Thursday, February 19, 2015

Day 8 -- February 9, 2015 -- Grrrr . . . this one is out of order! So sorry . . .



We were up early today so that we could eat breakfast at 7:00 and be ready to debark by 8:30. Our last meal was just as delicious as the first, so we left the cruise with a good taste in our mouths. Pretty trite, huh?

We began to be treated like cattle again as we were pointed to the holding area in the Rome Room. We were called by Decks to leave the ship, Decks 1 and 10, then 2 and 11, etc. We were in the second group. Although we had had a great time on the water, it felt good to get back on land.

Sure enough, just as promised on Thursday, the Hotel Galvez sent their shuttle to pick us up. The driver called ahead to the hotel, and our cars were waiting for us when we arrived. We really hated to bid Claudia and Ivan farewell because we had had such a great time together. But we promised to keep in touch via text messages as they traveled west and we traveled east. Lots of hugs before we set out for our Monday destinations – they to Fredericksburg, TX, and we to New Orleans, both promising wonderful evenings. Fredericksburg is a neat little German town, and everyone knows what New Orleans is.

We arrived in the Big Easy around 3:00, but we didn’t get to the Quality Inn on St. Charles until almost 5:00 because of a wreck on I-10. Frank got off I-10 and kept turning on streets until George, our GPS, led us to the hotel without getting us  back on I-10.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that our Quality Inn was a lovely, very New Orleans-looking hotel only about a mile from the French Quarter, where we wanted to eat dinner (at Deanie’s . . . great seafood!). After Frank rested for a few minutes, we hopped on a St. Charles Streetcar that would take us about two or three blocks from the restaurant. Both of us have lots of memories of streetcars in New Orleans. He remembers them as an adult; I remember them as a child.

My mother and I used to ride all over the city (very small in comparison to today’s city) by paying .07 and getting a transfer. Tonight, it cost $1.25 each to ride one mile, with no transfer, not that we needed one. I also used to ride the streetcar all by myself to the library when I was eight or nine years old. Would I want Jackson to do that today? Not on your life! And when I was in seventh grade, I walked three blocks to the trolley stop on Carrolton Avenue, rode the trolley to Claiborne Avenue and transferred to a streetcar to get to McMain Junior High School. Never a fear in my parents’ minds about my safety. It surely was different back then.

We had a great streetcar driver tonight. Since there were no seats available, we had to stand right behind him. He talked to us the whole time until a sweet young thing captured his attention. So much for the elderly! One of the photos shows St. Charles Avenue from inside the streetcar. By the way, I think New Orleans residents now refer to the streetcars as trolleys. That’s wrong, though. A trolley is a bus that’s connected to wires above. Silly people!

Our dinner at Deanie’s was just as delicious as I remembered dinner the last time. I’m posting the goofiest picture of me. Brave lady.


Early to bed because we’d be up early the next day to have coffee and beignets at CafĂ© Du Monde before leaving for Pensacola. Good day but very tiring for Frank!







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