The Odyssey 2012 Begins

With a little unfinished business left over from last years epic adventure, we set out on a journey that would take us three thousand two hundred miles over the highways of America. As mentioned in the post entitled Day One, we drove through the night on that first day. Sixteen hours of getting to know the new car. With only one minor glitch in the navigation system (she got stuck in Tipp City Ohio but we kept going without a map), we found our way and reached our first stopping point in Mississippi.

The next day, we made our way the remaining hour drive to our first destination, New Orleans. When we arrived at the Andrew Jackson Hotel on Royal Street, we were informed that our room reservation had been changed by the manager. Instead of the queen room on the courtyard, we were in the king suite with a balcony.

As we made our way up the twenty two stairs and down the narrow eighteen inch wide hallway, we had no idea that we had just been upgraded to the best room in the hotel. As the door swung open and I saw the tall floor to ceiling windows that opened onto the street below, I started to realize what had just happened.

Later when we got a glimps into what would have been our room, 

we really appreciated it.

 You might be able to see the joy and appreciation on Edward's face.

 While the quietness of the courtyard is nice, there's something about being in the middle of the action and having front row seats.

Royal Street is just one block from the world famous Bourbon Street. It does not have all the action of Bourbon but it certainly wasn't boring either.

Last year we heard the story of the room at the Andrew Jackson Hotel of it being haunted. And as the carriage tours that were stopping out in front were telling the tourist, the action happens in the room that we were upgraded to!

Originally the hotel was the first district court house in America and it is where Andrew Jackson practiced law, before being elected President of the United States. That is of course, where it gets it's name from.

Later it became a school for boys. It is said that one night, a fire broke out and several boys were killed. There are stories of guest staying at the hotel reporting that they heard boys running up and down the halls, banging on doors in the middle of the night.

The story of our room happened in 1983. A newlywed couple was staying in the room. They were having a great time in New Orleans, taking lots of pictures. And had even taken some in the room and on the balcony, much like Ed and I have done. Where it gets interesting is when they had the film developed (Yeah, remember film) there was a photo of the two of them lying in the bed asleep, taken from above the king sized bed.

We checked all our cameras the next day after sleeping in the room, but there were no extra pictures.

 The room we were to have had was the last one on the right, upstairs.

As evening set in, I started to get a little parched. So we stepped out onto Bourbon Street to see what we could get to quench my thirst.

It was a Sunday night, so the streets were not so packed.......yet. I found myself a po-boy and a hurricane at a cafe and waited for the action to start.

Soon the streets were crawling with party goers in every direction.
We found our way over to Pirates Alley where there is an Absinthe bar and Edward got himself some of the green fairy.

 This was the start of an amazing trip, that we will remember for the rest of our lives.

We found our way over to LaFitte's Blacksmith Shop. It is said to be the oldest, longest running bar in America. Built in an old blacksmith's shop, this single story building serves up the best hurricane's in New Orleans in an atmosphere like none other. There are no electric lights in the whole place. There is a piano in the back corner and live music can be heard every night of the week, whether you sit inside or out on the street in front, listening to the tour guides tell haunting stories of the bar and the neighboring houses.

 This last shot, I had to include here. We found this as we exited the Absinthe bar in Pirate's Alley.
Under the romantic street lights of the French Quarter, is a young couple embraced in an intimate moment, while a homeless man sleeps next to a doorway.

What happens in New Orleans, as they say, Never Happened!