New Orleans

I just got back from a professional trip to New Orleans.  I haven't been there since I was six or seven years old, and I remember almost nothing about that trip, so this was really like a first trip down for me.  Because my main focus was the school visit we were on, I didn't have a lot of time to do the touristy thing, but I did get to do some.  Mostly, I walked and walked. 

It's an old, old place.   It feels that way, too.  The age seeps up from the damp ground like a vapor.  It had that river-city feel to it, but it also had a feeling far different from Memphis or St. Louis.  I didn't feel like Memphis or St. Louis would swallow me down by accident.  New Orleans kind of felt that way.  Oh, it wouldn't be a personal thing, really.  Probably, it would have been an accident.  But I would be gone all the same. 

I think I needed more time with the city to shake that impression, time to be there in the clear light of day instead of traipsing around the dark streets at night, time to see more that just the tourist dives, time to see the true history.  I will go back down and try it again.  Any city with so much heart deserves a deeper exploration.