Show me the way to go home,
I’m tired and I want to go to bed,
I had a little drink about an hour ago,
And it’s gone right to my head,
So today we begin the long trek home. Some good news is that we don’t need to be out of our Airbnb until 11 o’clock. Our first flight, from New Orleans to L.A. is not until after 5 this afternoon. Of course, we have the dilemma of what to do with our luggage until we can get to the airport. And to the rescue again comes our dear Pat. Pat arrives at 10 AM to take all our luggage back to her home in Riverside. Pat and my great-mate Gentiily Jnr. will use both of their cars to ferry us to Louis Armstrong Airport later today.
Once Pat heads home we go to our regular caffeine shop on Freret St., Rook. The owner seems sad to see us for the last time. We are going to hang out here until Pat comes back around 11:30 to take us all for a final meal over on the West Bank (Algiers). Da Wabbit is a well-known soul food restaurant that the locals have been hanging out here since 1949. We had to wait about ten minutes for a table and we all ordered our last authentic New Orleans meal. Bernie received some lagniappe, he ordered a cup of gumbo as an appetizer and got the entree size instead. Don’t be fooled you Aussies, an entree in the States is what we call a main. The food was fantastic and as with all food in this part of the world, the portions were more than generous. We had our last photo taken and got photobombed by some workers on the next table over.
Photo Bombed @ Da Wabbit
After our meal, we are heading back to Pat and Bob ‘Gentilly Jnr’ home. First off though we take a route back so we can cross the Huey P Long Bridge. Huey Long was one of the most corrupt Governors of the state of Louisiana and that is saying something. He was known as the Kingfisher. I read a book about his ‘colorful’ life a few years back. He was assassinated back in 1935.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long
We then called in at Charlie’s Auto Repair in Harahan. Why you may ask? It was at Charlie’s home on our first night in New Orleans that we enjoyed a neighborhood crawfish boil. Charlie’s Auto Repair is an old-fashioned hands-on repair shop. We caught up with a lot of Charlie’s mates all characters in their own way. Check out this new report from a few years back to see what I mean.
We made it back to Riverside at about 2:30 and caught up with Bob. Bernie and Hoff were very interested in Bob’s music room. Bob spends up to 9 hours preparing for his radio show on WWOZ. You can hear Bob’s show via WWOZ’s website. It plays here mid-morning on a Tuesday. I can tell you it is the most knowledgeable and researched music show you will ever listen to. Check it out here:
https://www.wwoz.org/programs/blues-and-rb-with-gentilly-jr
And just like that we are heading to the airport. I will not bore you with the flight details. In wrapping up I just want to thank Bernie and Hoff for making the “Last Hurrah’ the most awesome of trips. Wendy for helping me make it through each day. Cara and Taylah for joining us for the second week of Jazz Fest. Our beautiful New Orleans friends, Pat, Bob, and Jeff. Your friendships are something that Wendy and I value so much. Pat, you were amazing, driving us to and fro, and taking us to places we could never have imagined. We want to see y’all in Australia ASAP. I may never see New Orleans again but be assured I will never forget my ten visits to the best city in the world. Bon Ton Roulet!
So that is all for me, but wait there is more. I am just about to post Hoff’s food blog, it is a great read. I can’t believe we ate so much food and lost weight! Can you believe that? I also had some observations from Bernie to post as well but I can’t find them at the moment.
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