Day 2 Part 2: Getting Bourbon Faced on Shit Street.

Sorry for the delay in posts! It's been wild and busy day to say the LEAST. So, where were we..

OH YES.

Jackson, Mississippi. So, having completed that unimaginably epic soul food showdown at Two Sisters and cleaning up the pieces that was our Americana epiphany, we headed out to explore this surprising little city.

Well we didn't have to walk very far. Turned the corner and BOOM:

Thats a state capital y'all!

So we quickly took some time out of our day to show Jackson just how appreciative we were of their wonderful hospitality. 

JUMP MONTAGE!!!

Shameless.  

So completely re-energized and embarrasingly out of breath, we hike up the hill to investigate further. 

We walk in and my new found love for taking pictures on my iPhone while other people are talking to me provides me with THIS:

You're welcome. Thats the inside looking up into the dome!

Having gotten my clutch picture for the blog, we should have turned around right then and there, and headed back for the car. 

Well, we don't. And we pay the price. 

Before I could even put my phone away, OUT OF NOWHERE crawls the sweetest, kindest, and clearly most bored woman in the state of Mississippi. Ms. Clarabelle. The capital buildings official tour guide. 

We're fucked. 

Before either of us knew what was going on, we were completely engulfed in a FULL FLEDGED ARCHITECTURAL TOUR of the building.  Now I like architecture as much as the next person, but we were on a tight schedule and Clarabelle's talking pace was of serious concern. And she kept referencing all the other wings of building she couldn't wait to show us. How do we get out of this? She was SO sweet and SO excited that we were there and listening to her, but I have a hunch we'd still be there with her if we didn't act fast. 

I contemplated just running. Or faking stomach congestion. Keep in mind the meal we just came from. 

Well, finally Sean broke through and explained how we didnt have time to do this, as I fought back vomit cause I felt so bad. But Clarabelle's a strong bitch. She understood. We quickly scanned the very impressive Senate and House of Rep wings, snapped this photo:

And headed out. PHEW. Crisis averted. 

I DO want to note that as we were briskly walking through the Senate, we passed a very official looking man in one seat, surfing a gun-holster website with his credit card IN HAND. Amen. 

Peace out Jackson!! It's been more than real. So after finally getting back onto the highway, dodging this FINAL DESTINATION truck of loose tree trunks,

We were heading south to the one and only NEW ORLEANS!!

Neither one of us had ever been to this magnificent city before, so the anticipation was about at fever pitch as we crossed into Louisiana state borders and headed STRAIGHT into the Bayou. Taking 1-55 South in New Orleans has to be one of the coolest grand entrances to any city in America. About 30 miles outside the city, solid ground VANISHES and you're on an elevated byway crossing through jaw-droppingly untouched swamp land. The swamp trees aren't tall and the highway is very high, so you're literally cruising almost at the tree's canopies. We felt like we were on the Jetsons. 

Did I mention New Orleans is magnificent? Well, it deems another mention. And there isn't any other place really even close to it. Much like San Francisco, being within the city limits you realize that there isn't any other place in the WORLD like where you are right now. And thats incredible. 

Our hotel was right on Bourbon Street and walking up to check-in, we immediately got the sense that we were at LEAST 5 drinks behind everyone else in sight. At least. I was wearing an "Adventures in Babysitting" t-shirt (you know, the 80's movie) and this middle-aged woman came up me, read my shirt, hugged me and gave me her number saying that, "we should chat". I'll probably call her. 

So, with about three hours of sunlight and probably 50+ bars in any given direction, we set out to see the sites and drink the drinks. 

 Oh hey there Bourbon Street!

Whats up, Jackson Square?

Seriously this city is beautiful. 

So having walked around a good chunk on the French Quarter and threw caution to the wind and ordered ourselves some Hurricanes (all puns intended), we were getting hungry. (If you don't know what a Hurricane drink is, google it. Actually don't. I'd rather not know what was in it.)

Being in New Orleans is a foodie's sex dream. So you have to know what you want. And that we did. One New Orleans most famous creations: The Po'Boy. 

There's literally a po'boy shop on every corner in the French Quarter and every person will tell you a different place that has the best one. But who do you think we are? We did are own research beforehand and landed on PARKWAY BAKERY AND TAVERN in mid-city. Not even close to being within walking distance of Bourbon Street and hurricanes fully digested, it was time for....drum roll....DRUNK ADVENTURES!!!

New Orleans has some pretty nifty streetcars for public transportation, so we hop on one (clearly the wrong one), hop on another (who discontinues cause of construction) and FINALLY land on the right one. With the help of the always friendly locals (a running theme this trip), we head about 20 minutes away from the beads, drinks, and tourists of the French Quarter and into real 'NOLA. Getting off the bus, we had about a 10 minute through a very cool, no frills New Orleans neighborhood. Only to find out later that this area was one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina only 7 years ago. The whole neighborhood was devastated by over 10 feet of water flooding their homes and streets. Even now, we could see the recovery very much in progress. But we also saw a lot of awesome revitalization already in place and happy, smiling, beautiful people enjoying THEIR city. 

FOOD TIME!!

How cool is this place? We quickly realize our trip away from tourist central was WELL worth it. Opened in '30's, Parkway has closed three times for Hurricanes and related floods. But it keeps coming back. And we know why now:

THIS.

Thats a half shrimp, half catfish po'boy with a bowl of Alligator sausage gumbo. You heard that right. And it effing ROCKED. Staying within the theme of most other meals we've had so far, it was so great because it was SO simple. 5 ingredients. But less is always more when you've got so much care going into those 5 ingredients, including some of the best/freshest seafood you can have. And the alligator gumbo? Delicious. I've had alligator before and its not scary. It's perfect. Home run Parkway, HOME RUN. 

Now back to Bourbon we go!! The night is young after all. We take in everything the French Quarter has for us, even venture down to Frenchman street, where we spot our first ever Southern hipsters (!!!). A woman came up to us and asked if we wanted to hire her as a poet. Oh and we drank a LOT of Abita Beer. 

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd good night!