Travel Log - NOLA 2026

January 12, 2026 - Once again find ourselves in New Orleans, not at all surprising. This is our city - many memories of wandering the French Quarter, catching some music, or trying a new restaurant. It's different being outside the main city at an RV park, you can feel a little removed, but once you see how fast you can make it to the city center, you realize how small a town this really is. We are here to celebrate Carnival from start to finish. We barely made it (got hit with the flu really bad) for the kickoff - celebrated with the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc, where we toasted Joan and had the first legal bite of King Cake for the season. Rediscovering a love for King Cake, been largely unimpressed with them and struggled to see the fervor over them and then we tried, of all places, Rouses Supermarkets' cake, and we may be becoming believers. Hubigs did not impress, but we are on the hunt for the seemingly unanimous best cake in the land - the coveted Duong Phuong. We'll see if we get there. Meanwhile, week one had some seafood, a visit to a couple of breweries we love - Abita and Urban South, and reconstructing our little home after Alabama did a number on it. So much more to come, let's see what week 2 holds.

January 20, 2026 - Another week down, and some great fun had. Started the weekend off with a misguided trip to Houma, LA, for a farmers' market that was missing the farmers. No produce, lots of baked goods. Still a nice outing where we found a cajun meat market (snagged some boudin and tasso, more on that later), some cool drives along the bayou, and the Cajun Country welcome center with some great info and the nicest man - one of many nice folks we'd meet this day. We headed back to spend some time with the pets, then off for the Krewe Mosaique parade - rain came in, but did not dampen spirits. Drinks at the Pirates Alley Cafe and on to Chartres to grab a spot. Shared the space with a nice family whom Sabrina befriended and defended from bead snatchers. Fun small parade made up of about 10 marching krewes, lots of variety and enthusiasm despite the rain. We followed to the end and enjoyed an impromptu drum line with neon skeleton accompaniment, then decided to reminisce at the old W hotel where we got married. Sabrina had food poisoning the day before our nuptuals so she missed the rehearsal dinner - so this was a redo of sorts. Decent food, and Sabrina made another friend of a solo diner who narrowly escaped the swingers at the end of the bar. On the way out, in a way that seems to happen in NOLA, we accidentally but seemlessly joined some Brits on the way back to the car for some lively conversation then on home to bed. Sunday was a chore day interspersed with some errands, where we got to explore some neighborhoods we never get to, which was fun in its own way. On Monday, we were able to run down to Bayou Sauvage and take the first real hike of the year amongst the cypress and reeds, plus a stop by Gambino's Bakery and Puccino's coffee.

January 28, 2026 - Big nerd week for us. Foremost - Chewbacchus 2026. We attended the sci-fi & fantasy-based parade and thoroughly enjoyed it. All camps were represented - Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter as well as some sleeper faves like Spaceballs and MST3K (if you know, you know). Interesting all around with a wide variety of fans present. Most interesting throw - a mustachioed fork from the Twilight group... no idea the significance. Stopped by for snacks and drinks at Brieux Carre Brewery (where we found an Akron thread - Missing Falls sticker on the door!). Then a donut stop at Ike's (where the birthday bartender shared her cake) and post-parade nightcap at the Maison to hear a brass-backed, soul version of "Killing in the Name".

Also we finally found trivia, enjoying a flop of a round at Port Orleans Brewing and a second place showing at Miel Brewery. And we dusted off the old Nintendo for a Mario Cart showdown. Great week, looking forward to more parades as carnival season starts to peak!

Feb 5, 2026 - And now we begin to enter "Deep Gras", this week was the taste, and next week it kicks it up a notch, shout out to Emeril. We got to experience three very different parades this week, as well as some well below freezing temps. First off was Friday night's Krewe Boheme - and arts and culture-centric parade with colorful, impressive costumes and floats as well as several international groups (our favorite was the Indian delegation). This was a biggie, just this side of a super-krewe. We spent well over an hour watching the procession and enjoyed some wandering time after on Frenchman Street. Saturday took a political turn with the famous and infamous Krewe du Vieux - this parade is for adults, where explicit scenes parody today's political stories. Satire was knee deep, and we were there for it. The throws on this one are wild, condoms, lube, and my favorite Camacho for President 2028 bumper stickers. On Sunday, almost the complete opposite with 'tit Rex, a parade in the Marigny neighborhood made up of shoebox floats and mini throws. A charming experience that was bookended by great food and drink at the St Roch Market and time with our wedding photog turned friend, Tyler Drude. Hold tight as we prep for this coming weekend of marathon parades and some marching of our own.