New Orleans

Camillia Grill
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Get up early and take the St Charles streetcar out to Riverbend for breakfast at The Camillia Grill, another local landmark that's been open since 1946. I've been there a few times in the past but not since Katrina. It was closed for a good year and a half afterwards and I went out there on the first anniversary to take pictures of it as I had heard stories about locals going out there and leaving Post-It notes on the windows and pillars begging for it to re-open and listing their favorite meal there, or how they went on a first date there with their future spouse. And it was true; the restaurant was covered in hundreds of love letters. Name another place in the world where that could happen. The wait was short, the food delicious, but you also go for the 'experience. The waiters in their white coats and black ties yelling the orders behind them to the two cooks in the open cooking area who can somehow manage to crank out the meals without breaking a sweat. One of their specialties is the pecan pie, that because it's not rich enough already, is heated up in butter on the grill. Here is an article on the re-opening:

inside Camillia Grill
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18274792/

Tom and James then took the streetcar back to the Quarter while Rick, Donald and I walked the mile to the zoo. Besides being possibly the only zoo that serves daiquiris, its also one of the best zoos I've been to. The animals have much larger than average areas to roam, but the heat and humidity often keeps them from exerting themselves too much. After two hours in the sun I didn't want to exert much either. We took the Magazine St bus back to the Quarter. At a loss for a quick snack we ended up at Rotolo's on Decatur St. While waiting (and waiting) for our (mediocre) food the manager put up an evacuation route map on the door. Way to relax me!

at the zoo
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Tired and not hungry I was at a loss for where to eat for dinner. Tom suggested the Cafe Pontalba on the corner of Jackson Square we've eaten at several times. Rick and I split the veggie pasta with Creole sauce. It was hard to relax when there is so much non-information attacking you from the television. It won't hit until Tuesday but they may evacuate by Saturday. Don't do anything but be ready to do something. etc. It didn't help that most of the ATMs we walked by were shut down and businesses were boarding up their windows.

Donald, Jelly and Tom at Le Chat Noir
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We then walked over to Le Chat Noir on St Charles in the Central Business District, a swanky nightclub/cabaret that we've been to a few times in years past. The show was Voices from Louisiana - a five man/woman show in two parts- the first was the history of the state from it's first discovery until the time of the Louisiana Purchase - factual and informative, but very silly and tongue-in-cheek. The second part was a 'medley' of well known people from the state - from Richard Simmons and Britney Spears to (then) acting governor Kathleen Blanco and mayor Nagin. None of them escaped unscathed. Right before the show started, Jelly snuck in; she's friends with the manager who got her a seat next to us without us knowing so that was a nice surprise. Judging from her laughter, it sounds like they nailed just about everyone. At the very ended they did some monologues of Betsy and Katrina survivors that had much of the audience sniffling. That this was the night of the 3rd anniversary and that everyone was preparing for Gustav was the icing on the cake.

Jump roping on Dumaine St
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We were going to cab over to the Rock n Bowl for the Rebirth Brass Band and bowling but we were all tired so we hung out in the front bar for a while chatting with Jelly and some of the cast members. Mid-City Lanes, aka the Rock n Bowl is an old fashioned bowling alley located on the 2nd floor of a strip mall in a marginal (at best) neighborhood. They have 10 pin bowling, a bar that serves red beans and rice and a stage with a dance floor that has live bands - Cajun, Zydeco or anything local. We've been there a few times and it's always a fun scene - everyone from college kids to couples in their 50's and 60's dancing away.

St Charles St streetcar
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We walked back to the Quarter and down Royal St and over to Bourbon St outside the Clover Grill to hang out for a while. One guy had a Geaux Away Gustave t-shirt on. There were people drinking on the street, but much quieter than in years past. Luckily a group of girls in short skirts and nylons came along and set up some Double Dutch jump roping in the street. There were at it for a while so I watched them go at it and a few guys joined in but most weren't very co-ordinated. Maybe if they had put their drinks down they would've had better luck. When a cab came down the street they didn't bother to move - they just raised the ropes up so the car could go underneath while they sang "London Bridge is falling down". Just another night on Bourbon St.

Gators at the zoo
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By the time we got back to the hotel we checked the news and websites and saw the airport was shutting down at 600pm on Sunday so I called American and was able to get our flights re-scheduled for Sunday instead of Monday - she said I was lucky- they only had three seats left. Not really happy about it, but relieved.