid-City.

Rural churches abound in Mississippi. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

The Mississippi River is mighty in New Orleans. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

These two performers were jammin’! (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

This street poet wrote a poem predicting Bethanny’s Saints would defeat my Bears. It rang true. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Dooky Chase’s has served luminaries including presidents W. Bush and Obama. My meal of fried chicken, sweet potatoes and collard greens was off the charts. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Founded in 1833, Lafayette Cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Sunday brunch at Commander’s Palace in the Garden District was punctuated by delightful music. And the food was incredible! (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

I knew better than to pay to see the Bears - Saints game at the Superdome. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Much better to watch the game at an outdoor sports bar. A Saints fan even bought our first drink. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

A show for an audience of one. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

That’s what I ordered. It was good. Real good. (Photo credit Bethanny A.)

We did see an alligator (not pictured) resting on a large rock as we passed by the swamp. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

© 2023 Douglas Freeland / The Weekly Opine. All rights reserved.