NOLA, Revisited......

...and right back at the same hotel as in 2010: Old Towne Inn

I rolled out of Vicksburg, Mississippi, yesterday morning, headed east for Birmingham, Alabama, to visit the Barber Motorsports Motorcycle Museum again. It's an awesome place, and I wanted a second shot to see what I might have missed the first time. Well into the drive, about halfway, I was cruising in the fast lane, when I saw a sign that said I-59 New Orleans - 1/4 mile. In the couple seconds it took to cover that 1/4 mile, I had crossed 3 lanes of traffic, hauling a trailer, and found myself heading the 170 miles south to New Orleans.

Of course, in the true tradition of Southern Comfort travel, I've always taken any new path that looked interesting, regardless of the general itinerary, and this side trip is no exception. NOLA was the halfway point for last year's ride, and I had nothing but fun memories. An annual refresher seemed like a damned good idea. I called ahead and booked a room at the Olde Town Inn where I stayed last year, set the cruise control to 75, and several hours later I was booked into Room 13 and unloading the bike!

  

Someone's missing!

The only possible first stop was Bourbon Street, which seems to never disappoint. There's a party going on there all the time, even on a Sunday afternoon. There's something for everyone on Bourbon Street, regardless of where those little twisty-bits go in those dark corners of your mind.

Bourbon Street is easily the nuttiest place in the US, and I've been to Duvall Street in Key West, Beale Street in Memphis, and many other US hot spots. While checking things out, I walked down toward one spot where a crowd of guys were competing for a view inside a bar where music was blaring. Not one to miss the action, I muscled my way in, camera at the ready, and was horrified to find that I had one foot in the door of a gay strip joint! I slipped back through that crowd in a millisecond, getting both feet firmly in heterosexual territory before I was spotted! No... no pictures!!

I'm on a slow internet connection and also anxious to get moving, so I'll cut this short by saying that within 10 minutes of parking the Joker, I met some cool people including 4'10" "Hammer", a little gal on a Sportster something like the Joker. She introduced me to other folks, and after hanging with them a while, I had some oysters at Acme Oyster House, and then started my sightseeing. There were LOTS of sights to see.

and a few from other places....

 Voodoo Shrine

Stay tuned for an update....maybe tomorrow.

Cowboy