June 15, 2017 Day
7
Like my last post said I did not so much wake up as decided
to leave the rest stop and begin driving.
Calling around I found a state park near New Orleans that I could stay
at and shower (which I desperately needed) and do laundry! I arrived at St. Bernard State Park around 08:00
and when I stepped out of my vehicle to go pay my sense of hearing was blasted
with an overload of sound! It took me a
few seconds to realize that the ridiculously loud noise were cicadas. Still taken aback but how loud it was I
picked out my camping spot (#45). From
there I literally took all my blankets and sheets out of my camper and placed
them in the front seat of my vehicle.
Next, with some effort I removed my memory foam mattress and placed it
on the picnic table to dry. Then off to
do laundry and shower!
It cost $1.00 to do a load of laundry. There were two washers and two dryers though
I should mention I may have broken the one washer so we are down to one. Once the clothes and blankets were in the
washer machine into the showers I went.
Just walking into the air conditioned bathroom felt like stepping into
heaven. The shower that followed felt even better than that! I honestly did not want to leave this little
paradise of a bathroom. But alas I needed to put the clothes and that in the
dryer. I had everything clean and dried,
including myself, and organized before 12:00.
During this entire time I was messaging a friend to get the lowdown on
New Orleans and get other people’s opinions on what to do also.
Following some great advice I parked my vehicle on an off
street that had surveillance and called an Uber to take me into the French
Quarter. When I was dropped off I don’t
know why but all of a sudden I just felt out of place and in a way didn’t even
want to be there. Maybe it was due to all
the people. Everyone I had spoken to
told me to go to Café du Monde and so I headed there. It wasn’t until I was almost there that I
realized I was headed to the wrong one!
So I turned around and walked all the way back only to find the place
completely jammed packed. At this point,
my phone was just about to die and if that happened I would have no way to get
back to my vehicle. Disheartened and
about to give up on it all I called an Uber to come take me back to my vehicle
so I could charge my phone.
I do want to interject and say how truly thankful I am for
all my friends out there that lent me advice, opinions and went out of their
way to make sure I would enjoy myself in this new city. Words cannot thank you enough.
I knew I would regret it and be mad at myself if I did not
give New Orleans one last shot. Another Uber took me to Jean Laffite’s which
apparently is the oldest known bar in America.
There I ordered a Hurricane and began talking to the bartenders about my
camper and what I was doing. A woman who
had come by earlier was back again and introduced herself and we got to
talking. Come to find out she is from
Grand Rapids, MI so since we were both northerners she invited me to join her
group in the back of the bar. Instantly,
we all clicked and I knew right away these people were going to become friends
of mine for it felt like I had known them all my life. In the end, we all hung out the rest of the
evening walking and drinking around town.
We stopped at Coop's Place and had some amazing ass food!
Afterwards we found a bar that was playing jazz music and we danced the
night away. Apparently, when I drink I
think I have all of a sudden acquired some unknown dance skill and am all about
dancing. Let’s just say I probably
should never dance haha. Either way I
had a wonderful time and when it was time to call it a night we said our
goodbyes and I went back to my camper in the woods.
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