Louise Carroll: New Orleans trip worth the wait
I finally made it to New Orleans. I sat with my son Michael and daughter-in-law Linda outside the Café Du Monde eating beignets while enjoying live jazz and watching a never-ending line of people some holding sleepy babies and some hand in hand. It was a swirl of people of all colors and ages; business types, free spirits, a cacophony of sounds and sights of the people of New Orleans.
Du Monde means "of the world" and I felt I was a part of that diverse world and I liked it. Café du Monde is a New Orleans tradition, established in 1862, and it is open 24 hours a day seven days a week. It closes only on Christmas Day and for an occasional hurricane.
We enjoyed every bite of our beignets, which are square French-style doughnuts, fried in oil and lavishly covered with powdered sugar. The Cafe Du Monde's menu consists of white and chocolate milk, freshly squeezed orange juice, dark roasted coffee and chicory served black or au lait, which means that it is mixed half and half with hot milk. And of course, the ever-loving beignets served hot and fresh.
I said I finally made it to New Orleans because this wasn't my first attempt to see the beautiful city with the ironwork and balconies, the tree-lined streets and all that jazz. Many years ago, when Michael was in the Army in Texas my husband, Don, and I visited him and Linda. When we got ready to go home we decided to drive from Texas to New Orleans, but when we tried to just drive on over, there had been some serious flooding and we had to drive almost 200 miles north before we could go south and we decided it had been a long trip we just headed north all the way to home.
Don and I planned our dream vacation, sailing down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, and periodically I got the catalogs from the Delta Queen complete with pictures and all the things dreams are made of. Don's health deteriorated rapidly and we were not able to go.
Some years later, my friend Diane Neyman and I signed up for a bus trip to New Orleans and thought we were on our way until Hurricane Katrina hit just before we were to leave, and again I got close but no beignets.
When Michael and Linda planned this wonderful trip for us on the American Queen I just did not believe it would happen. I had tried three times and it hadn't happened, so I wasn't hopeful. I had some serious issues with my sight and an unexpected glitch and had to wear a heart monitor. Oh, honestly. I felt like I was Pauline in the 1914 movie "The Perils of Pauline" and I had to tune in next week to see if I fell off the cliff or if the train ran over me, but just like Pauline, I survived and made it to New Orleans. I not only made it I had the dream trip of a lifetime with the greatest couple ever, Michael and Linda, who were always there to make sure I didn't fall on my face or rump ― neither of which is preferred in a public place. I've landed on both at various times and it was not a pretty sight.
I have been on ocean cruises with 6,000 people, more or less, but this boat had 420 people, which is a totally different experience. I have a lot to tell you about going down the Mississippi on the elegant American Queen, the largest paddleboat ever built, 418 feet long, christened in 2012 by Pricilla Presley. And it has a calliope.
The American Queen even has a swimming pool and Linda and Michael went swimming most evenings. No riverboat gambler lived better than we did with five-course gourmet meals in the formal dining room, entertainment in the Grand Saloon that really is a theater. I've no idea when it is called a saloon, but then I grew up in Ellwood City where we have bars, all of which would fit in the Grand Saloon. Guess that's why they call it Grand.
Every evening, Michael and I went to the saloon for entertainment and it was excellent, including singers and dancers, Dante, a magician, and an evening with Mark Twain, a one-man show by Lewis Hankins. At times, we would see Mark Twain sitting in the Mark Twain Library in his iconic white suit. He certainly added to the atmosphere.
Mostly we watched the broad and beautiful Mississippi River as we talked and ate. We did a whole lot.
This article originally appeared on Ellwood City Ledger: Carroll: New Orleans trip worth the wait
