New Orleans, and the "Great Camera Theft"

Who out there has visited New Orleans?

I LOVE historic cities. I could sit in one, people watch and imagine for months with nothing else to do. So, as we planned to head across country to visit family (Florida to Utah), we decided to make it a road trip and take a special stop each day. The first evening landed us in New Orleans.

Wow. Talk about beautiful. Our hotel room was in the historic French Quarter, and the floorboards were uneven beneath carpet, the doorways arched, and the elevator just large enough for my 5 person family to squeeze in. B-E-A-U-tiful. I was a snap-happy tourist, documenting every little detail--from the windows in our hotel room (the kids loved sitting on the carpet in front of them and watching the pedestrians below,) to the street performers and the historic chapel. Contrast that with the cross dresser I met, and even the devil on the corner of Bourbon street--literally--tail, horns, full length red suit. (The kids stayed in the hotel for that little exploration.)

My oldest is taking creative photography, so about the time we stopped to get world-famous biegnets (they can't top the ones at Grand Lux Cafe), I turned the camera over to him. He pretty much ran the batteries dry, and then the fatal moment we asked him to carry home our leftovers... He still swears someone lifted the camera off his shoulder. I think he left it on a bench and walked away. It's not until we got to the hotel he said anything, and by then, the camera was long gone. *sigh*

So no, these are not my pictures, but I did take some almost exactly the same, and what a fun visit! I could postulate for the next month about what became of our camera, and what a great story that would make.

Interesting discovery: They literally wash the streets of New Orleans with soap and water every morning. Yup. Giant trucks come down the streets to clean them between 6 and 8 a.m. (I don't think the 5 second rule applies to dropped food there.)

Decision: It was an interesting stop, but I'm SURE glad I don't live in a city where they feel obligated to scrub the road every morning.

Have you visited New Orleans? What's the most interesting/inspiring place you've ever been?

(P.S. Come back Wednesday for a chance to exercise your human-lie-detector skills and win a book, and next week for Roswell, New Mexico and the Alien invasion!) 

Dragging Your Sorry Rear Across the Country

Have you ever been homesick?

The first time you left home, how did you handle it? My oldest recently got back from a week at Scout Camp, and while he had a blast, he was SO ready to be home. We visited for Family Night, and I don't think he's hugged me that much since he was about 4 years old. You could see it in his eyes, how much he ached to be back with his family. I was proud of him--making it through the week.

I was reminded of the summer I left home to work in West Yellowstone. It was a blast, but I couldn't wait until the weekly phone call with my parents, or to read their emails. When the summer ended, I returned to my parent's Taj Mahal of a house, and reveled in the loudness of my siblings. It was nice to be home.

We left our family in Utah 7 years ago, and set out for a grand adventure. We've now lived in NYC, the middle of nowhere, and a city with the second largest number of hotels in the world. (Right next to Disney, of course.) I remember going to visit the family in 2008, and as much as we enjoyed it, it wasn't home, not anymore.

Home is where your heart is--and for me, that means my hubby and kids. Mine happen to live here in Florida--sunny, happy, "vacation world." But you know, I've adored all of those other places that became "home" for a season. In fact, I think there's nothing better than exploring the world--and I'm not talking about hitting tourist traps. I think it's the coolest thing ever to settle into a new environment and learn how that society functions. I honestly think that's half the reason I wanted to be an author. (Give me a good excuse to travel, will you?)

This week I'm taking off on an amazing cross-country trip, hitting New Orleans, San Antonio, Roswell (NM), Salt Lake City, St. Louis, and Nashville. So yeah, I'll be on the road--without 4G. Forgive me if I'm slow to respond, but I'll be back in two weeks and bubbling over with awesomeness to share.

Is there a place you're dying to visit? Where do you call home (literally, and in your heart)?

Picture courtesy of Martz90 at Deviantart