Day 40 of ALAA-Wed, June 22nd, 2011-From New Orleans to Lafayette, LA

The Huey Long Bridge over the Mississippi River in Nawlins

The St Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter in Nawlins

Hum, wasn't this paddle wheeler in the Julia Roberts movie The Pelican Brief?

Yesterday saw me riding from Mobile, AL to New Orleans. As usual, I have a couple of observations about the Southern tips of AL and MS. First, AL really struggles economically-it's a relatively poor state without many sources of income or visible resources. MS, on the other hand, has ship-building and tourism to casinos as major sources of revenue. I don't know the dates when casinos were first allowed in Atlantic City and along the Gulf Coast but the two cities (AC and Biloxi) have approached gambling in different ways. AC is now a city built around the locations of each of the casinos-the signs, the maps, the parking, etc. MS just plopped the casinos along the beaches almost like an afterthought.

New Orleans is, as Will Rogers put it, one of the four unique American cities. It's a shame that too many people associate NO just with Bourbon St. If people will get away from Bourbon St and explore the rest of the French Quarter, the Garden District, etc, they will find a city with so many unique structures, historical references, and just interesting places. I spent a little less than two hours in the FQ with a portion of it having dinner at the Camellia Grill-one of our NO favorites.

Tomorrow is home! My Bride will be there at 2:00 PM tomorrow and our house will turn into our HOME. I told her when we bought this house that it's only a house unless she's there and then it becomes our HOME. I'm tired and lonely and want to get HOME!