Day 7: beachin it in Florida

Our seventh day is dedicated to relaxation and swimming. 

We went to Perdido Key, Florida

Day 5&6: New OAR-linz

What to say about New Orleans. My initial reactions or my final thought? Both are extremely different. 

My first impression of New Orleans was that I was obsessed with it. I loved the buildings, the charm, the narrow streets, and the balconies. I could see myself having a lot of fun in the city and falling in love with the architecture. It looked like Madrid and Venice had a love child and it was raised by Barcelona.

While there, we discovered that the city was unbearably humid and hot, causing the entire city to reek of hot garbage. Homeless and drug addicts slept under the route 10 bridge. Once you get passed that, it is a very interesting city, with the French Quarter offering restaurants galore, sleezy bars, and upscale art galleries. It's an eclectic mix. 

The Garden District, which we visited several times, has old style homes with bright colors and wrap around porches. Magazine St. offfers shopping and bars that are much more our style. We checked out NOLA Brewing Co. and each had an interesting combination; Marcus opting for the pineapple and jalapeño beer and I chose the stout aged in whiskey barrels. 

We ate at the Cochon Butcher, a deli that serves hot sandwiches, beer, and cocktails. I had a pastrami sandwich with sauerkraut on marble rye toast and it was the best sandwich I have ever had. It gets 5 stars on our book. 

Nighttime is when I disliked the city. It was scary, even for me. I have traveled to places that would make an average person squirm, that didn't affect me at all. I like cities and I see them as all having their issues and scary parts; it just depends on how you behave and handle it. I did not like walking around at night in the French Quarter. We checked out Frenchmen St. for a few hours and headed back to the hotel. Addicts lined the streets and drunks shouted at you as you walked around. 

Leaving the city, I look at it as having a vibe and style all its own. In the beginning, I compared it to the European settlers that inhabited it, but the atmosphere of New Orleans is all New Orleans, both good and bad. Would I go back? I would. It was a fascinating place and I think I only just skimmed the surface of it. 

Day 4: watching the sunset on the lake

After Memphis we took the 5 hour drive south to Lake Pontchartrain to camp before heading to New Orleans. 

Fontainebreu park was filled with trees covered in Spanish moss and it made me so excited for Savannah in a few days. It really makes you wonder what the south looked like pre-civil war. It must have been beautiful; not that it isn't today. Today, things are different. Trailers have replaced plantation homes and highways have paved their way over the beautiful landscape.

We set up camp and left the park to get some ice. On our way back, we stumbled upon something that would become a daily routine for the next three days. We found a drive-thru bar that served daquiris, margaritas, piña coladas, and hurricanes. Yes, alcoholic drinks to go. I heard about drinks to go online while researching all of the cities we were visiting, but I did not know there was a legitimate drive-thru window for frozen cocktails. So we each got one and brought it back to the tent. 

I missed camping. We tried to do it at least every other night on our last trip but weren't lucky enough this time around. This was our first of three nights camping on the trip. It was nice to live outdoors. 

Day 3- bbq in Memphis

The food. That's what this post is going to be about. The food in Memphis was the best we've ever had. We went to Charlie Vergo's Rendezvous for dry rub ribs and after getting covered in bbq sauce and eating the best baked beans of our lives, we agreed that Rendezvous is the best bbq place we have ever been to.

We took the obligatory trip down Beale street and had ourselves a margarita while walking around because drinking on the street is legal in the south. We went to Silky O'Sullivans for drinks and saw the famous goats chilling out next to the patio. Yes, goats. 

The next morning we wanted to grab breakfast before hitting the road and landed in a little diner called the Blue Plate Cafe. Biscuits and gravy with eggs over easy and homefries. That set it in stone- Memphis has the best food.