Rachel hit a milestone birthday in June, and to celebrate we took a trip to New Orleans — a city she has long wanted to visit. Friends Brad and Jamie Dameron from Indianapolis were kind enough to tag along and help us navigate the sites.
We crammed a lot into the weekend trip, and did it with our own version of a walking tour. We visited St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square, took in a show at Preservation Hall, wandered through Lafayette Cemetery, popped into every little shop and bar that looked interesting and ate well. Man, did we eat well.
It’s New Orleans, so there is fabulous food everywhere you turn. Our visits included August (fancy John Besh restaurant), Red Gravy (Italian breakfast spot), Cochon Butcher (badass sandwich joint), Dat Dog (we enjoyed fries and beers, but they’re known for their dogs), Tujagues (old-timey place for a killer seafood dinner), Joey K’s (for lunch in the Garden District).
We also opened the tourist playbook and took a brief walk down Bourbon Street, had coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde, grabbed hurricanes from Pat O’Brien’s (one sip and you begin to understand why this city loves its booze. So refreshing on a hot day you forget it’s alcohol). And yes, we had a Sazerac — within 30 minutes of entering our hotel. The bartender even provided the history of the drink and a lesson in bitters, too. Bottoms up.
We finished the weekend with an eye-opening tour of the national WWII museum.
Though too short, the trip was everything we hoped and I doubt Rachel will wait 40 … er, 39 more years to visit again.
The Sutherlands 
Terrific commentary and the pictures tell their own story.