Day 12: New Orleans

These are good!

Adler had been asking since the first day when he was going to see mom. As often as he asked about her he also wanted to know when he was going to eat a beignet at Cafe Du Monde. Today was finally his day. We walked from the hotel passed Jackson Square and stood in a very long but fast-moving line on Sunday morning. He thought these were the best breakfast ever and was committed to not only consuming his beignets but also all of the powdered sugar that came with them.

Following breakfast we walked down to Canal Street to catch a streetcar out to City Park. Adler has been infatuated with streetcars for a long time and as close as we live to San Francisco has never enjoyed a ride on either a street or cable car ride there. Right before we boarded the streetcar Lisa eyed a jewelry shop founded in 1898 that we had to take some photos with. The drive down Canal was slow because we stopped almost every block. The weather was in excess of 90 degrees and very humid. Adler did not like this one bit. He coped better with the dry heat of the desert much better. NOLA's climate just irritated him because there was never relief. And the streetcar's frequent stopping didn't help matters.

My jewelry shop!

Eventually we found our way in City Park and took Adler on the carousel. There are also a number of other smallish rides like those you'd find at Happy Hollow in San Jose and an entire separate park called Storyland that brought to life the nursery rhymes. The three of us also took a long train ride around the park getting a chance to see more of it without having to walk. Sunday happened to be Father's Day and Lisa spotted a packed restaurant called Blue Oak BBQ from the streetcar ride to the park and coordinated a Lyft there for lunch. It was a yummy meal where I had a combination plate of ribs and brisket while Lisa and Adler shared a sandwich. They have a great sign that humorously reads "Vegan Free since 2012." We sat outside under their misters trying our best to stay cool. Can't think of a better meal to have on Father's Day!

It was obvious that Adler wasn't enjoying the weather so rather than fight it we spent a couple of hours that afternoon at the hotel pool letting him cool off and play. The hotel had a small courtyard in the center that provided some protection from the sun and the cool pool provided relief from the humidity. It was just what he wanted.

Later that night we met Darryl, a friend and Flavor Studio customer, and his wife for one of their favorite restaurants in the French Quarter called Evangeline. Adler was done with the heat and humidity and ready to leave. Tomorrow we'd do just that up with a drive to Memphis...