{"id":3438,"date":"2012-03-06T15:11:28","date_gmt":"2012-03-06T22:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/?p=3438"},"modified":"2021-03-18T22:29:18","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T05:29:18","slug":"the-big-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2012\/03\/06\/the-big-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Big Easy"},"content":{"rendered":"

We spent the evening walking down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, The Big Easy. It\u2019s Friday night, and I\u2019m told much tamer than the partying a few nights earlier on Fat Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"022\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My friends and I stand at the corner waiting for the light to change so we can cross the street, while revelers around us brazenly jaywalk – behavior that seems foreign to this group of girls from Seattle.<\/p>\n

\"036\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We stop for drinks at Howl At the Moon, and when they are delivered in 36 ounce plastic cups, the server explains that the 3 for one special means everyone is automatically upgraded to a triple, and the cups are plastic so we can take them out in the street.<\/p>\n

\"035\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We look outside: Everyone does carry their drinks with them in the street.<\/p>\n

Don’t worry, we adjusted. It wasn’t long before we were jaywalking while carrying open containers. \u00a0Talk about multitasking.<\/p>\n

\"NOLA<\/a><\/p>\n

Beads hang from balconies, street lights, stop signs, trees, public art, and anything else that will sit still long enough to be draped with the twinkling strands in all colors of bling.<\/p>\n

\"NOLA<\/a><\/p>\n

A sprinkling of rain and a sturdy breeze lends more sparkle and movement to a street that is already teeming with life; humans, pigeons, palm trees, flowers, moss, mules, dogs can all be seen in a single glance.<\/p>\n

\"026\"<\/p>\n

The next block we walk through is closed to traffic, and pedestrians fill the area between the buildings as they laugh, dance, and wander amongst the street performers and live music wafting from the insides of bars and restaurants, music so rich and textured it seems to hold a physical presence in the space as well.<\/p>\n

\"030\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bright lights and dark corners, high contrast colors, bricks and stucco, trolleys and mule drawn carriages, trees and bling,<\/p>\n

\"NOLA<\/a><\/p>\n

and ornate balconies populated with blow up dolls<\/p>\n

\"no<\/a><\/p>\n

conspire to create an environment that is, to me, both fun and foreign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We spent the evening walking down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, The Big Easy. It\u2019s Friday night, and I\u2019m told much tamer than the partying a few nights earlier on Fat Tuesday. My friends and I stand at the corner waiting for the light to change so we can cross the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[768,763,1060,1053,771,1055,1061],"tags":[549,890,155,501,553,24,543],"class_list":["post-3438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure-living-well","category-creating-a-living","category-moms-with-cancer-community","category-parenting-with-cancer","category-photography-creating-a-living-creating-a-living","category-talking-about-cancer","category-tips-and-tools-for-coping-with-cancer","tag-adventuring","tag-life","tag-elsewhere","tag-friends","tag-new-orleans","tag-photography-creating-a-living","tag-ww","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"768":{"name":"Adventure","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/life-skills\/adventure-living-well\/"},"763":{"name":"Creating a Living","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/creating-a-living\/"},"1060":{"name":"Moms with cancer community","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/parenting-with-cancer\/moms-with-cancer-community\/"},"1053":{"name":"Parenting with Cancer","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/parenting-with-cancer\/"},"771":{"name":"Photography","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/creating-a-living\/photography-creating-a-living-creating-a-living\/"},"1055":{"name":"Talking About Cancer","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/parenting-with-cancer\/talking-about-cancer\/"},"1061":{"name":"Tips & Tools for Coping with Cancer","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/category\/parenting-with-cancer\/tips-and-tools-for-coping-with-cancer\/"}},"tags_names":{"549":{"name":"adventuring","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/adventuring\/"},"890":{"name":"Daily Life","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/life\/"},"155":{"name":"Elsewhere","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/elsewhere\/"},"501":{"name":"friends","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/friends\/"},"553":{"name":"new orleans","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/new-orleans\/"},"24":{"name":"Photography","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/photography-creating-a-living\/"},"543":{"name":"ww","link":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/tag\/ww\/"}},"comments_number":0,"wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1fDeG-Ts","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12681,"url":"http:\/\/coffeejitters.net\/blog\/2026\/03\/10\/16-year-cancerversary-and-finding-my-way-back-to-hope\/","url_meta":{"origin":3438,"position":0},"title":"16 Year Cancerversary, and finding my way back to hope","author":"Judy Schwartz Haley","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"16 years ago, today, I got that call. 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