Friday, March 22, 2024
Vacation day 4 of 9. In The Old 77. Woke to the sound of thunder. Breakfast in our room: cereal with milk, water to drink. We walked to Hotel Monteleone. Patrick dropped off copies of his books with bookseller Candice H. We picked up our festival passes and chatted with Octavia Books' Tom L. We encountered and chatted with Alan W, Tracy C, Trebor H, and Monique J. Patrick and I walked to and visited St. Louis Cemetary No. 1. There was a mixup about the cemetary helper person who was supposed to meet us there, but Patrick got help from another cemetary helper person to identify the crypt in which some of his family members' remains are stored. We also saw some famous ones, including Nicolas Cage's pyramid, voodoo queen Marie Laveau's, and a former mayor's. We walked Rampart Street along Congo Square and Armstrong Park to beverages at Fatma's Cozy Corner: mint green iced tea for Patrick, lemon ginger iced tea for me. We visited and enjoyed the New Orleans African American Museum (NOAAM). We returned to Fatma's Cozy Corner for lunch: we shared one Cuban panini and a medium iced chai. Patrick also had one piece of baklava. We walked to Baldwin & Company Bookstore & Coffee Shop where we shared a bottled flavored water and where we again encountered and chatted briefly with Trebor H. Later Patrick and I happened upon Loretta's Pralines, and we bought one original praline and one chocolate praline to eat later. We visited the New Orleans Jazz Museum for a concert by Belinda Moody, leaving partway through. We rode the streetcar and walked to The Old 77. We rested. We rode the streetcar and walked around before dinner at Cane and Table. Cocktails: Common Ground (celebrating the African Diaspora through flavors and Black-owned and -influenced spirits of the South and Caribbean, this tall refresher blends bourbon, dark rum, pecan orgeat, citrus, and soda) for Patrick, special menu frozen mango margarita (blanco tequila, mango, passionfruit) for me, Summer Set Falls for Patrick (pineapple-infused tequila meets blackberry with a cilantro and herbal backbeat in this crushed ice refreshment). We shared coctel de camarones (shrimp with fried saltines), croquetas (crab, aioli, lemon), arroz con pollo (half springer mountain chicken, saffron bomba rice). Everything was delicious. The coctel de camarones was particularly perfect due to the served-hot fried saltine crackers. 20% service charge was included in the bill. Service by Mary Claire S (aka MC) was great. We walked to BK House (formerly Beauregard-Keyes House) for the Saints and Sinners Festival (SASFest) opening party. We met or encountered Trebor H, Lucian C, Gar M, MR, Jewelle and Diane, Karl S, Eric, outgoing Board President Lawrence HG, Alan W, Greg H, Tracy C, Steven R. Patrick talked at length about genealogy with party crasher (of sorts) Albert D, and after Patrick started recognizing some names he threw out and some quick swipes on Albert's ancestry.com tree on his phone, we were all surprised to learn that Albert and Patrick were related—first cousins six times removed. They talked for a while, and the party ended. Patrick and I walked to Cafe du Monde. We shared one order of beignets; cafe au lait for both, mine decaf. We rode the streetcar and walked to The Old 77. To bed.