New Orleans: Day 2 (Mon)

I had to attend a timeshare presentation at the Holiday Inn (just up the road) this rainy morning; the people on the street were really dressed up in Mardi gras themes as Fat Tuesday ( The last tues of Feb; the beginning of Mardi Gras) was less than 24 hours away. In fact, the doorwoman at the holiday Inn gave me my first set of beads. However, as I forgot to bring my license with me, I was unable to attend or get my two hundred dollar deposit back - but I was allowed to keep the free room. So I went back to the room, taking pictures along the way, and my friend and I REALLY explored New Orleans' French Quarter that day. We hit Bourbon Street twice, visited a couple bars or taverns, got confused once, but fially made it back to our hotel that afternoon. We ate diiner at Steak and Shake, 'S' went to check out Ceasars Plaza. We went shopping for beads to give away tomorrow, and we enjowed the night scene in New Orleans. We then went back to the hotel, but I wanted to go out and get some souvenirs, photos, and a little snack.I got back to the hotel close to an hour later with LOTS of photos.

New Orleans: Day 1 (Sunday)

The morning was a little chilly, and still raining; but it slowly warmed to about 70 degrees. we went outside for a bit, took in the New Orleans atmosphere, the rainy day, and eventually Bourbon St. to CVS where I picked up some hot chocolate. 'S' picked up some water. On the way to pay, we looked at the Mardi gras souvenirs, but decided to see what the many stores were offering before we picked up anything. We then decided to get takeout breakfast before we went back to the hotel. I had a takeout breakfast at IHOP (The pancakes were very good, and Very fluffy) With turkey Links, the thick meal lasted all three days. Here I want to give the Crowne Plaza credit. I went to the restaurant in the hotel and asked them for syrup, since my fluffy pancakes sucked up the remaining I had left. The server asked me to wait a minute, and went into the kitchen. what she came back with, wasn't a tablespoon of syrub; but an entire container! I was very impressed with them for that. We went back to our room, got warmed up, and decide to visit Bourbon St, which began at the corner of our hotel. We had to walk around a big sanitation truck and a police car. It was then that I was told about the Bourbon Street car attack on the 1st of the year. I DID notice as I walked Bourbon St, that metal barriers were erected at the end of each block to prevent another mobile atack. As I had nerver been there, it was nice to see all the Mardi Gras decoration in the various stores, and hear a lot of live jazz. The rest of the day was spent watching television, laughing, and napping (WE we STILL tired).

While this hotel is my favorite chain, this one was my least one place to stay at. I do believe that other rooms were MUCH bigger than the one we stayed in; but it was THE SMALLEST hotel room I've ever seen! The bed WAS a comfortable queen size, but it took up most of the room. There was only a two or three inch gap between the bed and the wall. The room's temperature was not dictated by the hotel, or us manually; but by the sun coming into the room. Our Temperature ranged from the 60's to the 90's in the room. We had to leave the door open to cool the room down. My next complaint was the windows. Not only were they at least 30 years old (which is why the temperature varied so much), but they also need to be cleaned of all the grime on it.

New Orleans & Mardi gras

I planned my trip to New Orleans during Mardi Gras and invited one of my best friends to join me. Unfortunately, I forgot my license at home while searching for an item. Thankfully, Southwest Airlines let me fly after a TSA question and answer session. Although the trip cost me the funds I had deposited, I was still able to keep it at no charge. My friend and I stayed near the French Quarter, where we enjoyed exploring the area. We arrived at Louis Armstrong International Airport around 9 a.m. to rainy weather and temperatures in the 50s. Our Lyft driver informed us that the Mardi Gras parade scheduled for that day had been postponed to the following Tuesday, which we made sure to attend.

The Beginning

 Hello, and Welcome to my travel blog... I've always loved to travel - mostly domestically,  but I'm be going out of my comfort zone soon. I don't do the general tourist things; I take lots of pictures and discuss my surprise finds that the people of the country, state, or city will rarely tell you about; possibly scratching that traveling itch of your own. 

FYI: I AM disabled (as you will see in the next paragraph), so I will be traveling on a budget. So please sit back and enjoy the journey...

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To start, I am a kidney disorder transplant survivor - in my seventh year and getting stronger! I was on dialysis for five years, and I received a kidney in 2018, Sadly, exactly 3 weeks from the day I was released, a large SUV ran into me on the sidewalk; breaking my left tibia, fibula, and a few bones in my foot. After two surgeries (too late), I am able to walk, slowly, but I am disabled for the rest of my life as certain things I  can no longer do. That said, my walking is faster, my gait got sturdier, and I'm able to work a few part time jobs on a regular basis. 

I've been considering writing a book or blog about my travels years ago, and at the end of 2024, it began to come together for me. I began thinking about places I could go; even bring friends, and I told a good friend about my desire to write again, and she suggested the blog (I had forgotten that I wrote a blog about fashion 9yrs ago). And here we are! 

 About the time of that realization, I received a free 4-day vacation from one of the hotel clubs I've joined; 'IHG Hotels and Resorts.' I was cancelling a reservation and got connected to a customer service representative who gave me a 4-day vacation in New Orleans if I was willing to sit through a timeshare presentation - which I quickly accepted as I had always wanted to visit New Orleans, especially for Mardi Gras. And that is where the blog begins...