Inky and SKate take NOLA

Oh, where, oh where to start... well, guess I'll start at the beginning.

We arrived in New Orleans on Monday night. I got us incredibly lost, but Inky managed to finally find our hotel (hurray!). Our first glimpse of the city was in the dark:The next day we headed out along Canal Street in search of sustenance. We had barely gone a block when we were greeted by a local:(That's a bronze of Ignatius Reilly from A Confederacy of Dunces in case you can't make out the shot). This welcome delighted Inky and SKate to no end, since we both love-love-LOVED that book. Even though I'm pretty sure that Ignatius would not have approved of us: me in my Boden Euro-biker style jacket with a baby in a stroller, and Inky with her fabulous earrings and red pea coat. We would have been "abortions" in his eyes.

We found breakfast at Cafe Beignet along Royal Street, along with a lovely languid cat.Then it was time to stroll around the French Quarter. We beat feet until mid-afternoon, when we enjoyed a brief sojourn at the park on Jackson Square.A trip to St. Louis Cemetery Number 1 was supposed to happen on Tuesday as well, but we managed to arrive about ten minutes after the placed was locked for the day. So this was our second stop on Wednesday. Our first stop was for an Egg McThingie at a certain corporate restaurant on Canal Street, where we also peeped our personal New Orleans hero: the guy we had spied the day before, cycling down Canal Street with a green umbrella hat, a pink backpack, and a bullhorn under his arm. Umbrella Bullhorn guy came and sat at the table next to us, which made Inky and me practically clap our hands in delight. Unfortunately, I didn't have the guts to ask for a picture :(

St. Louis Cemetery Number 1 was AMAZING. Right by the entrance was quite possibly the grooviest tomb ever:Followed quickly by the acknowledged resting place of Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen. Inky paused to pay Madamoiselle some homageand we both admired the offerings left for her pleasure.A little further back in the cemetery, Inky pointed out the second tomb of Marie Laveau. Turns out that no one knows exactly where she truly is, so people pay their respects to both masoleums just to be safe.It was a gorgeous day, although it was incredibly cold, even for February. We stopped for a delicious lunch at Sammy's on Bourbon Street (best sweet potato fries EVER!!!) and the spent the afternoon doing the mandatory souvenir shopping (AKA, dashing from store to store in order to stay warm).

Thursday was checkout day, and we hit the road at nine sharp. We had one final mission to accomplish, after all, one that we didn't even realize would be ours at the onset of our trip.

Did you know that there was a Bagdad, Florida?

Well, we sure didn't until we drove past it on Monday. So we had to take a peek at this delightfully named burg on our way home. There wasn't a whole lot there (hence the lack of original photos) but it made Inky and me happy just by the fact that it existed.

Speaking of surprise stops, we also had a great lunch at La Rumba outside of DeFuniak Springs. They have lots of $5 and under lunch specials, and their enchilada sauce is delicately spiced perfection. Inky and I were still raving about it a couple of hours later. I might plan another I-10 road trip so that I can get more.

So there's our New Orleans adventure, documented for your pleasure. If you haven't overdosed on photos, you can check out my flickr page.

Now, it's off to my yarn stash to choose my weapons for the Amigurumi Challenge!