New Years Under A Blue Moon In New Orleans

Hope you had a great New Year. My wife, Suz, and I celebrated in the French Quarter in New Orleans beneath the shining light of a Blue Moon.

Our "home" for three nights was the Rathbone Inn II on Esplanade, an 1846 mansion that was the first home in the city owned by "a woman of color" the literature said. We stayed in the second floor Louis Armstrong suite with a balcony overlooking the boulevard.

At the west edge of the French Quarter, we were within walking distance to everywhere we wanted to visit.

And, a little further west, we could see destruction that still remains from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, reminding us of the Time Check and Czech Village areas of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as a result of the Flood of 2008.

A rainy and cool Dec. 30, 2009, gave way to sunshine and a high of 69 on Dec. 31.

We walked up and down the streets of the French Quarter, hung out at Jackson Square in front of the famous St. Louis Cathedral and took a carriage ride around the oldest district of this fascinating old city.

Howie, our carriage driver, guided his horse, Hurricane, up Bourbon Street and even stopped at Laffit's, the oldest operating taven in the U.S., so we could begin our New Year's celebration about 5 p.m. As we sat in the carriage in front of the standing room only tavern, a waiter came out and took our orders. I figured a dark rum and Coke was a good start since I knew a famous rum Hurricane drink was on my horizon.

I didn't have a Hurricane, though, until after we'd eaten supper at the House of Blues which has a fascinating array of backlit portraits of blues greats on the ceiling. We thought about hanging around for the music that started at 9 p.m., but decided to join the revelry on the streets instead.

What a party! Jackson Square was packed. Bourbon Street was blocked off. People tossed beads from the balconies and young men walked around with fishbowl Hurricane drinks hanging around their necks or carrying green plastic Hand Grenade drinks also made famous in New Orleans. Fans from the Sugar Bowl teams, those in red for the Cincinnati Bearcats and those in bright orange and blue for the Florida Gators, partied everywhere, sure of victory in the New Years Day game the next evening.

Somehow, the six of us (we were joined by Suz's brother and wife, Glenn and Laura from the Quad Cities, and Suz's sister and husband, Connie and Gerry from the Raleigh, NC, area) managed to wangle seats at the cozy bar at Johnny White's in the 700 block of Bourbon Street. It's the only tavern that remained open all the time during Hurricane Katrina. (Howie, our carriage driver, said a law in New Orleans requires every bar to close at least one hour every YEAR.)

As the clock struck midnight, Suz and I celebrated with a New Year's kiss and left our seats behind at Johnny White's to wander down Bourbon Street. Between the balconies, we could see the fireworks exploding above Jackson Square and the Mississippi River.

Lest you think our trip only involved partying, we spent plenty of time looking at art (Suz liked the Blue Dogs) in the shops along Royal Street, stopped at a few antique stores on Decatur Street, visited the old U.S. Mint museum (it minted coins for the Confederacy for a short time during the Civil War) and took a very enlightening walking tour to St Jude's Church, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (the oldest in the city), Congo Park and wound up listening to a voodoo queen who came to New Orleans from Belize 20 years ago.

With images of above ground cemetery tombs dancing in our heads, the wind opening window shutters to our room at night and the bright Blue Moon light casting eerie shadows, we now understand how visitors to New Orleans can be spooked.

But, hey, it's 2010. A New Year. The future is ahead and, to me, that's nothing to fear. Have a great one!