#001: What I did on my Summer Vacation

I am currently typing this post sitting on a hotel bed with sheets of questionable quality in Not-Quite-New-Orleans. Not-Quite-New-Orleans is a nondescript place that reminds me of every American town north of West Palm Beach.

It's nice, quiet and a smidgen too cold for what would in South Florida be summer time.

I am leaving today, and I felt I would be remiss if I did not record my impressions of New Orleans. Here they are:

1. New Orleans was an all you can eat seafood buffet. Certain cities have their quirks. Boston's was the preponderance of Dunkin Donuts. Seattle, of course, has Starbucks and Tampa, no surprise, has strip clubs. With New Orleans almost every other establishment was a restaurant that served seafood. It didn't matter if the restaurant wasn't obviously seafood themed. I'm sure you could get a McBucket of Prawns if you asked McDonalds nicely enough. 
2. The French Quarter is definitely on its way to recovery. Do call it a comeback! Katrina did a number on New Orleans the likes of which America and I have not seen since Andrew. But I honestly did not notice this while I was here. It has been several years, but I seem to remember Homestead, wiped off the map by the aforementioned Andrew, taking longer to bounce back.
3. If I never hear "When the Saints Go Marching In" it will be too soon. I'm not throwing shade, it's a classic song and one that I like, but I've only spent four days in NOLA and I've must have heard ten different renditions of the song. 
4. It's cool to chilly here. I had a lot of scantily-clad NOLA natives make "It's Hot" remarks to me. This South Floridan begs to differ. It was actually pretty nice out. There always seemed to be a breeze. And it was a big mistake to wear shorts because once the sun set, it felt as if the temperature dropped to subzero50 degrees.

To sum it up, New Orleans was nice. I was here on family business, my little sister is now a graduate of Loyola University, so I didn't get to really explore, but the small glimpse I saw was nice and worth a second, more through look.

That is what I did on my Summer Vacation. No one asked, but I thought it was a fitting first post that follows the long tradition of "What I did" being the first thing asked on the first day of classes.