Dear George,
Katja was too wary of the heat and humidity to consider a summertime trip to New Orleans, but I was all set to go. (Being from northern Michigan, I consider extreme heat a novel and exciting experience.) I flew down in early June. J and K, as always, were wonderful hosts. K’s mom, Linda, has moved to New Orleans and has an apartment in the Esplanade at the edge of City Park, about a mile away. The family is always busy doing exciting things. I think the kids have the best lives imaginable. On weekdays J and K were at work and the children were at camp, so I had the run of the city. Here is a report of my trip highlights.
Love,
Dave
-Grandkid story: Turning eleven this September, L and V are taller, smarter, funnier, more grownup. Both were on the end-of-the year Fourth Grade Honor Roll at St. Andrews School. L is busy taking piano lessons, and V works every day on her art.
-Doggies: Little Paws was still in residence, but Iko, the family’s first dog, has gone to live with Linda. Both dogs are much calmer as a consequence of being separated. Little Paws was happy to see me and I him. For a tiny dog he has a strong pull on the leash.
-City’s best new addition for NOLA residents and visitors: doubling the size of the Besthoff Sculpture Garden in City Park.
-Great local transportation bargains (a tie): 40 cent senior fare on NOLA trolleys and buses; $2 bus to and from the airport.
-NOLA community grief and Second Lines: for Creole restauranteur Leah Chase (age 86) and R&B musician Dr. John (age 68).
-Excellent new look: J’s beard (which makes him look sort of like his father did at middle age).
-Grandparent education: the children taught me the fast-paced card game, Lord of the Goats, but I didn’t come close to keeping up with them.
-Best digital slip of the tongue: when J arranged for his friend to drop off the kids to me but I didn’t hear the doorbell, J texted his friend, “He’s in there but he’s dead (sic, deaf).”
-Movie night out: Avengers-Endgame at the AMC Palace (with post-movie explanation of plot subtleties by the youth).
-Best social outing: family dinner at Linda’s Esplanade apartment.
-Best New Orleans cuisine: sausage PoBoy at Dooky Chase’s.
-Best Louisiana regional meal: catfish dinner with J at Middendorf’s Seafood Restaurant in Manchat, La.
-Best international meal: lamb kafke kebob at Shaya, the acclaimed Israeli restaurant on Magazine St.
-Most misleading restaurant name: Chez Pierre French Bakery & Restaurant (serving exclusively Vietnamese fare).
-Sports thrill: watching the Warriors defeat the Raptors, 106-105 (game 5 of the NBA finals), with J at Finn McCool’s neighborhood bar. The crowd was cheering for the Raptors.
-Big Easy wickedness: ladies of the night at the cheesy motel on Tulane Ave.
-A touch of spirituality: St. Louis Cathedral on Jackson Square.
-Funniest sitcom watched: Parks & Recreation.
-Children’s favorites: Harry Potter movies.
-Most impressive craftsmanship: Kenny fitting a new prosthesis for L’s leg.
-Shopping disappointments: no T-shirt purchases at Goodwill (Mid-City), St. Vincent de Paul (Hammond), or Goodwill (Hammond).
-Least successful afternoon trip: to the JCC for swimming (but closed); to the public library for the weekly book sale (but wrong day); to Cosco to buy hearing aid batteries (department closed); battery purchase at Walgreens (dead; expired in 2014).
-Most curious nature encounter: fish jumping on all sides as we swam in the Gulf of Mexico.
-Most nervous nature encounter: family picnicking on the bank of St. John Bayou where a 9-foot alligator had been spotted a day or two before.
-Best photography exhibits: “Photography and Place” and “Timothy Duffy: Blue Muse” at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
-Most emotional museum experience: touring the D-Day wing at the World War 2 Museum during the 75th anniversary week of D-Day.
-Best NOLA history exhibit: history of gay carnivals at the Presbytere.
-Most unusual art museum: the Walter Anderson Museum in Ocean Springs, MS. Anderson regularly rowed 12 miles in the Gulf of Mexico to Horn Island to commune with nature and paint watercolors, as well as riding his bike from the Mississippi Gulf to and from Philadelphia and other distant destinations.
-My personal favorite art exhibition: “Self-taught, Outsider, and Visionary Art” at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art (plus surreal and abstract art by Dusti Bongé and videos by Courtney Egan).
-Pleasant and relaxing: the NOLA botanical garden in City Park featuring outdoor sculptures from the WPA era by Enrique Alvarez.
-Most exotic costumes: homeless youth in the French Quarter.
-Cool jazz: street bands on Jackson Square.
-Sweet tooth treat: dark chocolate at the French Quarter candy store on Decatur St.
-Signs of climate change: we took a look at the Spillway they’d opened outside the city (with resultant flooding of farmlands) to relieve the dangerously high waters in the Mississippi.
-Saddest moment: Time to leave. 
No comments:
Post a Comment