We found ourselves walking along Decatur Street in search of a watering hole when we happened upon The Jackson Brewery. Matthew the manager of the place met us at the door and welcomed us with a wide smile. I breezed past him and said that we just wanted to sit at the bar, but Matthew wouldn't hear of it. "No, you don't want to just sit at the bar." he said. "Yes, that's all we want to do," I replied. "NO, YOU DON'T" he again responded and followed that up with "Come with me." Matthew proceeded to walk us around a corner and put us on an elevator and up up up to the top floor to a private bar overlooking the Mighty Mississippi River. It was a beautiful bar and a beautiful view.
Ordering drinks and appetizers we toasted our good fortune, when along came a gentleman in a top hat and blue shirt that looked like a squished and squashed Abraham Lincoln. Carl, the magician proceeded to dazzle us with his incredible tricks and feats of magic. There is a clip of some of his magic in yesterday's blog.
Finally having our fill of both magic and beer, we again headed out into the heat and worked our way up to the St Charles Trolley....a fabled ride through the Garden District and back.
With the heat of the day and the lure of the rooftop pool, we worked our way back to the hotel for some relaxation before dinner.
A wonderful dinner at Cochon where Matt's friend's sister Lily joined us along with her boyfriend Byron. Afterwards found us again heading to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. And tonight....tonight was to be Luke's night. My son Luke can be quite funny and rather bold. And at the nightspot called "Howling at the Moon" a dueling piano bar, he got the chance to show his stuff. Seeing an empty drum set between the two piano players and the piano players lamely trying to create a back beat for their music, Luke positioned himself within earshot of the one piano player and began his pitch. "I can make you sound so much better if you let me play the drums for you."......."You guys really need a drummer. You know that don't you?"......"Just let me get on the drums for you." And finally, finally...the piano player turned to him and said "You're not bullshitting me, you really can play the drums?" to which Luke's reply was to just breeze past him and head for the drum set. Well, the rest is now Howling at the Moon history as for almost the next hour Luke proceeded to play the drums for the two piano players as they put on their show.
I wonder where he gets this from.
The balance of the weekend was filled with more fun and play including a delicious dinner at Emeril's (BAM!!)
Restaurant.
Finally Sunday came and it was time to depart each others' company, but not without first visiting the World War II Museum. If you are ever in New Orleans I suggest that you put this on your list of places to visit. It truly was a highlight in a weekend of highlights. So well done and so viewer friendly, it is not like your typical museum at all. We all left wishing that we had more time there.
So the weekend ended with hugs and kisses all around and enough fond memories and purchases to lodge this weekend in the warm remembrances of our minds. I love my kids and it was both a blessing and a privilege to be able to do this together as a family. But now it was time to pack up and leave and get on with my trip....as Horace Greeley said over a century ago, "Go West, Young Man. Go West". So back in the jeep it was time to get back on the road.
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