Hospitable Bill

We stayed at Tim's uncle's place just outside of New Orleans. Uncle Bill provided wonderful accommodation for us on this chapter of our across America trek. We strolled the infamous Bourbon Street (where Tim was suckered into a shoe shine at a price of $12), gambled at Hannah's casino off Canal Street, and surveyed the remaining damage of this notable American city in the wake of Katrina 3 years ago. While Tim prefers to figure out directions and locations of places on his own, Julie is an asker - never hesitating to engage the local population for information on just about everything. New Orleans is a fun party town, but not a place either of us would want to live. There is a lot of poverty here, low property tax which translates into poor public school systems, bad roads, corrupt gov't (so Bill tells us), too much fried food, and lax drunk driving enforcement due to the acceptance of drinking as a mainstay to the culture and business. Despite all this we did have a great time. The weather was awesome and a nice change from the freezing conditions we had been experiencing days prior. New Orleans would be a fun place to visit with a group of friends looking to party for a short time. Mardi Gras 2010 anyone? Julie and Tim depart LA on this historic inauguration day and as they drive westward into the setting sun they are hopeful for the future of good things to come.
J&T