Ben and Sue Day 39

Monday, October 15, 2007, Day 39

Weather Flash Alert!  Day 38 of warm, sunny weather.  All records broken from the beginning of weather record keeping!  Outlook is for continued warm, sunny weather in  the mid and western part of the United States until November 6th!

. . .We took the free shuttle today from the camp grounds to dontown New orleans -- specifically to the French Quarter.  Ben good naturedly/patienty waited for me as I shopped.  We had breakfast at a little rstaurant called the Cole Street Grill -- delicious food -- music was very loud New Orleans jazz.  Was fun for a little while to listen to the music.  One thing  they make well here is grits -- Ben has been ordering grits every morning and they always bring a big, hot, delicious bowl.

. . .So. . . after a while we rode the horse and buggy all around the French Quarter -- down the infamous Bourbon Street.  As happened in Baltimore my heart was very burdened with   people who seemed to have no real purpose except to get drunk night night after night.  What a terrible thing for a city to be famous for:  drunkeness.  I went lookin for a T-shirt to bring back with me and every single one I looked at had Bourbon Street on it.      I do believe of course in  the Lord Jesus and take great delight in serving Him and the assurance of eternity with Jesus in Heaven when I die. But perhaps  the very best part of my Chistian journey is that Jesus has given me purpose for my life/hope/a sense of direction  and guidance  to navigate this 'ole body on earth.  Do any of you remember the old cartoon Mr. McGoo?  Mr. McGoo walks through life TOTALLY oblivious to every danger and at the very last second when you just know he is going to die for sure -- circumstances/his path change and he is rescued once again.  I feel certain that must be how my life is -- my wonderful Heavenly Father saving me from a million disasters before they happen.

. . . I'm sort of rambling on here aren't I?  Okay. . . back to our trip today.  On the horse and buggy ride we visited a Catholic cemetary.  What a strange sight.  Because New Orleans is about 6 feet below sea level, they bury people above ground so that, during hurricanes/floods their bodies won't float back up to the  ground.  Or so the buggie driver told us.  He said in very old days the people  thought when dead bodies resurfaced it was because of vodoo.  Kind of gave me  the creeps!

. . . Oh yes he told one other fact too.  He said  there were three ovens in the cemetary where people were cremated.  Once a body is cremated the oven door is not opened for one year.  He did not know why.  Maybe I will have time to research it on the Internet -- if I find out I'll let you know tomorrow.  Oh the things one learns on vacation!

. . . Let's see . . . after the buggy ride we walked a bit more then took an old fashioned steam boat ride on the Mighty Mississippi River . . . was fun.  Learned that New Orleans was the third busiest seaport in the entire world.

. . . On the return trip to  the campground the driver took us down a street named Magazine Street.  He said the street was six miles long and "all six miles consiststed of little shops where you could buy just about anything your heart desires."  Many, probably most, of the buildings were really houses where people lived in the upper part of he house and converted  the lower half into a shop/store.  To my sweet sisters Kathy and Carol:  Let's make that our next vacation spot!  

Tomorrow we sadly leave New Orleans and had towards Denver Colorado where we hope to meet up with a dear friend Ian Thomas and his lovely wife Christina.

. . .Forgot to tell you:  enjoyed jambalaya for dinner today.  Always heard it was a real southern dish but did not really know what it was so I asked:  peices of sausage, beef and shrimp mixed with rice and chopped tiny peppers.  Very good indeed!