NOLA with Kyle

And the lucky winner is nephew Kyle – my sister’s oldest son.  He’s the one who took us up on our offer in a previous post to come join us down in New Orleans this weekend and enjoy the sunshine – a very nice break from the cold we’d been in the middle of for the last couple of weeks.  But actually, the lucky winners were us, for we got to connect with him for three days and nights in one of the most fascinating of all cities, and continue to get to know him as the cool young adult that he is.

We enjoyed so many wonderful things when we were together!  Of course, we did the requisite strolling and people-watching on Bourbon Street and all around the French Quarter, stopping to listen to and support the street musicians along the way.  Food town that this is, we drank and dined at some of our old favorite Cajun/Creole/adult beverage spots, including K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, Napoleon House, The Camellia Grill, Oceana Grill, Cafe Beignet and Johnny’s Po-Boy.  And then we tried a couple of new spots including Drago’s for chargrilled oysters [what’s not to love about garlic and butter and cheese on ANYTHING!?!; thanks for the recommendation, Perry & Dee Dee!] and then we stumbled upon Kingfish, another place we will now add to our NOLA dining repertoire.  To ensure we got some culture, we visited the National WW II Museum [another recommendation from Perry & Dee Dee; like they said, on a scale of 1-10 this is a 12!] and two nearby National Park Units – the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park right in The Quarter, and the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve which actually has six different locations; we visited the three nearest the city.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again… one of the many great things we are experiencing Out Here on the road is getting to see so many people we care about and love but didn’t get the chance to see often because of the distance to us in Chicago.  In this case, Kyle was only five hours away in Galveston, Texas, and he was only too keen to take a little road trip to come visit us!  He likes this city too, and even bought a nice souvenir to remind him of the great city of New Orleans and of our fabulous visit here together.

We love you, Kyle!  We’re proud of you and your service in the U.S. Coast Guard – you’ve chosen a fine career for yourself.  We had a FANTASTIC time with you in NOLA and can’t wait to see you again soon!