A good Saturday in New Orleans.

Saturday was such a pleasant day. I woke up early, well rested and ready to go. I grabbed a cup of the free coffee at the hostel, got cleaned up, and caught the street car to the french quarter. I really like quarter early in the morning, much more than late at night. I guess I am weird. Anyways... I was slowly making my way to a place to eat breakfast, but I was not in a hurry. I read the menu's of all of the open cafes i passed until i found one that suited me. Finally I found one in the Marigny area and ate a delicious breakfast burrito, and read my book, running with scissors, over a cup of coffee.
I wandered to the St. Charles street car and took it to my stop where I would walk to meet up with some friends. Emily just bought a super cute fix-er-up and I am completely jealous. I was meeting up with Emily and Seth to work a little on the cute camel back shotgun house. Seth and I cantilevered floor joists out the back of the house, to make the structure for the balcony.

I must say that I am so impressed with Seth and Emily's organization. I am sure it helps to work on the house every day, and you really get a feeling for the next step. I am also sure that it helps to run construction sites for a bunch of students, like Emily does, but, it was so nice. Right when I arrived, after I got the tour of this amazing place, we got to work, and we got it done.

In addition to the balcony, i helped move a heavy cast iron tub into the bathroom, helped frame a wall, and went on a materials run. I didn't really do too much, i was just an extra set of hands. Those two are amazing though.
At lunch, their friend Carrie arrived with sun tea (which was so refreshing) and an offer to pick up lunch. She surprised us with four po-boys, of different flavors(Ham and swiss, roast beef, catfish, and couchen de lait) , each cut into four pieces. It was a great lunch. My favorite was definitely the roast with the couchen de lait following close.
We ended the workday with a trip to a Creole Creamery for ice cream. I realized that i could happily eat there every day. I sampled the Mexican hot chocolate, which was delicious, but i chose the Black and Gold crunch because they only offer it during the Saints Season.

I headed back to the hostel by way of the street car. I rode the car quietly with my nose in the book, and apparently i didn't look that dirty from far away because a woman sat down with me. Once she got site of my grimyness she must have thought I was homeless, and got scared, because she moved to another seat. I was then proud of my filth. Messy Jessie!

I was ready for a beer once i got to the hostel. I grabbed one that i had brought with me, and next to the beer fridge, there was a tv playing with the Auburn game on. I watched it for a little while, extending the time that i could basque in my filth. I talked to a few folks, and by the time i finished my beer, i really felt the need to get clean.

Newly squeaky clean, i jumped back on the street car and headed out for dinner. I got a burrito at Fillipe's and wandered around. I stumbled across a brass band in the street. I stood there for a while watching the band play and folks dance. It was so wonderful.


I was exhausted, and not much in the mood for partying, so i made my way back to the hostel, and talked with some folks there for a while before heading to bead.

I really needed a day like that; one where i work hard, get bruised up and dirty, spend time with friends, make new ones, eat well, listen to good music, watch football and relax. Although i generally have a good time, it is nice to have a change of pace and change of scenery for the weekend.

Now it is Sunday, and I have already had a very New Orleans morning. I walked to Betty's Pancake house for breakfast, and sat at the counter. A NOLA cop sat next to me. He noticed i was fiddling around with my sketch book and started talking to me. He was telling me about the stories he writes. He told me one about a love story that extended for centuries. About half way through my meal, a family of three sat next to me. The mom was a stripper at Barely legal. The waitresses knew her, and were talking to her about how her work was going. It is a weird feeling eating eggs and hashbrowns between a cop and a stripper.

Anyways, i have a bit of work to do. I am sitting at a big table at the hostel, procrastinating and writing this blog. There is a big saints game this afternoon, so i had better get at it if i want to watch the game.

An unexpected New Orleans Weekend

This weekend I was supposed to go to Rural Studio, but something came up with my traveling partner at the last minute, and I couldnt round up another one. I love rural alabama, and the Rural Studio, but it really does make it better to have a traveling partner to share the slow adventure with. So, I decided not to go.

That being said, I was hell bent on getting away from mississippi for a few days, and experience something different for a little while. My friend Seth was driving to New Orleans for the weekend, so I hitched a ride with him.

Friday night, I ate an avocado sandwich while i watched the open mic night at the Hostel for a while. I joined a few folks and walked down the street where it was opening night for a little bar. We sat out on the large back porch and talked for a while. It was a great pleasent evening with new scenery, and definitely started to recharge my batteries.