Posted on Oct 26, 2022 in
On the Porch with Patti
By Patti Parish-Kaminski, Publisher
Celebrating Lucas at Mr. B’s on Royal Street in N’awlins. Laissez le bon temps rouler!
I haven’t been to New Orleans in a minute – well before Mr. Kaminski and I had babies. So, when the opportunity arose to go to the Crescent City to celebrate someone near and dear to me, I was all in. Now I was given the appropriate advice, or shall we say, warnings, on what to take and what not to take. That in and of itself made packing stressful, but I can scale back when necessary and lower my heel height as needed for pedestrian jaunts. All in all, I would say I was well-prepared.
Now don’t get it twisted. I still packed sequins and feathers. A girl can’t just completely give up, but I did my best to get my three-day trip down to two suitcases of fabulousness plus a hat box. After all NOLA is known for Haute headwear.
But this time around, the Big Easy wasn’t quite like I remembered it. Things have changed, or perhaps I paid more attention, but I had some distinct takeaways from my visit to N’awlins. Here are my top 10:
- Anything – and I mean ANYTHING – goes in the Big Easy. That’s why they call it that. There’s no need to worry about dress codes or appropriate attire. You can sport dang near anything including your underwear on the street and be dressed completely appropriate for any establishment.
- The food is more flavorful, more decadent and just plain more than ever. I’m not even going to share how much weight I likely gained, but every bite was well worth it.
- There is a parade for literally everything. I’m not kidding. Whether it’s walking or in a pedicab, parades abound for all occasions: weddings, birthdays, funerals and divorces. It’s the best thing ever, and of course, not to be left out, we participated in honor of Lucas’ birthday. So dang fun!
The Lucas Chavez Fab 50 Fandango Parade.
- Hat-wearing is akin to an Olympic sport in NOLA, and yes, Texas represented.
- The firefighters in New Orleans are hot, and they stand out in front of their fire stations and sell t-shirts. I would not make something this important up, ladies.
- The streets are not made for Texas-sized vehicles. This particularly vexed Mr. Kaminski. Fortunately, I talked him into parking the Beast and Ubering, an undertaking he did not take kindly to.
- New Orleanians bury their people in crypts above the ground. There’s no digging a hole for grandpa. And many of the cemeteries charge admission for people to visit.
- Apparently, the city doesn’t pay its electricity bill, because once the sun goes down, the streets are dark. Either that, or Anne Rice was correct. The city is full of vampires.
- There are truly more bars in N’awlins than anywhere I have ever seen, but the only thing more populous than bars there were children – on the streets with mom and dad in tow – up and down Bourbon Street and surrounding areas. Seems that babies are accepted and encouraged in bars in the Big Easy. It was all I could do to not stage multiple interventions.
- Perhaps the best thing about New Orleans is that the word acceptance is taken to an entirely new level. I can absolutely appreciate that as long as you do no harm to others or to yourself. And the people we encountered there were incredibly hospitable and gracious.
It was a whirlwind weekend, one we are all still trying to recover from. But so worth celebrating mi mejor amigo a través de grueso y delgado. Happy Birthday Lucas! Let’s do it again – but give your girl a minute to recover first! See y’all next week – on the porch!
Patti Parish-Kaminski
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